In baseball, a batting average of high .300 to .500 is considered quite good. Which is shocking considering that that means getting out more than half the time…

However… Joseph smith was presented with 4 pieces of ancient writings (that I am aware of) and currently has a batting average of .000 considering the BOM isn’t provable.

BOM - angel took the plates 0 Greek Psaltery (confirmed it was true and revealed to be fraud (0) Kinderhook plates (confirmed as fraud) 0 Book of Abraham (confirmed to not be literal translation by the church itself) 0

I can’t think of a single apologetic that actually resolves this. JS saying one is only a prophet if “he acts like one” just ain’t gonna do it. Translation should’ve been easy considering how much he’s done, and isn’t the whole point of a prophet to actually discern falsehoods ?

I could use some advice my husband and I fight and argue a few times a week about religion I’m the pimo member he’s pretty orthodox and it’s destroying our marriage we follow marriage on a tightrope and all the things....does it get better ? I don’t know how to do this anymore hes ok staying married to a pimo but I just feel like I can’t be my true self with him and wonder if I even want to stay....we have worked thru so many hard things and it surprises me how much religion has affected both of us he won’t even discuss it anymore and just gets furious every time I bring anything up help

If you were to believe in seer stones, how would you figure they worked?

Option 1: the stone has power, the person using the stone is a conduit for that power, God inspires the process.

Option 2: the stone is just a regular stone. The person using the stone has an innate power and uses the stone as a conduit. God inspired the process.

Option 3: the stone is just a regular stone. The person has no innate power other than maybe an inclination towards spiritual things. The power is with God and He uses the stone and the person as conduits to accomplish His purpose.

Option 4: some other theory!

I'm currently deconstructing, and it's been terrifying since there is no one in my personal life who has been raised in the church and left-- at least no one in my family or my in-laws. After a rough night I broke down to my husband and confessed that I no longer believed in the church, and I shared a few things that led me to that conclusion, though I tried my best not to infodump on him. he is super believing, but he will skip church with me sometimes and we never read scriptures or pray together. He held me while I cried and he told me that even if I left the church he would be happy to have me, as I am, in his life. I don't doubt that he loves me, and we have a really great relationship other than our suddenly different views on religion. Overall I felt like the conversation went pretty well, and though I could tell he was hurt, he did his best to understand me and acknowledge how hard my situation is. The part that broke my heart is I told him that I couldn’t believe in a god who would separate us based on our beliefs. He said that according to doctrine me just saying I no longer believed disqualifies me from living with him forever in eternity. I don’t blame him for saying this, because it’s literally what was taught to us our whole lives. I know he means well, and I know that’s how he feels because it’s what has been taught to him, but that sucks, doesn’t it? I feel like any god who would actually do that is manipulative, especially when the whole doctrine is based on eternal families. That’s why I’m feeling bittersweet. I love my husband and I know he loves me, but it’s hard for both of us when I’m trying to be authentic, but my authenticity endangers our whole eternal relationship, and I hate that the church makes me feel like that is my fault.

My beliefs are very nuanced and I have beliefs that don’t necessarily align with church doctrine but at the same time I like a lot of what the church offers in worship.

That said, I’ve dated those that were fine with me living my religion but didn’t want to limit sexual relations to just post marital, as well as she didn’t want to expose any of her children to the church.

I’m totally all for my children to follow their own spiritual journey but wanted to give them a fair understanding of the goodness of the church.

At the same time I’m currently seeing a girl that is very churchy and every third conversation is about the church and living that life isn’t ideal for me either because as we progress I doubt she would like to hear my doubts about doctrine, church culture, or church policy. However, I wouldn’t mind an active member (it would also make conversation with family easier), and I wouldn’t mind a like someone who understood my culture.

Obviously you all can’t make decisions for me, but maybe some of your takes can be helpful.

When I was younger my best friend was Mormon and I spent a lot of time at his house with him and his family and even went to church and mutual with then regularly.

