Posted by:
BYU Boner
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)
Date: February 06, 2017 08:17PM
Hi Cinda, this is a good question. I'll only answer for myself. As an 18 year old convert, I was duped by the church, but there were warning signs from others. Unfortunately, no one had a preponderance of accurate facts that today's internet provides Mormon investigators.
For example, my godfather, hardly a religious man, told me that Joseph Smith got the idea of the Book of Mormon from travel pamphlets. When I asked church leaders, they said he was referring to the Spaulding Manuscript and that there was not evidence of commonality between the two resources.
Another time, a friend mentioned to me that Mormons don't pray to Christ. Although this is technically correct, church leaders just said, we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, we are Christians, too. No one from the church told me that I was not to pray to Jesus; I would hear about that much later.
My father's response to Mormonism was that Mormons were not popular people and to consider another church. But, I had high regard for most Mormons in knew in high school.
My Mom went bat-shit crazy and told me I was no longer her son, I was a Mormon! Of course, the church was there to tell me I was special. My Mom was also a vicious alcoholic and I figured that any church that abstained from alcohol was pretty decent.
So, ultimately, my older self realized that as an 18 year old I longed to be a part of something greater than myself. I was highly idealistic and wanted to be a good person. I was also pretty naive and innocent. I have forgiven myself for my youthful innocence. My anger at Mormonism is that the church preys on young people, people going through life transitions, and it is dishonest about its history, doctrines, and institutionalized racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2017 08:27PM by BYU Boner.