I had NO idea. I was just looking up other random mormon crap and came across your story. I knew that song as a non-mormon though and I really liked it.
When I first found out that Tal Bachman had left the church I thought, "just goes to show you how dangerous it is to pursue worldly interests. He chose pursuing fame over God. Now he has lost his soul." And then when David Archuleta won American Idol, I just KNEW it would happen to him also! Wicked, scary world!
I found it interesting that his Dad, Randy Bachman, spoke at a youth conference I attended right at the time I had first joined the Church and was an inspiration to us. Then it was Tal's wise words which helped me on my journey out.
Among other qualities, he's an incredibly gifted writer, and I know that his writing has given great comfort and encouragement to countless people here, and elsewhere. That he's been able to take so many terrible things that happened to him and not let them pollute who he is is truly amazing.
Why is it that the smartest, most sensitive, and expressive people, the ones that have the most to contribute to society, are harmed the most by organizations such as the Church?
I don't know why I thought of this just now, but somehow it feels right to mention. There's a book about Noam Chomsky called _Understanding Power: The Indispensible Chomsky_. In one lecture, someone asks him if justice is possible for the Palestinians, and he replies that in an ultimate sense, no. There can no more be justice for Palestinians than there is for American Indians. Europeans came to America and decimated them--just brutally slaughtered them. The same has happened to Palestinians. And there's no going back. Israel isn't going to be dismantled.
Is there justice for anyone who was deeply harmed by the Church? Tragically, I don't think there is. There's no way to get the money back. There's no way to undo the damage to families. There's no way to get the time spent back. There's no way to repair many of the damaged relationships that arise from leaving the Church.
Despite everything that happened to Tal, he said that he still believed that it was *possible* that there might be more than just this life, that all isn't lost. I hope that he still believes that. All of us need hope.
Or you could play a Bachman Turner Overdrive record backwards. Or if you're really an old fogey like me, a Guess Who record. The prince of rock royalty and beloved ex-Mormon might just materialize. And yes, he rocks.
Tal is a gifted writer...his thoughts on why he left the church are very well thought out and written. And his Dad, Randy has also left the church I am told. I listen to him every Saturday night on CBC...Randy's Vinyl Tap...great classic rock and blues.
Yes, he's a great guy. He will even answer his phone or emails if you contact him. He's down to earth. (No, I'm not going to post his contact info here.) He had a great post on how to write a hit song. And his extended story about leaving Mormonism was amazing. His talk (for lack of a better word) at one of the exmo conferences years ago had me in tears. Very well-spoken. All around good guy. Yes, you'll find haters. But as many famous people find out, you attract haters just by getting famous.
I respect the guys who are high profile and still decide to tell their story about leaving Mormonism. Steve Benson is another one. I'm at a point in my career where it would not be prudent to be out in public. Although I don't pretend or go to church services, I don't make it a point to tell people I'm an ex-Mormon.
Wish he'd show up more often as he contributed a lot to the exmo conversation. He was eloquent enough to attract the wrath of the LDS apologetics world. He seems to be pretty much recovered and as such doesn't need to come here anymore.