!

!
!
!
!
!
The$Importance$of$Questioning!
!
!
If!in!the!last!few!years!you!haven't!discarded!a!major!opinion!or!
acquired!a!new!one,!check!your!pulse.!!You!may!be!dead.!
Gelett!Burgess!
!
!
Like!all!scrawny!guys,!I!love!food.!At!buffets!I!will!often!con;
sume! as! much! as! a! small! elephant! or! an! especially! ravenous!
tapeworm.!One!evening!I!found!myself!being!treated!to!dinner!at!
a! gorgeous! restaurant! in! Beijing.! I! was! there! on! business! for! the!
second! time! in! six! months! and! I! have! always! enjoyed! my! stays.!
From!the!Great!Wall!to!the!Summer!Palace!to!the!Forbidden!City,!
Beijing!appeared!intentionally!designed!to!inspire!awe.!!
The!food!was!as!grand!as!the!setting.!As!soon!as!I!finished!my!
multi;course! meal! the! restaurant! manager! glided! to! my!side! and!
offered! a! complementary! beverage,! probably! in! honor! of! how!
much! I! had! eaten.! I! happily! accepted.! From! nowhere! a! stainless!
steel! martini! mixer! appeared! in! the! managers! hands.! He! shook!
the!spirits!and!poured!it!into!a!tall!glass!that!was!held!by!a!second!
server.! A! third! server! garnished! the! drink! with! an! olive,! bowed!
and!placed!it!in!front!of!me.!
My!face!went!red.!I!was!Mormon,!a!member!of!The!Church!of!
Jesus! Christ! of! Latter;day! Saints;! it! was! against! my! religion! to!
drink!alcohol.!Of!course,!I!later!reasoned,!if!I!were!to!be!offered!a!

!
2!

T HOU! S HALT! Q UESTION !

free! drink! in! a! fine! restaurant! in! Beijing,! I! could! hardly! expect! a!
root!beer.!But!what!on!earth!was!I!supposed!to!do!now?!My!tem;
ple! recommend,1!nestled! safely! in! my! wallet,! felt! like! it! would!
climb!out!of!my!pocket!and!knock!the!drink!to!the!ground.!
The!servers!did!not!wait!to!see!how!much!I!appreciated!their!
generosity,!but!my!dinner!companions!were!watching!in!expecta;
tion.! I! stalled! for! time,! running! my! fingers! along! the! rim! of! the!
glass,! fondling! the! toothpick! and! repeatedly! stabbing! the! olive.! I!
contemplated! pretending! to! drink! and! surreptitiously! dribbling!
the! martini! into! my! woefully! inadequate! lap! napkin.! I! reasoned!
this! would! allow! me! to! appear! grateful,! but! also! incontinent,!
which!I!suspected!was!the!riskier!faux!pas.!So!instead!I!imagined!
pulling!the!fire!alarm;!my!eyes!darted!frantically!around!the!res;
taurant!but!I!couldnt!find!one.!I!went!to!the!bathroom!in!search!of!
a!window!from!which!to!mount!a!daring!James!Bond;like!escape.!
No!such!luck.!!
While!my!mind!devised!increasingly!elaborate!methods!of!al;
cohol! evasion,! I! could! not! help! but! ask! myself,! What! if! I! just!
drank!the!darn!stuff?!My!hosts!expected!me!to!drink!and!I!was!on!
the!other!side!of!the!world;!no!one!here!would!punish!me.!I!would!
have! to! tell! my! wife! when! I! returned! home,! but! shed! probably!
think!my!little!rebellion!was!exciting!and!ask!me!what!it!was!like.!
Id!have!to!confess!to!the!bishop,2!but!I!had!friends!who!admitted!
to!such!sins!and!they!got!off!with!a!slap!on!the!wrist,!if!that.!!
I!never!seriously!considered!tasting!the!drink,!but!it!did!make!
me!wonder,!why!was!I!so!against!having!even!a!sip!of!alcohol!that!
I!was!willing!to!risk!the!ire!of!my!magnanimous!hosts?!Was!I!op;

