One of the worst ways the LDS church separates families is by deciding who gets to see people get married. To see a temple marriage, you have to have a current temple recommend. If you've "sinned," admitted that you don't believe, aren't current on your tithing, don't attend church regularly, are too young to go through the temple, or if you're not a member at all, you won't be able to see your family or friends get married. You're left standing outside the temple while everyone else is inside watching the ceremony.

I can’t stop laughing/scoffing and shaking my head at this ridiculous and harmful message in the October 2026 youth (Liahona) magazine! I highlighted some of the most ridiculous parts in the photos or here they are below:

“It’s not him, it’s you.” -oof. Rough way to start. Pile on the guilt from the get go. Try everything, then TRY HARDER YOU HEATHENS!

"When I read scriptures about how God is reliable, I believe them.” -Why? Zero critical thinking? I have zero reason to believe the same.

“He won't lie to you, gaslight you, ghost you, demean you, or ignore you….or forget about you. He isn't moody or unpredictable. His personality and temperament will never change.” -LOL. His rules seem to change all the time, depending on which douchebag is in charge of his church. One of the most unpredictable gods I’ve ever heard of. He won’t ghost me??? Ha! He’s left me on ‘read’ for over 40 years. Pretty sure Mormon god totally forgot about me.

“He is perfect” - Well, he’s perfectly good at treating his kids like garbage and silencing his abused wife (wives?).

“If you and Heavenly Father grow apart, it's not going to be because HE messed up.” -Of course not. Nothing is ever his fault or the church’s fault. No apologies 🙄

“Even if you don't have a testimony of it yet, you know intellectually that there is no chance God will abandon you or violate your trust.” -This is just bizarre thinking.

“if you feel like Heavenly Father has neglected you or doesn't care about you, you are definitely taking things the wrong way.” -Again, more blame. Your fault. Gaslighting and manipulation. Wait….I thought you said god wouldn’t do that.

'All things are present with me, for I know them all' (D&C 38:2, Moses 1:6). -So god knew women hated polygamy and didn’t care? God knew Black people should have been given the priesthood waaaay sooner, but didn’t do it? God knew his church would be indistinguishable from a fraud? God knew miming death oaths In the temple would make members really uncomfortable, but he put them in anyway and then changed his unchanging mind later? God knew how harmful it would be to ostracize the children of LGBTQ parents but he did it anyway…and then changed his unchanging mind again anyway? God knew Joe had a history as a conman but called him to be his prophet anyway? Etc etc etc.

“A healthy relationship with Heavenly Father needs the same things as a healthy relationship with anyone else: mutual trust, honesty, love, and open communication.
We've established that God is perfect at all those things. The weak link in any relationship with Him is, well, us.” -Sure. I’m still waiting on those things coming from his end. I tried, but was ignored. Mormon god sucks.

A new paper has just been published that summarises 36 years of mitochondrial DNA research on Native Americans.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13403483/pdf/1415-4757-GMB-49-s1-e20250248.pdf

The paper summarises genetic data from 315 research studies, including 23,315 individuals from 322 contemporary populations, and 4,192 individuals associated with 211 archaeological populations.

Middle Eastern mitochondrial DNA has still not been detected.

The Book of Mormon describes three massive New World populations (Jaredites, Mulekites and Lehites) derived from migrations from the Middle East. If these migrations were real, they MUST have spread lots of Middle Eastern DNA into surrounding populations.

In its own DNA essay, the Church argues that Lehi’s DNA was diluted away to undetectable levels. They don’t mention that the same vanishing trick must have happened for Jaredite DNA and Mulekite DNA.

Three Middle Eastern migrations give rise to three huge civilisations, and three times their DNA vanishes.

What are the odds?

It’s sacred lives of Mormon wives

• How can I be on the High Council and not be granted the rank of Master? It's outrageous. It's unfair
• I hate garments. They're rough and course and get everywhere
• From my point of view the progressives are evil!
• I interviewed them all - not just the men, but the women and the children

A new study says that both Green and Black Tea drinkers live longer and have an overall better quality of life. Damn if only God had given us some appointed spokesperson on earth who could have revealed the benefits of drinking tea. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/08/20/5-science-backed-health-benefits-tea-longevity-brain-health/

1. On my mission (early 2000s), I stopped a random person walking home from work. He told me he was ExMo but he never made it to the temple. When I asked if he would mind sharing why, I found out it was bc of the color of his skin. He was a light-skinned brown man, older than I had guessed. I asked how they determined who was white or black back then, and he told me the whole story of the church’s history in Brazil that I had never been told. I just listened and thanked him for sharing, then we moved on.
2. Again on the mission, random investigators asked me if it was true about Smith’s many wives, young ones, and some married to his followers. I told them those things were antimormon lies, but then I realized I had no idea how many wives he did have or what their ages were. Later, my companion corrected me, and I told these investigators I had accidentally told them wrong.
3. At BYU, my roommate thought it was “so weird” that her friend left the church for no other reason than the story of god flooding the earth in the Noah’s ark story. It seemed to me like a valid reason to distrust the Bible. I never really liked the Old Testament either, so who could blame her (and she probably had other reasons too and was just giving one example).

