Why I Criticize The Mormon Church

Steve Arrowsmith MA
4 min readAug 1, 2022

Or The LDS Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Recently, some of my old friends asked me why I share my critical thoughts of the Mormon church, knowing I may well offend those still active in their faith. So I based my answers on a poster I had seen on Facebook (Seth Jones) from a friend because they work so well.

My responses?

1 — My thoughts are rarely personal. They are not directed at people I know, including the 'faithful.' In fact, my family, or a large proportion, are practicing Mormons. They believe and adhere to the institution, the corporation, and the leadership. However, I will without fail criticize any institution, corporation, and administration that I consider to be causing significant harm in such deceitful ways. Mormonism is my area of expertise and interest. I have been involved at every level for 35 years. Having been on both sides of this Mormon wall and atop it, I have seen and experienced much that, for many years, I kept in a drawer or put on a shelf as Mormons are told to do by their leaders. I was first exposed to this by President Robert Garff, a Mission President at the time, back in 1997. A challenging task for anyone, but especially for a professionally trained historian and researcher. I soon learned faith is not about reality but conformity (Betty Bowers).

2 — From childhood, I have always preferred 'truth.' I guess what I mean by truth is, in fact, provable data with a sure provenance to primary documentation. I have always loved books and educational experiences. University trained on one hand and autodidact on the other. Initially, it seemed that Mormonism encouraged the pursuit of truth anywhere it could be found. However, the caveat was that if the fact contradicted Mormon teachings and thereby could affect believers' faith, it should not be revealed. Elder Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church, once said, "I have a hard time with historians because they idolize the truth. The truth is not uplifting; it destroys . . . Historians should tell only that part of the truth that is inspiring and uplifting."

3 — Much of what I discuss is simply history. If historical events or accounts offend, then perhaps further research for the offended may be helpful as it seems their 'faith' or testimony is not as solid as they think. Surely reading and discussing Joseph Smith marrying other men's wives and fourteen-year-old girls, or more recently, BYU's conversion therapy for Gay students, or even the Mormon temple Masonic throat-slitting rituals should be just as open for discussion as other historical events such as the Great Depression, McCarthyism in the 1950s, or the 'Troubles" in Ireland in the 20th century?

4 — Social media is exactly that, social. Everyone has a personal platform. Everyone can decide for themselves who they wish to follow or read. And likewise, who they don't want to follow. As I live in the UK and the USA, I have freedoms not given to those in places such as Afghanistan or North Korea. I am grateful and encourage free speech and free education. Anything I write or discuss can be freely fact-checked, and I encourage all those who see self-research as Satan's work to use that free agency you are always taught about at church. But, to be fair, there is a condition that is not revealed to the general public about free agency. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told me many years ago that free agency only allows you to choose the right, not the wrong. The right is what the Mormon church teaches you. It seems free, but not so!

5 — The Mormon church believes they must knock on people's doors, enter their homes, and tell strangers they are living wrong. They also, nowadays, do the same on social media. I have been contacted deceitfully on Facebook several times. The discussions they have with others can be offensive to some, but they have the right to do so. In the very same way, I have the right to do likewise. If they feel obligated to share their message, I remind them I have the same obligation to share my message about religion and its snake oil salesmen.

6 — Finally, I will never apologize for illustrating bigotry, racism, homophobia, and sexism anywhere I see it, especially within Mormonism. Calling out childhood trauma and child sexual abuse within the church should always be discussed. I suggest if you have a problem with that discussion, you may want to ask yourselves why. I am and was especially so while attending church in Utah and Arizona, concerned about hateful remarks towards women, the LGBTQIA+ communities, and people of color. If that causes offense, I don't care. I do care more about just standing idly by and doing nothing. As British philosopher John Stuart Mill said in 1867, "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing."

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Steve Arrowsmith MA

Steve lives and writes on two continents. He has been a teacher, researcher, and a coach. His interests include helping those with disease and disability.