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!A! temple! recommend! is! a! symbol! of! LDS! membership,! a! business! card;sized!
paper! that! allows! Latter;day! Saints! to! enter! any! Mormon! temple! around! the!
world.! (Temples! are! not! Sunday! chapels! where! church! members! worship! once! a!
week,!but!are!unique!buildings,!closed!to!the!public,!where!LDS!members!perform!
ordinances! for! themselves! and! for! those! who! have! died.! Contrary! to! rumors!
spread!by!some!anti;Mormon!groups,!nothing!sinister!happens!in!temples.)!
2!Bishops! are! similar! to! priests! or! pastors! or! reverends! of! other! Christian! faiths.!
They! act! as! the! head! of! individual! LDS! congregations,! called! wards,! which! are!
about!100;400!members!in!size.!

!
The!Importance!of!Questioning!

3!

posed!to!the!drink!just!because!I!thought!God!said!it!was!wrong!or!
because!I!actually!believed!it?!To!be!honest,!I!wasnt!sure.!!
I!was!already!in!my!late!twenties,!yet!this!was!the!first!time!I!
had!asked!myself!these!kinds!of!questions.!As!a!child!I!questioned!
almost! everything.! I! questioned! why! the! sky! was! blue,! why! girls!
were! yucky! and! why! it! was! bad! to! pee! on! the! slide! at! the! public!
park! to! make! it! extra! slippery.! But! of! course,! I! never! questioned!
the!church.!Church!leaders!tell!us!that!many!of!our!decisions!are!
already! made! for! us! and! are! not! to! be! challenged,! and! I! did! as! I!
was!taught.!President!Brigham!Young!said:!
The!man!whom!God!calls!to!dictate!affairs!in!the!building!up!
of! his! Zion! has! the! right! to! dictate! about! everything! connected!
with!the!building!up!of!Zion,!yes!even!to!the!ribbons!the!women!
wear;!and!any!person!who!denies!it!is!ignorant!all!such!are!des;
titute!of!the!spirit!of!revelation!and!enjoy!not!the!Spirit!of!Christ.3!
President!Young!said!all!truth!is!found!in!the!LDS!religion:!
There! is! not! a! truth! on! earth! or! in! heaven,! that! is! not! em;
braced!in!Mormonism.4!
Since!all!truth!can!be!found!in!the!church,!there!is!no!reason!
to!question!church!teachings.!Apostle!N.!Eldon!Tanner5!said:!
When!the!Prophet!speaks!the!debate!is!over.6!
Apostle!Dallin!H.!Oaks!said:!
It! is! one! thing! to! depreciate! a! person! who! exercises! corpo;
rate!power!or!even!government!power.!It!is!quite!another!thing!to!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!February!3,!1867,!Journal!of!Discourses!Vol.!11.!The!Journal!of!Discourses!(hereaf;
ter!referred!to!as!JD)!spans!twenty;six!volumes!and!is!the!single!largest!collection!
of!LDS!leaders!discourses!available.!It!was!originally!endorsed!by!the!First!Presi;
dency!(JD!Vol.!1!p.!6)!and!Apostle!George!Q.!Cannon!said,!The!Journal!of!Discourses!
deservedly! ranks! as! one! of! the! standard! works! of! the! Church,! and! every! right;
minded!Saint!will!certainly!welcome!with!joy!every!Number!as!it!comes!forth!from!
the!press.!(Preface,!JD!Vol.!8.)!Most!church!members!today!ignore!it.!All!twenty;
six!volumes!can!be!read!for!free!at!http://www.journalofdiscourses.org.!
4!July!24,!1853,!JD!Vol.!1.!
5!Because!Latter;day!Saints!sustain!all!members!of!the!Quorum!of!the!Twelve!and!
the!First!Presidency!as!prophets,!seers!and!revelators,!I!will!quote!from!both!apos;
tles!and!church!presidents.!
6!Ensign,!August!1979,!p.!2;3.!
3

!
4!

