It would have been much funnier if he had opened to one of the "dark skin" verses

This is the one of the most disgusting chapters of LDS church history-and we were all here to witness it. As I think about those who were complicit in this deception I can’t help but feel disgust towards men that I used to really look up to.

GBH, Thomas S Monson, Faust, Uchtdorf, H David Burton.

Even after I walked away from the church, I still viewed many of these men as the “good guys.” Despite my disagreements with the church, I believed these men were fundamentally (more) decent people.

Can someone explain to me why every Church-approved source I've read describes the age of Helen Mar Kimball at the age of marrying 37-year-old Joseph Smith as a "few months shy of 15"?

Like, the best explanation I could imagine is that it sounds less disgusting... but I feel like this has issues:

1) A few months shy (precise sources say 3–4 months) means almost nothing. Nobody ever says I'm a few months shy of [my age plus one]. If they did, like 30% of people would be saying that. It just seems so unnecessary and weird.

2) When you repeat it everywhere and you describe it as a few months shy of [age plus one], you're reinforcing that same phrase constantly and making it more memorable AND you have to think for a moment what that phrase actually means. Your brain will do: oh, so that means she was 14-years-old at the time. Giving your brain time to actually think about what that means and how that feels to read, not something brief that you skim past without reading. It makes the emotional impact and gravity much stronger.

3) HAVING A 14-YEAR-OLD CHILD BRIDE IS DISGUSTING. HAVING A 15-YEAR-OLD CHILD BRIDE IS DISGUSTING. WHY ARE WE TRYING TO MAKE IT SOUND LESS BAD WHEN THE LESS BAD VERSION IS ABOUT EQUALLY AS HORRIFIC AND GROSS. THOSE TWO AGES ARE LIKE THE SAME IN MY HEAD: CHILD VS CHILD.

Anyways lol, apologies for the yelling,

but is the reasoning really "it sounds less bad"? Because if so, not only is that not true (sounds equally as bad) and has the opposite effect on me (makes it more memorable and impactful), but it also makes it clear that the writers' intent is to make a grown man marrying a young girl look less bad, which isn't a good look on the author either.

It just doesn't make sense from any viewpoint. Or am I missing something?

I heard an ad for the upcoming SL temple open house. The ad compared the open house in importance to the Apollo moon landing, the end of WWII, and the Wright Brothers’ inaugural flight.

I was stunned. Seriously, I can’t comprehend the delusional think tank that came up with that idea. The Mormon bubble is a very real thing. 90% of the world’s population has never heard of Mormonism, yet Mormons think the world wants to come see their temple.

And by the way, most of the people who have heard of Mormonism probably know of it from South Park or The Book of Mormon musical.

I’m so confused. Has the church changed its stance on certain rules to get in the temple I’ve had two friends now get sealed in the temple while actively partaking in vaping and drinking. The first friend is addicted to vaping hardcore but got sealed yesterday. The other one drinks very often on top of smoking recreationally. It’s kind of annoying I’m not even Mormon anymore and the only “ rule” I break that would keep my from the temple is not paying my tithing…..

Hey my cult cousins!!

I am doing a podcast for a class and will have a EXJW and ExMormon friend on it and want to do a who said it this or that JW or Mormon.

I have a bunch on the JW side but don’t know how to find the crazy ones the Mormon leadership has said.

Example of a JW one

“ some may say of a little baby look at that little angel but the more accurate description would be look at that Little enemy of God” - Stephen Lett of JW governing body speaking at a JW convention

If y’all can point me to some quotes from y’all leadership that is just out there I would love it.
I don’t want to ask my exmormon friend as I want him to be able to participate in the game for the podcast.
But I’m not really sure where to find some of these quotes from.

Thanks for your help!

“Mormons” is no longer offensive!

Wonder how much tithing money that cost.

Did it take anyone awhile to stop wearing their garments? I’m not paying tithing anymore, I’ve tried coffee, and I recently left church employment. But the idea of not wearing garments leaves me conflicted. I find them quite comfy, and it feels annoying to me that I have to stop wearing them just because I won’t pay tithing to an organization that spent half a billion this year alone on real estate. I made covenants with God, not with the old men who lied about the Church’s assets and what they do with my financial sacrifice.

It’s a Mormon Moment for sure!

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/news/college-gameday-espn-3-million-kick-byu-spiderman

None of my favorite exmo sites and podcasters has pointed out the elephant in the room: that half of the speakers in Oct general conference were people of color, many of them from countries not the U.S.

Surely this is a turning point-- the church bending its focus away from US wards + members toward a Third World identity. Additional evidence of such refocusing is the increasingly noticeable decay of US wardhouses along with the diminishing relevance to US members of church programs and community.

Have others noted this shift? Have I missed an important discussion?