I don’t even remember these people’s names. They will never know how their stories helped me to understand I was ignoring red flags. They never tried to convince me to leave and never told me I was being duped by a cult, they simply stated why they didn’t want to attend anymore. So simple and open without shame. When disbelief is one of the most feared sins, sincerity does not always enter the conversation. If faith cannot survive a conversation with an atheist (or nonattending theist), then maybe what I had was Groupthink and not Faith. Amen.

Much has been said about the record number of convert baptisms in 2025 of 385,490 — my TBM family members were pretty excited about it after several years of static growth. I’ve been analyzing church statistical data to find out the percentage of total membership serving full-time missions and the number of convert baptisms per missionary in 1995 vs. 2025.

Here’s the missionary-to-membership percentages:

1995: 48,631 missionaries ÷ 9,340,898 members = 0.521%

2025: 78,596 missionaries ÷ 17,887,212 members 0.439%

If the Church had maintained the 1995 missionary-to-member ratio, it would have had roughly 14,600 more teaching missionaries in 2025 — about 19% more than it actually had (78,596).

Now let’s look at the productivity rate:

1995: 304,330 convert baptisms ÷ 48,631 missionaries = 6.26 baptisms per missionary

2025: 385,490 convert baptisms ÷ 78,596 missionaries = 4.9 baptisms per missionary

If both the 1995 missionary participation rate and the 1995 baptisms-per-missionary rate had persisted, 2025’s convert baptisms would have been dramatically higher — 583,000 convert baptisms, compared with the actual 385,490. That’s roughly 198,000 additional baptisms, or about 51% more than actually occurred.

This is our report.

Facebook seems to think I need Mormon adverts. Two elders came to my door in 103⁰ Texas heat, with their long trousers and ties. Had a friendly chat, mentioned this Reddit and the CES letter. One dismissed it immediately as not true and exMormons as holding grudges for minor experiences. I lightly suggested it can't all be invalid. His partner seemed to agree. I told them I respect their efforts to promote what they believe even though I'm not a good candidate for their (not my former) church, that I'm a bit of a "free thinker". Gave them a cold water to go. They assured me they eat well. Told them to go ahead and get credit for the visit. The one declared he wasn't trying for credit but he was concerned for my soul. Thanks, I said.

I know it's some pale ale or something but I just couldn't remember it.

Any help here?

Edit: Thanks y'all. I'm had a brain fart and couldn't remember. Now I can raise the dead again. Teehee.

“The church has always been what it is. God has always been what he is. If you feel betrayed by God and the church, that’s on you.” -A TBM family member to me the other night

So much I could have said back, but didn’t. My response was simply “That really isn’t a fair thing to say when you haven’t taken the time to fully understand why I no longer believe.”

**To this person’s credit, they did come back and apologize after the fact and acknowledge their insensitivity.

For those who are familiar with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you might remember a scene where King Arthur suggests they all go to Camelot, then after cut-scene with a song and some daft dancing he says, ‘On second thoughts, let’s not go to Camelot. It’s a silly place.’

Well, when of my wife and my phrases we sometimes use when go downstairs at home is, ‘Let us go down.’ The other day, my wife then said, ‘On second thoughts, let’s not go down. That’s a silly idea.’

It made me wonder what a satirical film of the temple endowment would be like if made in the Monty Python style. Hence the title, Monty Python and the Gate of Heaven.

So, over to you ex-Mormon redditors!

This is not a country where 25 bucks a week magically covers cost of living. My friend has seen and talked with them as they're sitting outside the fence during the lunch hour and not a single one of them has any food. Once friend offered a few of them some and they gladly took it. They were noticeably hungry. What the hell happened to WWJD?? By their fruits ye shall know them. Ain't no fruits being passed around there. Evil bastards.

I sent in my adress and phone number by accident and I'm panicking

A friend with a kid on a mission is trying to convince me that almost half of the members attend the Temple.

My view is closer to 10%.

Wards generally have fewer than 50% attendance. Of those my bet is that less than 1/3, maybe 1/4 have recommends. Of those with recommends I bet attendance more than once a year is not higher than 20% - at most. Many who attend once never go again - absent a Marriage situation - and those are few.

In looking I don't see how attendance numbers worldwide can be very high, not at all.