A couple of missionaries visited me yesterday (I normally offer them to come inside and have some food, but this was the first time I was visited by sisters so I wasn't sure what the protocol for that was). We had a short and pleasant conversation and helped a neighbour catch his dog, and they gave me the info for the local church and went about their day.

It got me wondering about how it would work for an older man to join the church? If I remember correctly, men can't go on mission once they reach their mid twenties, yet I also believe men that don't go on missions aren't treated very well by the community. Does that mean men that join the church after the mission cutoff age are just setup for failure within the church?

My first observation:

Mormon doctrine unambiguously insists that God has a human body, whereas it seems most other Christian denominations hold no such rigidity towards God the Father's form. In fact, if I understand correctly, most Christians sects officially assert that God the Father is immaterial, even though he took on a physical form as Jesus.

I believe that both critic and apologist/faithful member can agree on the above representation of LDS vs other Christian beliefs.

(To be clear, this isn't a "Christianity is better" post, as I am agnostic and flatly uninterested in elevating Christianity above Mormonism)

My second observation:

Paleoanthropology (the scientific study of human evolution) has very confidently concluded that Homo sapiens' anatomy, physiology, and behaviors include many vestigial components, meaning body parts, bodily processes, and behaviors that served some essential or significant function for our evolutionary ancestors (e.g. chimps, everything that came before chimps, etc.), but provide no observable utility to Homo sapiens. Some of these vestigial components simply provide no "observable" function (meaning they might not truly be vestigial, but as far as we can tell, they are; the appendix is one example), while other vestigial components are very clearly remnants of a now redundant function (e.g. wisdom teeth and the plica semilunaris, which are a remnant of the nictitating membrane).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_vestigiality

Setting aside the vestigial components of our bodies, there are also some human traits that strike me as odd, when imagined as belonging to the physical form of ultimate cosmic divinity. The human foot for example... is very clearly just a phased out monkey paw that was optimized for bipedal walking and running. Which, for me at least, forces me to view an anthropomorphic God as a monkey ancestor as well... which just feels at odds with how we are supposed to see Mormon God. I don't feel like this imagery is harmonizing well enough to makes sense.

Marrying my observations into my thesis and question:

Does it strike anyone else as odd that the ultimate final form of intelligence, divinity, and cosmic perfection is this weird thing that we call the human body, covered by the fingerprints of sloppy evolutionary vestigiality (that's probably not a word but whatever) and imperfection? I can't explain why, but this just doesn't make sense to me. The human body makes a lot more sense to me when viewed as evolution "doing it's best" rather than the final product of God's perfected inherent ,or chosen, form. An amorphous or immaterial God just makes more sense to me - or at least not one with a human body.

Everything else aside, the human body just feels so arbitrary as a perfect vessel for divinity.

Preemptive counter-arguments:

• I am not talking about disease, fragility, or anything relating to the common "we live in a fallen world" retort. I am talking about the human body in its most perfect possible state, which still has vestigial components and strange "design" choices.
• I am presuposing that we all accept evolution to some degree or another. I believe that most members nowadays accept human creation through evolution, in some way, shape, or form; that perhaps God used evolution to facilitate the creation of humanity. If you don't accept the overwhelming evidence that we are descendants of apes (to some degree)... then feel free to say so, but this post isn't for you.
• I don't view this as some sort of "testimony nuke". I'm sure there exists some creative ways around this, but it does initially strike me as problematic.

If you listen to GC do you think its coming from God?

When you read CFM, do you think this is Gods message for me this week?

When the church makes a statement, do you feel like you should align your views?

Why do you feel this way?

If the answer to the title is yes.

Do you think the church goes too far in this leverage of faith?

If the answer to the title is no.

Would you mind explaining the no answer?

Why does the church teach that you have to be married to get to the celestial kingdom, but Jesus didn’t get married to even 1 woman, let alone multiple? According to Mormon doctrine regarding polygamy and requirements for heaven, The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, does not allow for JESUS to get to heaven.

