I was a Mormon missionary 10 years ago and now am an aetheist. I would give anything to have the two years of my youth back and to have lived them for myself. I cannot begin to describe the resentment I feel for the situation leading this young man to choose to go on a mission. Had I realized then as I do now that there is no god I would never have gone on a mission, despite the consequences. Two of the best years of your only life are not worth delaying a heartbreak that will surely come to your parents when living a lie is no longer an option. The best way to be a bad missionary is to avoid the whole disgusting situation altogether. The mission I served, though I believed I was doing the right thing and serving god at the time, is the single greatest regret in my life.

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

stevecass718 My friend said he was high the whole time he was on his mission! Did you feel it yourself? I assume it's feeling the spirit.

@stevecass718

9 жыл бұрын

Yes there were times that I felt the sense of euphoria that the missionaries believe represents the holy spirit. I also felt guilt, pain, inadequacy, fatigue and a whole range of human emotions. I came to find out that while there were a range of powerful emotions i felt that are considered by the faithful to be spiritual, they were not evidence of any correct dogmatic beliefs or gods.

@chamomiletea9562

6 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry for your lost years. Glad to know you may now live your life with gusto and be the master of your own life. Nothing compares with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

@iwaswithyourmom9410

6 жыл бұрын

high from drinking coffee?

@Skyefaux

5 жыл бұрын

Same man... I cant believe I did that. I came home from mine about 4 years ago. Atheist now.

I came out as an atheist a little over 10 years ago. My father said said(literally) FIVE words; "Get out of my house". All of them are Mormons. I've always called my dad on his birthday (my mother the same) and they seriously pretend that they don't know who I am and hang up the phone... Atheism was a very lonely path for me, as everyone I knew was Mormon and NONE of them will so much as entertain my existence. Absolutely worth it! I realised about two years ago that I don't need those people in my life. It was hard as Ron Jeremy's dick at first, but I came to understand that comfort with myself was paramount. I don't need others to validate me or my lack of belief. - Zakky

A proud Ex-Mormon Atheist here!!! Thanks Seth for this show, I was really looking forward to something like this from TTA.

From the way my mormon mother reacted when she just caught me drinking coffee, one would think I was mainlining heroin. It's sad how she believes an all powerful deity cares what I drink.

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

Grace H Please always separate people from the Mormon faith (Jesus Christ).

@AdrianLParker

9 жыл бұрын

Well, coffee contains things like tanic acid. Unquestionably a lot of things you buy in grocery stores are unhealthy for you. If God exists, and I don't believe he does, I'm sure he'd want you to be healthy. And if you're American, you've got it pretty bad. Your grade AAA beef is about equivalent to our (Canadian) grade C meat.

@RB-zh1eq

6 жыл бұрын

Richard Holmes always comes to the rescue for Mormonism. Blind faith. Eyes covered, ears plugged. Science, fact denying. Mormon.

@carlpen850

6 жыл бұрын

@ Grace H... just be glad you didn't spill any of that coffee on your magic underwear or you would of really been doomed

@enki354

5 жыл бұрын

They do sell decaffeinated coffee.

I spent the first 38 years of my life as a devout, all-in, temple attending Mormon. What a shock it was to discover that the basic history of the church is a complete lie. I have tremendous respect for other Ex-Mormons. I know it is aweful to leave. It really is social suicide. Hats off to this young man! How fascinating it would be to hear from this young man after his mission. I guarantee he'll have some very interesting stories to tell. He will have a unique perspective into Mormonism.

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

***** Most Atheists come from some kind of theist background! p.s. ever seen a shadow disappear?

@FordJacobs

9 жыл бұрын

I don't understand your point. True many atheists come from religious backgrounds. So what?

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

***** Don't understand why Mormonism (Jesus Christ) receives so much attention!

@FordJacobs

9 жыл бұрын

Richard Holmes it may not be quite as much attention as you think. If you are a Mormon, then you're a lot more exposed to Mormonism than most people.

