Last Updated on March 12, 2022 by Jason Harris
For the Top 10 LDS Faith Transition Resources, click HERE. In addition, many more resources are listed below (not comprehensive).
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Table of Contents
WORLD-VIEW RECONSTRUCTION

Articles
Believing
- Charity Never Faileth
- Did the Apostles Really Die as Martyrs for their Faith?, by Sean McDowell, PhD, an assistant professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University.
- Love is the Purpose of Life
Nuanced
- Did Abraham Fail his Final Test?, Rabbi Hyim Shafner
- Meaning and the Broken Myth, Maintaining a Sense of Value and Purpose During a Faith Transition, by James L. Carroll
- The Restored Gospel’s Radical Perspective on Grace, Terryl Givens (LDS “neo-Apologist)
- When God is Love, There is no Sad Heaven
Disbelieving
- Why I had to Change My Mind (about Paranormal), Sue Blackmore
- Why I no longer Believe Religion is a Virus of the Mind, Sue Blackmore
Secular
- 10 Unexpected Ways You Can Experience A Fight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn Response. By Renee Fabian
- Beds, Bell Curves and Why the Church Can’t Believe Unbelievers Excellent article on those that leave the Church… either “not devout enough,” or “too devout.”
- The BITE Model (Steve Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert.”)
- Carbon Dating Gets a Reset
- Cognitive Distortions Fantastic article on 20 cognitive distortions, and how these can impact our mental health. Common cognitive distortions in high-demand religions include All or Nothing thinking, Black and White Thinking, Mind Reading, Fortune Telling/Jumping to Conclusions, Emotional Reasoning, Should Statements, Personalization, and Control Fallacies.
- Confirmation Bias, Cognitive Dissonance and Motivated Reasoning An excellent review of these psychological phemonenon.
- Dendochronology and Radiocarbon Dating
- Do You Really Understand Boundaries? You Will Now! by Jennifer Brown. Fantastic concise yet comprehensive article on Boundaries.
- Do You Work for a Narcissistic Organization? 9 signs of an unhealthy workplace. by Diane Dreher, PhD, Psychology Today
- Do You Really “See” Your Child? By Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. “Showing Up” is the most important aspect of parenting.
- Elevation Emotion An excellent article on the Elevation emotion. Jonathan Haidt outlines and describes this very well. It sounds very much like the “witness of the Spirit” Latter day Saints talk about, or the spiritual witness other religious adherents endorse receiving as well.
- Eleven Signs that you Lack Emotional Intelligence
- The Five Most Common themes in Narcissistic Families, From Flying Monkeys to the “Needy Sibling.” Understanding well studies dynamics in Narcissistic families can be beneficial to better understanding dynamics in a narcissistic institution as well.
- Genetics Provides Powerful Evidence of Evolution
- How Not to Hate People, by John Kim, LMFT, “The Angry Therapist” on Psychology Today
- How Stories Bind us Together and Promote Empathy
- How to Overcome “Flying Monkeys.”
- The Jungian Model of the Psyche Discusses Carl Jung’s concepts of ego, conscious, unconscious, archetypes, individuation, etc.
- Lake Suigetsu and the 60,000 Year Varve Chronology
- Laziness Does Not Exist (but unseen barriers do). Devon Price
- Links to numerous LGBTQ resources and topics to include around 500 peer-reviewed academic articles
- Logical Fallacies A great article on various logical fallacies… and how these can misdirect our thinking.
- Meet the Real Narcissists (They’re Not What You Think)
- The Midlife Unraveling, Brene Brown
- Narcissistic Family and Pseudomutuality Understanding well studied dynamics in Narcissistic families can be beneficial to better understanding dynamics in a narcissistic institution as well.
- Passive Aggression Among the Latter-day Saints. Published in Sunstone by Michael J. Stevens. He discusses an interesting study he conducted. It’s important to have insight into less healthy behavioral patterns that tend to cluster in LDS circles in order to heal.
- Polynesians Steering by the Stars Met Native Americans Long Before Europeans Arrived. DNA evidence Polynesians mingled with Native Americans around 1200 AD. The Sweet Potato from America to the Polynesian islands also supports a mingling.
- The Power of Unconditional Love, Newport Academy
- The Self Under Siege, on becoming a separate person, a new perspective on self-differentiation, by Robert W. Firestone, PhD
- This is What Therapy Cannot Do For You (Says the Therapist) (How Therapy Works) by Dr. Kelly Flanagan
- Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism
- When a Narcissist says these Ten Phrases, This is What they Really Mean
- Why Facts Don’t Change Minds, James Clear
Other
- Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters by Portia Nelson Excellent poem!
- Congressional letter to Facebook, Dec 6, 2019, Concerns expressed about impaired freedom to assemble and dissent due to the activities of high-demand religious groups against former adherents.
- How to Love your Spouse When they Don’t Love you Back
- How Those Who Leave the LDS Church are Viewed
- Institutional Gaslighting; Investigations to Silence the Victim and Protect the Perp
- Kirby: Faith in Spouse makes Split-Faith Marriage Work
- On Integrity, Maliwada Human Development Training School
- The Psychological Effects of Mormonism, How Mormonism Affects People’s Self-Esteem, by Blair Watson
- Self Projection as God (Articles on Theories of this): The imaginal within the Cosmos, Self Projection as God, Self Projection as God rebuttal, “All Christianity is Self Projection as God.” , Religion: A Rorschachian Projection Theory
- The Seven Basic Archetypes (and how they apply to life, business, etc.).
- Seven Movies that will Profoundly Change You
- The Silent Killer of Relationships (Unmet Expectations) Expectation – Observation = Frustration. Adjust this equation to adjust frustrations.
- Spiral Dynamics, A Way of Understanding Human Nature Many are familiar with Fowler’s stages of faith. This is somewhat similar in nature.
- Tips for Transitioning, by Andrew Ainsworth
- Why Trauma Survivors Can’t Just “Let it Go.” by Vicki Peterson.
Blogs
Believing
- LDS Blogs on Patheos.com
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
Nuanced
- Keith Giles Blog A Progressive Christianity Blog hosted on Patheos
- LDS Church is True Author is a faithful non-orthodox Latter-day Saint. He is intellectually honest about the facts and discusses these on his Blog while trying to frame these in a metaphorical paradigm. Based on his lived experience, he still believes the LDS Church is true, the “Body of Christ” and still supports local and general leaders.
Disbelieving
Secular
- The Mormon Therapist, Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST, CSTS can be reached at natashaparker.org and runs an online practice, Symmetry Solutions, which focuses on helping families and individuals with faith concerns, sexuality and mental health.
- Unpacking Ambiguity, “Thoughts on Faith, Spirituality, Religion, Scriptures, and Relationships” This is Anthony Miller’s blog. He went through his own painful faith transition from the LDS Church after reading the LDS essays and also learning his son was gay. He is very open about all of this publicly. Is very compassionate and thoughtful.
Other
- PostMormonMentalHealth.com Run by Claudine Gallacher, a certified Life Coach. Some excellent articles in dealing with an LDS faith transition leaving the LDS faith.
Books
Believing
- The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Strobel was an investigative journalist before becoming a full-time Christian Apologist. He outlines his journey from Atheism to Christianity and why he came to believe after examining the evidence.
- The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. “three Great Untruths: … feelings are always right; … avoid pain and discomfort; … look for faults in others and not themselves (us vs. them) are harming kids by teaching them the opposite of ancient wisdom and the opposite of modern psychological findings on grit, growth, and antifragility.
- God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines, a gay evangelical Christian. Vines explores paradigms regarding homosexuality anciently vs. today. He discusses scientific evidence about homosexuality and emotional health issues that arise with companionship vs. isolation. Vines squarely addresses Biblical verses discussing this matter. Review by Vines HERE
- Jesus and the Eyewitnesses Richard Bauckham, a very well respected scholar, takes a minority position the New Testament Gospels are not based on expanding oral traditions, but rather are accounts written very close to eye-witness testimony. He presents evidence for this in this lengthy work.
- The Language of God by Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and former head of the Human Genome Project. A very well respected scientist, Collins outlines reasons he believes in God. Collins believes in organic evolution and does not believe in a “God of the Gaps” scenario.
- LDS Scriptures Free online: The Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price and Bible. Essential to the LDS construction and deconstruction phases of faith development. Some may choose to continue to use these during the reconstruction phase of faith development as well, viewing them through a different paradigm, but still seeing Divinity in them.
- Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, late Oxford Scholar and famed Atheist turned Christian Apologist. Lewis explores the values, virtues and essence of Christianity. He takes a generous view towards non-believers and truth seekers of all stripes. Lewis argues the moral dimension present in humanity is proof of Divinity. Available for Free HERE
- Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, a former Franciscan Monk who emphasizes what he believes is the essence of Christianity: love, grace and acceptance. Manning believes efforts to earn salvation are impossibly misguided.
- Restoring Jesus by Grant Palmer, former CES director (later left the LDS Church). Palmer offers a picture of Jesus of grace and compassion that can be built upon for those who no longer believe the foundational truth claims of the LDS Church.
- Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman, a very well respected LDS Historian. A biography of Joseph Smith, presented in as honest a manner as possible while continuing to use a lens of LDS faith. Rough Stone Rolling is a source for many of the LDS Gospel Topics Essays. A lengthy book with a VAST wealth of information in the footnotes.
Nuanced
- Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis- Deuteronomy, David Bokovoy, PhD Geared towards an LDS audience. Historical Criticism of Genesis- Deuteronomy as well as the Book of Moses, Abraham and Book of Mormon.