I (male) am deconstructing right now, but taking it slow, to the point where I get turned off when people (apologists and critics) start to editorialize/analyze the facts - just give me the info and let me draw my own conclusions :D.

I am leaning away more and more from the church. The one thing is I would love to have my wife on this journey with me, Not necessarily to leave, but to care about what is being taught - to be informed and an active participant. She's actually fairly nuanced, doesn't believe there is one true church, but see this as the best one for her right now. She agrees with me on things, but doesn't want to follow it down to any logical conclusion - that is where she is sacred. It doesn't feel like she is eternally scared, but more "where would we go on sunday? I want help with the kids at church" as her main concerns. Those are valid concerns because they are real, but its likes the idea is okay of some of this, but not the reality. For example I could say I don't really believe the garments are necessary and she might agree with the idea/logic, but if I stop wearing them, then suddenly its like "Wait, hold on, what are you doing?"

Its like we can agree in theory on things, but the rubber doesn't really meet the road.

Part of it is we are both busy, have busy lives and a lot going on. I think she doesn't want to upset the apple cart, and doesn't want to mess with or tweak religion. but, I feel like we are backseat drivers to our spiritual lives, if that makes sense?

As a side note, we had something similar with our intimacy. She felt alot guilt with that stuff coming into our marriage, but didn't want to address it because it was uncomfortable. I finally said "lets read this book together" and try new things, and that has helped so much in our marriage, so there is positive precedence that we can push through he uncomfortable towards growth.

At the end of the day, I will do anything for her and don't want to upset the marriage, but In a way I'd love if she was at least more interested. I joke with her that we should "reengage" in the church as times because neither of us have been to the temple in years. I feel like she likes the ideas of the covenants in the temple, and likes the social aspects of the church, and something to teach our children, but feels like she is just along for the ride on some of this.

Anyways, hope I am not rambling at this point. Curious if others have had a similar experience.

Just saw another post asking when missionary service became mandatory for young men (1974 apparently), which led me to this talk, which has this famous line:

The question is frequently asked: Should every young man fill a mission? And the answer has been given by the Lord. It is “Yes.” Every young man should fill a mission.

But the part that really blew my mind was a little earlier on:

I am asking for missionaries who have been carefully indoctrinated and trained through the family and the organizations of the Church, and who come to the mission with a great desire.

I mean, you've got to hand it to Kimball for being up front about it, but holy shit. Did indoctrination have a different connotation then, or is this just crazy?!

Hey all,

I've had a fairly complicated relationship with the church for about 2 decades. For various reasons (but mostly my kids), I joined and tried to do my best. I didn't want my kids ostracized or to view me as the reason we didn't have an eternal family. At the time, I was pretty lost spiritually and was searching for something but felt like with my husband and kids being part of the church, I should just join too.

Went from full throttle, going 100 mph and being a family the ward saw every week to how I've felt now.

The temple was a complete disaster for me. Coming from a catholic background, I was told I would appreciate the ritual, etc. But I absolutely hated it. I had a panic attack within a few hours of arriving home and having ward members come and gush and basically lovebomb me knowing I and been in the temple was awful. I pushed through and did the sealing with my family a few weeks later but I haven't set foot inside since. I've also gone from wearing garments on Sunday, to wearing them just at church, to not wearing them at all, to I removed them all from my drawers as I dont see myself wearing them again.

I have no calling and have informed the bishopric I don't want a calling currently. They haven't gotten back to me as of yet.

Tithing? I know husband has it set aside but it honestly gets on my nerves to hear about it. We were doing ok financially but I do feel like since tithing started again that things are tighter. We had a slight compromise with paying on net (although not after my husband gave me the eye rolling saying of "do you want net blessings or gross blessings?"). He has it in an account and it's really hard to see the amount and know it could fully pay off some debts.