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

***** Am aware I suppose that anti-Mormons know too much about Mormonism to be of the general average populace!

I had two mormons stop once last year, while I was waiting for a bus, and I just shut them down telling them I was an Atheist. One of them asked "Well do you believe in a higher power?" I shook my head and replied "Not at all."

When I heard about the mountain massacre where they killed the settlers and then tried to blame it on the native Americans that's all I needed to know about them.

@enki354

5 жыл бұрын

I had a Mormon as a roommate he was always trying to convert me. He was constantly telling me how great his religion was funny he never mentioned the massacre.

@daveyjones9930

5 жыл бұрын

Olli. (Sorry for the 2 year response lag! I just now found Seth's great articles.) I was a Mormon for FIFTY YEARS!! I know, I know. How F'ed is THAT?! The thing that got me was the fact that my LDS religion was a CORPORATION. Seems innocuous, but churches that choose to become a corporation violate the "separation of church and State" clause, because the STATE then can insert itself between God and the member, via CORPORATE LAW and dictate to that church what they can say and teach and what they can't. The problems, both legal AND scriptural, with a church corporation (ALL church corporations) is outlined perfectly in the book "In Caesar's Grip" by Peter Kershaw. (I think the book is only available at P.K.'s website.) A bit legalistic but still VERY worth reading! After a brief discussion with one of the upper echelon leaders in Salt Lake City, a lawyer and an apostle, on the corporate issue, I realized he was LYING to me...which caused me to realize that if he was lying to me about this OBVIOUS FACT, *what else* were they lying to me about?? I quickly found out!! Those OTHER LIES hit me like a tsunami, and within 2 years I submitted my resignation from the church I was born and raised in! Oddly enough (or serendipitously enough) the date of my resignation was July 4th...Independence Day!! Since leaving Mormonism, the "corporate" issue is now about 20 issues down from the main ones on my current list of issues. Here I am 20 years later still trying to extricate myself from the Mormon CULTure mindfuck!

@donkink3114

5 жыл бұрын

When I heard Joseph had been convicted I was like nope.

@42apostate

5 жыл бұрын

@@donkink3114 Joe was convicted? Convicted of what? Joe was murdered in 1844. The "massacre" @ Mountain Meadows took place in 1857 (9/11).

@daveyjones9930

5 жыл бұрын

@@donkink3114 Joe was charged with treason but was murdered before he could be tried. He WAS CONVICTED of fraud earlier for "glass looking" (embezzlement/fraud) paid a fine and then skipped town. The Book of Mormon was just another aspect of Joe's love of treasure seeking.

My favorite analysis of Joseph's various accounts of the gold plates centers around Joseph's claim that he tucked the plates under one arm like a loaf of bread and he claims that he went sprinting home through the woods some 3 miles fighting off animals and robbers along the way. A metals expert determined based on Joseph's description of the size of the gold plates that gold of that volume would weigh a little over 200 pounds. Of course, since Joseph never held that volume of gold he did not know what it might actually weigh. The thought of him sprinting through the woods like a half back with a 200 pound football under one arm is preposterous. I'm strong as hell and I would be hard pressed to carry a 200 pound chunk of metal 50 yards using both hands. Running with it is out of the question.

@svartvist

5 жыл бұрын

Another essential fact is Joseph did this on a New Moon night--after midnight, very close to the Autumnal Equinox. He also supposedly climbed a tree stump and hid them inside until his pursuers disappeared....

@richardholmes7199

5 жыл бұрын

The plates were more like 40, 45 lbs you LIAR!

@richardholmes7199

5 жыл бұрын

@Scion of Madness Don't tell me to shut up, got it?

@richardholmes7199

5 жыл бұрын

@Scion of Madness By the way, who said that they were solid gold?

@andreworr4307

5 жыл бұрын

The man was so obviously a con man it's painful,lol,when he found a few pages of Egyptian hieroglyphs and he supposedly translated it,as soon as someone who actually knew the language it was exposed as a few pages from the book of the dead,absolutely nothing that Joseph Smith said it contained was real,it was complete lies,lol !and many rank and file Mormons are kept ignorant of this truth

I have a Mormon friend and while they are super nice, it's painfully obvious and pitiful how brainwashed they are. They know very little of actual facts about the world and are extremely backwards on alot of things. (gay marriage etc) As an atheist it's sometimes very hard being friends with them, and I want to respect their beliefs, but sometimes it's so damned hard when all I hear spewing out of their mouths is bigotry.

