Spirituality - Post-Mormon

If this is the first page of this website that you have seen, I suggest that you read the summary on the Spirituality page to gain an understanding of why this website exists, and for some assistance in deciding what to read.

If you are tired of the usual ex-mormon rants (I hope that is not what I am doing, but some may perceive it that way), you might find "Out of My Faith" an interesting read. Also, some of the shorter, more creative pieces (found in the "Creative Writing, Short Stories and Poetry" section) and the essays respecting "renaissance", "metaphor games" and "perspective" may be more appealing to those who are still firmly connected to Mormonism.

I am told that, in particular, the "First Letter to Elder Holland" and the essays titled "Religious Belief: Enlightening or Blinding?", "Out of My Faith" and "Do Smart Mormons Make Mormonism True?" have been helpful to many people who have visited here. And, in the various pieces titled "Dialogue with My Daughter" I have attempted to summarize in more accessible form some of the concepts that are developed in greater detail in some of my longer essays. The long essays were, as noted above, mostly learning or therapeutic exercises for me that I have preserved. A friend who edits a newspaper calls my long essays "scaffolding" - the kind of notes writers make to themselves as they are getting ready to publish something. That, in my view, is a fair description. And perhaps some day I will be prepared to do the extra work required to publish something. For the time being, this will have to do.

New Content

A Message For Mormon Apologists (14 page; no abstract) - For the most part, when I re-enter the Mormon world (or even its fringes) I experience vertigo. This is the world Lewis Carroll wrote about - a postmodern place where words mean what anyone wants, we must pretend nonsense is sense, and probabilities are ignored. Hence, we can prove anything, and nothing, to those who've passed through this looking glass. This essay describes the apologetic encounter and how it makes me feel.

Mormon Apologetics - A Guide for the Perplexed (26 pages; no abstract) - This is my most comprehensive attempt to outline the tactics used by Mormon apologists to obscure, confuse and do whatever else will work to keep Mormons in the fold.

Why We Believe (88 pages; no abstract) – This is my analysis of a five day series on spirituality that appeared in the Edmonton Sun during Easter week, 2006. I was interviewed extensively for the article, as were a number of people to whom I referred Jeremy Loome, who wrote it.

Cognitive Dissonance at www.fairwiki.org (18 pages; no abstract) - www.fairwiki.org is a wiki (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) set up for the purpose of countering any information produced about Mormonism that Mormons don’t like. That includes a lot of what I write. So, the Mormon apologists who set up fairwiki have flattered me by dedicating some print to me. This essay is a partial response. The fairwiki title, when compared to the context of the article, shows a remarkable lack of appreciation for irony as well as an amazing capacity for self-parody. I have not revisited cognitive dissonance – one of my favorite topics – for quite a while so this is as good an excuse to do so as any.

Lies and Self-Contradiction at www.fairwiki.org (6 pages; no abstract) - www.fairwiki.org is a wiki (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) set up for the purpose of countering any information produced about Mormonism that Mormons don’t like. That includes a lot of what I write. So, the Mormon apologists who set up fairwiki have flattered me by dedicating some print to me. This essay is a partial response. The fairwiki title, when compared to the context of the article, shows a remarkable lack of appreciation for irony as well as an amazing capacity for self-parody.

Why I No Longer Rage Against Mormon Idiocy (4 pages; no abstract) - This essay summarizes the connection between attachment theory and some of the difficult changes required for those who undergo fundamental changes in belief.

The Risks of Leaving Mormonism or Living on its Fringes (27 pages; no abstract) - This essay considers the hypothesis that Mormon culture is set up to sabotage those who will not play by its rules.