Before, I told myself and my husband that once the kids are grown, and especially if I outlived my husband, I would almost certainly not be going to the lds church.

Now, I'm not sure i can keep going for years (at least 6 years for kids) or decades. I get almost no good feelings about church anymore and I really hate the expectation that a lot of people have when itt comes to church. Like what are you wearing, what are you drinking, what's your calling, etc. My family doesn't do that at all and I really don't know what any religious denomination various people are and I'm ok with it.

My husband and I get along well. I was not a member for the majority of our marriage but since going back, I do feel like he's disappointed that I'm not super churchy. I told him not too long ago that being lds was not a part of my identity at all and he seemed almost offended bc he apparently considers it apart of his? He followed the WoW even while inactive but didn't do anything else. I know he wants to "do better" about reading scriptures, doing family prayers, etc. He doesn't really talk or practice Priesthood tasks. I have had some illnesses since going back, some pretty severe. The only time he gave me a blessing I had to ask for it (this was before I started doubting). But he doesn't offer anything readily.

I have passed some catholic churches and have felt a longing to go inside. Or just have a faith that isn't so demanding about everything. I feel stuck bc I don't know what I should do. My husband knows I'm having reservations and issues but I think he believes it's bc of some health stuff I've been dealing with. We did talk 1 time about stuff and I was really frustrated bc normally my husband is good with seeing sides but when it comes to church, he has church goggles. I didnt sign my brain over to the church when I joined and in my frustration said that if God had intended for me to not think, even with church matters, why would he give me a brain anyways?

Is it feasible or mentally healthy to keep attending with my family and just do a barebones participation? I will go to Sunday School but usually sit outside when it's RS week. But I feel like people are always trying to pry into my life and give me more responsibilities bc they think that's what people need. I'm private and have big time boundaries so that's helped me a lot but I'm not sure what else I can do or should do.

Just chatting with a co-worker about how Wednesday Christmas made the last week and a half feel like 4 weeks.

Without much thought I blurted out what if Christmas was like Thanks Giving. He added YES - last Thursday of December. Make that the case for all holidays that can be. Valentines on the second Sunday.

Can't move New Years but Halloween could be last Saturday of October.

Is this Crazy - Would Christians loose their minds. I feel like most recognize [granting Christ is real] he wasn't born on Dec 25. Sure advent calendars would have to update each year but would that be the worst of it.

How long do I have to be a member to receive the members tuition at byu-i? I’m planning on getting baptized in March. I tried googling it but I’m not getting an answer.

In Mormonism and even more so amongst Evangelicals they talk a lot about seeking Christ, accepting Christ, having faith in Christ, having a relationship with Christ etc.... What does that even mean? I find it interesting that people are so obsessed about having a "relationship" with someone they can't see, can't talk to, can't touch, who doesn't talk back etc... It just seems so odd that people are convinced this "relationship" does so much good stuff for their life. I was born and raised Mormon, BYU, mission, temple marriage etc... I always thought there were problems with Mormon truth claims and Christian claims. I pushed it aside. Later in life I went down the Mormon history rabbit hole and very quickly lost all faith. The last blinders came off and I realized I had been misled, deceived and fed a whole lot of bullshit my entire life. That the reason I had doubts was because I should have had doubts because none of it adds up and all logic/facts/evidence shows clearly it is made up. Anyway, I'm out of the Mormon Church and Christianity now and couldn't be happier with that decision. I'm totally free to follow science, actual truth and knowledge. But spending time with some Evangelical friends and they talk non stop about "having a relationship with Christ" and I just want to scream "What the F does that even mean? You are talking to someone who doesn't even exist, doesn't talk back and does shit all for you. Wake up!"

Throughout my time in LDS church, I've heard that we have celestial parents and God has a wife and all that but when asked about what she does or what role does she play, she gets dumbed down to "eh we will figure out after we pass through the veil" or "she just loves us so much". It doesn't really answer the question. Also people say in church that she is so sacred that we can't/shouldn't know her name because she would get harmed?