- The Bible Tells Me So by Peter Enns. Peter takes an honest look at the Bible and biblical scholarship, and discusses how it can be a source for good and Divinity in our lives, even though many literal and textual issues do not hold up to an in-depth examination of the evidence.
- Bridges, Ministering to Those Who Question by David B. Ostler, a faithful Latter-day Saint and former mission president. Ostler discusses the importance of listening to understand, hold space for and practice empathy for loved ones who may have left the LDS Faith or are struggling with its truth claims. How to better “mourn with those who mourn.”
- The Evolution of God by Robert Wright. Wright discusses how concepts of God have evolved over time. He both cites evidence challenging the literal narratives many have while at the same time, acknowledging there appears to be a general direction of increasing moral goodness through time. Perhaps itself a mark of Divinity.
- Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr. Rohr is a highly respected Franciscan Friar in the Catholic Church. His book on faith progression draws heavily upon the work of Carl Jung and James Fowler. Oftentimes what seems to others like a “fall” later in life is actually a step of progress upward.
- Finding God in the Waves by Mike McHargue, host of “Science Mike” and “The Liturgists Podcast.” McHargue discusses his journey from Evangelical Christianity, to Atheism, to a more metaphorical and progressive Christian paradigm as he examined scientific and scriptural evidence.
- The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg. Borg is a well-respected progressive New Testament Christian Scholar. He discusses the importance of embracing Christianity with a metaphorical paradigm. One he argues takes us much closer to the heart of what Christianity is really about than a strictly literal paradigm can do.
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Campbell spent his life studying the many religious traditions of the world. He argues there is one great mono-myth at the heart of all of them: A hero leaving home on a journey, with gifts and guidance to overcome all odds and return home in a glorified state, now a blessing to his fellow man.
- Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity “Authors approach Smith’s sacred texts historically, textually, linguistically, and literarily to offer a multidisciplinary view. Scrupulous examination… opens new avenues for understanding the foundations of Mormonism… and transmission of sacred texts.”
- The Power of Myth based off of fireside chats by Joseph Campbell. Campbell spent his life studying the world’s religious traditions. He argues one great mono-myth is at the heart of all of them: A hero leaving home on a journey, with gifts and guidance to overcome all odds and return home in a glorified state, now a blessing to his fellow man.
- The Power of Now by Eckharte Tolle, a guide to daily spirituality. Emphasizes the importance and beauty of living and being in the present, where reality and Divinity reside.
- The Spirituality of Imperfection by Ernest Kurtz. Discusses the importance of admitting our imperfections to embrace our humanity and access abilities beyond our own. The vast success of Alcoholics Anonymous is explored as a model of this.
Disbelieving
- The Case Against the Case for Christ by Robert Price, PhD. Price’s take on Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ.” Price is a famous and well-respected New Testament scholar who holds a minority scholarly position in that he is agnostic as to if there was a historical Jesus at all.
- Fantasyland by Kurt Andersen. Per Andersen, more than any other developed nation, the USA is the land of fiction treated as reality. He discusses benefits and drawbacks of this. A benefit being creativity and innovation. A drawback being ignoring facts or evidence if it doesn’t fit into a desired paradigm or world-view.
Secular
- The Assertiveness Guide for Women by Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW. Dr. Hanks is a respected active Latter-day Saint therapist who discusses the importance of attachment styles, differentiation and holding space for ourselves and others as a foundation for claiming one’s autonomy and health and connecting with others.
- Being Wrong by Kathyrn Schulz. Fascinating and in-depth book on human nature and the need we all tend to have to be right, and the fact that we mostly live our lives being “wrong” to varying degrees. We can’t really know when we ARE wrong, only when we WERE wrong.
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. Van der Kolk is an extremely well respected psychiatrist and discusses the way our bodies respond to emotionally traumatic events. He discussed the importance of emotional attunement to ourselves and others and various treatment modalities for recovering from emotional trauma.
- Boundaries in Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. Struggling with healthy boundaries, to include in marriage, is a very common issue in high demand religious cultures. Cloud and Townsend share the importance of healthy boundaries, how to establish them, and a Biblical basis for the health care principles they share.
- Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW. Brown writes of the importance of vulnerability and belonging. That true belonging is not just “conforming.” It is accepting all of ourselves. Doing such can be paradoxically lonely, yet uniting. Belonging everywhere and nowhere simultaneously.
- Created for Connection by Sue Johnson EdD. Faith transitions can be difficult for any marriage. Emotionally focused therapy has good data in helping strengthen marriages. Johnson discusses this, and how to implement some of these principles in one’s own marriage.
- Combating Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert” (former Moodie Cult Member). The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults.
- Emotional Intimacy by Robert Augustus Masters PhD. It is common in high-demand religious groups for many emotions to be suppressed, ignored or harshly judged. This can lead to poor mental health outcomes. Masters discusses techniques to improve mindfulness and the relationship with one’s own emotions and those of others.
- Feeling Good the New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns, MD. Official websites here: Feeling Good. Book is about identifying and adjusting cognitive distortions of reality (common in high-demand religious groups) to be more in-line with actual reality. There is very good data doing so results in more peace, happiness and much better mental health.
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW. Every gift has its shadow, and every shadow its gift. Such is the case with imperfection. One of imperfection’s gifts Brown discusses is the possibility of vulnerability, a crucial foundation for compassion, empathy and emotional connection with self and others.
- God: A Human History by Reza Aslan, a Muslim turned Evangelical Christian turned Muslim. A man of faith himself, Aslan describes how God has been portrayed in different societies and cultures over time. He believes “…all religions are nothing more than a language made up of symbols and metaphors to help an individual explain faith.”
- Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Pulitzer prize winner. Diamond hypothesizes how farm-based societies came to dominate others over time, and the role environmental factors played in this progression.
- The Happiness Hypothesis by well respected social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, PhD. Haidt shares research on various moral foundations that contribute to happiness. Of note, he explores the dimension of the “Divine” in different cultures and societies within the emotions of elevation and awe, these being on the opposite end of disgust.
- Headspace: Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist Monk. There is a large volume of scientific evidence supporting the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. Puddicombe discusses the basics of how to implement and reap the benefits of this with as little as five minutes a day.
- Healing From Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas, LCSW. Hidden emotional abuse is common from narcissistic partners or narcissistic institutions. Thomas discusses how to recognize and heal from this.
- Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson. Faith transitions can be difficult for any marriage. Emotionally focused therapy has good data in helping strengthen marriages. Johnson discusses this, and how to implement some of these principles in one’s own marriage.
- How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman, former Evangelical Christian turned Agnostic. Ehrman argues the understanding of Jesus as God evolved over time as expanding oral traditions were later recorded as the New Testament Gospels. A well respected scholar, he believes Jesus, Paul and others were actual historical characters.
- Me Myself and Us by Dr. Brian R. Little. Explores the very well validated five dimensions of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion/Introversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Explores how these and other aspects of personality can be shaped and changed over time. Author’s website HERE
- No Nonsense Buddhism by Noah Rasheta, Buddhist teacher and layminister, host of the very popular Secular Buddhism podcast. Rasheta argues Secular Buddhism can make a person a better Christian, Muslim, Humanist, or better with whatever their world-view may be. Very concise and helpful view into mindfulness and Secular Buddhism.
- Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg. Ghandi was an inspiration behind Rosenberg’s model. This is not so much a book about not screaming at or abusing others, as it is a book about changing and shaping underlying assumptions and approach in a way that fully respects everyone’s humanity and autonomy.
- The Reality Slap, Finding Peace and Fulfillment When Life Hurts by Russ Harris, medical practitioner and psychotherapist. He wrote this after discovering Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a means to better embrace his son’s autism. Sometimes reality just is what it is. Mindfulness is at the heart of ACT and has good data supporting its efficacy.
- The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, PhD. Discusses five dimensions of morality present in humanity: Harm/care. Fairness/reciprocity. Ingroup/loyalty. Authority/respect. Purity/sanctity. Differing weights to these five dimensions or morality results in differing religious and political views.
- Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect by Jonice Webb, PhD. Not having had one’s many emotions validated and accepted by parents, culture or institutions can be profoundly damaging in a variety of ways. This damage is usually unseen by both the perpetrator and the victim. Webb discusses how to identify and heal from this.
- Running on Empty No More: Transform Your Relationships with Your Partner, Your Parents & Your Children by Jonice Webb, PhD. Not having one’s many emotions validated during development can be profoundly damaging to individuals and relationships. This damage is often hidden. Webb discusses how to identify and heal from this.
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Discusses the history of humanity from evolutionary origins to the present day. Of note, discusses the need of commonly believed “fictions” to bind groups of people larger than 150 together. Fictions such as national identies, fiat currency, national values, and many religious beliefs.
- The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker who explores similar concepts to Joseph Campbell’s work. Lengthy book. The first 1/3 discusses seven basic plots nearly all stories fit within. Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return Home, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. The last 2/3 explores the psychology of these plots.
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John M. Gottman. Based on solid research: Nurturing Fondness and Admiration, Turning Towards Each Other, Accepting Influence, Solving Solvable Problems, Overcoming Gridlock, Creating Shared Meaning. Impact of Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling and Criticism discussed.
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Great and engaging overview of the universe, galaxy, various scientific disciplines and discoveries and key historical events.
- The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Dr. Nathaniel Branden, the “father” of the Self-Esteem movement. He discusses the practices of Living Consciously, Self-Acceptance, Self-Responsibility, Self-Assertiveness, Living Purposefully and Personal Integrity. “To trust one’s mind and to know that one is worthy of happiness is the essence of self-esteem.”
- The Story Telling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall. Discusses the importance of narratives and story telling in the socialization, thinking and bonding of humanity and how this has evolved over time.
- Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin. Faith transitions can be difficult for any marriage. Tatkin discusses how understanding the attachment styles of oneself and one’s partner can help strengthen relationships.
- You are the One You’ve Been Waiting For. Richard C. Schwartz, PhD. A book on Internal Family Systems Theory… We all have many parts or personalities of ourselves inside. We normally “fuse” these different personalities into a unified whole. Healing often requires healing and addressing individual parts that have been hurt within ourselves in the past.
- Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Azlan, a Muslim converted to Evangelical Christianity converted back to Islam. Azlan argues Jesus was a zealous apocalyptic preacher crucified for raising insurrection against the state, later Deified by his followers with tales of resurrection, etc.
Other
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Fictional account in the ancient Middle-East about the spiritual quest of pursuing one’s dreams.
- The Book of Separation by Tova Mirvis. Mirvis shares her journey out of Orthodox Judaism. Her journey has numerous parallels to the experiences of those who leave other high-demand religions, to include the LDS Faith.
- Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. Westover was raised in an active LDS family. She shares her experiences with home schooling, abuse and apocalyptic thinking in her family and later leaving this to gain a higher education. Highly critically acclaimed book on the endurance of the human spirit.
- Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. What is it like to grow up in an extremely poor white, conservative family? Vance vulnerably shares a view into an unfamiliar world too most. In the process expanding compassion and understanding.
- Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender, by David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, Squarely five stars on Amazon with over 1500 reviews. “Letting Go” describes a simple and effective means by which to let go of the obstacles to Enlightenment and become free of negativity.” Dr. Hawkins has a cult-like following. The introduction to his book essentially says his method is the only one a person ever needs to know (and everything else won’t work that well). Most of the time, I have learned to run from any authority or source making these times of claims. There is a great deal of pseudo-science in this book. In addition, “negative” emotions are described as a “lower” energy level than “positive” emotions. Many psychologists would absolutely disagree with this as all emotions are important to validate and acknowledge, and many beautiful complex emotional experiences are made up of portions of “postive” AND “negative” emotions. Still, he does talk about mindulfness/meditation practices that involve observing emotions (to include “negative” emotions) and then letting them pass. Many psychologists DO teach these types of mindulfness techniques as a way to embrace a more abundant life. Some people DO report this book being very helpful in their own life.
- Loving What Is by Byron Katie, a very popular unlicensed author and speaker. She trains how to identify possible psychological projections and turn them around to accept responsibility and embrace the present. Potentially useful approach but taken to an extreme, also potentially very damaging, particularly for abuse victims.
- Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control by Luna Lindsey. Mind control bypasses mental defenses by: Establishing beliefs to suppress critical thinking. Controlling the flow of information. Creating emotional dependency and trust in the group while instilling emotions such as fear and guilt to prevent members from leaving.
- Unfollow: A Memoir of loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper, a prior member of the Westboro Baptist Church. Phelps-Roper describes her journey learning to see viewpoints beyond what she had been brought up with and the pain, surprise, compassion, shunning and growth that accompanied this.
Movies/TV Series
Believing
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
- For the Bible Tells Me So (Netflix)
- Inside Out, Pixar
- Mankind: The Story of All of Us Excellent, 12 hour series. Produced by History Channel. Sometimes available on Netflix.
Other
Music/Songs
- Believing
- Nuanced Believing
- Disbelieving
- Secular
- Other
- At the Bottom of Everything, Bright Eyes
- The Force (Capitvating Arrangement)
- Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
- Imagine, John Lennon
- Let it Go, Idena Menzel, from the Disney Movie, Frozen
- Moana Soundtrack
- O Divine Redeemer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- One Love, Bob Marley: “On June 14th, 2018, in honor of the historic visit to Israel by Indonesia’s religious leader Sheikh Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, Koolulam invited 1,000 people who had never met before to a special event at the Tower of David in Jerusalem, to sing one song, in three languages and in three-part vocal harmony.”
- Rabbit Hole, Mindy Gledhill used to be a prominent orthodox LDS artist singing faith promoting music. She sings of her faith transition on this album.
- Redwing, Sarah Sample, sings of her LDS Faith Journey on this album.
- Second Wind, Angela Soffe, sings of her LDS faith transition on this album.
- Titanium, David Guetta
- The Unmaking, Nichole Nordeman, written from a believing perspective.
- Yesterday, Imagine Dragons
- You Are Free, Jimmy Eat World
- You Will Be Found, from Dear Evan Hansen
Podcasts/Talks
Believing
Nuanced
- 1,2,3 CRASH: How to Navigate Inevitable Change: Benay Lappe, A progressive Lesbian Jewish Rabbi talks of her journey out of her childhood faith, into Buddhism, and later to a more progressive form of Christianity. When we encounter information that causes cognitive dissonance and crashes our former paradigm, we can ignore it, adjust our paradigms, or completely reject our paradigms. She discusses all three.
- Christ of Faith, The Mythical Jesus, Taking the Christ of Faith Seriously, Bill Reel
- David Bokovoy: Applying Higher Criticism to Mormon Scripture
- Faith Matters Podcast (formerly “Mormon Matters”) Believing with nuanced views.
- The Faith Transition Podcast
- Higher Love Jessica Jackley and Reza Aslan. She is from an Evangelical Christian Background, he is Muslim though was Evangelical Christian for a time. Excellent TED talk. They talk about the importance of respect and acceptance of different spiritual languages for teaching the same or similar values, especially in a mixed faith marriage setting.
- Mormon Stories host John Dehlin. Hundreds of Mormons share their faith struggles. How they have frequently overcome familial and cultural challenges while embracing uncomfortable but true LDS history and standing for what they believe in. Frequently leans more to disbelieving views.
- A Thoughtful Faith Hosted by Dr Gina Colvin… “… highlights the journey from institutional toxicity to reconstruction and spiritual freedom… Gina is New Zealand Māori who grew up a Mormon. She currently worships locally with the Anglican Church and internationally with Community of Christ.”
- Top 25 Most Popular/Important Mormon Stories Episodes
Disbelieving
- Leaving My Religion, The Risks and Rewards of Becomong Non-Religious, James Mulholland
Secular
- The Biological Basis of Homosexuality by Dr. William Bradshaw, BYU
- How to Fix a Broken Heart, Guy Winch, TED talk. Instincts for how to heal and move forward often make things worse. Great article for healing from heartbreak of break-up from LDS Church.
- Homosexuality: It’s about survival, not sex, James O’Keefe, TED Talk
- Human Development, Bill Reel on Faith development… “Human[s] work through Ego-Centricity to Ethno-Centricity to World-Centricity and finally to Cosmic Centricity. We talk about how religious institutions see this development and how one will be understood as they move through this as well!”
- Is the World Getting Better or Worse? A Look at the Numbers. Steven Pinker (TED talk). Pinker shows how violence, poverty, etc. have gone down dramatically over time and humanity has continued to progress forwards over time.
- Dr. Michael Coe: An Outsider’s View of Book of Mormon Archeology
- Radio Free Mormon: 184: The Brian Hauglid Interview Landmark interview about the Book of Abraham with Brian Hauglid, professor emeritus of ancient scripture days after his retirement from BYU. He was instrumental in writing the LDS Church’s essay about the Book of Abraham and believes the evidence does not support a literal translation of the Book of Abraham. As he says at 2:45-2:47 of the interview, he believes the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon are 19th century documents and not literal translations. He does not believe this necessarily takes away from the spiritual messages of each. At present, he states his relationship with the LDS Church is “complicated.”
- Science vs. Dogma, Biology Challenges the LDS Paradigm, Gregory A. Prince
- Secular Buddhism Podcast “A weekly podcast that focuses on Buddhist concepts, topics, and teachings presented for a secular minded audience… Whether you’re a Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Hindu, Believer, Non-believer, it doesn’t really matter; Secular Buddhism is about helping you to become a better whatever you already are.”
- On Being Wrong, Kathryn Schulz, TED Talk
- Why You Think You’re Right- Even if You’re Wrong, by Julia Galef, TED talk discussing using a “scout” mindset.
Other
- 7 Faces of Fear Ruth Soukup
- Crash Theory and Growth An Unrecognizable Jewish Futture, Rabbi Benay Lappe, Eli Talks, Excellent Talk on Faith Transitions
- The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, TED Talk
- Fundamentals of Mental Health in a Religious Transition (from 2019 Thrive Conference)
- Latter Gay Stories Podcast: This one quotes Dr. Allen Bergin (prior member of General Sunday School Presidency). Apology for prior homophobic views and stances.
- Taking the Mormons to Court: Defending Sexual Abuse Victims Against the LDS Church, Tim Kosnoff
Support Groups/Personnel (In-Person)
Believing
Nuanced
- Mama Dragons, Support for Mothers of LGBTQ Children
Disbelieving
- Post Mormon Mental Health. Clauding Gallacher, Certified Life Coach. She no longer believes in the truth claims of the LDS Church. Offers consultations and coaching for those going through a faith transition.
- Recovering From Religion
Secular
- Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST, CSTS, Certified Sex Therapist. “Helping you Achieve Relational, Sexual and Spiritual Health.” In person and online consultations.
- Sara Hughes Zabawa, LMSW, CDWF, RYT. Solutions. Offers online streaming counseling services in regards to a faith transition.
- THRIVE Beyond Mormonism find Healing, Community and Joy
- Tiffany Roe School, MA, CMHC. Navigating LDS Faith-Based Transition. Has Two Hour video Course in conjunction with Sara Hughes Zabawa (see above). Also has a counseling service.
