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October 2000 Oct. 1, 2000 Hi I am a Bible-believing conservative Christian. I work for a Mormon, his boss is a Mormon and numerous other leaders and key people in this group are all of the "brotherhood". I am finding it harder and harder to work with them and I don't know the best way to deal with their "niceness" yet they are truly antagonistic, self-absorbed, judgemental, legalistic, "know-it-alls". Can you sense my frustration? How can I love them and fight their lies and protect other sheep from these wolves here at my office? Any advice or resources? [Sandra's Note: You might find the following books helpful: Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons, Questions to Ask Your Mormon Friend, Answering Mormon Questions, For Any Latter-day Saint: One Investigator's Unanswered Questions.] Oct. 1, 2000 Subject: Thank You! I just wanted to say "Thank you" to Mrs. Tanner for taking the time to talk with me on my two visits to Utah Lighthouse Ministry during the first week of September. As an active LDS who has come to believe that the LDS church is not what it purports to be, I appreciate the work they have dedicated their lives to. I remain active in "The Church" :-) because my wife and most of my children remain true believers. I do not wish to bring pain into their lives. Unfortunately my loss of faith has come to extend to all religions. Therefore, I do not believe I have anything better to offer to my family. I have made my doubts known to them and to my church leaders. I am, to my own amazement, still a "card carrying" (temple recommend holding) Mormon. I have read at length books on faith by non-Mormon authors and have not been able to recover or develop faith. Books and newsletters from Utah Lighthouse Ministry have helped me over the last twenty years. Please pass my thanks on to Mr. and Mrs. Tanner for their work. I can only imagine the private and public pain and loss they have and continue to experience as a result of being true to their faith. For what it may be worth from a heretic, they and their work are in my thoughts and prayers regularly. Oct. 2, 2000 Subject: You are calling who false? Look again - at yourselves, please... "Lighthouse" dupes... I am so sad for you - what a waste of time and energy just to find out in the end that you are wrong... But I guess once you've gained momentum, ya can't stop now even if you are on the wrong side. Don't you realize that you will be held accountable for every soul you divert to Satan's plan? Sorry, it is you who are deceived. Good luck in recognizing the real false prophets - Read about Saul (Paul)who went about trying to destroy the Church of Christ until he was struck down. (You are on the wrong side and I will pray for you.) In the name of Jesus Christ, I testify that I know this gospel to be the truth - that God does not stop sending prophets to his people. You are listening to the dark side. Bless you. Oct. 3, 2000 Subject: We left mormonism on Dec. l991 We left morminism because of John L. Smith and your great book Mormonism-Shadow or Reality. That book really opened my eyes. I ordered it from UMI. When I found out the lies we were told by the [LDS Church] I wept, was angry and I grieved. If I had known the truth we would have never become Mormons. We were really ignorant of the truth when we became Mormons... I ... had been a Baptist all of my life and so had my husband. ...Our daughters husbands both served on a mission ... It was really hard for the one son inlaw who left when he found out the truth. Our daughter told me she had been to your place and talked to you. Our other daughter, her husband and her little family are still very much Mormons. When we left both daughters were upset with us. A miracle happened to one ...Our son also left. Two out of three is great, ... Sorry I haven't contacted you folks before. Remember God is in your corner in your place. I am sure you two are really something in our Lord's eyes. God's blessings be upon his little ones. You adults of course! We are all precious little ones in his sight. Hymn. Jesus Loves Me This I Know For The Bible Tells Me So. It is both an adult hymn and a childrens hymn too! One of the very first things I noticed about Mormonism was they never, ever, once sang this hymn in primary and that is indeed sad! They didn't want to take anything away from JS or the Book of Mormon. ...We returned to our Christian Faith on the Lord's Day December 29, l991. We are Free, in The True Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and not Mormonism Jesus the Christ. Oct. 4, 2000 I am not a religious person at all, I have a very methodical, agnostic view of the universe. At the same time, I am open to the views and opinions of others, and I accept that my system of beliefs is not necessarily the right view. I don't see any evidence to support most religions, but I've been wrong before and I could be wrong about this. I also periodically research various religions in an attempt to put them in historical context, which usually furthers my views. I found your website to be very informative, and although I have not yet reviewed all of the content, I am very happy to see people such as yourselves following through with your beliefs and lifting