That makes no sense if she is a God. She can't fight back at all and what worse is how would she be harmed by her own "kids"? Is she so afraid of her own creation that she would stay in hiding and be mysterious for no reason?

Idk man, the more I think about it, the Latter day saint God's wife seems insignificant and almost like it's there so that there is "equality" in the church.

Last week I posted about the potential for nicotine as an adjunct or bridge in therapy in patients struggling with their ADHD symptoms or their ADHD medications (linked) https://www.reddit.com/r/mormon/comments/1hlxxbn/if_you_have_adhd_and_are_struggling_lets_chat/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

A few of you were interested in the articles that discuss these topics, so I've compiled a bigger list of articles discussing the potential benefits and harm reduction of Nicotine Pouches (NPs) v.s. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

Articles and summaries:

The New Nicotine Pouch Category: A Tobacco Harm Reduction Tool?

[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8887571/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8887571/)

• Pharmacokinetic research from the only study available (as of pub date 2021) concludes that NP efficacy at reducing w/d sx & reducing combustible tobacco use should be similar or better than NRT.
• Comparing 26 toxicant levels of SNUS vs NP, NPs had lower levels of 10 Harmful & Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHCs), and generally no difference could be seen between the NRT & NP products.
• Regulators are always playing catchup to evolving innovative nicotine products, therefore public information is lacking. 

A single-blind, randomized, crossover trial of the effects of a nicotine pouch on the relief of tobacco withdrawal symptoms and user satisfaction

[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19454549/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19454549/)

• Subscription article (Abstract & summaries of sections are free)
• Craving vs Time AUC was reduced by 23 points 1hr post study-drug (NP) compared to the Gum (NRT) & Placebo groups
• NP reduced irritability more than Gum (NRT)
• Temporary abstinence from tobacco: NP (21.5hr) vs NRT (2.8hrs)
• Participants found NP more “pleasant to use” & “helpful to stop smoking” significantly more than Gum (NRT) 

Pharmacokinetic Comparison of a Novel Non-tobacco-Based Nicotine Pouch (ZYN) With Conventional, Tobacco-Based Swedish Snus and American Moist Snuff

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32319528/

• Subscription article (Abstract & summaries of sections are free)
• ZYN (6 and 8 mg) deliver nicotine as quickly and to a similar extent as existing smokeless products, with no significant adverse effects.

The reinforcing effects of nicotine and stimulant medication in the everyday lives of adult smokers with ADHD: A preliminary examination

[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16497598/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16497598/)

• Subscription article (Abstract & summaries of sections are free)
• Abstract only
• Results showed that nicotine patches and stimulant medication alone and in combination reduced difficulty concentrating and core ADHD symptoms compared with placebo patch only.
• Borderline improvement in impatience and self-control was seen with nicotine patch administration primarily on day 1.
• The findings suggest that smokers with ADHD experience nicotine-related reductions in ADHD symptoms during their everyday lives.
• Blood pressure was elevated in patch users vs non-patch users (expected finding in stimulant therapies)

The double-edged nature of nicotine: toxicities and therapeutic potentials

[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/)

• First 3 sections discuss nicotine (mostly tobacco derived) harm
• Section 4: Beneficial Effects of Nicotine on the Human Body
  • Nervous system & Immune System
  • Nervous System: Alzhaimer’s, Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia, ADHD, & Major depressive disorder
  • In ADHD it reduces core symptoms
•  Patients with ADHD appear to have a higher risk of smoking and failure to quit, perhaps because of the “self-medication hypothesis.” Accordingly, patients’ active or continued exposure to cigarettes is attributed to nicotine in tobacco products that can supplement the lack of dopamine in the cortico-striatal pathway, thereby relieving symptoms. In addition, the nicotine analogs varenicline and bupropion improved ADHD-related symptoms and also supported the above hypothesis (Taylor et al., 2022). Nicotine patches and stimulant medications, alone or in combination, have been found to reduce concentration difficulties and core symptoms in patients with ADHD (Figure 9E) (Gehricke et al., 2006). Another acute nicotine treatment in patients with ADHD revealed that these patients had improved recognition memory, increased delay tolerance, and a corresponding reduction in reaction time in a stop-signal task (Potter and Newhouse, 2008). A recent study pointed out that nicotine improved two pathways involving the VTA; one normalized abnormal activity in animal models of ADHD, and the other induced atypical brain responses in animals with ADHD (Poirier et al., 2017a).