@fishysnake1

7 жыл бұрын

+ nerdieone. I struggle with what "respect belief" means. To give you an example, I'm an atheist and used to work as a support worker for intellectually disabled adults. One of my duties was supporting a lady to attend Catholic mass. She'd participate in mass while I read a book. I had another a support worker tell me in no uncertain terms I was doing the wrong thing as I had an obligation to "respect the lady's beliefs." It troubled me, so I brought it up with my boss. My boss told me I had no obligation whatsoever to respect the lady's beliefs, my only obligation was to respect the lady herself. I've never forgotten it and try to apply it to all my interactions with people of faith. It's not always easy, I don't always succeed: it's hard to ignore being told you're willful, idiotic, proud and lying about your own thoughts over and over regardless of whether you're talkng to a Christian, Muslim or Deepak Chopra fan, and I do tend to snap when a complete stranger online asks if my stupidity is the result of an especially deep alien anal probe simply because I've said I'm a happy atheist , but being on the receiving end of character assassination means you know how it feels so I guess it's an oddly helpful deterrent to doing it to someone else.

@nerdieone1

6 жыл бұрын

Hello sorry it took so long to reply! After a while I think I'm going to cut ties with these friend. We no longer get along at all and they've just turned into a massive jerk. I should not have to respect their beliefs as they do nothing but purposely try to belittle and crush the rights of others. What's to respect about that?

@margaretjohnson6259

5 жыл бұрын

the only thing you "ought" to do is respect others' rights to believe as they wish. you don' t have to respect their silly beliefs.

@andreworr4307

5 жыл бұрын

Why should you respect their beliefs when they clearly don't give a shit about anyone else's? And many of their beliefs are patently absurd,bigoted,and selfish.you owe them respect exactly equivalent to what they give to others,which is basically nil !

@andreworr4307

4 жыл бұрын

I think this thing about respecting peoples beliefs is a mistake as we are just bolstering their delusions,many belief systems do not deserve respect

The mormons love each other until you leave and then you are the lowest low.

@daveyjones9930

4 жыл бұрын

Islam murders their apostates. Mormons murder (or attempt to) their apostate's reputation and character. If the United States was an LDS theocracy, I have no doubt they would treat their apostates JUST LIKE ISLAM!

@robertrosskopf4641

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's tough loving someone if they consistently choose to rebel against you.

@outlawJosieFox

3 жыл бұрын

So they love you so long as you are still paying the tithe?

@outlawJosieFox

3 жыл бұрын

@@daveyjones9930 Ditto the rabid right wing Evangelicals currently lifting dirty Donald Trump up to the presidency

First time listener ,raised in mormonism living in Utah ...when the blinders come off its just like a throat punch but am thankful for podcasts such as this wich I might add is very relatable ,u spoke to me today w ppl like David Fitzgerald,Mythvision ,Naked Mormonism,Mormon stories podcast ect.to help me navigate through this discovery of being lied to for 30+yrs.i wish they had support groups for ppl like me lol . I just steer clear of organized religious blah blah blah nowdays .

Hey guys- Like I said in the video, if you guys need anybody to talk to I'm all ears! Thanks again for having me on Seth, always a pleasure :) -Brooke

"Joseph Smith died from polygamy" -David "Whaddya mean, like from exaustion?" -Seth lmao ded

@veganatheistandmore

3 жыл бұрын

hahaha...

@metalhead0274

3 жыл бұрын

Polygamy.. married to more than one spouse.. He died from polygamy...lol damn. Talk about a bad marriage.

@daveyjones9930

2 жыл бұрын

Actually Joe died from POLYANDRY. A few of the real/first husbands of Joe's women were in the mob that shot him.

I was raised Mormon, I am surrounded by Mormons, My family is almost all Mormon. I am not a Mormon, because I can actually THINK.