some of the mystery away from the LDS church. I found out about your site from doing research on 'deep linking'. I find it funny that a Utah court found a Christian organization in violation of the law when it provided objective information on the largest church in that state. Sounds like censorship. Deep linking is a necessary part of the internet. Your website provides tremendous resources for people doing religious research, and I feel that linking directly to publicly available pages on the internet is a necessary part of that. Please let me know how the whole situation turns out. Thanks for your time Oct. 5, 2000 I am surprised that you spend so much time and energy on a website that is attempting to demean the LDS faith. Are you excommunicated members? [Web-editor: See: About Us.] Oct. 7, 2000 Dear Tanners, I was recently forwarded a link to your website by a friend, and it has startled me a little bit. Many of the same things I question about the church are on your website. I'm getting very confused by everything, and I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few things. I am 31 years old, and I have recently been baptized into the LDS church. I come from a rather unstable and not very religious family, and I had always hoped to find the truth. I met a really great LDS girl, with whom I have become serious. I thought that maybe this was a sign of what I was looking for, so I started attending, and was eventually baptized. I had hoped that this would be the start of a great life. However, from the start I was uncomfortable with many aspects of the church. I have informed my fiancee, who is very worried. (She has stated that she will not accept anything less than a temple wedding.) Many things like the polygamy and racism issues really bother me. I am told "we cannot question God's word. There must be a reason", etc., etc. But I don't believe that God would change his mind so much, giving us these "revelations" whenever something seems politically wrong. I guess its that I do have faith in God, but I don't know about Joseph Smith. When I have shared the information on your website with my fiancee, she questions the sources and the intentions of the writers. But I want to examine everything that I can, and not just blindly accept whatever the church leaders say. I am made to feel guilty for not "getting it," more or less. I don't want to be hypocrite (because I know the church consumes so much of the lives of the members), but I don't want to lose a good thing with her, and I definitely don't want to be damned to hell for ignoring some sort of signal from God. Oct. 8, 2000 Ponder the path of your feet. Oct. 16, 2000 Subject: Comment. . . . Boredom and mindless folly do indeed run deep. If a fraud, why the concern? The pseudo intellectual barrage of unimpressive dialog might convince a know-not, but otherwise the attack forces a reasonable man to question the motives. I don't need any feedback. Thank you. Oct. 17, 2000 Subject: Where you got your information This website to me is nothing but a fallacy as far as I am concerned. I am not a Mormon, but have "been" to archaeological sites all over Mexico. I find it hard to believe that the Book of Mormon is "not" true....mainly because of Mayan Archaeological sites dating back during 580 BC - 321 AD periods, they have found burial sites in the shape of crosses....how do you explain that? How do you explain the bearded white God that is familiar to "all" mayan indians in the State of Chiapas....how do you explain at the site of Palenque - two of the temples there that are called 1) the Temple of the Son and 2) the Foliated Cross? Get your facts straight.....pray about it. Where ever you have received your information is truly from someone that has studied out material with their eyes "closed". [Sandra's Note: Sorry, the cross in Mayan culture represents their tree of life, it is not the Christian symbol. Also, the tomb is dated to a period after the close of the Book of Mormon. For information on Palenque and the temple, see the National Geographic, Dec. 1975, "The Maya, Children of Time," p.760:
See also: The Maya (sixth ed. 1999), by Michael Coe (one of the most respected experts on the subject), pub. by Thames and Hudson, p. 136-137. Non-LDS experts on the Mayans do not see any connection to the Christian religion in the Mayan symbols or deities. A good book on Book of Mormon archeological problems is Quest for the Gold Plates by Stan Larson.] Oct. 21, 2000 Subject: Excess There is a sense of preparing in the air. The city and business are preparing for the world. I find it ironic that the LDS church made such a great expansion "just in time". For a church that teaches frugality, it's strange to that a they would spend so much money and resources to boast its self. The new buildings and surrounding landscapes seem to fall under the guides of excess. Oct. 21, 2000 Subject: Thank You Thank you for your ministry and especially your perseverance for all of these years. I pray for all of you. Oct. 22, 2000 Subject: Sleepless and BOTHERED in Seattle My wife and I are what some call "inactive." We have not attended LDS church for greater than ten years. We left SLC five years ago. We lived in Southern Califorina a few years back, where my wife received cards