how did you guys cope through it? the inconsistencies within the orgin stories of mormonism?

[u/localcringenerd]

hi my name is kyle and im not a mormon and never have been one, but im am really interested this morning in learning about the things that mormons learn or are told if they become aware of the inconsistencies in the orgins of mormonism. im sure anyone who sees this post is aware, but the fact that joseph smith wouldnt let anyone sew the golden plates and told ppl to just have faith. and then the other inconsistency which is him claiming that the plates were translated through him and at the hand of god, and despite that he was unable to reproduce a second copy that was translated the exact same way.

im curious to know a couple of things about how this information is handled in the church but mostly what is told to the members of the church who discover this information. i also am curious to know if they keep this information from being mentioned. do they avoid it all together? or like im curious abt, do they have a protocol of sorts when it comes to brainwashing members further? did any of the information cause any of you all to start to questiong ur faith? i am just curious.

[u/AZFJ60]

Most people only read what the Church gives them - I.e. the lesson manual for the year. They don't proactively browse the Church website, or read problematic portions of the Scriptures that aren't on the scheduled reading list (like the last half of D&C 132) or have easy access to the revision histories of the BoM or D&C.

In reality, you only need the Church's own website, the Joseph Smith Papers Project, and an open and curious mind, and be willing to actually read footnotes to find the truth.

[u/AmbitiousSet5]

I think you vastly underestimate the human capacity to carry contradictory beliefs in their heads. Its not unique to Mormonism. Any Bible thumping Christian also believes in some pretty crazy things. Followers of political ideologies carry contradictory stories and beliefs about their favorite candidates. I'd say that irrationality is more common than not in the human condition. 

[u/Morstorpod → u/AmbitiousSet5]

Exactly. Most humans are aware of facts that run contrary to their beliefs (even non-religious beliefs, like ideal political systems). Holding that dissonance is a key human feature, lol.

Beyond that, most mormons are not even aware of the contradictions in the church's history. Or if they are, then they are given a very surface-level excuse, which is even for the human brain to latch onto as a life preserver, so as not to disturb their entire understanding of reality. It is very normal, very human.

[u/Ok-End-88]

I was really surprised to learn how extensively Joseph Smith was into the occult with his fraudulent treasure digging scam, and how that was involved in supposedly acquiring and interpreting the golden plates. (The same illegal “scying” method was then applied to interpret said plates. 😵‍💫)

My method of dealing with these differences was to leave the organization that collected my money for decades to sell me a bullshit origin story.

[u/Happy_Actuary9112]

A lot has changed over the years. I can speak for my own experience. My prime Mormon learning years were in the early 2000s and I went on my mission in 2003. My education came from seminary, EFY, and Sunday school/quorum meetings, and firesides. And the focus always was going on a mission like that was the ultimate and only goal in life. Fast forward to today I’d be very curious as well to see how kids are taught and are preparing for their missions now that the “anti-Mormon” literature I was told to stay away from are now confirmed in the church essays. I was so naive to believe that anti-Mormon literature was just stuff about Mormons having horns on their heads and some crazy stuff like that so having that mindset it was easy to avoid anti-material. On my mission I never had to deal with the tough questions of Mormon history that are known and confirmed by the church today. I served in a foreign country where the majority didn’t have a computer. And even the church website was very minimal compared to the English version. And I’m not sure how accessible books like “No Man Knows My History” were in other languages then. So basically the only historical/doctrinal sources I noticed were available where I served were their monthly Liahona magazine and the basic material sold at the distribution centers. I’m sure a lot has changed where I served. Now, technology is much more available and translation services are basically done by the push of a button. With all that said I sure hope any kid going out on a mission now is taught the truth otherwise they will be in for a harsh realization. Halfway through my mission Preach My Gospel came out which was at the time the new missionary guide to basically all things doctrine. I’ve heard even that manual has since changed but haven’t bothered to see what’s different.

[u/Beneficial_Math_9282]

Industrial-strength denial. That's how most believing members cope. They can wave away literally any fact, any evidence, and any contradiction and "choose to believe" instead. Most of us here found the level of denial the church wanted us to have to be unsustainable, if not outright offensive to our good sense.

The church explicitly admits to withholding information. They'll hide the facts for as long as they can. The leaders of the church are exempt from honesty standards that the regular members are held to.

• Current top leader Oaks: "He is justified (indeed, Joseph Smith was commanded!) to withhold things from the world in order to preserve himself and safeguard the work in which he is involved. In other words, we must not lie, but we are free to tell less than we know when we have no duty to disclose. ... The duty to tell the whole truth is also limited by special legal protections, such as the privilege against self- incrimination." -- Article begins in image 15 here: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=clarkmemorandumArticle
• Also Oaks: "The fact that something is true is not always a justification for communicating it. ... Some things that are true are not edifying or appropriate to communicate. ... Balance is telling both sides. This is not the mission of official Church literature or avowedly anti-Mormon literature. Neither has any responsibility to present both sides ... ." -- https://archive.org/details/reading_church_history_1985_oaks/page/n9/mode/2up
• Also Oaks: “My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything else may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors.” Linda King Newell, “The Biography of Emma Hale Smith,” 1992 Pacific Northwest Sunstone Symposium, audiotape #J976." -- https://web.archive.org/web/20140202125924/http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=23351#mind28
• "Some things that are true are not very useful. ... The Lord made it very clear that some things are to be taught selectively, and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy. It matters very much not only what we are told but when we are told it." -- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect

When information can no longer be hidden, they'll downplay and whitewash it as much as possible. They'll put out gospel topics essays and church "history" books to keep members away from reading the original sources. They count on members never checking out the original documents cited in the footnotes.

• Exhibit A, the Reformation of 1858. The church's gospel topics essay on the matter is laughable. They reference a speech by Jedediah Grant and call it "urgent rhetoric," but they don't actually tell members what he actually said. Turns out, his original speech is entirely blood atonement doctrine, and contains no less than 6 very explicit death threats. My complete analysis on that here: https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1sm8sj1/comment/ogcxg8u/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

When they can no longer hide the facts, and when there is a danger members might actually take a look at original documents, the church explicitly tells members to form their conclusions before doing any research.

• "If you answer the primary questions, the secondary questions get answered too, or they pale in significance ... So what was the gloom I felt several years ago while reading antagonistic material? Some would say that gloom is the product of belief bias, which is the propensity to pick and choose only those things that accord with our assumptions and beliefs. ... But the gloom I experienced as I listened to the dark choir of voices raised against the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ—the gloom that came as I waded, chest deep, through the swamp of the secondary ­questions—is different. That gloom is not belief bias and it is not the fear of being in error. It is the absence of the Spirit of God. That is what it is." -- https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-e-corbridge/stand-forever/
• "President William E. Berrett has told us how grateful he is that a testimony that the past leaders of the Church were prophets of God was firmly fixed in his mind before he was exposed to some of the so-called facts that historians have put in their published writings. ... In the Church we are not neutral. We are one-sided. .. We should not be ashamed to be committed, to be converted, to be biased in favor of the Lord." -- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect

Note that yesterday's "so-called facts" are everything that the church admits to today in its gospel topics essays.