My Questions

“Doubt, for us, leads to the capacity to ask genuine questions, and a genuine question is a question born out of sincerity and a yearning to know." - Terryl and Fiona Givens

Below is a compiled list of questions I have had over the years that I later considered and often researched more in depth during my faith crisis. While this list may seem long, I am certain it does not include every question or concern that I have confronted, especially in the more recent years of my faith crisis.

· If there are over 7 billion people on this earth, why are there so few Mormons? Most of these people have had contact with the church at some point in their lives and already chose not to listen. Does God really intend to only exalt such a small percentage of his children? · Why does the church continue to ask for money from individuals living in complete poverty? · Where are the remnants or artifacts of the huge battles talked about in the Book of Mormon? · How were there such large numbers of population and death from such a small original population in the Book of Mormon? · Where are the artifacts Joseph found with the plates like the Liahona, Sword of Laban, Urim and Thummim, etc.? · Why did blacks have the priesthood taken away during Brigham Young’s time? · Brigham Young taught some pretty extreme ideas and was responsible for some bad and violent outcomes, how is that possible if God will never let the Prophet teach incorrect principles/doctrines to the members? · Why were blacks prohibited from entering the temple until the late 1970’s? · Why does the Book of Mormon have racist concepts and teachings? · Why were women prohibited from the endowment if their husbands were not endowed up until the 1980’s? · Who was Joseph Smith as a person beyond the stories I always hear? What makes him different from any other claiming to see God? · Did Joseph Smith actually practice polygamy, or were these plural wives simply sealed to him in a temple ritual? · Porter Rockwell is revered as a folk hero in the church. I heard he was the bodyguard of Smith and accused of being a type of assassin for the church. How can such a person be considered as called of God? · If I had been born into the FLDS denomination or some other denomination, would I be able to see deception from the leaders? What makes the LDS church, especially the early church, any different from any other denomination and what makes Joseph Smith any different than any other self-proclaimed prophet?

· Many religions cherry pick bible or other scripture versus out of context to justify unique or questionable doctrine (Example: Jehovah's Witnesses refusal of blood transfusions based on various bible verses.) Does the LDS Church do the same thing? · How and why did so many early members of the church, including actual witnesses to miracles and visions, apostate? · What is Masonry? I’ve heard it played a part in the foundations of the Church and Joseph Smith was a Mason. I’ve heard it said that the Masons were formed when they supposedly copied their rituals from Solomon’s Temple and that is why the temple ceremony is so similar. Is that actually based on any evidence? · I have heard the temple ceremony changed around 1990, what was changed? Is it true things were included like ritual nudity during the washing and anointing portion, or violent gestures and covenants of suicide?

· Did Joseph Fielding Smith, while acting as church historian for 50 years, meticulously hide damaging historical records and information that could be considered damaging to the credibility of the Church? Have other leaders done the same?

· Why did Gordon B Hinckley lie during his interview with Larry King?

· How can eternal covenants and ordinances change? On that same note, why have garments also changed over time? · If garments are from God, why do they seem so harmful on body image, most particularly for women? Why are garments so important if they didn’t really exist until after the restoration? · Why was polygamy necessary in the early church? · Why is polygamy still practiced in the temples today when a spouse is widowed/divorced and why is it only the male who is allowed to be sealed more than once? · Why do we have such strict rules regarding temple sealing for the living like the issue mentioned above, but say at the same time, we don't know all the answers, but trust God will sort it out in heaven?

· If the standard of the Lord never changes, why do the temple worthiness questions change?

· Functionally speaking, how can heaven and eternal families actually work based strictly on LDS doctrinal teachings if so many families have members who lose activity or are not members? (Example: Heaven would not be heaven without all my family, but what if some members of my family are not "worthy" or active?)

· Why is self worth so often taught in conjunction with worthiness, especially to the youth when their self esteems are already so vulnerable?

· We're taught God knows all and knows our hearts. If worthiness is ultimately between God and the individual, then why are worthiness questions so intrusive, especially for youth? Why is it not a simple single question of do you consider yourself worthy to enter the House of the Lord? · When did the word of wisdom become commandment? Why do we single out things like tea and coffee, but not other harmful substances? Why is there not more discussion on this topic about healthy eating and the obesity epidemic? · If God can call anyone and he is no respecter of man, why are nearly all the apostles and prophets since Brigham Young from Utah/United States? · Why does the church preach Christ-like forgiveness and the atonement, but maintains permanent records on disciplinary action even after repentance? If a person is disfellowshipped for example, why can their blessings be fully restored, but never be considered for future positions like bishop? · Why does the church meddle and teach regarding cultural concepts/opinions about personal decisions as if it is doctrine, but is questionable at best or wrong and harmful at worst? (Examples: get married young, don't wait to have kids, don't be financially sound before starting a family, the wife's place is in the home, have as many children as you can, birth control is a sin, in vitro from a donor egg or sperm is discouraged, cremation is bad/makes resurrection more difficult, evolution and it's teachings are wrong, tattoos, number of piercings, interracial and interfaith marriages discouraged, marital relationship paradigm, human sexuality, outline of appropriate sexual behavior inside a marriage, masturbation and it's propensity to lead to homosexuality, approach to pornography, patriarchy, space travel and exploration is bad, menstruating women should not participate in temple ordinances, women and immodesty are the cause of bad male thoughts/behaviors, etc.) · If the church is perfect, the members are not, but the members are essentially the church according to scripture, can a church or its doctrine actually be perfect? · Why do some prophets outright contradict teachings of past prophets if God's word and doctrine is unchanging? · Why are some of the church teachings of right and wrong culturally based on Western and Modern American civilization paradigms? · Kate Kelly is asking the Brethren to consider women ordination, like blacks in the early church, did women previously have the priesthood? · Why aren’t women more involved in the leadership of the church? Why are there so few represented in church leadership? · What is wrong with Mormon Stories? What was John Dehlin doing specifically to warrant excommunication? What about Kate Kelly?

· Why does the Church demonstrate a pattern of retaliation against critics or academia, but then years later, incorporate the very ideas presented by those individuals? · Why is the church so opposed to same sex marriage? · Why were the Book of Mormon translation depictions so different from what actually happened?

· What are the Kinderhook plates? · Why does the DNA evidence coming to light not show any indication that Native American ancestry came from the Middle East? · Why is the Church investing so heavily in capital gains such as City Creek or its stock portfolio while still asking for donations and investing far less in charitable causes? (Example: the Red Cross spends about $.88 for every $1.00 received directly on charitable programs. The church, worth over 100 billion, spends less than 1% of that money or $.01 for every $1.00 on charitable causes)

· Why is the church not more transparent about their finances? · If by their fruits ye shall know them, why does it seem like some of the methods and meanings behind certain teachings in the church actually result in an increase in negative outcomes, especially in mental health? (Examples: perfectionism, depression rates, anxiety, body image issues, eating disorders, patriarchy, sexual abuse, sexual dysfunction, pornography, shame and guilt, rapid and young courtship, judgmental culture, unhealthy gender roles, poor communication skills, prescription medication abuse, LGBTQ suicide rate, OCD, etc.)