Oh yes the Mormon. We had them in our neighbourhood in hk. All tall young decent looking white men in white shirts and red ties. They specialised in teen girls. Then they disappeared all of a sudden. Mission unaccomplished?

WOW...BEST-PICTURE-EVER! I absolutely LOVE the Rocket-Temple! That, with the "Kolob or Bust!" should be made into a T-Shirt :D

I thought he was joking when he mentioned the university name, I thought it was "Bring-Em Young" as a joke about indoctrination when people were still children. Also am I the only one who keeps humming the south park episode's "Joseph smith was a prophet, dum-de-dum-dum-dum"....

@robertrosskopf4641

4 жыл бұрын

I thought it was a joke about polygamy...!? Of course South Park never mentions that Martin Harris saw the angel Moroni and the gold plates...

@82566

3 жыл бұрын

Ur definitely not alone 😆after a conversation w my family or neighbors this little song is song in my head 🙄🤣

No prizes for guessing where the 30 "dislikes" came from.

@ryuukin178

8 жыл бұрын

Mitt romney and his 29 children?

@martina5719

7 жыл бұрын

minus his dog !

@Questron71

7 жыл бұрын

Of course... not even the Mitt would put internet access on top of his own cars...

@jessehuckabee4551

7 жыл бұрын

istoppedthecar nine months later and there's only 33

@42apostate

5 жыл бұрын

I know where the "dislikes" come from. THere are a group of Mormons that whenever one of them finds a video that is not Mormon friendly, that one will alert the others and they will all move in and hit the dislike button. They don't even bother to view/listen to the video. I think they believe they earn *Jesus Points* by doing this. They are DESPERATE!! What they don't realize is that the number of VIEWS are what counts for the video presenter....to which they are contributing. The thumbs up or down are somewhat meaningless.

There's a superfluous 'M' in the title of this podcast...

@thewhat531

5 жыл бұрын

The ormons

@kevinblackandwhite8273

5 жыл бұрын

Brilliant! And it's MORONS!

@andreadiamond7115

5 жыл бұрын

LMAO

@robertrosskopf4641

4 жыл бұрын

Another cheap shot.

@outlawJosieFox

3 жыл бұрын

Well somebody is getting very very rich off of this shit so ???

I grew up in the Yukon which is not the most religious place. I was in my twenties when I discovered that Mormons and evangelicals were real. I knew that they existed but always thought that the depictions of them, the degree and beliefs themselves were creations of Hollywood. I had no idea this was real. I just cannot relate to this.

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

Jerad Clark Can't comment on evangelical! Don't even know what it is! But I know that Mormonism is true!

@richardholmes7199

9 жыл бұрын

***** You're incorrect! Am certain of it!

@Jpink-rd5hq

8 жыл бұрын

+Prudence yes i know myself that mormons and evangelicals are real when it comes to literalism . Both groups are into literalism and both groups are exclusive. how do i know??? i. am a Evangelical born again christian and mormon convert. i am a progressive modern post modernists born again christian mormon. i dont read into everything literal either. i read things into metaphors and symbollisms as well. Both evangelicals and mormons would not agree with me reading Emanuel swedenborgs writings and Marilyn furgersons book the Aquarian conspiracy and pro gay marriage. To me gay marriage has nothing to do with literalism

@enki354

5 жыл бұрын

How do you know it's true?

@enki354

5 жыл бұрын

Here, Here

AND I BEELIIIIIEEEEVEEEEEE THAT THE GARDEN OF EDEN WAS IN JACKSON COUNTY MISSOURI!!!!!!!!

@kellydalstok8900

3 жыл бұрын

Saw it twice: once in London, once in Amsterdam.

Me and all my siblings(3) have left the church. my mom goes to church and all her friends give all these stories about how god has guided them in raising their children to be missionaries etc. she now doesn't go to church except to help the library. she feels like god has given up on her. at this point she wont even say if she is deist, theist or anything. wont even debate religion. she just doesn't realize that she raised 4 brilliant kids who all were able to see the lds church is false. who don't base their beliefs on feelings but instead on evidence.

@FordJacobs

9 жыл бұрын

Sounds very familiar.