- WOCA Worldwide (Women of a Certain Age). “A largely secular, post-religious, Feminist, LGBTQIA-friendly, community-building and healing space for women 40+. If you are still in the middle of a religious transition, this may not be the space for you.” Both online and in-person support.
Other
Support Groups/Personnel (Online)
Believing
Nuanced
- Mormon Historians: Anyone interested in LDS history can engage if constructive.
- Waters of Mormon Support Group: For those wanting to stay engaged in Mormonism. More Nuanced views.
Disbelieving
- Mormon Enlightenment: Group of those who have most left or are leaving the LDS Church. Tries to maintain a relatively positive climate.
Secular
- Mormon Stories Podcast Community: Mostly consists of nuanced Mormons and ex-Mormons.
- WOCA Worldwide (Women of a Certain Age). “A largely secular, post-religious, Feminist, LGBTQIA-friendly, community-building and healing space for women 40+. If you are still in the middle of a religious transition, this may not be the space for you.” Both online and in-person support.
Other
- Marriage on a Tightrope: Support group for Mormon Mixed Faith Marriages. Allan and Kattie Mount, hosts of the Marriage on a Tightrope Podcast help moderate this group.
- Mormon Mixed Faith Marriages: For supporting Mixed faith LDS marriages, friendly to both active Latter-day Saints and former Latter-day Saints. Minimal discussion about doctrinal issues. More about supporting differentiation, boundaries, etc. Will merge with Marriage on a Tightrope Groups Jan1, 2020.
- Thoughtful Transitions Support Group: For those seeking a healthy transition away from orthodox Mormonism.
- Woke Mormons: Broad range of participants.
Websites
Believing
Nuanced
- Christ of Faith, The Mythical Jesus, Taking the Christ of Faith Seriously, Bill Reel
- Dialogue, a Journal of Mormon Thought, numerous uncorrelated articles and research published.
- Patheos: Hosting the Conversation on Faith, Numerous Blogs, etc. from participants of the World’s Faiths.
- Rational Faiths A site that generally seeks to remain faithful to LDS beliefs, but in a way that remains intellectually honest with the data as well.
- Why Mormons Question: Website by John Dehlin with many resources and research to better understand why Mormons question. (Doesn’t fit the typical stereotypes taught in orthodox LDS classrooms.)
Disbelieving
- Recovering From Religion
- Post Mormon Life: A website packed with resources for those transitioning out of the LDS faith. “For Those Experiencing a Faith Transition: You May be Feeling Pain. You May Be Feeling Confused. You May Be Feeling Lost. Please Know this… You Are Not Alone.” https://postmormonlife.com/
Secular
- The Center for Self Leadership (Internal Family Systems Theory Institute) Based off of the theory that our mind is similar to a family, with many working members and components within it. Learning to embrace and accept all of those can have profound mental health benefits. Mounting evidence for this. link to their online store HERE
- Emotional Abuse Test
- Feeling Good the New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns, MD. Official websites here: Feeling Good. Book is about identifying and adjusting cognitive distortions of reality (common in high-demand religious groups) to be more in-line with actual reality. There is very good data doing so results in more peace, happiness and much better mental health.
- FreedomofMind.com Site associated with licences health care provider Steven Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert.” (prior Moonie Cult Member)
- The Gift of a Mormon Faith Crisis
- GLAAD Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
- The Gottman Institute, America’s Premier Marriage Experts. Fantastic site!
- LGBT Foundation
- LGBT National Help Center
- Mindful: Healthy Mind, Healthy Life
- Mormon Stories
- Mormon Think Presenting a range of perspectives and viewpoints concerning LDS history, privileging those they believe are the most accurate, consistent and empirically valid. Mormon Think Resource Page
- National Academies of Sciences
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Notes from Your Therapist. Fantastic instagram page with succinct therapy pearls to help lead a healthier life.
- postmormonlife.com is an excellent website packed with resources for those transitioning out of the Mormon faith.
- Psychology Today
- Scientific American
- Symmetry Solutions Mental Health Resource, Finding Balance and Beauty in Diversity and Growth.
- Unpacking Ambiguity
Other
- The Trevor Project, Saving LGBTQ Lives
- MMHA (Mormon Mental Health Association)
- Mormon Primer Orthodox, Critical and Nuanced perspectives.
- Mormon Spectrum Excellent resource page for websites, blogs and support groups, regardless of where one is on the LDS faith spectrum.
- MormonTransitions.org
- Protect The Children Activism Site of stories etc. of damages that can be caused by sexually explicit LDS interviews.
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
YouTube Clips or Channels
Believing
Nuanced
Disbelieving
- Commanded to love, performing false emotions for tyrants, Theramin Trees. Outlines emotionally coercive dynamics frequently manifest in narcissistic families and high-demand organizations to include high-demand religions. Discusses emotional abuse. Discusses how to recover. There is a strong anti-religious bias in this clip.
Secular
- 5 Psychological Tricks Sociopaths Use to Manipulate You
- Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, A group of prisoners confined to a cave since birth with no exposure of the outside world. How one prisoner perceives the world before and after exposure to the outside world, and how he is received by the prisoners when he tries to relate his new insights.
Other
- Bethany Kay Channel, an ex-Mormon perspective.
- The Essence of Mindfulness and all Spirituality: Eckhart Tolle
- How to Cope with Family Judgement
- Leah Remini: Leaving Scientology
WORLD-VIEW DECONSTRUCTION

Articles
Believing
- Can We Trust the Prophecies of Joseph Smith? (Evangelical perspective)
- Church History Topics official LDS page with a brief discussion of many controversial Church History Topics such as the Counsel of 50, the Danites, Kinderhook plates, Masonry, etc. As of Dec 2019, this page and many of the topics on it are very difficult to find using the internal search engine of the LDS site. As with the LDS Gospel Topics Essays, researching these topics further can leave one with the sense that the LDS Church is being less than forthcoming in many of their explanations.
- Hope for Parents of Wayward Children (official LDS page)
- LDS Gospel Topics Essays An official LDS response to difficult and controversial historical, doctrinal and textual issues. What used to be commonly believed as “anti-Mormon lies” are acknowledged as true in many of these essays.
Nuanced
- Dear Mormon Man, Tell me What You Would Do, by Amy McPhie, Allebest. A powerful letter to help men see and understand how the LDS Church is often experienced through the eyes of participating women.
- Did Abraham Fail his Final Test?, Rabbi Hyim Shafner
- Did Joseph Smith have an Eidetic Memory?
- Handcart Pioneers (articles exploring this): The Mormon Handcart Experiment, Historians Fault Leaders in LDS Handcart Tragedy, Handcart Hypocrisy
- How My Mission Taught Me It’s Possible to be Too Obedient (LDS Living)
- Joseph Smith and Kaballah, the Occult Connection, by Lance S. Owens, originally published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 117-194.
- Letter to Elder Jeffrey Holland, by Austin Hodges, an active LDS gay man vulnerably and compassionately outlining his struggles and perspective.
- Meaning and the Broken Myth, Maintaining a Sense of Value and Purpose During a Faith Transition, by James L. Carroll
- Truthfulness of Deutero-Isaiah Part 1 by David Bokovoy, PhD, former BYU religion professor. Bokovoy outlines the overwhelming evidence large portions of Isaiah quoted by Nephi from the brass plates were actually written after Nephi and couldn’t possibly have been on literal brass plates. This was written a few years before he stepped away from the LDS Church.
- Truthfulness of Deutero-Isaiah Part 2 by David Bokovoy, PhD, former BYU religion professor. Bokovoy outlines the overwhelming evidence large portions of Isaiah quoted by Nephi from the brass plates were actually written after Nephi and couldn’t possibly have been on literal brass plates. This was written a few years before he stepped away from the LDS Church.
Disbelieving
- CES Letter by Jeremy Runnels. Non-believing response to his CES director regarding his investigation into LDS truth claims. Runnels and this letter have been viciously attacked by many. The truth is, most of the facts Runnels cites ARE accurate. Runnels’ interpretation of the significance of these facts is different than that of most LDS apologists.
- How the Circumstances of the Book’s Emergence raise Red Flags about Joseph’s Claims and Answer Questions Regarding the Book of Mormon Witnesses
- Letter for my Wife Uses mostly LDS source material that can be easily referenced. Shares evidence not typically shared in Sunday School classes that challenges LDS truth claims. Mostly factually accurate.
- Lying for the Lord, Written by Ken Clark, former CES instructor. Extensive compilation of times the LDS Church or key leaders has been dishonest or less than forthright on many fundamental issues. Since this was published, the Mormon Church has made significant steps to become more honest and transparent.
- Top 40 Most Dishonest Acts in Mormon Church History, John Dehlin. Some of the details Dehlin reports are off per my review of this (this is also pointed out in comments below this) but this article is mostly correct per my own research and understanding.
Secular
- 5 Worst Paying U.S. Cities for Women (4/5 are predominantly LDS)
- Anachronistic Quoting of Scripture in the Book of Mormon
- Answers to Creationist Attacks on C-14 Dating
- Beds, Bell Curves and Why the Church Can’t Believe Unbelievers Excellent article on those that leave the Church… either “not devout enough,” or “too devout.”
- Behold Other Scriptures I Would That Ye Should Write, Malachi in the Book of Mormon, by Colby Townsend. Outlines portions of Malachi that are anachronistic in the Book of Mormon, to include portions quoted by Nephi.
- The BITE Model (Steve Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert.”)
- Carbon Dating Gets a Reset
- Cognitive Distortions Fantastic article on 20 cognitive distortions, and how these can impact our mental health. Common cognitive distortions in high-demand religions include All or Nothing thinking, Black and White Thinking, Mind Reading, Fortune Telling/Jumping to Conclusions, Emotional Reasoning, Should Statements, Personalization, and Control Fallacies.