The co-use of nicotine and prescription psychostimulants: A review of their behavioral and neuropharmacological interactions

[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10361216/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10361216/)

• Trials showing Adderall & smoking tobacco use was increased didn’t factor in the chronic use of Adderall (for ADHD); except one study, which saw a decrease in smoking tobacco with chronic Adderall use (Low et al., 1984).
• Identifies the links between cognitive enhancement and symptom reduction between nicotine and Adderall to be similar.
• Identifies that nicotine can enhance Adderall effects, without adderall enhancing the effects of nicotine (Not all stimulants are alike) 

Tobacco-Free Nicotine Pouches and Their Potential Contribution to Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Scoping Review

[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10944327/](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10944327/)

• Chemical analysis
  • Tobacco-less pouches: 2 toxicants, chromium and formaldehyde, at almost undetectable levels.
  • Lozenge (NRT): 2 toxicants, nickel and chromium
  • Gum (NRT): 4 toxicants, low levels of cadmium, chromium, nickel, and lead were detected
• Chromium (an HPHC) was 5-fold more quantifiable than Zyn products (chromium almost undetectable)
• Overall, data from Back et al. [32] support the findings of Azzopardi et al. [28] in that, of the products tested, the relative exposure profile to many toxicants is likely highest for snus and lower and similar for TFNPs and NRT, respectively.

Again please reach out if you have questions. I'm on graveyards so my responses may be delayed.

This guy who I have known in my town, we have a history of texting, but he never showed any interest or made a move, and for about a year was very rude and stand offish in texts? But still would talk to me even when I presented the opportunity for him to not message me back. Anyways I eventually decide I’m tired of talking to someone who I have the driest most boring conversations with and I stop talking to him, then a couple months later he asks me out on a date and his whole demeanor has changed, he’s suddenly very nice and talkative, I said no because I was involved with someone else at the time, and I was just not interested anymore. He says okay, but he’s now joined my church, I didn’t think too much of it and I still kind of don’t, I’m happy for him that he’s been born again and has found God. But he then would ask who my boyfriend is, and asked me out on a date again a month or two later. I say no again and then he tells me he understands I am not interested in him and he gave up pursuing me and just wants to message me as friends. This was back in August, a couple weeks ago he confessed that he had feelings for me again and we got into this whole very intense conversation on how I don’t have any feelings for him at all and I’m not interested. He pours everything out and tells me I’m the girl of his dreams, the more he learns about me the more he is attracted to me, how he’s been trying to date other girls but he’s never satisfied because he compares them to me and thinks they aren’t good people. I told him I wanted to stop messaging him because this isn’t healthy, but we can still remain friends, just not friends who message every day. He agrees, and we go our separate ways. He then takes me off of his instagram, and makes a cryptic post on twitter, then deletes it. I just ignore that, then yesterday was his birthday, I told him happy birthday and he thanks me then apologizes for his behavior. I told him it’s okay and not to worry about it. He then makes another twitter post saying “if you want that girl, live a life deserving of her and she will come” and I just don’t know. I have these feelings that I don’t like when it comes to him, I don’t like how he always ignores me saying I’m not interested, how he always posts these things on his twitter. I don’t like seeing him at church. There’s a bunch more that has happened but I just wanted to state those main key points. Please help me on figuring out how to deal with boundaries and avoiding him in a Christian, Christ like way.