from the Relief Society (RS), inviting her to social events, etc.. We have lived in the Puget Sound area now for three years. She received last week a card, again from the RS, "hoping all is well." What bothers us is that we cannot understand HOW our address was obtained? We have not made any contact with the LDS church in 10 years. We have an unpublished telephone number and address. Our question, which we would like to avoid posing to the RS itself, is "how do they track us down and obtain our address?" We feel this information was given to them by my dad, who with good intention, at times makes poor decisions that affect us. Again, we would like to know how the RS may have obtained our address, if not offered by a well-meaning (but mis-guided) family member? [Sandra's Note: Its possible it came from your family. On the other hand, all they would have to do is mail you something at the old address and ask for address correction. The post office will give the new address. I have also been told that the LDS Church has a department whose job is to track down inactive members.] Oct. 22, 2000 Subject: patriarchal blessing Dear Sandra, I just finished reading your patriarchal blessing and felt the need to write to you. I found it very interesting. It sounds to me like Heavenly Father knows you VERY well, and tried to tell you "flat out" what you needed to be careful about. It sounds to me like he knew WELL in advance where you were headed. Several times in your blessing you are counseled to "be humble". Near the close of your blessing you are cautioned to guard "your emotions, your tongue and your temper" . . . none of which you have done in your "ministry against the Mormons." What beautiful blessings you were promised and how sad that you let them slip through your fingers by not paying heed to the very specific (even written before your eyes!) counsel from your Heavenly Father. I pray that you might realize the error of your ways and return to the true church before the realization comes that it's too late. My best to you. [Web-editor: LDS Patriarchal Blessings.] Oct. 24, 2000 Subject: Just an opinion. Why do you provide only one side of the argument about the LDS church? It seems to me that you're only looking for the faults of the church and not the true points. In my opinion you should provide both the faults and the true points and let people decide for themselves, instead of giving only one side. But perhaps you were offended in some way or you are just scared that what you have believed in all your life could be wrong. I understand. I've seen it before. Oct. 24, 2000 Subject: Mixed feeling? My name is _____, I've been a memeber of LDS for 20Yrs. except 2yrs. I did some searching but I went back. My heart still w/the LDS. But Why do I feel cheating and something is not right. I don't know where to start. I've been searching other churches, but some of the member don't understand what I'm going thru. Can you help? [Sandra's Note: Yes, I understand. Many people go through this struggle. A good book to read is Out of the Cults and Into the Church. It is written by a Christian who is a former Mormon. It has a lot of good insight and advice.] Oct. 24, 2000 Hello Sandra. ... I personally consider you guys the foremost experts on Mormonism. There are a lot of good Christian folks who have done their homework, but no one comes close to having the kind of information you guys have. Oct. 26, 2000 Thanks for your time and effort. I'm evangelizing a friend via email. I love him very much and don't dare send him off in the wrong direction. One of my source books is the '72 edition of your M:SoR which I bought many years ago on a whim. It sat unread for a long time. I've since reviewed it at Amazon. It was a love of my wife and children that set me on the path upon which I find myself now. I spent my whole life in the LDS church, fulfilled a 2 year mission to Chile half my lifetime ago, and ran into trouble trying to satisfy some of my wife's concerns about two years ago. My re-examination of the scriptures and the writings of the early church fathers lead me down a different path, one filled with tears late at night and painful strains in old friendships. But the truth is more important than my feelings. Oct. 26, 2000 Subject: Domestic Violence Hello All, This is the first time that I have ever been to your site. I find it very interesting. My husband and I left the Mormon church about three years ago. This was the best thing that we have ever done for ourselves and for our marriage. To give you a little back ground, my husband comes from a very influential Mormon Family. We are talking General Authority level. The church ruled everything, every thought and action and pray. I was raised Agnostic (I hope that is spelled correctly), until my parents divorced. I was only 7 years old. No one cheated, no one abused, they just grew apart. I was in a very happy peaceful, calm home. We spent lots of time together as a family. My mother re-married a nice Mormon fellow in the temple and within 2 months I was baptized a member of the Mormon church. I was never given the option to join or not. I was not even asked if I wanted this. I did not even know what this was all about. I was going to be saved and that was just the way it was. From