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​”Old Ship Zion” is a metaphor that Brigham Young used for the Church.​He once said: “We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. ‘I am not going to stay here,’ says one; ‘I don’t believe this is the “Ship Zion.”‘ ‘But we are…

I honestly believe that the only way to stay true to the principle at the heart of Mormonism was to leave Mormonism. ​For me, the most fundamental LDS principle wasn’t the Atonement, or the plan of salvation, or revelation by the Holy Ghost. ​For me, the most fundamental principle was that truth is absolute. ​As…

​”We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.”​The thing about the second article of faith that I always valued was its concept of justice. Being punished for someone else’s sins could never be just. This is why I was so dismayed when I realized that the Atonement…

In Elder Holland’s 2009 conference talk “Safety for the Soul” he defended the Book of Mormon by saying “For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart. And still it stands.” In a way, he is right. When I was a believer this idea that the Book…

There is a foundational principle within LDS theology which, if completely embraced, must eventually carry you out of Mormonism. ​That principle is objectivity. ​In the creation story in the Book of Abraham, it says: “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an…

​As a believer, I loved the idea that this life was an opportunity to grow, and that this was the reason for the opposition we experience on earth.​As the Book of Abraham puts it:“…we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all…

Is it the Holy Ghost, or is it me? ​For me, this was the question at the foundation of my LDS worldview. At a certain point, I began to realize that my religion didn’t quite add up philosophically or morally, but I had to answer the question of the Holy Ghost. ​Was the method of…

There are three kinds of manipulation in the Book of Mormon… …well, in all the scriptures, really. But I think the story of Korihor in the 30th chapter of Alma has them all in one place. ​Manipulation #1 I would call “Believe, or else.” The whole story of Korihor is essentially an argumentum ad baculum,…

For me, outgrowing Mormonism was really a process of moving from a magic worldview to a view of reality where natural laws govern. ​As an LDS missionary in Florida back in the ’90s, I was confronted with “anti-Mormon lies” about Joseph Smith using a peep stone to find hidden objects and buried treasure. But I…