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The purpose of the pages you will find at this site is not to persuade you to give up your faith. It is not to intentionally bash any religion or set of ideas. The purpose is merely to share correct information with those who honestly want to examine facts pertaining to Mormonism, Christianity, & religion in general who are not afraid to intelligently question or look at their beliefs. If you are happy with your religion, please surf elsewhere. Before you go, though, take a quick look at the thoughts on this page. This is not an "anti-Mormon" site. (How many "anti-Mormon" sites do you know of that quote positive excerpts from Gordon B. Hinckley, house the entire text of "Jerald and Sandra Tanner's Distorted View of Mormonism", host responses to Fawn Brodie's biography on Joseph Smith, link to the History of the Church, have dozens of links to FARMS articles, etc.?) It is intended to be a site of honest intellectual inquiry (rather than one based on faith) and nothing more.
Since writing the above paragraph in 1996, the site has undergone much revision, addition, and evolution. There is much on the site now dealing with science, evolution, and philosophy in general. If you are interested in these thought-provoking topics but couldn't care less about Mormonism, this site should still be of interest to you so please explore.
Subsequent sites have also been developed. One has virtually nothing to do with religion and is formatted for (hopefully) easier navigation. Check out 2think.org.
If you are looking for pages dealing exclusively with Mormonism, check out lds-mormon.com. For biographical information on this site's author see this page. For why biographical information on this site's author is not important see this page. To voice your opinion go here.
An interesting thing about the LDS faith (which is the religion I grew up with--even going so far as to serve a two year Mormon mission and receive a couple of degrees from BYU) is that applying some of the church's own teachings ultimately led me to disbelieve in some of its principal doctrines. The church encourages honesty. Some church leaders even define the underlying core doctrine of the church to be all truths from whatever source derived. Brigham Young (the second prophet of Utah Mormonism) said, "If the infidel has got truth it belongs to Mormonism". Now I search for truth from whatever sources I can. I've never been happier or felt more alive than I do now as an infidel seeking after truth rather than (blindly) following tradition or authority figures.
Here are a few more quotes on the Mormonism I still believe in:
"How gladly would we understand every principle pertaining to science and art, and become thoroughly
acquainted with every intricate operation of nature, and with all the chemical changes that are constantly
going on around us! How delightful this would be, and what a boundless field of truth and power is open for
us to explore!" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 9, pg. 168, January 26, 1862)
"In these respects we differ from the Christian world, for our religion will not clash with or contradict the
facts of science in any particular." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 14, pg. 116, May 14, 1871)
A quote which should be applied to anything you read or hear comes from
Dan Barker (who has written several
fantastic books).
From his
book Just Pretend: A Freethought Book for Children:
"No one can tell you what to think.
"We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316.)
"I want to say to my friends that we believe in all good. If
you can find a truth in heaven, earth or hell, it belongs to our doctrine. We
believe it; it is ours; we claim it." (Discourses of Brigham Young selected
by John A Widtsoe, p. 2)
"...the most prominent difference in sentiment between the Latter Day
Saints and sectarians was, that the latter were all circumscribed
by some peculiar creed, which deprived it's members of the priveledge
of believing anything not contained therein, whereas the Latter Day
Saints have no creed, but are ready to believe all true principles
that exist, as they are made manifest from time to time." (The Journal of Joseph: The Personal Diary
of a Modern Prophet, p. 203)
"One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to recieve
truth. Let it come from where it may." (An American Prophets Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph
Smith, p. 395.)
"...study and learn and become acquainted with all good books,
and with languages, tongues, and people." (D&C 90:15)
Not your teachers.
Not your parents.
Not your minister, priest, or rabbi.
Not your friends or relatives.
Not this book. (or web page as the case may be)
You are the boss of your own mind.
If you have used your own mind to find out what is true, then you should
be proud!
Your thoughts are free."
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