T HOU! S HALT! Q UESTION !

criticize!or!depreciate!a!person!for!the!performance!of!an!office!to!
which!he!or!she!has!been!called!of!God.!It! does! not! matter! that!
the!criticism!is!true!As!Apostle!George!F.!Richards,!President!of!
the! Council! of! the! Twelve,! said! in! a! conference! address! in! April!
1947,!when!we!say!anything!bad!about!the!leaders!of!the!Church,!
whether!true!or!false,!we!tend!to!impair!their!influence!and!their!
usefulness!and!are!thus!working!against!the!Lord!and!his!cause.7!
LDS!leaders!teach!that!facts!can!be!destructive;!only!church;
approved!truth!is!worthy!of!study.!Apostle!Boyd!K.!Packer!said:!
There! is! a! temptation! for! the! writer! or! the! teacher! of!
Church!history!to!want!to!tell!everything,!whether!it!is!worthy!or!
faith;promoting!or!not.!Some!things!that!are!true!are!not!very!
useful.8!
This! attitude! of! non;questioning! eventually! began! to! bother!
me.!It!seemed!to!fly!in!the!face!of!intellectual!integrity,!which!re;
quires!that!we!treat!all!evidence!equally!whether!it!confirms!our!
beliefs!or!not.!Eventually!I!concluded!that!my!religion,!if!it!was!to!
be!worth!anything,!must!be!questioned!in!the!same!way!I!would!
question!any!other!source.!!
This!is!easier!said!than!done.!My!background!in!neuroscience!
and!psychology!taught!me!that!our!brains!often!sabotage!us!in!our!
search!for!truth.!We!all!suffer!from!two!biases!that!interfere!with!
our! intellectual! integrity.! The! first! is! confirmation! bias,! which! is!
the! tendency! to! favor! information! that! confirms! our! preconcep;

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7!"Reading! Church! History,"! CES! Doctrine! and! Covenants! Symposium,! Brigham!
Young!University!(hereafter!referred!to!as!BYU),!August!16,!1985.!BYU!is!a!private!
university!owned!and!operated!by!the!church.!Its!largest!campus!is!in!Provo,!Utah!
with!additional!campuses!in!Idaho!and!Hawaii.!
8!Fifth! Annual! Church! Educational! System! Religious! Educators! Symposium,! Au;
gust! 22,! 1981;! also! printed! in! Boyd! K.! Packer,! Let! Not! Your! Heart! Be! Troubled,!
Bookcraft,! 1991,! p.! 106.! Packer! further! explained! this! teaching! to! a! prospective!
history!professor!at!BYU:!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.!(Faithful!History:!Essays!on!Writing!
Mormon!History,!edited!by!George!D.!Smith,!Signature!Books,!1992,!p.!76.)!!

!
The!Importance!of!Questioning!

5!

tions! and! to! ignore! information! that! threatens! those! preconcep;