@RickFlyFish

8 жыл бұрын

+austin h Sorry god didn't give up on her because god doesn't exist to begin with

@andreworr4307

4 жыл бұрын

The sad effects of religion

@RickFlyFish

3 жыл бұрын

@John Texas Incorrect, science doesn't really "prove" anything, proofs are used in mathematics and alcohol! Science relies on facts and test data that point to a conclusion which supports or does not support a hypothesis. So science goes both ways it either support it or it does not, so yes it would in your words "disprove" the existence of god. We can say that no god exists because gods rely on magic and in science we know magic does not exist in this universe. Please study/understand the scientific method.

@RickFlyFish

3 жыл бұрын

@John Texas Wrong answer once again, and you "proved" my point PROOF is only used in alcohol and MATHEMATICS. Science follows the scientific method so please try to understand there is NO PROOF in Science it relies on data and facts that support or does not support a conclusion...Period! You are the one who needs an education in something other than high school. ALL Theories are back up by evidence that support or do not support a hypothesis, PERIOD, again... In fact the stupid little box you are typing on right now is based on ELECTRICAL THEORY, quantum theory and some electrical laws that have been proven so accurate that it made the transition from theory to laws. Once again you show you don't understand the basics of science and it's methods

Literally listening to this on my lunch break at work. Your videos are very informative

On Amazon, his book link has the Kindle Version at $6.66, which is epic.

Wonderful information about the Mormon cult. I think people follows religion(s) out of fear of dying and out of ignorance too.

I am an x mormon, it took me tell my mid 40's to finally investigate the truth. I am not an atheist but I have been enjoying listing to your podcasts. I try to approach everything with an open mind.

I always love the "I'm an atheist, and my spouse is *insert religion*", just because that actually sounds like a really solid relationship. But they always remind me of Nacho Libre: "They tried to convert each other, but they just got married instead."

@OuttaMyMind911

4 жыл бұрын

Nacho Libre was also written and directed by a Mormon.

Seth Andrews, thank you for this podcast and your special guest David Fitzgerald discussing his book The Mormons.

His story was similar to mine. I felt like I had to go on my mission.

Thank you both for your great work!

I was raised Mormon, and though my family is sad and disapointed that I don't believe, they don't treat me any different at all.

@johnlee1352

8 жыл бұрын

+Orochimaruswife1 Congratulations on your exit from the Mormon Church. You're not strong or stable enough to be a Mormon anyhow. You saved us the trouble of throwing you out. Have a nice, unaccountable life.

@Orochimaruswife1

8 жыл бұрын

+John Lee wow, I can feel the love. I'm heartbroken, sir, heartbroken! oh, how will I ever get over the tragedy of being snubbed by some guy on the internet? oh, wait. logic. science. freedom. confidence. you know, my most of my former "church family" members still keep contact with me and don't judge or proselytize to me. they love me in spite of our disagreements. maybe you should learn some tolerance from your fellow church goers.

@johnlee1352

8 жыл бұрын

+Orochimaruswife1 I have tolerance up the wazoo for church goers. Just not the exie trolls who come here to denigrate and bash my faith. Then I have a problem. You'll feel the "love" again!

@Orochimaruswife1

8 жыл бұрын

+John Lee I didn't bash your faith at all. you're a bitter, rude person. I'm sorry you're so sad. have a nice day.

@johnlee1352

8 жыл бұрын

+Orochimaruswife1 Not sad...determined.

My only Son is being raised Mormon, This scares the crap out of me. Very militaristic!

@jordanallen3078

5 жыл бұрын

Why are you not in his life?

@snate56

4 жыл бұрын

@@jordanallen3078 Because he's not mormon.

@robertrosskopf4641

4 жыл бұрын

Many families have survived such an event.

@daveyjones9930

3 жыл бұрын

If your son is smart, he'll wake up and realize he's in a cult. Give him time...

always take two Mormons fishing because if you take just one he will drink all your beer...This is why Mormon missionaries go in pairs, to keep each other in check!

@GrinNBarrett

9 жыл бұрын

LOL John like your comment.