- Collective Narcissism Scale
- Confirmation Bias, Cognitive Dissonance and Motivated Reasoning An excellent review of these psychological phenomena.
- Contemporary Accounts of the First Vision There are NO clear accounts of anyone, friend, family or enemy alike hearing about the First Vision prior to the 1830’s (and this despite the intense persecution he states he received for sharing this story in 1820). Another great article about this from a BYU professor.
- Contemporary Accounts of Moroni/Nephi/Golden Plates. In Contrast to people documenting learning about the First Vision in the 1820’s (there is none) there are numerous accounts of family, friends and enemies learning about Moroni/Nephi/Golden plates in the 1820’s. These were written Before 1830. These were written after 1830 reflecting back to experiences they first heard about in the 1820’s (footnote 44, page 509, A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon)
- Cult Education Warning Signs, by Rick Ross
- Dendochronology and Radiocarbon Dating
- DNA Issues and Major Problems Facing the Apologetics
- Do You Work for a Narcissistic Organization? 9 signs of an unhealthy workplace. by Diane Dreher, PhD, Psychology Today
- Elevation Emotion An excellent article on the Elevation emotion. Jonathan Haidt outlines and describes this very well. It sounds very much like the “witness of the Spirit” Latter day Saints talk about, or the spiritual witness other religious adherents endorse receiving as well.
- Eleven Signs that you Lack Emotional Intelligence
- Fix Your Faith Crisis With This One Weird Trick Jonathan Streeter “In examining doubts about your own religion you should only rely on answers to your questions which have the power to discern truth from error.. an answer which would keep someone trapped in a false religion cannot be trusted to exonerate your own.”
- Genetics Provides Powerful Evidence of Evolution
- Indoctrination from Missionary Work “Othering”, Response on Quora that is very insightful regarding the process of social cohesion, othering and indoctrination.
- Joseph Smith Translation of the Biblep BYU Study on the Plagiarism of Adam Clarke’s Work
- Letter from a Doubter Very well done document describing many of the very troublesome aspects of many LDS truth claims. The author is respectful and honest with the data.
- Lake Suigetsu and the 60,000 Year Varve Chronology
- Links to numerous LGBTQ resources and topics to include around 500 peer-reviewed academic articles
- Logical Fallacies A great article on various logical fallacies… and how these can misdirect our thinking.
- The Midlife Unraveling, Brene Brown
- Meet the Real Narcissists (They’re Not What You Think)
- The Mormon Council of Fifty: What Joseph Smith’s Secret Records Reveal by Benjamin E. Park
- Mormons, You Aren’t Going Crazy. It’s Called Gaslighting.
- The Power of Unconditional Love, Newport Academy
- Pseudoarcheological Claims of Horses in the Americas
- A Recently Recovered Source: Rethinking Joseph Smith’s Bible Translation Article from BYU. They discovered that much of the JST comes from the Adam Clarke Commentary of the Bible. Sometimes verbatim.
- Response to 129 Archeological Evidences of the Book of Mormon
- The Original Length of the Scroll of Hor, by Andrew Cook and Christopher Smith. Discussion of length of Scroll of Papyri used for Book of Abraham. Used to be available at “Dialogue, a Journal of Mormon Thought.” Now seems to only available as an internet archive file (link above). Update: Link to “Dialogue…” working now: Dialogue Link, Length of the Scroll of Hor
- Simon’s DNA Musings In comments at bottom discusses misleading manner Icelandic study often cited by LDS apologists: “All of the major haplogroups we see today are present in ancient samples. However, ALL of the haplogroups present in Iceland 200 years ago can be found in living individuals. Thus the haplogroups are very useful for tracking population movements.”
- Simply Implausible: DNA and a Mesoamerican Setting for the Book of Mormon, Thomas Murphy, PhD
- Sin, Skin and Seed: Mistakes of Men in the Book of Mormon, Thomas Murphy, PhD
- Spirit Writing, Another Look at the Book of Mormon, by Scott C. Dunn, A Sunstone article discussing the phenomenon of Automatic writing.
- Tentative Faith Meets Uncompromising Facts , Simon Southerton, Response to LDS DNA essay
- Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism
- Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham Around 20 pages, written by famed non-LDS Egyptologist Robert Ritner, PhD. Strikes at heart of many of the Joseph Smith Papyri issues and avoids much of the obfuscation often surrounding this topic.
- When a Narcissist says these Ten Phrases, This is What they Really Mean
- Why Facts Don’t Change Minds, James Clear
Other
- 10 Things You Should Know When a Spouse Loses Faith
- The Adam God Cover-up, by Corbin Volluz
- Chronology of Mormon History
- Fake Facebook Accounts from LDS Workers to track “anti-Mormons.”
- The Hiding of Church History
- How Those Who Leave The LDS Church Are Viewed.
- How to Love your Spouse When they Don’t Love you Back
- Hundreds of Counts of Alleged LDS Child Sexual Abuse, many allegedly with signing of non-disclosure agreements
- Jerald Tanner’s Quest for Truth
- Kirby: Faith in Spouse makes Split-Faith Marriage Work
- The Lost Sheep
- Letter to Elder Boyd K. Packer regarding Homosexuality by David Eccles Hardy.
- Letter of Disbelief to Local Leadership A much shorter letter than the responses above. I sent this to our local leadership to illustrate what I found to be some of the most foundational problems with LDS truth claims, claims I could no longer support.
- LDS Resignation Letter My LDS Resignation Letter. Specific issues have to be addressed in a specific manner or else resignations are often difficult to have processed with the LDS Church.
- Lowry Nelson Letters/Exchanges on Racism with the First Presidency
- Minimization, Distortion, Deception and Spin in the LDS Church History Gospel Topics Essays Review I wrote about what I perceive to be dishonesty , minimization and misdirection in theofficial LDS Gospel Topics Essays based on an in depth analysis of the footnotes.
- The Mormon History Conspiracy Lays out some of the evidence for the suppression and re-writing of LDS History that has happened/happens by the LDS Church.
- Nauvoo Expositor Full Text from Fair Mormon
- New Israelites (Potential Involvement of Joseph Smith Sr. and William Cowdery, believed in literal gathering of Israel, polygamy, etc.)
- The Occult Sign Language Used Since Ancient Times
- Please Don’t Look Under the Hood. Response to Elder Renlund and Elder Corbridge Talks about getting out of the Boat and doubting.
- Problems with the Truth Claims of the LDS Church: A Summary
- The Psychological Effects of Mormonism, How Mormonism Affects People’s Self-Esteem, by Blair Watson
- Self Projection as God (Articles on Theories of this): The imaginal within the Cosmos, Self Projection as God, Self Projection as God rebuttal, “All Christianity is Self Projection as God.” , Religion: A Rorschachian Projection Theory
- The Silent Killer of Relationships (Unmet Expectations) Expectation – Observation = Frustration. Adjust this equation to adjust frustrations.
- The Making of a Torah Scroll, Michal Shekel, “No instrument containing iron or steel may be used in the creation of a Torah scroll, because these metals are used to create instruments of war.” May pose difficulty for the narrative of the brass plates.
- The Testimonies of the Smith Family and Church Leaders to the Calling of James J. Strange
- They Can Leave the Church but they Can’t Leave the Church Alone, by Brie Sweetly
- Tips for Transitioning, by Andrew Ainsworth
- Two Things you can Do When a Loved One Leaves the Church
- What I wish Mormons Knew about Those who Leave
- When God is Love, There is No Sad Heaven
- Why I Left The Church Where Will you Go, Musings of a Formerly Devout Mormon
- Why I Left the Mormon Church, Brandon Pearce
- Why I Left the Mormon Church, Candace
Blogs
Believing
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
Nuanced
- LDS Church is True Author is a faithful non-orthodox Latter-day Saint. He is intellectually honest about the facts and discusses these on his Blog while trying to frame these in a metaphorical paradigm. Based on his lived experience, he still believes the LDS Church is true, the “Body of Christ” and still supports local and general leaders.
Disbelieving
- LDSDiscussions.com “Our goal is to explore the various topics of Mormonism from a historical perspective using mostly LDS sources. The material on this site has been written by members of the LDS church that have left, and incorporates both critical and apologetic standpoints on each topic.”
- Lectures on Doubt
- Where Will You Go, Musings of a Formerly Devout Mormon
Secular
- Unpacking Ambiguity, “Thoughts on Faith, Spirituality, Religion, Scriptures, and Relationships” This is Anthony Miller’s blog. He went through his own painful faith transition from the LDS Church after reading the LDS essays and also learning his son was gay. He is very open about all of this publicly. Is very compassionate and thoughtful.
Other
- The Mormon Memo
- Prove All Things, Hold Fast to Good discusses many of the LDS Truth claims.
- Truth is Restored Again, A Gentle Awakening for the Sincere Seeker of Truth
Books
Believing
- Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn, an exommunicated former BYU professor who still believes the LDS Church is true. Meticulously researched and documented. Quinn outlines vast bodies of evidence for the magic Joseph Smith was involved in.
- God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines, a gay evangelical Christian. Vines explores paradigms regarding homosexuality anciently vs. today. He discusses scientific evidence about homosexuality and emotional health issues that arise with companionship vs. isolation. Vines squarely addresses Biblical verses discussing this matter. Review by Vines HERE
- History of the Church Official LDS Narrative of its history.
- In Sacred Loneliness by Todd Compton. Compton is a faithful LDS historian. His book about Joseph Smith’s wives is academically rigorous, honest, and incredibly disturbing to many.
