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Thread: My Take on Why Mormons Become Athiests

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  1. #1
    Sir
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    Default My Take on Why Mormons Become Athiests

    Something that we keep seeing on boards like this one from critics of Mormonism is the idea that Mormonism is not true or false based on anything other than Mormonism. The critics use this as an excuse to refuse having an actualy discussion or dialogue about faith or Jesus Christ. So whenever a critic is asked to engage in an actual discussion, meaning they also answer questions about THEIR positions and beliefs, they hide behind this self-made cloak to avoid sharing their beliefs of what they believe to be true.

    The critics seem to think that, since Mormonism is either true or not regardless of the critcs' faith, that they are not obligated to share their faith. But if the critics' faith is true (which obviously they believe it is), then by nit sharing it and presenting something better for the LDS to accept and leave Mormonism, they are not really doing any Christian service or witnessing for Jesus Christ. For them, the end is to get someone out of Mormonism but not to get them to follow Jesus like they do. Now I realize the critics' response will be that in order for them to find the "real Jesus" the Mormon needs to have their current paradigm transformed and so they have to tear down that paradigm. But that is simply a rouse to avoid actually sharing with the LDS why THEIR beliefs are the correct way.

    The most prolific critics that post here have actually professed that they are not here to discuss whether Mormonism is true or not, but rather to ask questions of Mormons and then sit high on their loft and scoffing at the Mormon's answers and claiming that whatever answer is given is a sign of the mental deficiency that is in the minds of LDS people. So much for bringing people closer to Jesus!!

    Then you have the other MO of the critics that say, "I'm not here to discuss MY faith. Your faith-claims are not determined by mine." But they don't seem to realize that if their own faith is not sufficient to share and hopefully (in their eyes) replace the LDS faith, then what good is it to tear down the LDS faith without replacing it with what they believe is better, superior, and true?

  2. #2
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir View Post
    Something that we keep seeing on boards like this one from critics of Mormonism is the idea that Mormonism is not true or false based on anything other than Mormonism.
    Is Mormonism true or false based on what I believe OR is it true or false independent of what I believe?

    (BTW I find it odd that you of all people would make this complaint since you rarely try to defend what you believe)

  3. #3
    Sir
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    Is Mormonism true or false based on what I believe OR is it true or false independent of what I believe?
    Your need to only respond with your own questions, and the question you are posing, is exactly the point I was making.

    Thank you.

    And for the record, it is true in spite of your own beliefs. The point being that since you deny that Mormonism is true, your only MO is to tear it down while refusing to actually engage the Mormon in a dialogue of the beliefs you believe are true. Actually, kind of a selfish thing, don't you think? To believe you have the truth and to refuse to share it with others in lieu of simply telling others why you think they are wrong? Humph...

  4. #4
    Billyray
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    Here is a post by Theo 1689 from another board that deals with this subject so I am reprinting it here because it is relevant to your OP

    Theo 1689

    There's something called a "red herring" fallacy. It's when someone wishes to dodge a topic by throwing out something completely unrelated, hoping people will be more interested in following that thought than in actually engaging the actual topic, in just the same way that an escaped fugitive might throw out a "red herring" to try to confuse the tracking dogs, and getting them off the scent. "Calvinism" is just one of many "red herrings" Mormons throw around to try to avoid actually defending their own beliefs.

    And that's the point in that other thread.

    Mormonism gets challenged, and Mormons throw out "But Calvinism!", as if that solves anything. But there are those such as Martureo, who don't believe in Calvinism, and so your red herring demonstrates nothing, and the challenge to Mormonism remains undefended.

    And then Mormonism gets challenged again, and Mormons throw out, "But the Trinity!", as if that solves anything. But there are those such as atheists, Muslims, and Jehovah's Witnesses, who reject the Trinity but still know that Mormonism is wrong, and so your red herring demonstrates nothing, and the challenge to Mormonism remains undefended.

    --------------------------------------

    That's why we constantly bring up two constant truisms:

    1) Mormons have no defense of Mormonism against atheism, since they need another religion to "counterattack", as a red herring;

    2) Attacking another religion doesn't make Mormonism true.

