Proof all you anti-Mormons will eventually come around...

[Corsair]

‘But what if somebody uncovered a sign tomorrow that said ‘Welcome to Zarehemla, population 420.’

This is a juvenile observation, but referring to a population of "420" makes an unintended(?) reference to a drug culture that the LDS church would be adamantly opposed toward. This tells me that the editing staff of LDS Living are temple recommend holding Mormons who keep the Word of Wisdom but they also have a master level troll on staff that let a marijuana reference get published.

This is most likely an unfortunate and hilarious coincidence and not the secret reveal on how the article author actually heard the voice of God. But I can't help but imagine that the purpose of the article was fatally undermined when "420" was read by an apostate receiving a common treatment for "chronic back pain". Many apostates in Colorado and Washington are similarly laughing for otherwise no apparent reason. Well done, LDS Living. some entreprenuerial (and possibly high) apostate is now printing T-shirts that simply read "Welcome to Zarehemla, population 420".

[Linked]

This guy seems to bounce from one very strong belief to the next. Like some have mentioned, it sounds like he is bouncing around within Fowlers stage 3. Based on the book I discussed in this thread, it sounds like he is leaning on his fast system 1 thinking to come to his conclusions. This makes sense, as humans are conclusion making machines with whatever amount of information we have.

He goes from one strong conviction based on incomplete and possibly incorrect information to another. The church encourages this by teaching that we can know truth by our feelings. When we engage our slow system 2 thinking which is the critical thinker it does not produce calm and happy feelings, therefore, according to the church, reasoning our way through something that has no clear conclusion can't be true. At least it is not blessed with the truth feelings.

[Stig]

This guy posted for a while on both MDDB and MDB; the one username of his I can remember was "CountryBoy." He was a major-league a-hole and an equal opportunity offender of both TBM and post-mo, alike. I take everything this guy says with not just a grain of salt, but an entire 10-lb bag.

[Margarita]

oh..you guys..I know this man...he has been on several LDS boards..and is a very vile and nasty person. This is a crock..and sure..he mentioned and told everyone about being mentioned in conference way before hand...there is no spirit here...I am sorry..it is all ego...

[Ghost]

I'm always curious to see a story of someone who has become disillusioned and eventually made a wholehearted return. But I'm always tempted to conclude that someone who has followed that path has stopped short in his or her deconstruction. As oliver_denom said, this guy seems to have held on to belief in God's constant intervention in the world. Since this is one of the primary issues inhibiting my own faith, more than the LDS history stuff that bothered him, it's hard for me to relate.

"God said to me, ‘Does the fact you can walk the streets of Jerusalem make the Bible true?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘But what if somebody uncovered a sign tomorrow that said ‘Welcome to Zarehemla, population 420.’ What would that do to the Book of Mormon?’ And I said, ‘Then it would make it true.’ But He said, ‘Then where would be your faith?’”

I like what God says here. Do you have any more reason to believe that the books of the Bible are inspired than the Book of Mormon? Mount Olympus also exists. Does that mean that the Greek gods are up there? If you happened to be brought up in a different tradition with different books, then where would be your faith?

That said, it would be fun if there were some strong archaeological evidence for the Book of Mormon. I'd appreciate the intellectual exercise of deciding exactly what that would mean.

Good for him if things worked out and he has an interesting story to look back on. And of course it all comes down to "choosing to believe," which I can't help but think that we all do to some extent, whether about religious doctrines or other meaning that we find in life.

Smith says he has chosen to believe. “I haven’t had any doubts since I got baptized. I haven’t let myself get there."

[Hagoth]

“One of my issues was why is there no archeological evidence of the Book of Mormon. [But one night] God said to me, ‘Does the fact you can walk the streets of Jerusalem make the Bible true?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘But what if somebody uncovered a sign tomorrow that said ‘Welcome to Zarehemla, population 420.’ What would that do to the Book of Mormon?’ And I said, ‘Then it would make it true.’ But He said, ‘Then where would be your faith?’”

The big difference here is that you actually can walk down the streets of Jerusalem. It's not made up. There are real people and events in the Bible that can be corroborated with other contemporary texts.

In his situation (imaginary conversation with God) I would say, "I'm not sure God, show me where Zarahemla is and I'll go walk down the streets and get back to you."

I'm sincerely happy for this guy if activity in the church makes his life better. That's what churches should do, and I truly believe it does in his case. Coming back to the church seems to have been the best solution to help him resolve anger issues that he apparently wasn't equipped to deal with in the outside world.

I just hate to see propaganda like this perpetuating stereotypes of honest people who can't put the genie back in the bottle by simply repenting of discovering the truth.

[Not Buying It]

The article did what it was designed to do - reassure members that only fools leave the faith and the sensible ones will come around and return to full belief in the Church. This is really just propaganda to reassure members. When the evidence isn't on your side, propaganda is all you've got.

[Hagoth]

oh..you guys..I know this man...he has been on several LDS boards..and is a very vile and nasty person. This is a crock..and sure..he mentioned and told everyone about being mentioned in conference way before hand...there is no spirit here...I am sorry..it is all ego...

That's fascinating, as is Stig's comment. A reminder that there are two sides to every story!