User:Nereocystis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My wikipedia interests include California native plants; I grow a few of them. I edit a few articles related to underwater activities; I occasionally scuba and free-diving. I also edit articles related to the LDS Church and Mormon history.

[edit] Mormon POV

I was raised Mormon, and am now an atheist. Many of my ancestors joined the Mormon church in the 1830s and 1840s, with the most recent convert being around 1960. Some of my ancestors participated in polygamy. After leaving the LDS Church, I started reading a bit more of the history, including Dialogue. I was quite interested in the papers published there. Many of the authors, including people who later became part of the September Six, maintained a respect for the Mormon Church, its history, and its culture, while investigating and documenting its history. Some of the research directly contradicted the common Mormon faith-promoting history. It was intriguing, perhaps even encouraging, to see that some found value within the Mormon Church, while casting light upon its history. I couldn't do this, but it was fascinating that others could. Then I read Lavina Fielding Anderson's article on spiritual abuse, which led to her excommunication, along with the rest of the September 6. Their attempt at keeping Mark Hofmann's document secret was also quite disturbing. I am disturbed that the Mormon hierarchy feels a need to so completely control information . A free discussion would not destroy the Mormon Church; discussion might strengthen the religion. Of course, it is not my place to decide.