...one of the following sources of truth about the Mormon religion?

* Mormonism-Shadow or Reality (or some other book by the Tanners)

* No Man Knows My History

* An Insider's View of Mormon Origins

* Any books by D. Michael Quinn

* In Sacred Loneliness

* An American Fraud: One Lawyer's Case against Mormonism

* Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon

* Under the Banner of Heaven

* By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri

* One Nation Under Gods

*http://mormonthink.com/personalstories/A_Letter_to_a_CES_Director.pdf

* http://www.utlm.org/

* http://www.mormonthink.com/


Did they ACTUALLY read it?

How did it go?

And when was this?


(I think the above are the best most damning sources against the Mormon religion)

The best I've been able to do is get some TBMs to watch some of Shawn McCraney's YouTube videos. I have told a few TBMs that reading Lucy Mack Smith's book destroyed my testimony (and it's not even an anti book).

Isn't Lucy Mack Smith's book the one that BY wanted gathered up and destroyed? He must have viewed it as an "anti" book. What was it about that book that destroyed your testimony? I haven't read it.

Yeah, BY wanted it destroyed. She told stories about how, as a boy J.S. would tell stories about the ancient inhabitants of the Americas like he had lived among them. She comments on how he had a knack for telling stories. There's also an account of JS Sr.'s dream which is very much like Lehi's dream. I just started to think that there were too many coincidences between JS's life and stories in the BoM for the BoM not to be something he made up.

Its also got stuff about their folk magic practices and treasure hunting, I believe.

I think you're right. It's been a while since I read it, but I think there was some of that in there too.

O' I've got to read that. What is the name of the book?

The Mormonthink link goes straight to a pro-LDS site. Is that just me?

cc halo Wrote:
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> The Mormonthink link goes straight to a pro-LDS
> site. Is that just me?

I think its just you. I get the correct page.

My older sister read all of that material. In fact, she introduced me to the work of the Tanners. Later she told me she was Mormon again and argued with me about it. I think the Mormon church has more flakes than a dandruff commercial.

That's pretty crazy. Aside from the profe$$sional mopologi$ts and Mike Quinn and I've never heard of any Mormons who still truly believe after reading all that.

Did she REALLY read everything, or did she just read a couple chapters or pamphlets and claim she read it all?

She read the material obsessively and said she was convinced Mormonism was a fraud. This went on for years. Then one time I made a flippant remark about the church over the phone and she yelled at me. I was taken aback, to say the least. I asked her when was the last time she attended, and she became evasive before finally admitting it had been a year. I told her Mormons don't operate that way, and she accused me of grilling her. We haven't spoken since.

I tell you, that cult is one divisive amoeba. We're in our fifties, long out of the morg, and it extended a pseudopod to drool its slime all over our relationship.

I'm 2/3 through "An American Fraud: One Lawyer'S case Against Motmonism.". A strongly feminist approach, at times a diatribe. It may be to the liking of forum members here, but(1) There's no much in fresh material, and (2) the feminist take would likely alienate TBMs at the outset. I don't think it would be a good bet. If you're getting anybody to risk their entire world view on a single read, my recommendation is the Tanners' material.

I shared some of the conflicts between the bible and BOM, D&C etc and I think I sent some sources to look up to a friend who was giving me a hard time about being inactive. Truth was I was not "inactive". I didn't "just stop going". I discovered doctrinal "sticking points" that I simply could not compromise my intelligence for and consciously chose to never attend again. This was about 20 years ago and I felt very strongly at the time that I shouldn't let my friend go on being mislead and brainwashed. Well, she wrote me back a polite but obviously hurt letter and then her husband send me 2 positively seething letters, full of cursings for my soul etc. that was the end of our friendship. Never talked to her again.
Sometimes I think it's like when you're a kid and you find out that Santa isn't real and you get really mad at the person who let it slip.

I've tried but haven't been able to get anyone to read one. Instead they tell me I'm under the influence of Satan. The conversation normally deteriorates from there, so I haven't tried for a while.

That's the problem, you just can't get Morbots to actually read the truth. They are so brainwashed that they simply refuse to. I wonder if you could use reverse psychology on Mormons to get them to read this stuff.

Yes, the old under Satan's influence line... I've heard that one before.
I haven't talked to any LDS people about this stuff for so long that the internet wasn't in use the last time I did. However, it seems like few people would join anymore with the ease of information gathering. However, I'm sure the lonely, needy still do...

My mother had an original copy of 'Mormonism-Shadow or Reality', the one with a "weird microfilm" quality to it if you know what I mean (I don't know if they ever printed a "normal" version).

Anyway, after she died I was going to pinch it but it mysteriously disappeared and I think my TBM brother snagged it for ..... disposal?

I got my wife to read an insiders view. She said it was interesting. Eventually a few months latter she has admitted she does not believe in polygamy. She has so much tied up in the church all her family and friends. It will be interesting to see how things play out. I had to make a deal to get her to read. Church attendance and baptizing my daughter in a year. Dw is now reading Mormon enigma, she reads very slow like two pages a week. I think she now realizes everything I have told her is true, and the church lies to us. However, this is not what she hoped for, she is not happy with reality.