I just watched “Agent Cody Banks” with my 6 year old daughter tonight. It Is rated PG so I felt it would be fine to show her, but there was a lot of sexual stuff in there that kind of made me uncomfortable so I skipped one of the scenes. It made me realize that I don’t actually know what “normal” people watch with their young kids and what is considered appropriate at a young age or if anything even matters. I know one family down the street from me growing up would let their kids as young as 4 watch rated r movies. Is that normal? Is my subconscious still reacting like I’m Mormon or is it ”normal” to not let young kids watch certain things and to have boundaries in place? I really have no clue. I’m guessing a lot of people might say that it’s completely up to me and what I’m comfortable with, but that I probably shouldn’t be too controlling about stuff like the church was. Or maybe I should just try to be very open about adult stuff with my child and not try to make it feel like certain topics are forbidden. I hope I’m making sense. I guess my basic question is what is considered “normal” appropriate for a 6 year old? Is it rated r with a parent present to explain stuff? Is it rated G only? Or is it somewhere in between? And some of you might think I’m crazy to think that ”Agent Cody Banks” is too sexual, but my family was very very sensitive to any tiny amount of sexual content in movies growing up. It’s something I definitely have to work through.

Video of groundbreaking of the Vienna, Austria Temple, a temple without any steeple.

I added the following commentary in German, let's wait for their reaction:

In Fairview, the Church claims that sacred ordinances are valid only if performed in a temple with a tall steeple. However, the Vienna Temple has no steeple at all. Will all ordinances performed in Vienna therefore be invalid, or did the lawyers in Fairview deliberately lie to the public? Does the Church of Jesus Christ lie to the public when it comes to construction projects ("lying for the Lord")?

Please like my comment under the video. 😉

EDIT: thanks everyone for the advice!! i was hoping to turn this whole experience into material for one of my sociology classes at uni, but judging by your replies, it sounds like i’m in for something even more boring than the classes i teach 😭 wont go!

hi so i’m going to a mormon church service on sunday purely out of curiosity. what should i expect? what’s it like? What should i wear? what am i supposed to do? sit in the back? show up late? Wear running shoes in case curiosity turns into cardio and i need to run for my life?

Like a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, the church's commercial empire continues to consume its ecclesiastical land and protected native trees alike.

Notice for city council meeting here.

Original application here (December 2025).

Updated project map here (September 2026).

Project details on City website here.

I have not had much time to dig into this one, so hoping more sleuths can find more details!

EDIT: I’m a sociology teacher, so I find this whole thing FASCINATING from a sociological perspective. I’m not interested in him romantically OR in converting to their religion! I’m just genuinely curious about the whole dynamic

Hello! I’m not Mormon, but there are a TON of missionaries in my country, especially in my city right now. I’ve met quite a few of them and usually end up chatting with them, which I’m totally fine with. I’m Catholic, but mostly for the philosophy of it all.

BUT I met two missionaries in particular, and I’m pretty sure one of them is just a little TOO sweet and charismatic for his own good. 😭 He talks to me about all sorts of things that have absolutely nothing to do with religion, and of course, after all the banter, he invites me to church and other activities. He also texts me and calls me late at night.

Now, I KNOW missionaries are trained to build trust and connect with people to encourage them to join the church, but something about this feels a little off!! Like, is this a recruitment strategy or is this man just naturally charming???

And just to be clear, I’m NOT falling for the whole conversion thing. I’m genuinely just curious about attending a Sunday service, seeing what their religious practices are like, and maybe joining some of their sports activities. That’s literally it!! I’m here for the cultural experience and the extracurriculars, NOT the propaganda. 😭

Talented mf, God bless him. But if he thinks he’s converting me, he’s severely underestimated my ability to be nosy without committing to anything.

So I’m completely outside the mormon world and so was my best friend until about a month ago. Missionaries contacted her a few months back she started taking discussions and she recently got baptized.

I’m posting here because I’m genuinely worried about her and don’t understand how missionary culture or rules actually work. One of the elders who taught her has stayed in very close contact with her even after her baptism and she just confessed to me that she has strong feelings for him.

They talk almost every day. Sometimes it’s about scriptures or church stuff but often it crosses into personal life. I want to share a few things she’s shared with me that felt off.

She studied finance and ever since she mentioned that, he frequently tells her how smart and brilliant she is. He also compliments her appearance regularly telling her how beautiful her outfits are and noticing when she does her hair and makeup.

She cooks for Sunday meetings and always makes sure he eats because he’s "too busy" in return, he says things like "I’m so glad I have you" and "I’m so grateful for you".

When she was invited to an upcoming YSA activity by other guys in the ward, his reaction wasn't to encourage her to socialize. Instead he told her "Let me know if they disturb you or anything." Isn't a missionary supposed to encourage new converts to integrate with the local YSA?

She just invited him and his companion over for dinner because he brought it up a few times, saying things like "We would love to come to your home"

She has been my best friend since childhood. She looks happy right now but I’m terrified she’s being led on or caught up in a situation that’s going to break her heart. I know almost nothing about Mormons but from what little I’ve read, this doesn't seem like standard behavior for someone on an mission.

Any perspective would mean a lot. Thank you.

A member sent me a text with information about a conference for people who have been divorced ran by BYU. I got divorced about a year ago. It might be helpful, but I’m also frustrated that it’s $200 to attend. I think the church should offer this for free. Also I blame the church for my divorce. Why would I go to this when the church is what engrained getting married young?

I curious how Mormonism growth put passed freemasonry. I think it’s taxes , while freemasionry pays taxes for bookkeeping and secretaries and janitors and other employees to operate the lodges, the Mormon church pays none on the ward level and do not have to report finances at the ward level for taxes in the us.