that point on, I lived in a very stressful, abusive home for the remainder of my childhood. I watched as my mother was transformed from a vibrant beautiful woman to a broken woman. It was a horrible home life. But we attended every meeting and said yes to every calling. We never spent time together as a family. We were at church functions at least 4 days of every week. The church puts so much pressure on a person to be perfect. Let me rephrase that, to be Mormon Perfect. If you do not read your scriptures, pray at every meal, morning, noontime and night, at every event, snack, date and hold three to four callings along with everything else that you have to do just to be a perfect Mormon in order to go to the highest kingdom. Then you are no good. The truth be told, not one single person on this planet can do everything that is required of them by the Mormon church. How does this make you feel? Like a failure, inadequate? This is why so many members are on prozac. ... The Mormon church breeds domination, abuse, controlling behavior. Men are taught that they are the patriarch of the home. The women are to honor, obey and to be subservient to the priesthood figure in the home. This is wrong!!!!!! Women are your partners, your eternal companions. What is wrong with this picture. ..... I am attending a Domestic Violence Group. They have many great lessons that we all could learn and benefit from. I am attending the group to help my family learn to get away from the control of the priesthood domination. My dear husband was the first to hop on the band wagon. He wants a peaceful home with love and nurturing. The most interesting thing was brought up how often these women, living in horrific life's run to get help from their bishops and how many of them are told that they should honor their husbands because he is the priesthood holder. Number one, never go for help to someone that has never been trained in Domestic Violence, they do not understand and cannot comprehend the latitude of the situation. Two, your Bishop, State President will, most of the time, side with the Husband. Sometimes he may slap him on the hand and say not to hit your wife any more and play nice..... This does not work. This is the worst of advise a victim of Domestic Violence can receive. In our group many church leaders from all religions come and speak. All at different times. It is very interesting how different the Mormon leaders report Domestic Violence in comparison to the other leaders. They have no concept. They do not have the time to become properly trained. What feels right in your heart, is good. If you feel unhappy, depressed, if you are in a domestic Violent situation, something is wrong. It is time for a change. I was in the Seminary Presidency for four years and graduated from the Seminary. I was Young Women's president 3 years. I was the secretary in the young women's program. I taught sunday school to Nursery, 3 yr., 10yrs, 14yrs, etc. My husband was Elders Quorums President, Missionary, Assistant to the Bishop, High Priest. Sunday School teacher, conductor, activities chairman, etc..... Leaving the only life that we have ever known was not done lightly. We both have received personnel revelation and had incredible testimonies of the church. We bore our testimonies regularly. When it came down to it, we had great testimonies of Jesus, Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. We believe in the power of prayer. Prayer is a very powerful vehicle. Leaving the church was the best thing we have ever accomplished. It is a huge accomplishment. Our lives and spirituality has flourished. We are truly happy. I have committed to helping my fellow man, woman and child. We are all of this earth by god's creation. One is not above another. Thank you for letting me say my peace. The Violence in the Mormon church is unbelievable. We are talking some of the most horrific things I have ever heard. These women are survivors. I hope that every Religious Leader will get trained on Domestic Violence. It is very hard to recognize, when there is not a bruise. That are many forms of violence and we as a community need to be educated. Thank you Oct. 29, 2000 Subject: excommunication I am a 36 year old male who has been long inactive to the church. However I am endowed and had an affair for a year with an endowed, but also in-active, female. I decided to come clean and went to the church. I was ex-communicated, she was slapped on the wrist! I don't understand..I want an answer..the more I think about it, the more I want to make waves! The nerve! I might add her family is huge in the church and area..I am a lone trailblazer. But this is the last straw. I want out. What could their rationale be? Oct. 29, 2000 Subject: your information isn't correct! I still have no idea why people think they have to destroy the name of Joseph Smith jr. You even went so far as to say he is a lier on one of your pages? This of course isn't a Christian attitude. Yes, your page irritated me. You need to research your research because it is FALSE! ... I know, you people that post web pages like yours, you don't read stuff that refutes what you claim. You would rather spread false rumors, then admit where you are wrong. |
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