Another One Bites the Dust

I've lost count of how many people i know whose spouse has left them because they found out the LDS church isn't true. A bishop "counseled" my friend's wife to leave him (despite the fact that they have a good marriage and children) because he (the hubby) found out the mormon church was founded on lies and deception and he can't be a part of it anymore. Rather than discuss with her husband the facts he's discovered (ever read Journal of Discourses, by the way? Scary shit!), the wife figuratively covers her ears and says, "NAHNAHNAHNAHNAHNAH." Childish or cultist? Yeah, okay, both.

What a sad shame.

On a positive note, though, there are marriages that have been saved because one spouse or both discovered the morg was a fraud. 

Why My Favorite Book at Deseret Book Store is Joseph Smith, Rough Stone Rolling

http://deseretbook.com/Joseph-Smith-Rough-Stone-Rolling-Richard-L-Bushman/i/4983110 

I wish this book had been written years ago; it would've saved me a lot of wasted time and money.  But this post isn't about my journey out of Mormonism; it's about why i like this book so much. 

The reason is that it allows some Mormons a graceful dismount from their high horses.  The information revealed about Joseph Smith in this book is more than the vast majority of LDS church members have ever heard, since it's potentially damning, and the church has always swept it under the rug, made excuses for it, or glossed it over in a way that causes members to not question.  (It's a dangerous thing, not questioning). 

Why are Mormons on the high horse in the first place?  Because they truly believe they're led by a prophet, that Joseph Smith saw god and Jesus (and in the book they'll find out there were various versions of the "First Vision" story until the most dramatic and impacting was settled on), and that they are RIGHT.  (They JUST BELIEVE...love that song, by the way).  What some of them don't really seem to believe, observing their actions, is their own 11th article of faith which states that everyone should be free to believe what they want, worship how they may, etc. 

And that leads me to my love of the book affectionately nicknamed "RSR" in some circles.  I had the great fortune of being part of a discussion group for the book.  The group included true, believing Mormons who are active in church and hold temple recommends; Mormons who no longer believe the doctrine but choose to remain members for the social or service aspects or family tradition or habit; and ex-Mormons who believe Mormonism to be fabricated. 

I found, at first to my surprise (although i understood it later), that some Mormons continue to believe their church is "true" even after learning much of the disturbing history of JS and his church's beginnings.  And among that group, many were truly humbled and far less self-righteous than before they knew more of the truth.  That is what i would hope for; that they will stop shoving their beliefs down the throat of the rest of the world.  Stop doing things like illegally funding campaigns for laws that breed hatred, fear and inequality (Prop 8, etc.).

I wish Mormons would pause for ONE minute and think, "Okay, what if it ISN'T true?  Would i vote differently?  Would i behave differently?  Would i believe gays have the right to marry (basic human rights?!)?  Would i keep my faith and practices to myself and my own family and let others live their lives as they see fit?"

I would hope there would be a graceful dismount from the high horse and a motion toward true humility.  Because going about with the mindset that WE ARE RIGHT BECAUSE GOD SAID SO and EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG is REALLY MESSED UP and it CAUSES A LOT OF DAMAGE IN THE WORLD.