tions.9!
The!effects!of!confirmation!bias!can!be!powerful.!In!an!exper;
iment! conducted! by! psychologist! David! L.! Rosenham,10!eight!vol;
unteers! (pseudopatients)! went! to! various! psychiatric! hospitals!
around! the! country! and! complained! of! hearing! strange! voices,!
even!though!each!volunteer!was!in!perfect!mental!health.!Besides!
giving! false! names! and! occupations,! and! complaining! about! the!
voices,!the!volunteers!were!honest!about!their!lives.!All!but!one!of!
the! pseudopatients! was! identified! as! schizophrenic! and! the! re;
maining!individual!was!diagnosed!with!manic;depressive!psycho;
sis.!Each!was!admitted!to!his!or!her!respective!hospital.!
Immediately!after!being!accepted!the!pseudopatients!stopped!
imitating!symptoms,!told!their!doctors!they!no!longer!heard!voic;
es!and!waited!to!see!how!long!it!would!take!for!the!staff!to!realize!
they!were!not!actually!insane.!The!staff!never!noticed.!In!fact,!the!
doctors!and!nurses!would!interpret!the!pseudopatients!perfectly!
normal!behavior!as!symptoms!of!their!insanity.!If!a!pseudopatient!
arrived!early!to!the!cafeteria,!it!was!listed!in!their!medical!record!
as! a! symptom! of! compulsive! madness.! When! one! pseudopatient!
began! keeping! a! journal,! the! nurse! wrote,! Patient! engages! in!
writing!behavior,!and!identified!it!as!a!sign!of!mental!illness.!Eve;
rything! the! pseudopatients! did! was! interpreted! through! the! lens!
of!mental!illness.11!!
After! an! average! of! 19! days! and! once! for! as! long! as! 52! days!
(these!were!very!dedicated!volunteers),!the!pseudopatients!were!
determined! to! be! still! insane,! but! in! remission.! None! were! re;
leased! until! they! admitted! they! were! mentally! ill! and! agreed! to!
take!strong!antipsychotic!medication!(which!they!secretly!flushed!
down! the! toilet).! When! Dr.! Rosenham! visited! each! hospital! and!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias.!
!David!L.!Rosenham,!On!Being!Sane!in!Insane!Places,!Science,!January!19,!1973.!
http://psychrights.org/articles/rosenham.htm.!
11 !Many!of!the!real!patients!at!the!hospital!were!not!so!easily!fooled.!One!of!them!
said!to!a!pseudopatient,!Youre!not!crazy.!Youre!a!journalist!checking!up!on!the!
hospital.!
9

10

!
6!

T HOU! S HALT! Q UESTION !

told! the! staff! about! his! little! experiment,! those! who! had! treated!
the! pseudopatients! refused! to! believe! the! truth! and! insisted! that!
the! pseudopatients! were! crazy.! Even! when! faced! with! the! facts,!
these! intelligent! and! educated! medical! professionals! had! great!
difficulty!accepting!facts!that!contradicted!their!biases.!!
We!like!to!think!only!other!people!suffer!from!these!silly!bias;
es! and! never! ourselves.! However,! all! are! subject! to! the! effects! of!
confirmation!bias!and!this!bias!can!lead!to!many!unfortunate!real;
world!consequences.!If!a!teachers!first!impression!of!a!student!is!
that! the! student! is! a! slow! learner,! the! teacher! will! consider! that!
individual! a! dullard! and! dismiss! as! a! fluke! any! evidence! that! the!
child! might! be! intelligent.! If! a! person! views! a! minority! as! pos;
sessing! certain! unfavorable! characteristics,! that! person! will! con;
tinue! to! see! members! of! that! minority! in! a! negative! light!
regardless!of!evidence!to!the!contrary.!
The!second!bias!is!ownership!bias.!Ownership!bias!is!the!ten;
dency!to!assign!a!value!to!something!we!own!that!is!significantly!
greater! than! the! items! actual! worth.! Ownership! bias! is! experi;
enced! not! only! when! we! consider! our! physical! possessions! but!
also!our!ideas!and!beliefs.!We!love!our!own!viewpoints!and!hold!
them!to!be!more!valuable!and!less!prone!to!error!than!they!really!
are.!We!have!trouble!letting!go!of!our!assumptions,!so!instead!we!
make! infallible! idols! of! our! beliefs.! Our! ideas! devolve! into! dog;
mastale!and!unchangingand!become!a!hindrance!to!our!men;
tal!and!spiritual!progression.!As!with!confirmation!bias,!we!are!all!
subject!to!ownership!bias.!!
In!order!to!maintain!our!intellectual!integrity,!we!must!active;
ly! strive! to! counterbalance! our! biases.! That! is! why! I! question.! I!
found!that!I!must!approach!my!own!beliefs!with!the!same!critical!
eye! I! use! when! approaching! all! other! beliefs.! If! we! are! really! in;
terested!in!truth,!we!must!judge!our!beliefs!by!the!same!standard!
of!proof!we!use!when!judging!the!beliefs!of!others.!!
A!systematic!approach!to!identifying!truth!is!called!the!scien;
tific!method:!we!ask!a!question,!study!everything!we!can!find!that!
pertains! to! the! question,! formulate! a! hypothesis,! compare! it! to!
alternative!hypotheses!and!rigorously!test!each!one,!reevaluate!if!
!