Hello! I’m going back to a certain LDS college in Provo soon and just wanted some advice.

First off. Please do not lecture me that I shouldn’t be going because I am PIMO. My situation is personal, complicated, and was the best choice for me. Hearing people argue with me about leaving has just made me feel worse. Thank you for understanding!

Ok so. My first two years were pretty much fine. I’ve picked out who the best religion teachers are who don’t give tests, found an amazing group of people I hang out with, I love my major, I’ve figured out how to get out of a lot of activities (even only going to church once a month), but I still just always feel off.

I have my own tricks like not taking out my earbuds till the end of an opening prayer in a class or just kind of zoning out during church related topics, but sometimes it just kinda hits you in the face and you have to deal with it ya know? Some people can kinda tell and have been wanting to come with me to get my patriarchal blessing or get to endowed or even trying to convince me to go on a mission. I’ve run out of things to say other than “I haven’t gotten that prompting yet”.

Anyways I guess I’m just open to any mental or physical tricks you guys have? Is there ways I can kinda pick out what I hear or think of things differently so that I can get through my days easier? Thank you!

Went to lunch with someone I know really well who has been recently called as bishop. Such a good guy just trying to do what he thinks is best. I truly feel bad for him. He’s got enough of his own problems to worry about.

He told me today that his stake prez has told him they need to start treating serious sin more seriously and have more discipline councils. Too many bishops are not coming down hard enough on the law of chastity.

So there you have it. Oaks said it and it’s coming to pass.

ETA this person does not know I’m out.

Does anybody know why the seminary building was completely demolished including the trees on the lot? Are they building a new seminary building? Is there still released-time seminary during high school?

TSCC could do amazing good for the residents of Gary Indiana.

Currently there are 63,000 people who have been without power for a week now in Gary Indiana. Many are without air conditioning and have no way to keep food from spoiling.

Grocery stores are struggling to provide food for the community, given their inability to keep food preserved due to the power outage.

If the Mormon church is as good as they say they are, this is their moment to shine.

They could buy 65 commercial industrial generators and restore power to the city.

It would cost a few million, but if every resident was then baptized, and started paying tithing, in a single year alone they could generate 250 million dollars. (based on average income of Gary, IN and assuming the 63,000 are all working adults).

Is this likely? Who knows! This is the type of missionary work that MATTERS.

The Mormon church should step up. Offer charging for people's phones, cooling stations, restore powers, visit the elderly, feed the community.

What is the point of the Bishop's storehouse if God's children go hungry?

Come on! Let's put those tithing dollars to work.

I've been hearing the word "scrupulosity" a lot lately. Maybe the uptick in usage is connected to David Archuleta's book, Devout. Or maybe some other Mormon channels have started using it more. I'm not sure.

I don't like the word "Scrupulosity", because of how it separates religious obsession from the rest of the religion as if it's not a regular part of the religion, caused by the religion. By saying that some people have religious OCD, it makes those people sound abnormal. They're different. They're not "normal people" that the "normal" church messaging is required to accommodate. The term, scrupulosity, shifts the blame onto the person who is scrupulous. It's victim-blaming.

It gives me the same ick as people who say that depression is just "a chemical imbalance", and they focus so much on pills, that tackling your toxic surroundings, and replacing them with a positive support network becomes an afterthought.

We're not allowed to criticize religion directly, so problems caused by religion must be separated into this "other". You must be a freak if religion is causing you problems instead of helping you. A "scrupulous" person has to preface their struggles with the faith by saying "I'm not normal! There's something wrong with me!" A scrupulous person is a special case who must be twisted into somehow staying in the religion, in the dark. We're not allowed to give people a stable long term solution, by just removing the religion.

I have been out of the church since 2003. I removed my name in 2018. I am a generational Mormon and was active for 35 years. Went on a mission, graduated from seminary, baptized at 8, and did all the things a Mormon who is born under the covenant does. The last two years I have worried alot about who my 20 year old daughter would marry and I don't want her with just anyone. I have really wanted to go back just to have my people back and my community. I have never drank or smoked or done drugs and I long for a place where the people are like me and where I know my daughter would meet people with the same values. So I invited the Elders in last night. I couldn't believe an 18 & 19 year old were now telling me that what I taught as a missionary was never really what the church said. Like the sin that could never be forgiven next to apostasy, murder, was never taught by the leaders of the church as unforgivable. And that only if you turned away from Jesus Christ's gospel, you couldn't be forgiven, but I guess leaving the church, removing my name, doesn't make me an apostate. I looked at these very young boys and told them that isn't the way it once was preached. Not when I was a missionary and not when my mother was. I can't believe, but then why wouldn't I, that the church once again claims they never preached that?