OK, but wouldn't be awesome if the Mormon Temple was really a spaceship?

@michaeldautel7568

6 жыл бұрын

NICK ALIMONOS no it would not.

@svartvist

5 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it would be if the SL temple was launched the one Thursday when the entire Quorum of Apostates was in attendance to their weekly meeting.

@outlawJosieFox

3 жыл бұрын

Lori Vallow is depending on it!!

@rain3743

3 жыл бұрын

The one in San Diego looks like Cinderella's castle at Disneyland. When we first moved here, my son was young and he excvlsined, "Disneyland!" when we passed it on the freeway. LOL.

@rain3743

3 жыл бұрын

"Steampunk Scientology" 😂😂😂

I love David Fitzgerald, for his scholarship, humor and amazingly well researched books. I just finished his book, Jesus: Mything in Action, part III. Amazing author!

My parents are currently Mormon; both of them converted shortly after my eldest sibling was born. Yet I never truly experienced the full religious experience simply because our financial and geographic situation meant our parents only had the energy and time to attend the Sunday 3-hour church service twice a month or less, and Wednesday 1-hour activities with equal frequency. This distance allowed me to realize as a preteen exactly how unrealistic the religion is, and I became an atheist. Despite this, I continued to tag along to church and activities when necessary because I didn't want to fight with my parents about it. Another part of my reluctance to speak out was because of the help the church had provided throughout my childhood. For years, my parents have struggled to make enough money. Whenever we lacked the funds to pay bills, the Mormon church would pay our rent or give us groceries, etc. My father would also help other families through his woodworking skills or simple physical labor. My mother would sew blankets or bake. So my experience with the LDS has been generally kind and positive, yet through it all I kept seeing these acts through a skeptical lens. For example, one of the activities that youths participate in perhaps once or twice a year is known as "Baptisms for the Dead". Yes, it is exactly as sketchy as it sounds. I have no idea how the dead individuals to be baptized were chosen, so perhaps they find ancestors of current Mormons or maybe it's just random names. I don't know. What I do know is the process that takes place. A group of Mormons will get temple passes scheduled so that they may enter the temple. It's a simple piece of paper that you have to go through an interview with an elder (always men) to get. He'll ask you if you believe in Jesus Christ our Savior, do you believe that Joseph Smith was the Prophet, do you believe x, and do you believe y. It takes about five to ten minutes but it feels very awkward. Then, at the temple itself, each person will be loaned a set of the mentioned magic underwear. We would put that on and then gather in a room where a group of elders would place their hands on my head and read off the list of three or four names that would be baptized through me. Then they would move on to the next person with another three or four names, and so on. Next everyone would form a line leading to the marble baptismal font - a waist high ultra fancy kiddie pool. This is where we would be baptized multiple times in a row - once for each name. That's the end. This practice always struck me as manipulative and idiotic. It's supposedly meant to "give everyone a chance to go to heaven" because baptism is a prerequisite to entry. Except that the people who are "being baptized" are already dead. If you believe in an afterlife, they already got sorted and placed. If you don't believe in an afterlife, you're performing and empty and meaningless gesture. Another major problem that stood out to me was the selection of a new "Prophet". I'm vague on which level of Mormon authority deals with this specifically because this concept was introduced on one of the days that we couldn't make it to church, and my knowledge of this comes from references made between my "classmates" aka the other young girls in my age group. As far as I am aware, the Quorum of the Seventy is what deals with choosing a new Prophet. These seventy elders will enter a room and pray for God to give them a sign of who should be chosen. Only a unanimous choice is considered a true sign, and they will not leave that room until they have that sign. There is nothing to say that they are actually getting a message from God rather than just debating between various candidates. No matter how I think about it, I cannot imagine the denial of reality that leads people to truly believe that God personally chose each and every one of their Prophets throughout history. Anyway, sorry for the lengthy comment. Have a good week y'all.

No Man Knows My History by Brodie is a great book that every Mormon should read.

In the Mormon temple recommend interview, a question is asked as to whether or not someone is associating with or has sympathetic feelings toward anyone who is considered an apostate or antagonistic toward the church. If a man is excommunicated, his adult children will be encouraged to not associate with him. Personal experience.

