November 29, 2005 version 2 Word formatted version of this document: how_denial_works.doc Whether we like it or not, each of us is constrained by limits on what we can do and feel. To ignore these limits leads to denial and eventually to failure. To achieve excellence, we must first understand the reality of the everyday, with…
A PDF version of this Document: http://goo.gl/JvlTY And Answers to Other “Tough Gospel Questions” in Reply to a Faithful Mormon Scholar’s Defence of Mormonism bob mccue June 20, 2004 Version 3 Nothing falsifies history more than logic. Fransois Guizot Introduction In a June 13, 2004 article on page B7 of the Observer/Faith & Reason section of…
This question was put to me the other day over lunch by a close friend who I had not seen for a number of years. I hasten to add that he is not about to tell his wife this. They are both still Mormon. However, we had a great conversation about all kinds of things,…
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the probability of changing one’s foundational beliefs declines as age advances. There are at least two reasons for this. First, the older we get the less plastic our neural connections become. The second reason, however, is far more compelling from my perspective. Larry Iannaccone explains this…
I still receive email on a fairly regular basis from the faithful of various stripes (Mormon, FLDS, Evangelical) who encourage me to take the time to consider their latest theories and evidence as to why they have “the truth”. Early on in my recovery/exodus process, I diligently followed up on much of what I received…
“You are the one who broke our marriage covenants by disobeying the Church, so if we get divorced its your fault!†One of our companions the other night raised the old notion that somehow when one spouse leaves Mormonism and the other does not, the one who leaves is breaching the marriage contract, and is…
If this were five years ago, shortly after my exodus from Mormonism, I would probably be reporting that I awakened this morning in a panicked, cold sweat after one of those crazy mixed up dreams in which I had come to the certain realization that the Catholic Church was God’s one true, and only authorized,…
I watched Lyndon’s you tube presentation to the Red Mountain Community Church near Phoenix, and thoroughly enjoyed it. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECjddl…. He is an eloquent spokesman for the post-Mormon movement. His personal style is folksy, and pleasant. He is the kind of guy that most people would probably love to spend an evening chatting with. I certainly…
Stronger, Better Educated Females — A Silver Bullet for Humanity’s Current Demons? Years ago, I ran across E.O. Wilson’s wonderful essay “The Bottleneck” (see http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?arti…). Since then, from time to time, I have wondered whether we have available to us a more powerful social medicine than female education and empowerment. I have not found one so…
This does not happen much anymore, but I still occasionally get a letter from an LDS leader asking in a polite way what happened to my testimony and why I don’t do what he thinks might bring it back. In this case, the questions and comments were as follows: – My questioner understands that I…