There are two sites that I have come across, in my search and research. Each of them is for Mormons who have a serious concern or question about Mormonism. I have looked each one over briefly and I feel that neither of them is critical of or bitter toward the Church. In fact, the first one, StayLDS, encourages people to embrace the Church and remain active in it.
StayLDS.com is a site for people with serious questions about the Church--perhaps its history or its doctrine or policies. For example, I have a major concern with its policy concerning homosexual behavior. It provides a forum where these questions and concerns can be openly discussed. This is beneficial because many times, a Mormon with such a concern cannot turn to friends or family members with that concern out of fear of being viewed as heretic or apostate. Yet, the truth of the matter is, they want to remain part of the Church and they want to believe it, they just have a serious question and are sincerely looking for an answer. So, this site provides a network of support for people in that situation that feel like remaining close to the Church will be beneficial.
PostMormon.org targets a slightly different audience. It is also for people who have for one reason or another found some sort of conflict with their own views and the church's doctrine (again, using my conflict as an example). But, this group is for people who feel that leaving the Church is the best option. These people may have been excommunicated, or they may have left the Church on their own free will. However, they are not bitter toward the Church, they have no desire to defame or attack the Church in any way. They see the Church as a good organization sincerely trying to lead people to Christ. But they feel that they can be more than what the Church allows them to be. For example, homosexual people may feel like the Church does not allow them to be themselves, since it asks its homosexual members to remain single and celibate for life. Hence, a homosexual person may wish to leave the Church in order to fully express himself. If I were to leave the Church, this is the position that I would take. I would bear it no ill will, nor would I attempt to dissuade any other person from full membership in it. I believe it is a respectable institution and that it does much good for society and for its members.
And so, to anyone who is Mormon and for one reason or another is disenchanted with it, I would recommend one of these two sites. I would also beg you not to harbor ill will toward the Church. It may have harmed you, it may have offended you. I don't want to marginalize any of that hurt or offense. But, I urge you to be Christlike and to give them the benefit of the doubt. Return hate for love.
For those of you who are active members of the Church and wish to remain so, I would not recommend visiting either site. As far as I have seen, there is nothing on either site that is anti-Mormon, but at the same time I doubt that you would find anything there appealing since each is targeted to those who have deep concerns of one nature or another.
For anyone who is not a member of the Mormon church but is curious about it, I would encourage you to learn more. It is a good church and has a lot to offer. You may or may not find one or both of these sites useful as you study about the Church. I would definitely recommend visiting one or both of the Church's official sites, LDS.org or Mormon.org to learn more. In fact, included below is a button that links to my personal profile on Mormon.org.
StayLDS.com is a site for people with serious questions about the Church--perhaps its history or its doctrine or policies. For example, I have a major concern with its policy concerning homosexual behavior. It provides a forum where these questions and concerns can be openly discussed. This is beneficial because many times, a Mormon with such a concern cannot turn to friends or family members with that concern out of fear of being viewed as heretic or apostate. Yet, the truth of the matter is, they want to remain part of the Church and they want to believe it, they just have a serious question and are sincerely looking for an answer. So, this site provides a network of support for people in that situation that feel like remaining close to the Church will be beneficial.
PostMormon.org targets a slightly different audience. It is also for people who have for one reason or another found some sort of conflict with their own views and the church's doctrine (again, using my conflict as an example). But, this group is for people who feel that leaving the Church is the best option. These people may have been excommunicated, or they may have left the Church on their own free will. However, they are not bitter toward the Church, they have no desire to defame or attack the Church in any way. They see the Church as a good organization sincerely trying to lead people to Christ. But they feel that they can be more than what the Church allows them to be. For example, homosexual people may feel like the Church does not allow them to be themselves, since it asks its homosexual members to remain single and celibate for life. Hence, a homosexual person may wish to leave the Church in order to fully express himself. If I were to leave the Church, this is the position that I would take. I would bear it no ill will, nor would I attempt to dissuade any other person from full membership in it. I believe it is a respectable institution and that it does much good for society and for its members.
And so, to anyone who is Mormon and for one reason or another is disenchanted with it, I would recommend one of these two sites. I would also beg you not to harbor ill will toward the Church. It may have harmed you, it may have offended you. I don't want to marginalize any of that hurt or offense. But, I urge you to be Christlike and to give them the benefit of the doubt. Return hate for love.
For those of you who are active members of the Church and wish to remain so, I would not recommend visiting either site. As far as I have seen, there is nothing on either site that is anti-Mormon, but at the same time I doubt that you would find anything there appealing since each is targeted to those who have deep concerns of one nature or another.
For anyone who is not a member of the Mormon church but is curious about it, I would encourage you to learn more. It is a good church and has a lot to offer. You may or may not find one or both of these sites useful as you study about the Church. I would definitely recommend visiting one or both of the Church's official sites, LDS.org or Mormon.org to learn more. In fact, included below is a button that links to my personal profile on Mormon.org.
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