@tomtruthseeker3064

9 жыл бұрын

deskjockie49 What do you expect from a religion that has a hand shake with Lucifer in their secret temple marriage ceremony? What do you expect from a church that teaches any outside opinions are to be rejected without any research, thought, or effort to investigate their validity? The Mormon church is a experiment in Utopia and mind control. The CIA hires tons of Mormons, because they know their controllable and will follow orders for the false greater good. That is what all murdering regimes want throughout history. People who will follow orders based on lies falsely believing they're doing what's right, or best to protect society etc. These people believe that they live forever no matter what. Even though the bible says if you don't repent, follow Gods Commandments and Jesus' teachings your soul will perish on the last day. They also teach that Jesus is God. Jesus is the example and son of God, but not God. Remember the Commandment that says don't create a image, or likeness of anything and worship it, or buy it? That includes images of Jesus printed by religious profiteers. A man once accused me of being a scam artist for getting involved with some new business associates that did bad business. When I asked him what he did for a living he said " I sell religions artifacts imported from Israel such as wood, rocks, etc. Can you believe the hypocrisy of some people. They would sell their own children for material gains. Religions profiteers are Lucifer following con artists and you will find these professional selfishly criminally insane people throughout societies in key positions to mislead, rob, and enslave all civilizations. Around 10% of money donated to organized religions and most charities goes to actually helping people. The rest goes to all the people involved in the scam so they can lie for a living rather than work.

@deskjockie4948

9 жыл бұрын

Tom TruthSeeker I was a card-carrying member for over 40 years and attended the temple numerous times. I don't recall any "hand shake with Lucifer" in the temple ceremony. Where did you hear this?

@tomtruthseeker3064

9 жыл бұрын

A witness testimony. A woman who joined to please her boyfriend and marry him. She said after all the temple rituals she was convinced it was a occult ceremony. The swearing to keep the secret for life on your lives etc. I also knew another man witness that was convinced it was occult and he had sold his soul by being convinced by his girlfriend to marry her in the temple. Feel free to share your experiences as so few are honest these days. I do understand word of mouth eye witness accounts can be less than completely accurate.

@deskjockie4948

9 жыл бұрын

Tom TruthSeeker True, what we remember is filtered through our own perception. However, though I no longer believe the temple ceremony is anything but an extrapolation of Masonic rituals, I do not remember any "hand shake with Satan", and I attended numerous times. I also do not believe it is anything but a juvenile club ritual and really means nothing at all. I believe the man you mentioned above has nothing to worry about. There is a principle in law wherein two parties make a contract and one party withholds information that would influence the other to not enter the contract. That withholding makes the contract null and void. No full disclosure, no contract.

I was raised Mormon and thank "god" I wasn't in as serious of a position as this kid at the beginning was. I knew from a young age that I never wanted to serve a mission and I told my parents that. I actually ended up rebelling and skipping church at the age of 13. I got grounded several times, but eventually my parents just gave up. I had a lot of issues with my parents on the music I listened to, the things I did to disappoint them, and items I owned. ( I had a poster of a giant glow in the dark marijuana leaf on my wall as a teenager and I actually got away with having it, parents never made me take it down) And my parents were pretty strict Mormons. My main point, from my point of view, is that the way I see it, Mormonism is not NEARLY as intense as most Christian religions. At least from my perspective even being in a strict Mormon family. I feel like I had it pretty easy compared to a lot of personal stories I have heard from The Thinking Atheist podcast. Non the less, the Mormon church is a money hungry cult organized business making billions of dollars off its members and I am proud to have nothing to do with it, or any other religion for that matter.

I think the series you're thinking of is called "Big Love", with Bill Paxton as the male lead character, Bill Henrickson. It deals with the fundamentalist polygamist Mormons living out in the sticks as well as in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. It's some crazy stuff.

