If I had family members who were still Mormon, I would print off the church essays, highlight the juicy parts, and leave them lying around the house (not saying anything) to see what would happen. The footer shows the link is from LDS.org and its written a defense of the church so it clearly can't be mistaken as anti.

Has any ever done this?

Might work but at this point in time, (with Google and the internet) if people want information or want to expand their understandings they can do so without anyone's prodding, pushing, or interference.

If they prefer the status quo, there is no amount of information that will dissuade them from their 'knowing' comfort zone. After much stirring the pot and trying to put information out there, I have concluded that it's like trying to put lipstick on pigs. It just annoys the pig and the outcome ain't so great.

I've come up with several ways to get my ultra-TBM brother to read both. He has read both.

He's still ultra-TBM.

See donbagley's thread from today about responses from a mormon apologist. That thread could be quoting my brother verbatim.

He refuses to consider anything that will shake his "faith." Even if it comes from the church.

I doubt he'll ever change.

I showed my RM brother the essays - according to my mother he doesn't visit me any more because I preach at him. I only showed him small extracts from 2 of the the essays on one occasion.

I tried to share some information from the essays with my parents and they gave the usual mormon conditioned response: denial, then tell me it's MY problem for feeling the way I do (which is betrayed) they are sorry I feel that way of course but they take no responsibility for indoctrinating me with lies.

If you give your tbm relatives more information than they can cope with you will become a 'rebellious spirit' or an 'anti-mormon' in their eyes and will be shunned accordingly. One cannot win with mormons, one must play the long game and help that metaphorical shelf get so heavy it collapses, then hope we are around to help pick up the pieces.

Well said :)

"I showed my RM brother the essays - according to my mother he doesn't visit me any more because I preach at him. I only showed him small extracts from 2 of the the essays on one occasion...I tried to share some information from the essays with my parents...If you give your tbm relatives more information than they can cope with you will become a 'rebellious spirit' or an 'anti-mormon' in their eyes and will be shunned accordingly"

That's why, in my post, I suggested leaving the essays (or CES letter) lying around the house INSTEAD of trying to confront the TBM family member because they will automatically get defensive and put up a wall. It they just come across the information on their on own, they just might be more willing to read them. Since the essays are from their LDS website, they can't automatically assume they are anti (especially if you don't give it to them).

"One cannot win with mormons, one must play the long game and help that metaphorical shelf get so heavy it collapses, then hope we are around to help pick up the pieces."

That's what the essays might do if they actually pick them up and read them. TBM's may not instantly lose their testimony but the information will be planted. It's gonna sit on their shelf and weigh it down. And it might collapse FASTER since other stuff will be added to their shelf over time.

the CES letter is not church approved - the reason I showed my brother bits of the essays was because it was on LDS.org. I showed him the address as I typed it, and he double checked it was indeed the church's own website.

The CES letter would be ignored by a good TBM since they only read church approved literature (read propaganda).

Until the announcement of the stone in the hat came out, the biggest differences in information available (for my siblings and myself) and what was taught by church, and so in turn by our parents, was concerning the plates and their non-presence during the 'translation' and the polygamy practice of joey boy marrying sisters, adopted daughters and mother and daughters then to top it off to a parent of a 12 year old girl - the story of Helen Mar Kimball.

The CES letter will be dismissed as anti-mormon propaganda by a butt-hurt excommunicant who only wants to 'discredit the church' and therefore not worthy of even reading past the title.

Each of the essays, when published online, were also published in the Ensign (church magazine) and in newspapers. TBMs only read bits of articles: they are so boring they put one in an hypnotic trance: and do not fact check information, they rarely read newspapers and don't believe stories about the church in the media anyway. The brainwashing runs deep.

Those of us born into this crap understand the effects of the brainwashing on the psyches of those TBMs we are related to since we were subject to the very same brainwashing.

You have a good idea - surreptitiously leaving information lying around, but in practice it would be rare that anyone would actually read the information unless they sought it out themself. Best to try to be a sabateur without coming across as anti-mormon in any way. All anti-mormon family members are dropped without ceremony and the tbm family members quickly learn to 'forget to mention' family occasions that were held without the exmo family being invited.

Families are forever - but only if they stay brainwashed. All free minds are excluded.