I’m Not Anti-Mormon: Mormonism is Anti-Me!
Truth Matters
I am not anti-Mormon. I was not looking to be anti-anything. My nature is to be positive and believing. During my thirty-four-year membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I fully accepted the many holes and challenges that came my way as a professional historian, for example. Disturbing issues were to be placed on a shelf or in a drawer for a time when those issues would be made understandable to me, they said. I was a definite member of US and not THEM!
Then slowly, over time, I noticed that the church was becoming anti-me. Let me explain, significant and sufficient values near and dear to me were becoming choices of faith. I was discouraged from asking questions straight from the start, but when I began to question these simple everyday values, the response was always the same. Kinda like God works in mysterious ways responses. Or what we don’t understand in this life we will understand better in the next life. Or the Prophet and our church leaders wouldn’t lead astray. Or even you need to work on your faith, brother Steve.
I can hear you asking yourself what kind of troubling questions we are talking about. What kind of values or changes in values could be that problematic? What if the Mormon Jesus is white with blue eyes? That’s not enough of an issue to walk away, surely? It can’t be anything to do with the Mormon joke that if you see anyone black in color at BYU, they must be a football or basketball player, right? And it definitely can not be anything to do with arguing with the Bishop of my local ward or congregation about my young daughters being interviewed alone behind windowless closed doors, can it? No, none of these, although disturbing as they are.
I recently saw a poster encapsulating the cup runneth over with one too many issues that would make any good person feel like they have been duped. Let me list some of them for you.
1 — I’m anti-dishonesty
2 — I’m anti-bigotry
3 — I’m anti-racism
4 — I’m anti-sexism
5 — I’m anti-homophobia
6 — I’m anti-guilt-tripping
7 — I’m anti-use-of-threats
8 — I’m anti-mental-abuse
9 — I’m anti-covering-up-sexual-abuse
10 — I’m anti-financial-non-transparency
11 — I’m anti-rewriting-history
12 — I’m anti-fake-friendships
13 — I’m anti-double-speak
14 — I’m anti-hypocrisy
15 — I’m anti-suppression-of-information
16 — I’m anti-black-and-white-thinking
17 — I’m anti-science-denial
18 — I’m anti-literally-giving-of-my-life-for-something-not-real
19 — I’m anti-superstition
20 — I’m anti-bullying-by-church-leaders
Let me totally clear. I did not leave the Mormon church due to a lack of faith; I left the Mormon church due to a lack of truth.
Mormonism is a smart business. They sell an invisible product, and if it doesn't work . . . they blame the customer!
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2021
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