- LDS Scriptures Free online: The Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price and Bible. Essential to the LDS construction and deconstruction phases of faith development. Some may choose to continue to use these during the reconstruction phase of faith development as well, viewing them through a different paradigm, but still seeing Divinity in them.
- Mormon Enigma by Linda Newell and Valeen Avery. A controversial ground breaking biography of Emma Smith written by two active women of the LDS Church. Journal entries, etc. from the wives of Joseph Smith. It both won awards from BYU for its historical accuracy and was black-listed (for a time) by upper leadership of the LDS Church.
- Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman, a very well respected LDS Historian. A biography of Joseph Smith, presented in as honest a manner as possible while continuing to use a lens of LDS faith. Rough Stone Rolling is a source for many of the LDS Gospel Topics Essays. A lengthy book with a VAST wealth of information in the footnotes.
Nuanced
- Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis- Deuteronomy, David Bokovoy, PhD Geared towards an LDS audience. Historical Criticism of Genesis- Deuteronomy as well as the Book of Moses, Abraham and Book of Mormon.
- The Crucible of Doubt by Terryl and Fiona Givens. Famous LDS “neo-Apologists,” They offer justifications and rationalizations for staying in the LDS Church after learning of troublesome truths.
- The Evolution of God by Robert Wright. Wright discusses how concepts of God have evolved over time. He both cites evidence challenging the literal narratives many have while at the same time, acknowledging there appears to be a general direction of increasing moral goodness through time. Perhaps itself a mark of Divinity.
- Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis, A Simple Developmental Map, by Thomas McConkie, an LDS Apologist. He pursued Eastern religions for a time and then eventually returned to the LDS fold with a new paradigm.
- Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity “Authors approach Smith’s sacred texts historically, textually, linguistically, and literarily to offer a multidisciplinary view. Scrupulous examination… opens new avenues for understanding the foundations of Mormonism… and transmission of sacred texts.”
- “This Is My Doctrine”: The Development of Mormon Theology. by Charles R. Harrell. Provides compelling evidence for the “bottom up” way LDS theology evolved over time. A nuanced approach and belief system.
- When Mormons Doubt: A Way to Save Relationships and Seek a Quality Life, by Jon Ogden, an LDS “neo-Apologist.” Ogden acknowledges difficult truths about the LDS Church from a faithful perspective. “Truth Beauty and Goodness.” Stresses the importance of placing people over dogma.
Disbelieving
- The Case Against the Case for Christ by Robert Price, PhD. Price’s take on Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ.” Price is a famous and well-respected New Testament scholar who holds a minority scholarly position in that he is agnostic as to if there was a historical Jesus at all.
- No Man Knows My History Biography of Joseph Smith by Fawn Brodie (former LDS). Brodie was viciously attacked upon publication of this work decades ago. Despite its biases, LDS historians today acknowledge most of this book is well written and factually accurate. This is a common source citation in historical books by orthodox LDS historians.
- Saints: The Standard of Truth? “A full blown annotation of the book to show where the LDS church still refuses to be honest with members about some difficult issues.”
Secular
- American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon Explores numerous bodies of evidence that challenge the narrative that the Book of Mormon is a literal historical record. e.g. Textual issues such as King James translational errors etc. that indicate copying from Bible, the phenomenon of automatic writing in the BofM creation, etc.
- The Bible Unearthed: Archeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts: “In this groundbreaking work that sets apart fact and legend, authors Finkelstein and Silberman use significant archeological discoveries to provide historical information about biblical Israel and its neighbors.”
- Combating Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert” (former Moodie Cult Member). The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults.
- Feeling Good the New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns, MD. Official websites here: Feeling Good. Book is about identifying and adjusting cognitive distortions of reality (common in high-demand religious groups) to be more in-line with actual reality. There is very good data doing so results in more peace, happiness and much better mental health.
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW. Every gift has its shadow, and every shadow its gift. Such is the case with imperfection. One of imperfection’s gifts Brown discusses is the possibility of vulnerability, a crucial foundation for compassion, empathy and emotional connection with self and others.
- Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Pulitzer prize winning book. Diamond hypothesizes how farm based societies came to dominate other societies over time, and the role the environment these societies evolved in played with this progression.
- Healing From Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas, LCSW. Hidden emotional abuse is common from narcissistic partners or narcissistic institutions. Thomas discusses how to recognize and heal from this.
- Imagining Lamanites: Native Americans and the Book of Mormon, Thomas Murphy’s Doctoral Dissertation
- The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, Robert K. Ritner, PhD, (very well respected non-LDS Egyptologist). “The first, full translation of the so-called Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri translated into English.”
- Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church Simon Southerton, Published 2004. The data from this book eventually led to the LDS Church changing the introduction of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon inhabitants being “amongst” the native American inhabitants rather than their “primary” ancestors.
- The Sacred Curse, Simon Southerton, published 2020. Provides “the most accessible and succinct scientific refutation of Mormonism’s Lamanite mythology” (Thomas Murphy).
Other
- An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer, retired CES instructor. Palmer reveals troubling evidence as to the origins of the LDS Church while simultaneously in this work trying to sustain the Divinity and goodness from the Book of Mormon and LDS Church. He eventually resigned his LDS membership. Mostly factually correct.
- Joseph Smith, the Making of a Prophet, Dan Vogel (free online)
- Wife No. 19, or the Story of a Life in Bondage… by Ann Eliza Young, “Brigham Young’s Apostate Wife.” This link is to free online book.
Movies/TV Series
Believing
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
- For the Bible Tells Me So (Netflix)
- Inside Out, Pixar
- Mankind: The Story of All of Us Excellent, 12 hour series. Produced by History Channel. Sometimes available on Netflix.
Other
Music/Songs
Believing
- O Divine Redeemer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- The Unmaking, Nichole Nordeman, written from a believing perspective.
Nuanced
- Yesterday, Imagine Dragons
Disbelieving
- Excommunication, Tyler Glenn, raised Mormon, album is about his transition out of the LDS Church.
- Killing in the Name
- Losing My Religion, R.E.M.
- Not Like Real Egyptian, Weird Alma
- Praying, Kesha
- Weird Alma, Humor and Parody. Many songs.
Secular
- Let it Go, Idena Menzel, from the Disney Movie, Frozen
- Let it Lie (from Smallfoot)
Other
- Burn the Ships, For King & Country
- Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
- I Dont’ Belong Here (Creep, Radihohead)
- Million Reasons, Lady Gaga
- Moana Soundtrack
- Rabbit Hole, Mindy Gledhill used to be a prominent orthodox LDS artist singing faith promoting music. She sings of her faith transition on this album.
- Redwing, Sarah Sample, sings of her LDS Faith Journey on this album.
- Say Something (I’m Giving Up On You)
- Second Wind, Angela Soffe, sings of her LDS faith transition on this album.
- Titanium, David Guetta
- You Are Free, Jimmy Eat World
- You Will Be Found, from Dear Evan Hansen
Podcasts/Talks
Believing
- DNA and the Book of Mormon Interview with Ugo Perego, PhD (population geneticist), principle author of LDS.org DNA essay In this interview, Perego rejects all claims of DNA evidence that purportedly supports the BOM and says point blank that there is ZERO DNA evidence to support BOM claims. He believes Lehi and his family immediately intermarried with Native Americans already in America, which is why their DNA disappeared.
- God’s LGBTQ Children featuring Tom Christofferson and Vance Bryce, Mesa AZ, Nov 6, 2018
- Mormon FAIR-Cast non-official believing apologetic LDS podcast from FAIR (foundation for apologetic information and research).
Nuanced
- BYU Maxwell Institute Podcast
- David Bokovoy: Applying Higher Criticism to Mormon Scripture
- Faith Matters Podcast (formerly “Mormon Matters”) Believing with nuanced views.
- Mormon Stories Podcast host John Dehlin. Hundreds of Mormons share their faith struggles. How they have frequently overcome familial and cultural challenges while embracing uncomfortable but true LDS history and standing for what they believe in. Frequently leans more disbelieving in views.
- A Thoughtful Faith Hosted by Dr Gina Colvin… “… highlights the journey from institutional toxicity to reconstruction and spiritual freedom… Gina is New Zealand Māori who grew up a Mormon. She currently worships locally with the Anglican Church and internationally with Community of Christ.”
- Top 25 Most Popular/Important Mormon Stories Episodes
Disbelieving
- The Flood Myth
- Infants on Thrones “The Philosophies of Men, Mingled with Humor” Often irreverent disbelieving perspective about Mormonism.
- Joseph Smith’s Changing View of God, Grant Palmer
- Naked Mormonism podcast, “Doubt your beliefs before you doubt the facts.” -Bryce Blankenagel. Podcast has a dual reputation for analyzing raw facts honestly, but also exhibiting strong bias, frequently showing contempt towards believers and the LDS Church (name-calling, etc.).
- Radio Free Mormon Podcast High Reviews from many.
Secular
- The Biological Basis of Homosexuality by Dr. William Bradshaw, BYU
- Fundamentals of Mental Health in a Religious Transition (from 2019 Thrive Conference)
- Homosexuality: It’s about survival, not sex, James O’Keefe, TED Talk
- Is the World Getting Better or Worse? A Look at the Numbers. Steven Pinker (TED talk). Pinker shows how violence, poverty, etc. have gone down dramatically over time and humanity has continued to progress forwards over time.
- Dr. Michael Coe: An Outsider’s View of Book of Mormon Archeology
- Radio Free Mormon: 184: The Brian Hauglid Interview Landmark interview about the Book of Abraham with Brian Hauglid, professor emeritus of ancient scripture days after his retirement from BYU. He was instrumental in writing the LDS Church’s essay about the Book of Abraham and believes the evidence does not support a literal translation of the Book of Abraham. As he says at 2:45-2:47 of the interview, he believes the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon are 19th century documents and not literal translations. He does not believe this necessarily takes away from the spiritual messages of each. At present, he states his relationship with the LDS Church is “complicated.”