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me find the provenance of The Gift of the Holy Ghost in LDS theology. As a lifelong (almost 50 yrs) member, I was always taught there was a special difference that baptized LDS members had, and I am hoping someone knows or can point me to where this doctrine began? And when did it get connected with baptism into the Mormon church? Wasn't early baptism more of a statement of joining a particular sect?

I am very curious about how the LDS conception of baptism and the Holy Ghost has evolved.

I am pretty sure I remember learning that the New Testament addresses baptism as death of the natural man, into the new creature in Christ, as does LDS theology (ignoring the non-doctrinal primary songs) but I would like to follow LDS theological evolution on the topic, and find especially the early commentary about it -- unless it was all just accepted to be the same as common 19th century belief? -- in which case did/do other protestant/Christian religions also claim their baptisms give their members a special claim/relationship with the Holy Ghost?

I would very much appreciate any help!

Feeling discouraged and depressed after spending time with the in-laws for Christmas for the first time since leaving the church 9 months ago. I miss going to church, I miss God. How did you find your new church, how did you know it was right for you, and how long did it take you to transition into it? Were you uncomfortable with the new religion at the beginning or did it always click and feel "right?"

My mom just shared a video from them, and it was full of red flags that led me to look at their YouTube content. They seem to mix LDS fringe pseudo-doctrines with UFOs, crypto, astrology, and doomsday prophecy, all with the polish of AI slop imagery and music. I'm worried about the motives of the hosts, and that she's being taken by a weird doomsday UFO cult grift of some kind. If anyone knows anything about the hosts, please help me find out what they are about, and whether they are in good standing with the church.

I used to be a member and was wondering if anyone had the recipe for the Vegetable soup?? I used to live in Mesa, AZ before they removed the cafeteria in the temple if that helps.

thanks

Posted this on a different sub but it immediately got locked. To preface, I am an active member of the LDS church.

As the title says I’m conflicted on whether I should reach out to the missionary department about this issue.

I know a currently serving missionary that has been on his mission for over a year. I met him while I was serving on a YSA area on my mission as he was preparing to serve. Before his mission he was a full time streamer. I never thought much about it until today. I looked him up on google and saw terrible clips from his streams as recently as 2023. He has been banned from every site imaginable but these are what are still left online.

Clips I found (I’m sure there’s more).

1. Him dressing in a trench coat and going to the columbine school. He also had a fake rifle he used to pose in front of the school. He took pictures and tried to enter the building (at night, no one was there) for about 15 minutes before leaving.

2. Him wearing a confederate flag as a cape and starting a fight with a black man, calling him racial slurs.

3. Him promoting anti-Semitic beliefs on his twitter.

4. Frequent use of the N-Word, targeted at specific people.

I’m not sure to what extent the people interviewing him and such knew about his “career” but I’m unsure if he would have even been allowed to serve a mission had these things been revealed.

Should I email the mission department and/or his mission president? Are those even the right people to contact? Is it my place to do this? I believe in repentance but these clips being on the internet of a current serving missionary are a look I’m sure the church doesn’t want.

Thank you for the advice!

In the fifth chapter of 1 Nephi lehi reads the plates of brass and discovers a genealogy of his fathers. It seems that he learns from this that he is a descendant of Joseph of Egypt (I believe through the tribe of Manasseh).

1 Nephi 5:14

“And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt.”

My question is, why didn’t Lehi know what tribe he was from prior to reading the brass plates? Isn’t your tribe really important to ancient Israelites? Or does the text imply he knew his tribe but just found his genealogy confirming it?

I just saw someone post about the Truman show. I thought I would share the first movie/show where I saw the satire and realized how painfully true it was. This realization was a very painful waking up moment where I first allowed myself to look at and evaluate my religion from a more neutral perspective and ask “what about the symbolism in this movie is true and applies to my faith tradition?” Unfortunate almost everything did. I felt like the gong ringer hitting my head against the gong every morning to wake up the sun.