  5. #5
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snow Patrol View Post
    It is a cl***ic example of those who are trying to justify their own decision to leave something even though their new home is not completely fulfilling.
    Does a person who leaves Mormonism for any reason make Mormonism true or false?

  6. #6
    Sir
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    Here is the trick which you must have missed which is really just a diversion that happens all of the time with you guys.
    Going back to my example, when a critic claims the Book of Mormon is not from God because it had 4000+ changes, and then the Mormon asks the critic if that means (according to their logic) that the Bible is not from God since it has had 100,000+ changes, billyray wants to call that a "little trick" or a "red herring". The problem is billy just said a red herring is "when someone wishes to dodge a topic by throwing out something completely unrelated, hoping people will be more interested in following that thought than in actually engaging the actual topic" And yet the topic is not unrelated at all. In fact, it is the SAME topic, just being asked in reverse. But critics, realizing that their logic is one of scorched-earth, have no other choice but to cry "We're not here to talk about MY beliefs".

  7. #7
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir View Post
    Going back to my example, when a critic claims the Book of Mormon is not from God because it had 4000+ changes, and then the Mormon asks the critic if that means (according to their logic) that the Bible is not from God since it has had 100,000+ changes, billyray wants to call that a "little trick" or a "red herring".
    How does this help you with a Muslm or an atheist who doesn't believe the Bible?

  8. #8
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir View Post
    the Bible is not from God since it has had 100,000+ changes,
    BTW this statement shows your complete ignorance about the Bible just so you know.

  9. #9
    Sir
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    BTW this statement shows your complete ignorance about the Bible just so you know.
    Oh....so you are of the opinion that the Bible has NOT had 100,000 of changes to it.

    That's fine.

    Facts are stubborn things, though.

    But I know that you simply had the need to make ad hominem attacks, you know, that thing you rail on others about. No sweat.

  10. #10
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir View Post
    Oh....so you are of the opinion that the Bible has NOT had 100,000 of changes to it.
    mod edit There has not been 100,000 CHANGES in the Bible.

  11. #11
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir View Post
    We know you really can't help yourself to the ad homs, billyray. Just please don't ever criticize others for namecalling, as you so often do.
    When you say silly stuff like there have been 100,000 changes in the Bible what else can I say. BTW what you meant to say is that there are textual variations in the m****cripts not changes in the Bible.

  12. #12
    Libby
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    When you say silly stuff like there have been 100,000 changes in the Bible what else can I say. BTW what you meant to say is that there are textual variations in the m****cripts not changes in the Bible.
    How many changes do you think have been made to the Bible, Billy? I have seen numbers, but I'd have to look it up again. Pretty sure they number in the thousands. A lot of changes have been made.

    What always impresses me is that Christians use the same reasoning for those changes that LDS use, but when LDS do it, they are called "excuses".

  13. #13
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Libby View Post
    How many changes do you think have been made to the Bible, Billy? I have seen numbers, but I'd have to look it up again. Pretty sure they number in the thousands. A lot of changes have been made.
    What he meant to say is that are are 100,000 textual variants in the thousands of ancient m****cripts for the NT. The more m****cripts you have the more variants you will have. There are not 100,000 changes that have taken place in the Bible itself.

  14. #14
    Libby
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    What he meant to say is that are are 100,000 textual variants in the thousands of ancient m****cripts for the NT. The more m****cripts you have the more variants you will have. There are not 100,000 changes that have taken place in the Bible itself.
    What's the difference between a "change" and a "variant"? Do the variants have, basically, the same meaning? So, you would only count actual changes, right?

  15. #15
    Libby
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    TEXTUAL VARIANT: A version of a text that has differences in wording or structure compared with other texts, especially one with missing lines or extra lines added. In some cases, textual variants reflect the difference between an author's early version or rough draft of a work and a later version or polished final product.

  16. #16
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Libby View Post
    TEXTUAL VARIANT: A version of a text that has differences in wording or structure compared with other texts, especially one with missing lines or extra lines added. In some cases, textual variants reflect the difference between an author's early version or rough draft of a work and a later version or polished final product.
    If you made hundreds of hand written copies from an original document you would likely have hundreds if not thousands of variants. But it would be highly likely that you would be able to determine the original simply by comparing the various copies despite having hundreds if not thousands of variants.