- Dr. Robert Ritner- An Expert Egyptologist Translates the Book of Abraham Landmark series of interviews (12 hours total) by John Dehlin and Radio Free Mormon with Dr. Robert Ritner. His CV is HERE. He is one of the foremost Egyptologists in the world, currently teaches at the University of Chicago, and was recently made Department Chair there (not yet reflected in his CV, dated Jan 2020). University of Chicago is largely considered the pre-eminent University for Egyptology in the Western Hemisphere (Oldest Egyptology program in Western Hemisphere). Of note, Dr. Ritner was one of the professors at Yale that educated Dr. John Gee, an orthodox LDS Egyptologist well known for his defenses of the Book of Abraham.
- On Being Wrong, Kathryn Schulz, TED Talk
- Origins of Ancient Israel, Carol Meyers
- Patriarchs, Exodus, Conquest: Fact or Fiction? Israel Finkelstein Discusses the aspects of the Bible that are likely myth vs. grounded in concrete reality.
- Science vs. Dogma, Biology Challenges the LDS Paradigm, Gregory A. Prince
- What the Mormon Church can Learn from Cults to Do/Be Better. Steven Hassan
- Who Wrote the Bible? The Documentary Hypothesis (Regarding the Torah/Five Books of Moses)
- Why You Think You’re Right- Even if You’re Wrong, by Julia Galef, TED talk discussing using a “scout” mindset.
Other
- Crash Theory and Growth An Unrecognizable Jewish Future, Rabbi Benay Lappe, Eli Talks, Excellent talk on Faith Transitions
- The Faith Transition Podcast
- Jesse Stay, Former LDS Church Social Media Lead, discusses fake FB accounts, etc. used to track activity of those opposed to LDS Church.
- Leaving My Religion, The Risks and Rewards of Becomong Non-Religious, James Mulholland
- MormonDiscussions.org Links to many different Podcasts
- Taking the Mormons to Court: Defending Sexual Abuse Victims Against the LDS Church, Tim Kosnoff
- To Our Loved Ones, The Struggle is Real
- Year of Polygamy Podcast, starting with episode 1 A podcast by Lindsay Hansen Park. This is the most thorough review of LDS historical polygamy in one source I am aware of. Lindsay takes a very balanced and honest approach.
Support Groups/Personnel (In-Person)
Believing
Nuanced
- Mama Dragons, Support for Mothers of LGBTQ Children
Disbelieving
- Post Mormon Mental Health. Clauding Gallacher, Certified Life Coach. She no longer believes in the truth claims of the LDS Church. Offers consultations and coaching for those going through a faith transition.
- Recovering From Religion
Secular
- Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST, CSTS, Certified Sex Therapist. “Helping you Achieve Relational, Sexual and Spiritual Health.” In person and online consultations.
- Sara Hughes Zabawa, LMSW, CDWF, RYT. Symmetry Solutions. Offers online streaming counseling services in regards to a faith transition.
- THRIVE Beyond Mormonism, find Healing, Community and Joy
- Tiffany Roe School, MA, CMHC. Navigating LDS Faith-Based Transition. Has Two Hour video Course in conjunction with Sara Hughes Zabawa (see above). Also has a counseling service.
Other
Support Groups/Personnel (Online)
Believing
Nuanced
Marriage on a Tightrope: Support group for Mormon Mixed Faith Marriages. Allan and Kattie Mount, hosts of the Marriage on a Tightrope Podcast help moderate this group.
Mormon Historians: Anyone interested in LDS history can engage if constructive.
Mormon Stories Podcast Community: Mostly consists of nuanced Mormons and ex-Mormons.
Waters of Mormon Support Group: For those wanting to stay engaged in Mormonism. More Nuanced views.
Disbelieving
Mormon Enlightenment: Group of those who have most left or are leaving the LDS Church. Tries to maintain a relatively positive climate.
Secular
Other
Mormon Mixed Faith Marriages: For supporting Mixed faith LDS marriages, friendly to both active Latter-day Saints and former Latter-day Saints. Minimal discussion about doctrinal issues. More about supporting differentiation, boundaries, etc. Will merge with Marriage on a Tightrope Groups Jan1, 2020.
Thoughtful Transitions Support Group: For those seeking a healthy transition away from orthodox Mormonism.
Woke Mormons: Broad range of participants.
Why I Left App (See a Map of where others left the LDS Church and a short explanation of why. You are not alone, and the common Church stereotypes are not correct).
Websites
Believing
- Book of Abraham Project A private site that seeks to reconcile and defend the Book of Abraham from the Pearl of Great Price. It also has many other useful links to include Journals, Diaries, Biographies, Autobiographies and Letters of early Latter-day Saints.
- Church History Topics official LDS page with a brief discussion of many controversial Church History Topics such as the Counsel of 50, the Danites, Kinderhook plates, Masonry, etc. As of Dec 2019, this page and many of the topics on it are very difficult to find using the internal search engine of the LDS site. As with the LDS Gospel Topics Essays, researching these topics further can leave one with the sense that the LDS Church is being less than forthcoming in many of their explanations.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official website of the LDS Church.
- Fair Mormon: Faithful Answers An apologetic website for the LDS Church. MANY authors. Not an official LDS website, but supported unofficially by many LDS General Authorities. In general, FAIR has an orthodox perspective.
- Jeff Lindsay Site A prominent amateur orthodox LDS apologist. His writings on the Book of Mormon in particular are frequently cited in online forums and chats.
- Neal A. Maxwell Institute A site of articles, etc. from LDS scholars researching LDS scriptures. F.A.R.M.S. (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) was absorbed by the Maxwell Institute.
- LDS Gospel Topics Essays An official LDS response to difficult and controversial historical, doctrinal and textual issues. What used to be commonly believed as “anti-Mormon lies” are acknowledged as true in many of these essays.
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
Nuanced
- Mormon Primer by Bill Reel, Orthodox, Critical and Nuanced perspectives.
- Mormon Stories host John Dehlin. Hundreds of Mormons share their faith struggles. How they have frequently overcome familial and cultural challenges while embracing uncomfortable but true LDS history and standing for what they believe in.
- Why Mormons Question: Website by John Dehlin with many resources and research to better understand why Mormons question. (Doesn’t fit the typical stereotypes taught in orthodox LDS classrooms.)
Disbelieving
- 20 Truths about Mormonism., by Jim Day, PhD. Well written website of many basic concerns to Mormon Truth claims discussed on many other sites as well.
- Book of Mormon Plagiarism, “A list of evidence confirming the Book of Mormon was compiled from pre-existing sources.”
- Mormon Bandwagon Resource List (Critical of LDS Church)
- Mormonism 101 “The purpose of this website is to provide independent information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) based on verifiable sources and 34 years of active and committed church membership.”
- Post Mormon Life: A website packed with resources for those transitioning out of the LDS faith. “For Those Experiencing a Faith Transition: You May be Feeling Pain. You May Be Feeling Confused. You May Be Feeling Lost. Please Know this… You Are Not Alone.” https://postmormonlife.com/Prove All Things, Hold Fast to Good discusses many of the LDS Truth claims.
- The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible
- The Skeptic’s Annotated Book of Mormon
- Zelph on the Shelf. Humor, Satire, Atheist/Agnostic Perspective.
Secular
- Critical Thinking,
- FreedomofMind.com, Site associated with licenced health care provider Steven Hassan, “America’s Leading Cult Expert.” (prior Moonie Cult Member)
- The Gottman Institute, America’s Premier Marriage Experts. Fantastic site!
- Lectures on Doubt
- National Academies of Sciences
- Scientific American
- Wives of Joseph Smith This site draws primarily from historical documents about polygamy presented in “In Sacred Loneliness” and “Mormon Enigma” (both written by LDS historians).
Other
- Dialogue, a Journal of Mormon Thought, numerous uncorrelated articles and research published.
- Emotional Abuse Test
- The Gift of a Mormon Faith Crisis
- Joseph Smith Papers Official LDS Church website. Documentation of journals, etc. written by Joseph Smith.
- Journal of Discourses BYU website. Contains many early discourses from Brigham Young and other early LDS prophets and apostles.
- LDSDiscussions.com VERY comprehensive site. “Our goal is to explore the various topics of Mormonism from a historical perspective using mostly LDS sources. The material on this site has been written by members of the LDS church that have left, and incorporates both critical and apologetic standpoints on each topic.”
- MMHA (Mormon Mental Health Association)
- Mormon Spectrum Excellent resource page for websites, blogs and support groups, regardless of where one is on the LDS faith spectrum.
- MormonTransitions.org
- Mormon Think Presenting a range of perspectives and viewpoints concerning LDS history, privileging those they believe are the most accurate, consistent and empirically valid. Mormon Think Resource Page
- Protect The Children Activism Site of stories etc. of damages that can be caused by sexually explicit LDS interviews.
- Rational Faiths A site that generally seeks to remain faithful to LDS beliefs, but in a way that remains intellectually honest with the data as well.
- Saints: The Standard of Truth? “A full blown annotation of the book to show where the LDS church still refuses to be honest with members about some difficult issues.”
- Symmetry Solutions Mental Health Resource, Finding Balance and Beauty in Diversity and Growth.
- Thoughts on Things and Stuff Jonathan Streeter often uses a very snarky and confrontational tone towards the LDS Church. His articles that address aspects of a faith transition from any faith (Jehova’s Witnesses, Scientologists, etc.) are very useful. In particular THIS article is extremely well done and well-thought out.