!
The!Importance!of!Questioning!

7!

necessary,!and!make!a!conclusion.!No!idea!is!above!question!and!
there!should!always!be!an!exploration!of!alternatives.!This!model!
goes! against! our! natural! inclinations.! It! teaches! that! in! order! to!
prove! something! correct,! we! must! spend! at! least! as! much! time!
seeking! information! that! might! disconfirm! our! ideas! as! we! do!
seeking!information!to!prove!ourselves!right.!But!when!we!have!a!
belief,! we! tend! to! focus! exclusively! on! evidence! that! supports! it.!
The!scientific!method!demands!much!more!of!us.!If!a!hypothesis!
produces! a! single! incorrect! conclusion! or! failed! prediction,! the!
hypothesis!must!be!abandoned!or!modified.!!
Conversely,!if!a!theory!does!meet!this!high!bar,!we!are!obliged!
to!accept!it,! no! matter! how! counterintuitive! the! solution.!For! ex;
ample,! research! shows! that! broccoli,! despite! tasting! like! rotting!
Satan;weeds,! is! good! for! us.! So! I! eat! broccoli,! regardless! of! my!
biases!against!those!disgusting!little!trees.!If!I!were!to!ignore!the!
evidence!and!continued!to!pretend!that!broccoli!was!as!unhealthy!
as!its!taste!suggests,!I!would!certainly!be!free!to!do!so,!but!I!would!
have! to! acknowledge! that! I! was! less! interested! in! fact! and! more!
concerned!with!protecting!my!safe,!familiar!biases.!!
Despite!its!name,!we!do!not!use!the!scientific!method!only!for!
disciplines!commonly!labeled!hard!science,!like!biology!or!phys;
ics.!We!use!the!scientific!method!to!distinguish!between!fact!and!
fiction! in! every! sphere! of! human! knowledge! where! facts! exist
from! cosmology! to! cookingexcept! for! one:! religious! belief.! For!
some!reason,!when!religion!is!involved,!we!throw!the!model!and!
our!intellectual!integrity!out!the!window,!often!without!even!real;
izing!we!are!doing!so.!We!bend!over!backward!to!avoid!contradic;
tory! evidence! and! accept! even! the! most! strained! explanations! to!
prevent!ourselves!from!thinking,!even!for!a!moment,!that!some!of!
our!religious!ideas!might!be!wrong.!
It!is!impossible!to!completely!overcome!our!innate!biases,!but!
intellectual!integrity!demands!that!we!try.!I!encourage!you!to!put!
the!scientific!method!to!use!as!you!read.!I!will!argue!that!even!if!
the! church! is! true,! many! LDS! doctrines! that! we! have! been! told!
come! from! God! are! actually! the! doctrines! of! men! and! should! be!
discarded.!This!can!be!a!hard!teaching,!so!keep!a!watchful!eye!on!
!

!
8!

T HOU! S HALT! Q UESTION !