  17. #17
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Libby View Post
    Okay, that's kind of what I thought.

    Really, this change in the Book of Mormon, from "white" to "pure" could be considered a variant...yes?
    With the Book of Mormon you have zero ancient m****cripts that pre date Joseph, which screams fraud right off the bat. Second in the case with the Book of Mormon you have an original document via Joseph so you don't have any variants. Any changes would be an alteration from the original m****cript.

  18. #18
    Libby
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    With the Book of Mormon you have zero ancient m****cripts that pre date Joseph, which screams fraud right off the bat. Second in the case with the Book of Mormon you have an original document via Joseph so you don't have any variants. Any changes would be an alteration from the original m****cript.
    Not sure about your logic, here, Billy.

    The original Bible m****cripts had zero "ancient m****cripts". Does that mean they were "frauds", when they were first written?

  19. #19
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Libby View Post
    Billyray
    With the Book of Mormon you have zero ancient m****cripts that pre date Joseph, which screams fraud right off the bat.

    Not sure about your logic, here, Billy.

    The original Bible m****cripts had zero "ancient m****cripts". Does that mean they were "frauds", when they were first written?
    Libby do you honestly not know what I am talking about? (mod edit)

    How many ancient m****cripts for the Book of Mormon do we have that pre date Joseph Smith? None. Why is that do you think?

  20. #20
    Libby
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    Libby do you honestly not know what I am talking about? (mod edit)

    How many ancient m****cripts for the Book of Mormon do we have that pre date Joseph Smith? None. Why is that do you think?
    I think that you probably think it is because Joseph (or one or more of his cohorts) actually wrote the Book of Mormon. I certainly wouldn't disregard that, as a possibility.

  21. #21
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by Libby View Post
    I think that you probably think it is because Joseph (or one or more of his cohorts) actually wrote the Book of Mormon.
    Why do you think that not a shred of ancient writings have surfaced that would confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon in the Americas?

  22. #22
    Libby
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    Why do you think that not a shred of ancient writings have surfaced that would confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon in the Americas?
    I don't know. And, any answer to that question is speculation.

  23. #23
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    Libby, back to the original question of "why Mormons become atheists"--I can tell you my take. As I have looked at the arguments against Mormonism, if I do a little research, I find that those same arguments destroy Christianity and even more so "evangelicalism" as evangelicalism has the flimsiest of foundations (but lets not get into that).

    So, I start researching the Bible and the background of the Bible and I come across information from scholars not only noting the changes, but also when some of these changes were thought to come about. Well, some of these things makes one question the authenticity of the Bible authors all together, truth be told.

    What Billyray tries to shrug off as "variations" in text, can be found to be down right huge changes and if you really study up--you can even find that the basic theology has changed over time.

    This isn't my take on it, these are the readings that I come across from scholarly journals, people with their doctorates in divinity, etc.

    So, then I have to ask myself--is ANY of this true? What I have to fall back on is my own personal spiritual experience coupled with my life experiences. Ultimately, I have to say, what I am taught on the basics is true and so I have to ***ume that the source I am learning this from is true.

    I will give an example. In the Bible (as well as in Mormonism), we are taught that fornication and adultery is wrong and an offense to God. Now, there is a lot of pull when you are dating and a teenager to let yourself give into the temptations of the body. So, how did religion play out for me. Well, first I had faith that what I was taught was true. Second, I believed that there was a God and God had a Son who atoned for my sins. Third, God was there to help me both resist temptation and to be forgiven for sin.

    Well, the way this worked is that I did see this work in my life. I saw that I could resist temptation. Also, when I younger and had an incident in which I was somewhat molested (I say somewhat because it was a one time incident and not a lot happned), I prayed and received an answer which was to go talk to my mother about it. I had a lot of guilt around the incident. I did as I was instructed to in my prayer and spoke to my mother. She explained it was not my fault and then took steps to protect me. I prayed again and I knew I had followed the counsel of the Holy Ghost. I understood the sweetness of a loving God. As I dated, I had already learned the guilt ***ociated with unappropriate sexual behaviors and so I was very careful regarding who I would date and what I would allow (I never even so much as allowed a guy to french kiss me). Now I have been married for many years and I see the result of what following the wise counsel of the prophets throughout the ages leads to---a very trusting marriage and ***urance of your own self control as well as your spouse's ability to self control. This brings happiness not only for me, but also for my children who have been raised in a loving, stable home.