- The Trevor Project, Saving LGBTQ Lives
- Unpacking Ambiguity, “Thoughts on Faith, Spirituality, Religion, Scriptures, and Relationships”
YouTube Clips or Channels
Believing
- DNA and the Book of Mormon Interview with Ugo Perego, PhD (population geneticist), principle author of LDS.org DNA essay In this interview, Perego rejects all claims of DNA evidence that purportedly supports the BOM and says point blank that there is ZERO DNA evidence to support BOM claims. He believes Lehi and his family immediately intermarried with Native Americans already in America, which is why their DNA disappeared.
- None of the Bretheren have seen God, Christ or Angels (to Dallin H. Oak’s knowledge). Shared at a multi-stake youth fireside.
- A Window Into Joseph Smith’s Translation, Brian Hauglid and Robin Jensen LDS Scholars (to include from BYU) admitting Book of Abraham doesn’t match the Joseph Smith papyri.
Nuanced
Disbelieving
- 50 Problems with the Mormon Church
- 50 More Problems with the Mormon Church
- Brother Jake, Humor and Satire, Disbelieving Perspective
- Zelph on the Shelf Humor, Satire, Both Secular and Atheist Perspective
Secular
- Bethany Kay Channel, an ex-Mormon perspective.
- What Happened Before History? (Human Origins)
- Which Bible Characters are Historical (vs. Mythological or Legendary)
Other
- How To Transition, how to speak with orthodox/believing LDS family members and friends about one’s faith transition
- Is the LDS Church Hiding Its History?
- The Joseph Smith Papyri (Book of Abraham) An overview of the issues.
- Leah Remini: Leaving Scientology
- Mormon, (Gordon B. Hinckley vs. Russel M. Nelson on name of LDS Church)
- No Ordinary Man Could Have Written This, Testimonies from religious adherents from many different disciplines
- Siberian Cult Leader Thinks He’s Jesus (Note the attitudes and beliefs of the followers)
- Spiritual Witnesses , Shows people from many different faiths testifying of very similar spiritual witnesses and Testimonies as LDS.
- “Witness” of the Spirit, Another video which shows people from many different faiths testifying of very similar spiritual witnesses and Testimonies as LDS.
INITIAL WORLD-VIEW CONSTRUCTION

Articles
Believing
- The 15 “Best Books” to Read BEFORE having a Faith Crisis
- Books to Build Faith, Dan Peterson
- Charity Never Faileth
- Did the Apostles Really Die as Martyrs for their Faith?, by Sean McDowell, PhD, an assistant professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University.
- He Walked the Americas – Evidence of Jesus by Native Americans
- Hope for Parents of Wayward Children (official LDS page)
- Joseph Smith and the Messiah, Prophetically Linked
- LDS General Conferences
- Mounting Evidence for the Book of Mormon, Daniel Peterson, Ensign, 2000
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Blogs
Believing
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Books
Believing
- An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon A Book by John Sorenson, emeritus professor of Anthropology from BYU. Attempts to place the Book of Mormon in the most plausible Geographical and Historical Setting based on the scientific evidence at hand.
- Believing Christ, The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News Stephen Robinson. An landmark book in changing the way many Latter-day Saints began viewing and believing in grace.
- The Blessings of Abraham: Becoming a Zion People, E. Douglas Clark
- Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, Noel B. Reynolds (editor and author) Series of faith-promoting essays, mostly from BYU professors.
- The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Strobel was an investigative journalist before becoming a full-time Christian Apologist. He outlines his journey from Atheism to Christianity and why he came to believe after examining the evidence.
- An Egyptian Endowment Hugh Nibley makes the case that the funerary scripts that are the Joseph Smith papyri are actually an ancient apostate Egyptian version of the LDS Temple endowment.
- The Great Apostasy, Elder James E. Talmage “A summary of the most important evidences of the decline and final extinction of the primitive church.”
- History of the Church Official LDS Narrative of its history.
- History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, Lucy Mack Smith A Classic.
- Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, Richard Lloyd Anderson A faith-promoting review of the character of the Book of Mormon Witnesses and the evidence for the sincerity of their beliefs and witnesses, which there is no clear record of any of them ever denying.
- Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage “One who gets the understanding, the vision, and the spirit of the resurrected Lord through a careful study of the text Jesus the Christ by Elder James E. Talmage will find that he has greatly increased his moving faith in our glorified Redeemer.” Elder Marion G. Romney
- Joseph Smith the Prophet, Truman G. Madsen A faith promoting classic biography of Joseph Smith.
- The Language of God by Francis Collins. Collins is the head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was the head of the Human Genome Project. He is a very well respected scientist and physician and outlines here some of the logical reasons he believes in God. He believes in organic evolution and does not believe in a “God of the Gaps” scenario.
- LDS Scriptures Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price and Bible.
- Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith, Jr. A classic. This used to be canonized LDS scripture and was considered the “Doctrine” portion of the 1835 “Doctrine and Covenants.”
- Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon, Phyllis Carol Olive, Makes the case that per scripture, Joseph Smith and other early LDS leaders, New York is the region of the Book of Mormon Lands. Tries to make the case there have been geological changes since Book of Mormon times making the Book of Mormon Lands hidden now.
- The Lost Tribes of the Book of Mormon, Phyllis Carol Olive Makes the case the ancient American “Mound Builders” were the ancient Nephite inhabitants. (a common belief at the time of Joseph Smith as well).
- The Martin Harris Story, Madge Tuckett “This work is unquestionably the most intimate account of Martin Harris, who witnessed the revelation, growth, and persecution of the early church.”
- A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Elder Legrand Richards Used to be part of the LDS missionary series. Very good review of the doctrinal arguments and logic in favor of the LDS Church.
- Mormon Doctrine, Elder Bruce R. McConkie A Classic
- Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Our Search for Happiness, Elder M. Russell Ballard “… explains the Church and LDS beliefs in a clear and inoffensive way.”
- Traditions About the Early Life of Abraham Many traditions about the Early Life of Abraham are documented here. Some of these are argued not to have been known at the time of Joseph Smith (but still documented in the Book of Abraham).
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Movies/TV Series
Believing
- Gospel Media Videos (official LDS)
- Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration
- Legacy
- Living Scriptures (not official LDS videos)
- Meet the Mormons
- The Other Side of Heaven
- The Testaments
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Music/Songs
Believing
- LDS Hymns (official)
- Living Scriptures Songs
- Mormon Channel Music Videos (Official LDS page)
- O Divine Redeemer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- Primary Songs (official)
- The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square Official page, 24/7 music streaming, videos, audio, etc.
- The Top 100 Greatest LDS Songs of All Time (LDS Living list)
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Podcasts/Talks
Believing
- BYU Classic Speeches
- Divine Love, Elder Russell M. Nelson “While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional.”
- General Conference
- Help Me Understand the Book of Mormon. Chapter by chapter review.
- His Grace is Sufficient, Brad Wilcox. Very popular BYU talk. “So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source… It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch.
- LDS Perspectives “Exploring Mormon history, doctrine, and culture with amazing LDS scholars from a faithful perspective.”
- Mormon FAIR-Cast non-official believing apologetic LDS podcast from FAIR (foundation for apologetic information and research).
- Saints, official LDS site. “… features interviews with historians, General Authorities, writers, researchers, and others involved with the new history of the Church, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days.”
- The Seven Deadly Heresies, Elder Bruce R. McConkie A classic. 1. God is continually progressing, 2. Organic Evolution, 3. Temple Marriage Guarantees Exaltation, 4. Second Chances for Salvation, 5. Progression Between Kingdoms, 6. Adam is our Father and our God, 7. Misunderstanding of Perfection to Gain Salvation
- Taking Upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ, Dallin H. Oaks
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Support Groups/Personnel (In-Person)
Believing
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Support Groups/Personnel (Online)
Believing
Nuanced
Disbelieving
Secular
Other
Websites
Believing
- Book of Abraham Project A private site that seeks to reconcile and defend the Book of Abraham from the Pearl of Great Price. It also has many other useful links to include Journals, Diaries, Biographies, Autobiographies and Letters of early Latter-day Saints.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official website of the LDS Church.
- ComeUntoChrist.org (Formerly Mormon.org) The official proselyting website for the LDS Church.
- Deseret Book
- Fair Mormon: Faithful Answers An apologetic website for the LDS Church. MANY authors. Not an official LDS website, but supported unofficially by many LDS General Authorities. In general, FAIR has an orthodox perspective.
- Jeff Lindsay Site A prominent amateur orthodox LDS apologist. His writings on the Book of Mormon in particular are frequently cited in online forums and chats.
- Jesus Christ
- Joseph Smith
- LDS Scriptures Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price and Bible.
- LDS General Conferences
- Top 90 Mormon Blogs and Websites List of LDS related blogs, orthodox, nuanced and post-Mormon. “The best Mormon blogs from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness.” https://blog.feedspot.com/mormon_blogs/
Nuanced
- Mormon Spectrum Excellent resource page for websites, blogs and support groups, regardless of where one is on the LDS faith spectrum.
- Neal A. Maxwell Institute A site of articles, etc. from LDS scholars researching LDS scriptures. F.A.R.M.S. (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies) was absorbed by the Maxwell Institute.
Disbelieving
- Post Mormon Life: A website packed with resources for those transitioning out of the LDS faith. “For Those Experiencing a Faith Transition: You May be Feeling Pain. You May Be Feeling Confused. You May Be Feeling Lost. Please Know this… You Are Not Alone.” https://postmormonlife.com/
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