Below are resources to assist Latter-Day Saints through a faith transition
Books
“Help Thou Mine Unbelief” – by: Nancy Phippen Browne
“The Crucible of Doubt” by: Terryl and Fiona Givens
“Shaken Faith Syndrome” – by: Michael Ash
“Rough Stone Rolling” – by: Richard Bushman
“Letters To a Young Mormon” – by: Adam Miller
“For Those Who Wonder” – by: Jeff Burton
“Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport” – by Armand Mauss
Articles
“Pray With Your Feet” – http://richalger.blogspot.com/2012/09/praying-with-your-feet.html
“Letter to A Doubter” – http://terrylgivens.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2010/03/Letter-to-a-Doubter.pdf
“Joseph Smith and his Critics” – http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2008/08/bushmans-introduction-to-joseph-smith.html
“Faith Crisis 101” – http://www.fairmormonsupport.org/fc101.php
Great Articles on Faith Development
http://www.thebattleofarmageddon.com/stages_of_faith.pdf
Websites
WasMormon.org – a collection of mormon exit stories and answers to faith crisis questions.
Discussion Boards: to ask questions and interact with others
http://www.fairmormonsupport.org/
False Assumptions we Make about Doctrine and the Gospel
The # 1 reason for faith crises occurring over historical and Doctrinal issues is the false assumptions and expectations we hold as LDS. This page is dedicated to correcting such or contextualizing such assumptions. I often find those in crisis having discovered new conflicting information struggle to make the information fir their paradigm. Bitterness, betrayal, anger, sadness ensue when one can not make things fit. When in reality what needs to occur is that rather then change the facts to fit our paradigm, we muct change our paradigm to fit the facts. I testify this can be done while still having plenty of room for faith but will require you to do be open to such changes. This means you can’t go back to what you had, you have crossed a point of no return, but as you move forward you will arrive at something more beautiful.
So before jumping into the list of false assumptions and how to contextualize them let’s begin with a quote from Pres. Dieter F Uchtdorf –
“Part of the reason for poor judgment comes from the tendency of mankind to blur the line between belief and truth. We too often confuse belief with truth, thinking that because something makes sense or is convenient, it must be true. Conversely, we sometimes don’t believe truth or reject it—because it would require us to change or admit that we were wrong. Often, truth is rejected because it doesn’t appear to be consistent with previous experiences.“
FASLE ASSUMPTIONS AND LINKS THAT CONTEXTUALIZE THEM
1.) Evolution is a heresy as taught by Elder McConkie and Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith
https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V35N04_33.pdf
2.) Jesus was born on April 6th and is taught as Doctrine
https://byustudies.byu.edu/PDFViewer.aspx?title=8651&linkURL=49.4ChadwickDating-61f85baf-ef24-4584-ba44-1892097daede.pdf
3.) Only our Church has people who are called and authorized to do God’s Work.
https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sbi/articles/148-80.pdf
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/interfaith
http://emp.byui.edu/SatterfieldB/FDINT203/FIrst%20Presidency%20Statement%20Feb%201978.html
4.) Prophets and Apostles can be counted on wheneever speaking to be speaking on behalf of God
http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_doctrine/Prophets_are_not_infallible
http://www.jefflindsay.com/fallible.shtml
5.) All Doctrine is truth revealed by God
http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/FP.html
http://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng
6. The Flood in the old Teastament had to be a global flood
http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_science/Global_or_local_Flood
http://ldsmag.com/ldsmag/critics/081028flood.html
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html
6.) The earth is 6,000 years old
http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_science/Age_of_the_Earth
https://mormonevolution.blogspot.com/2005/05/age-of-earth-in-evolution.html
7.) We should follow the prophet at all costs meaning blind obedience
http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/publications/ata-do-mormons-believe-in-blind-obedience
8.) Aaronic Priesthood was always given to youth
https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/4905/4555
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=mormonhistory<—- start at page 80 of the actual document 92 of the website
9.) Jesus didn’t drink real wine or Joseph Smith never drank alcohol
https://bible.org/article/bible-and-alcohol
http://en.fairmormon.org/Word_of_Wisdom
10.) People in the 1830’s had no clue about the dangers of smoking and alcohol and therefore the Word of Wisdom revelation occurred in a vacuum
http://history.lds.org/article/doctrine-and-covenants-word-of-wisdom?lang=eng
11.) The LDS Church has all truth
Article of Faith #9 – truths yet to be revealed
12.) The Nephite Interpreters are solely what Joseph used to translate the Book of Mormon
http://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-translation?lang=eng
13.) Polygamy ended in 1890 with Wilford Woodruf’s manifesto revelation
http://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
14.) Polygamy was practiced for such reasons as ratio of too many women to men, The men took the older widowed women, ectt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_and_polygamy
http://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
https://mormon-polygamy.org/
15.) Only Polygamy was practiced (one many with several wives) and never Polyandry (One wife and multiple husbands) was never practiced
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Polyandry
16.) There is only version of the First Vision in which the story is told exactly the same. (the fact there is different accounts is not necessarily a problem)
http://www.lds.org/topics/accounts-of-the-first-vision?lang=eng
17.) Tithing can interpreted at Gross only.
http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_church_finances/Tithing/How_is_tithing_calculated
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/12/the-divine-law-of-tithing?lang=eng
18.) If Joseph attempted to translate the Kinderhook plates he was duped.
http://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/02/Don-Bradley-Kinderhook-President-Joseph-Has-Translated-a-Portion-1.pdf
19.) Joseph used the Nephite Interpreters to translate the Book of Mormon
http://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-translation?lang=eng
20.) The Book Of Abraham is a cut and dry issue (regardless of whether you think it is divine or a fraud)
http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/no-weapon-shall-prosper/egyptian-papyri-and-book-abraham-faithful-egyptological-point-view
http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/volume-11-number-1-2010/egyptian-papyri-and-book-abraham-some-questions-and-answers
21.) My personal Faith development has nothing to do with my being in a faith crisis
http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22100469/Perry%20Scheme.pdf
While the handbook suggests white shirts and ties for those administering the sacrament ordinance, and Elder Packer’s talk “The Unwritten Order of Things” suggests we wear Sunday best in order to not be “slouchy” or “informal”, there is no doctrinal pronouncement and not even a teaching that the males not officiating in the ordinance of the Sacrament must or even should wear white shirts.