I am an ex-TBM due to exposure to the TRUE mormon history. I had read a few anti-Mormon books, was disturbed but was still able to rationalize enough that I stayed a believer until I read Jerald & Sandra Tanner's book Mormonism-Shadow or Reality. Reading that book was like an unstoppable tidal wave of evidence demonstrating to me how completely untrue the LDS religion was. I was as stubborn as could be and I REALLY wanted the church to be "true" but with the mounds of evidence I came across I simply couldn't believe in it anymore.

I had presented some of this information to some friends and family and was really surprised how much FASTER it crushed their "testimonies" and they all left the church within just a few months.

Except for a few dyed in the wool kooks on the internet and the profession mopologists, most Mormons I know are completely in the dark when it comes to the real history and doctrines of Mormonism; this includes Bishops and higher ups.

Many you on this board, like me, had also "lost" your "testimony" when learning learning the truth about Mormonism while perusing anti-Mormon books or surfing the net. I'm curious what you think. What percentage of active Mormons would you say would lose their testimony and/or leave the church if they had learned the real truth about Mormonism? I'm not talking a few things, but EVERYTHING that is out there and is available. For example, if they read all the books by the Tanners and read everything that was on this site. And when I say active, I mean anyone that believes and goes to church on a somewhat regular basis (i.e. that approximately 4 million members that didn't drop out the day after they were baptized).

I will post my opinion after some of you answer first :)

In my case my dh wants NOTHING to do with hearing anything negative about dear Joseph or the BofM. He says just leave the mormon church and it's members alone. Same with my 4 active adult kids. No way will they ever come around. I wish I could sit them all down and show them all evidence. It'll never happen.

could appear to certain members of my family and they would claim that it was "the adversary" trying to lead them astray.

I don't believe you have to read 'anti-mormon' books. There is more than enough proof about the falseness of the morg in their own history. I to have the Tanners Mormonism-Shadow or Reality and they did a great job producing it. Many people quote this as one book they read and then left the morg.
If you could get true blue mo's to read the history there wouldn't be a church. It's one of my dreams

I think there are a lot of people who know it is bogus but stay because they think leaving would hurt their friends or family or hurt their job. But with less than a third of mormons active and a good percentage of the active ones just going through the motiona, the non-believers far out number the believers.

Here in SL the church 'culture' is alive and well. When you have generations of folks growing up in the church a 'community'
of believers is created. Many members that I know don't really care about the validity of the church because religion has become a cultural thing for them. So when you try to engage them in any discussion that opposes the church they just turn it off. But this is typical of the 'older' generations of members. Younger gen x, Y, Z'ers are different. I think the church is going to lose a lot of membership base in the future because younger members aren't buying in to all the indoctrination. The 'pioneer story' isn't all that convincing to them.

I think most active mormons would still go to church even if it was literally disproved infront of their eyes. Some would leave, and most of the less active and inactive would also leave, but I reckon there'd still be about 3 millions mormons if that scenario happened.

Membership in the church and the sort of hard-core, cultural TBMs that would stay active in the face of overwhelming proof against Mormonism are two different things. Didn't someone post on the other board that the estimated temple-recommend holders are only around 3 million? I think plenty of them would leave - especially those who are just playing along to keep their family together.

Still, I agree that a lot of people would stay LDS. They can't picture another way of life and can't deal with the total rewrite of the soul that comes when a TBM loses their testimony. Everything changes from what you do with your spare time to how you relate to others to what your future looks like... everything. That kind of change is too painful for weaker souls to deal with and so they'd find it easier to somehow justify staying. Look what happened to the Seventh Day Adventists. Big time proof of fraud was discovered in their history and still, people found a way to stay in the faith and the lifestyle and the church itself found a way to reinvent itself. That's exactly what would happen to the LDS, if the truth about the history became widespread knowledge. The strong would stand up for truth, the weak would hide from it and bury their heads in the sand.

That's what makes Cog Dis so painful...it keeps knocking at your beliefs and can cause real problems if ignored. You have
to be dishonest with yourself and your brain is the battlefield.

If you havent watched "Letting go of God" by Julia Sweeney? - its worth the price of the rental. She really takes you on her own journey out of Catholism. Etc.

My leaving is ancient history now (30 years) but I wasn't reading anti stuff but I did get a pamphlet given to me while I was in line at the Seattle (Bellevue) temple for a tour. I was very TBM, temple, the whole nine-yards. Well, I took this pamphlet and was going to prove the info in it was wrong. I got my stake missionary husband's quad and just using LDS "approved" reading material, could not answer this pamphlet. Back then, no internet but bought Tanner's Shadow or Reality. The rest is history! Other than keeping abreast of changes and what not through forums such as this one, I have not looked back!

But in reading some apologetic sites with "computer" mormons participating, it's rare that any of them can be turned. It sure was a no brainer for me, especially in recent years with the internet and further disclosures of how off the wall mormonism is.

Cookie

Factual evidences, or lack of them really has very little impact on faith based subjective truths.
Faith overrules facts every time.
I have often said that Mormonism is best understood as a generational, cultural, religious, traditional, tribe.

Becoming an exMormon means we left our tribe and all that entails.
As a convert, it was my adopted tribe, so it was a little different for us converts who leave, I think.
But it's a big whammy to the core tribe to have people leave.
They think it's about them and take it personally.

I'm also convinced there are thousands of non-believing members that are there for family traditions of their culture that overrides everything else.
Testimony? Maybe, maybe not. For many, it doesn't really matter as it's: home, family, tradition, culture, etc.

Their faith based subjective truths don't need to be challenged. Culture and family over rule that in many cases.

Well, since no one gave a number, I will. I think 90% plus would leave (or no longer believe, but will attend for social/family reasons).

I actually believe the Mormon "testimony" is very shaky. The problem is that the cult has the members too brainwashed to look at the evidence. I think if they actually looked at the evidence their testimonies would vanish. I believe that the ones who would still believe are a very small minority of people who, in their nature, are too stubborn and have too much pride, to accept a new world view (whether it be religion, politics, or whatever). I think most people are not like this.

As many of you mentioned, its the getting them to ACTUALLY LOOK at the evidence which is the problem.

The topic at hand brings a certain youtube clip to mind.

(Dawkins on Kurt Wise) "What chance have we got when the indoctrination, the imprinting of childhood leaves a mind so wrecked as that..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuStSHFTcZs

i took the sack of my head when dealing with morman owned bisnesses and geting screwed by these followesrs of christ[brother saten]they lye cheat and steal.then the dna story.so i started doing some checking and things i was told years ago are now denied.if the constitution hang by a thread it will be saved by the elders of the church.in the last days we will all return to missouri.joe smith went in the grove and prayed .the lord and christ came to him told him all the stuff. he ran hom told mommy and dad .but now the joe smith papers say in three years he told them..its all a lye.its about moneylyes and sex.the church is still doing polygamy under cover with a few.utah does not prosecute poligimust.just once in a great while.i no longer believe it monomo

13 million.why did joe smith give the priesthood to three negro men and then quit'they didnt.it was brigham young.he didnt like negros.. monomo