    Okay, so--what does it matter regarding chas***y? Well, because I can look at all the talk around the Bible or the Book of Mormon and ask myself if any of it is true OR I can look to my own life, my own spiritual experiences and see that what I have been taught is true. As those spiritual experiences have grown, I can then have confidence that what these prophets teach that I have not had first hand experience with is also true--that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and that He died for me and that I will raise from the dead and that I will be with Him and my family again. This means a lot to me. And so I reject all the historians (whether for the Bible or for the Book of Mormon) who would cast doubt on my testimony.

    That is why when I am asked for proof, I say--my life; because that is the proof that matters to me.
    I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)--Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

  24. #24
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    As I have looked at the arguments against Mormonism, if I do a little research, I find that those same arguments destroy Christianity and even more so "evangelicalism" as evangelicalism has the flimsiest of foundations (but lets not get into that).
    The teachings of Mormonism are not consistent with the teachings of the Bible J. So when looking at it from a Christian perspective it is laughable that you would call Christianity and specifically the Protestant position as flimsy.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    The teachings of Mormonism are not consistent with the teachings of the Bible J. So when looking at it from a Christian perspective it is laughable that you would call Christianity and specifically the Protestant position as flimsy.
    And the rest of my post---why I believe what I do and why some Mormons become athiests---

    So, I start researching the Bible and the background of the Bible and I come across information from scholars not only noting the changes, but also when some of these changes were thought to come about. Well, some of these things makes one question the authenticity of the Bible authors all together, truth be told.

    What Billyray tries to shrug off as "variations" in text, can be found to be down right huge changes and if you really study up--you can even find that the basic theology has changed over time.

    This isn't my take on it, these are the readings that I come across from scholarly journals, people with their doctorates in divinity, etc.

    So, then I have to ask myself--is ANY of this true? What I have to fall back on is my own personal spiritual experience coupled with my life experiences. Ultimately, I have to say, what I am taught on the basics is true and so I have to ***ume that the source I am learning this from is true.

    I will give an example. In the Bible (as well as in Mormonism), we are taught that fornication and adultery is wrong and an offense to God. Now, there is a lot of pull when you are dating and a teenager to let yourself give into the temptations of the body. So, how did religion play out for me. Well, first I had faith that what I was taught was true. Second, I believed that there was a God and God had a Son who atoned for my sins. Third, God was there to help me both resist temptation and to be forgiven for sin.

    Well, the way this worked is that I did see this work in my life. I saw that I could resist temptation. Also, when I younger and had an incident in which I was somewhat molested (I say somewhat because it was a one time incident and not a lot happned), I prayed and received an answer which was to go talk to my mother about it. I had a lot of guilt around the incident. I did as I was instructed to in my prayer and spoke to my mother. She explained it was not my fault and then took steps to protect me. I prayed again and I knew I had followed the counsel of the Holy Ghost. I understood the sweetness of a loving God. As I dated, I had already learned the guilt ***ociated with unappropriate sexual behaviors and so I was very careful regarding who I would date and what I would allow (I never even so much as allowed a guy to french kiss me). Now I have been married for many years and I see the result of what following the wise counsel of the prophets throughout the ages leads to---a very trusting marriage and ***urance of your own self control as well as your spouse's ability to self control. This brings happiness not only for me, but also for my children who have been raised in a loving, stable home.

    Okay, so--what does it matter regarding chas***y? Well, because I can look at all the talk around the Bible or the Book of Mormon and ask myself if any of it is true OR I can look to my own life, my own spiritual experiences and see that what I have been taught is true. As those spiritual experiences have grown, I can then have confidence that what these prophets teach that I have not had first hand experience with is also true--that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and that He died for me and that I will raise from the dead and that I will be with Him and my family again. This means a lot to me. And so I reject all the historians (whether for the Bible or for the Book of Mormon) who would cast doubt on my testimony.

    That is why when I am asked for proof, I say--my life; because that is the proof that matters to me.
    __________________
    Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
    I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)--Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

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