Davis County Ex-Mormon meetup Sunday Dec 1, 2024, 2:30 PM at Smith's Marketplace

Davis County Ex-Mormon meetup is Sunday Dec 1st, 2024, 2:30 PM at Smith's Marketplace, 1370 W 200 N, Kaysville, UT 84037. Entering Smith's turn right, take the up staircase on the right side of Starbucks, turn right on the 2nd floor at the top of the stairs, take 10 strides passing the lockers to the conference room entrance on the right.
This group helps connect people in the Davis County area. We are a group of people who have left Mormonism, but anyone is welcome. Please come and join us.
When leaving Mormonism, as with other high demand religions, people often find that they no longer have community or support. Our goal is to provide support for each other and to build community. So, whether you left the church recently or have been out for years, or were never Mormon but are looking for community, come and socialize with us and share your story.
Criticism in the Church - From Oaks to Eyring ⌂
Sam Harris' All-Time Most Powerful Critique of Religion ⌂
In the 2nd video, Sam Harris calls for a shift from uncritical respect for faith to rational evaluation, urging us to confront the real-world impact of religious doctrines.
Apostle Dallin H Oakes shows us what spiritual abuse looks like when a group has overwhelming control over the opinions and conscience of its members. Oaks confesses that before the Priesthood ban on Africans was lifted (1978), he studied the justifications but could confirm no truth to “any of them.” Never-the-less, “I determined to be loyal to our prophetic leaders.”
That same Authority which compelled the silence of Dallin Oaks is being used as a bludgeon against gay men and women and their families resulting in the Bloodshed of youth suicide.
If people in the church, like Oaks, have their own conscience shackled[1] by the demand that they remain silent on their own personal Moral convictions then members become complicit.
Silence is no act of courage to simply support the Authorities. A real act of moral courage is to stand for your personal conviction in the face of religious authority telling you that what you know to be true in your heart is not of God.
It costs nothing to cry out against people who you perceive to be critics or enemies of the church. But if you speak out and hold your ground on something that you know to be true in the face of men claiming to speak for God telling you to doubt your own heart that is real moral courage.

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[1] Elder Oaks and the Bending of the Mormon Soul ⌂ by Jonathan Streeter. How exactly do controlling groups maintain a hold on the mind and hearts of members who internally disagree with leaders? Elder Oaks' recent address at the Be One celebration gives us a great case study.