Posted by:
Greyfort
(
)
Date: December 28, 2010 01:03PM
Many of us have studied our way out of Mormonism. Here's my journey, as an example. I'd discovered that many of the things which had been presented to me as facts, such as the Book of Mormon being about a people which actually existed, the Book of Abraham being actual tranlated scripture, or there being only one First Vision, were simply not true. There is actual physical evidence out there to base this on. It's not just anti-Mormon lies or exaggerations.
But the thing is that along the way, one has gained new critical thinking skills, and one can't simply stop with the Book of Mormon. One day you think to yourself, "Well what about the Bible?"
You begin to examine the Bible with the same critical thinking skills with which you examined the Book of Mormon. That's when you realize that hey, there is no evidence for a universal Flood. You can't simply lose a group as large as the Israelites while they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Even their garbage dumps could still be found. At least some evidence of their existence would remain.
You start to think to yourself, "Okay, talking donkeys, burning bushes which don't actually burn, talking serpants, turning water into wine, a man being thought of as a god, pigs running off a cliff because they were possessed by demons, a man living in a whale for 3 days, etc. You think, "Wait a minute. This is all a bit far-fetched. Why did I never notice this before?"
So you study the history of Christianity. You study the history of the Bible. You even get the courage to study the history of Lucifer and realize that it's all just stories. Myths similar to all other myths which have been around since the beginning of time.
And then someone challenges you to study Evolution and for the first time in your life, you do so, and you realize that it's not a myth anymore. It's a proven fact.
Okay, so now there was no Adam and Eve, and therefore no Fall. If there was no Fall, there was no need for a Saviour.
You don't simply say, "Okay, so the Church isn't true, and therefore there's nothing." It's all about taking it one step further and studying. Reading, studying, study, study, study.
You study other philosophies and come to the conclusion that it's all about man trying to explain what he's doing here on this little blue ball hurtling through space.
I'm now into studying Physics and have realized that although we can't yet prove that God doesn't exist, there is some good circumstantial evidence that He doesn't. Or at least that His existence is not necessary, and if it's not necessary, then He probably, simply isn't there.
It's a journey. A fascinating journey of discovery as you study things you never allowed yourself to study before. Evolution, other philosophies, science - things which, in the past, would make you go, "I shouldn't be looking at this."
Suddenly, I'm free to study everything I can get my hands on and I've discovered that living in Mormonism was living in a very tiny, very limited box. I've burst out of the box and there's no going back now.
Am I anti-Mormon? No. I'm pro-truth, and I'm free enough and most of all brave enough to discover the truth. Even if that truth is not necessarily a comfortable one. I just want to know the truth. And it's okay to not know for sure, because some things are currently not knowable. Sometimes the mystery is the most fascinating thing of all.