your!biases.!Are!you!approaching!your!own!beliefs!as!critically!as!
you! would! approach! the! beliefs! of! another?! Are! you! reading! to!
learn!or!do!you!find!yourself,!even!against!your!will,!brushing!past!
the!difficult!questions!I!pose?!
Thomas!Hunt!Morgan,!who!in!the!early!20th!century!won!the!
Nobel!Prize!for!his!studies!in!genetic!heritability,!said,!The!inves;
tigator! must! cultivate! also! a! skeptical! state! of! mind! toward! all!
hypothesesespecially!his!ownand!be!ready!to!abandon!them!
the! moment! the! evidence! points! the! other! way.! When! I! placed!
the! same! burden! of! proof! on! my! own! religion! as! I! placed! on! all!
others,! I! found! that! many! church! doctrines! failed! to! present! an!
accurate! picture! of! reality! and! sometimes! encouraged! distinctly!
unchristlike! attitudes! toward! others.! Eventually! I! set! aside! the!
exhausting! mental! calisthenics! required! to! believe! that! all! LDS!
doctrine! comes! from! God.! The! more! I! learned,! the! less! divine!
many!of!the!churchs!teachings!appeared.!
Though!my!pilgrimage!has!led!me!to!the!conclusion!that!The!
Church!of!Jesus!Christ!of!Latter;day!Saints!will!not!be!a!part!of!my!
beliefs,! I! am! not! anti;Mormon.! I! hold! no! anger! or! bitterness! to;
ward!the!church.12!I!credit!the!religion!for!much!of!my!past!hap;
piness! and! I! continue! to! see! good! in! it.! I! love! the! family;friendly!
teachings!of!the!church!and!its!lessons!on!the!importance!of!sacri;
fice!and!self;sufficiency.!I!still!have!an!affinity!for!funeral!potatoes,!
green!Jell;O!and!The!Princess!Bride.13!!
Like! many! who! grew! up! LDS,! I! am! a! seminary! graduate.14!I!
served!an!honorable!full;time!mission!when!I!turned!nineteen.15!I!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12 !None! of! the! contributors! to! this! book! hold! anti;Mormon! sentiments.! Most! are!
LDS,!but!those!who!chose!to!leave!the!church!(as!I!did)!look!back!on!their!time!as!
members!favorably.!
13 !All! three! are! fun! quirks! of! LDS! culture.! Especially! prevalent! among! the! Utah;
based!Latter;day!Saints!of!my!generation!is!a!rabid!passion!for!The!Princess!Bride,!
which!is!treated!almost!as!holy!film.!I!have!no!idea!why.!
14 !Many! LDS! teenagers! go! to! seminary,! a! four;year! program! during! high! school!
that!includes!a!religion!class!each!semester.!
15 !LDS!young!men!are!encouraged!to!serve!a!mission!at!age!nineteen.!It!is!volun;
tary!and!in!most!cases!the!costs!of!the!mission!are!paid!entirely!by!the!missionary!
and! his! family.! Missionaries! could! be! sent! anywhere! on! earth! and! might! have! to!

!
The!Importance!of!Questioning!

9!

