I recently came across a quote by Sextus Empiricus (c. 160 – c. 210 CE) which reads:

"When people are investigating any subject, the likely result is either a discovery, or a denial of a discovery and a confession of inapprehensibility, or else a continuation of the investigation.... Those who are called Dogmatists in the proper sense of the word think that they have discovered the truth—for example, the schools of Aristotle and Epicures and the Stoics, and some others. The schools of Clitomachus and Carneades, and other Academics, have asserted that things cannot be apprehended. And the Skeptics are still investigating."

The three general positions or stances outlined in the quote made me pause and reflect on my own exit from Mormonism. There are only three options that a person may take as they begin their exit from the church.

For those people taking their first steps in their faith transition out of the LDS church, how far will you go in "apprehending" the truth? Do you have what it takes to find your way out?

I'm three years out of the church this month, so I thought that I would pay a visit to the site to give a friendly hello to everyone, and make this posting!

Cheers.

Kevin

The Mormons make a big thing of "knowing". They "know" this, they "know" that. What a contrast to some of the ancient philosophers such as Aristotle who realized very little is knowable, in fact perhaps nothing.

But before we go full epistemological on yo *ss, these philosophers pose an opposite danger. Once you accept nothing as true or real, it makes life impractical. I spent much of my adolescence pondering these questions and getting nowhere with it. Eventually, I had to try and bypass epistemology and ontology as practical input into my everyday life. They still interest me, but one has to get on with other things regardless.

I think personally, I am beyond the stage of "knowing" in regard to Mormonism. Things have moved on. I don't feel I have to know, The LDS is its own executioner and it breeds unquestioning devotions and weakness.

I needed to know that the BoM was made up, and now I do know. Things like that are absolutely knowable. The other parts of church history fit nicely into that, but being lied to about the origin story was enough for me to leave. Mormon culture is enough to keep me away.

You could argue that made-up things are real in a sense, since the world inside our heads is made up by ourselves. Joseph just took it a step further. However, it’s not as simple as overlooking the false truth claims. Too much of Mormonism sucks.