took! my! mission! seriously,! worked! hard! and! still! look! back! on! it!
fondly.!I!am!a!graduate!of!Brigham!Young!University!(BYU),!a!pri;
vate!institution!owned!and!operated!by!the!church.!I!have!previ;
ously! written! and! published! an! LDS! doctrinal! book! on! Christs!
Second!Coming!and!was!a!youth!fireside!speaker!for!years.16!I!was!
married! in! the! temple.! I! was! a! hold;to;the;rod,17!center;of;the;
road,!straight;laced!obedient!Mormon.!!
I! did! not! distance! myself! from! my! former! religion! because! I!
was!bitter!or!I!sinned!or!I!was!offended!or!I!thought!too!much.18!I!
was! startled! when! some! of! my! friends! claimed! the! real! reason! I!
left!was!due!to!one!of!the!motives!above,!so! I!will!risk!repeating!
myself!for!claritys!sake:!I!am!not!bitter!or!angry!or!anything!like!
unto!it,!I!did!not!sin,19!I!did!not!take!offense!at!anything!or!anyone!
and!I!did!not!study!my!way!out!of!the!church.!(My!choice!was!just!
as!much!a!matter!of!the!heart!as!the!head.)!
My!decision!worked!for!me,!but!I!am!not!interested!in!spark;
ing! an! exodus! of! disaffected! church! members.! I! will! not! try! to!
convince!anyone!to!leave!his!or!her!religion!and!there!is!nothing!
in!these!pages!suggesting!such!an!action.!I!will!not!write!anything!
against! God! or! Christ.! My! objective! is! not! to! tear! down! testimo;
nies! of! Jesus! or! of! eternal! life;! I! think! such! testimonies! can! be!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
learn!any!language!(they!do!not!have!a!say!in!where!they!are!sent).!They!serve!for!
two!years,!twelve!hours!a!day,!six!days!a!week,!with!one!day!off!as!a!preparation!
day.! Thousands! of! young! men! become! missionaries! every! year.! Young! women!
may!serve!as!well,!but!it!is!not!expected!and!women!must!wait!until!they!are!twen;
ty;one!years!old!to!apply.!
16 !Firesides!are!special!programsoften!for!youth,!but!they!could!be!for!anyone
that! take! members! above! and! beyond! the! regular! three;hour! block! of! Sunday!
church!meetings.!They!are!usually!held!on!weekdays!and!generally!include!musi;
cal! numbers! and! a! speaker! who! teaches! for! about! an! hour.! My! topic! was! Joseph!
Smith,!Mormonisms!founder.!
17 !A!phrase!from!the!Book!of!Mormon!used!to!describe!stalwart!followers!of!God.!
18 !That! last! excuse! is! popular! among! Latter;day! Saints! and! especially! ironic! con;
sidering,!The!glory!of!God!is!intelligence.!(Doctrine!and!Covenants!93:36.)!
19 !I!was!not!perfect!by!any!stretch!of!the!imagination,!but!I!was!an!honest!temple!
recommend! holder! until! the! day! I! decided! to! no! longer! be! a! part! of! the! church,!
after!which!I!stopped!using!my!recommend!by!choice.!You!thought!I!was!going!to!
hide!some!juicy!sins!in!this!footnote,!didnt!you?!
!

!
10!

T HOU! S HALT! Q UESTION !

quite!moving.!What!I!will!do,!in!the!spirit!of!the!Socratic!method,!
is! invite! you! to! think! carefully! about! some! of! the! beliefs! we! as;
sume! come! from! God! and! how! you! arrived! at! those! beliefs.! By!
doing! so,! my! hope! is! that! we! can! challenge! those! teachings! that!
are! likely! to! be! of! men! rather! than! God,! gain! new! insights! into!
what!we!know!and!let!go!of!what!we!merely!think!we!know.!
I! hope! this! book! fosters! a! greater! understanding! of! the! doc;
trines!and!many!contrasting!viewpoints!held!by!Latter;day!Saints,!
an! increased! desire! to! question! and! challenge! ones! biases,! and!
the!courage!to!set!aside!doctrines!of!men!that!limit!our!personal!
growth!and!our!ability!to!show!compassion!to!others.!!
You!may!not!find!yourself!bubbling!with!glee!at!the!thought!of!
using! your! intellectual! integrity! to! sandblast! your! biases.! Like! a!
long,!hard!scrub!after!a!week!spent!camping,!the!process!can!ini;
tially!feel!a!bit!painful.!You!neednt!rush.!Take!your!time,!consider!
each!subject!carefully!and!only!continue!when!you!decide!you!are!
ready! for! more.! But! please! do! continue! to! the! end! of! the! book.! I!
trust! the! journey! will! be! worth! any! temporary! discomfort! you!
might!feel.!!
I!believe!my!new!convictions!have!made!me!a!more!generous!
and!thoughtful!person.!I!enjoy!great!peace!and!have!never!been!so!
genuinely!happy.!I!would!like!to!share!why!that!is,!why!I!question,!
and!how!I!arrived!at!what!I!now!believe.!Also,!like!most!people,!I!
want! to! be! understood.! I! hope! that! by! reading! this! book! Latter;
day!Saints!and!others!may!understand!former!Mormons!like!my;
self! a! little! bettereven! if! you! dont! necessarily! agree! with! us
and!come!to!see!that!we!are!not!the!spiritually!degenerate!apos;
tates!the!church!sometimes!makes!us!out!to!be.!!
Enjoy!the!ride!!