@37:00 Don't know where David got that "black skin" interpretation from. The CES doctrine taught in the 60s (and I never read or heard anything different until I left 45 yrs later), and part of the missionary discussions, was that followers of Lucifer REMAINED in spirit bodies, sent down to earth as spirits, and eventually to Outer Darkness. Black skinned people, supposedly descendants of Cain, were those who were indifferent in the War in Heaven, never taking sides. WRT garments, a person has as many pairs as wanted, no limit there. Choice of different fabrics and styles for the last 40 odd years. There IS a difference between what orthodox/fundamental members say & do about wearing them, and what the instructions are about wearing them in the temple. Newbies are instructed to wear them at all times, day and night, but the context there is any time a person has occasion to be normally dressed (including sleep). Certainly not when bathing, not when swimming, not during military basic training, and not during sex. But I did run into a few nutcases over the years who thought they were required to wear them during sex. Joseph was NOT wearing his when he was assassinated in jail. A bit of lore has crept into the discussions of garments over that, which are entirely specious beyond what firsthand reporting said of it.

Excellent podcast!

I have a friend who is a practicing Mormon but also a natural-born free thinker and scientist, and who probably would have loved to call in for the show. He doesn't let belief get in the way of his studies as a science student and indeed has a healthy respect for atheists. He probably would have loved to call in for this episode.

Love the episode. I always close the video when you get to callers and this one had lots of good content before then :)

Thank fuck my parents are atheists.

@peterkotara

8 жыл бұрын

+Erato IsYourMuse - Please. Do tell me more about this Fuck character, and how did he/she play a role in your parents being atheist? - :)

@eratoisyourmuse659

8 жыл бұрын

Lol. I suppose that could have been worded a little more appropriately.

@peterkotara

8 жыл бұрын

It would make a great name for a god though. "Praise Fuck". I'm going to register the website and start taking tithing.

@susanwinter9515

8 жыл бұрын

You should needlepoint that on a pillow

@user-lf2vw5dw6d

6 жыл бұрын

Amen to that!

Hello Seth, i was wondering whether "Tim" ever reported back on how he's doing. I hope he got out ok. Thank you for your great shows,keep up the good work, lots of love from Romania!

I love the graphic w the flying spaceship temple.

I live in india and on one hot blazing summer afternoon, two Mormon missionaries got me on the road. They were looking so sunburned and dehydrated, I felt so bad I invited them home and Gave them something cold to drink and something to eat. We ended up talking about snow boarding. They had no energy to preach 😅but we had a good conversation.

Brooke sounds awesome! :)

It's "Jesus: The Western"

I'm a 17 year old agnostic and love all these videos. I am in the same situation as "Tim". If anyone has any questions answered from someone who spent 17 years in the church feel free to direct them towards me. I'll try to answer without bias one way or another

Thanks a lot for putting that out there for me;)

The idea of Kolob is so ridiculous, that for years Mormons in the Medford-Phoenix, Oregon area wouldn't even reveal it as part of Mormon theology. If I mentioned it and asked them questions about it, they would change the subject! Also we can tell the Book of Mormon was written in the 1800s, because it refers to late Bronze Age soldiers possessing "swords of finest steel", which of course hadn't been invented yet. Joseph Smith was a product of his time, and he was a poor editor of his little invented book.

There are a lot of Tim's in the world!

I’m a long time Fresno resident, so proud that David is a product of cal state Fresno!! I’ve read all his books as well as your Seth. Come see us in Fresno. My house is your house! And yes they can have more than one pair of magic underwear. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s amazing

I'm glad you've done this. I volunteer at the Salvation Army (yes ironic I know) and we have "elders" and "sisters" that comes to do volunteer work. It's nice to know why they do the things they do...

Mountain meadows would of been kept under the rug until some construction company unearthed a bunch of bones...

Whatever happened to Tim anyway?

When the young lady quoted the prayer verse from the Book of Mormon, I was surprised she didn't mention that the verse actually asks the reader to pray to know if it is NOT true, instead of asking the direct question of "god" if it IS true. This verse always confused me because of this strange wording.

It is not about me missing them, it is about them and me knowing that they had, as most people do, more to do and I feel for their loss, that is what I really have to deal with. Paul

lol, personally I like to use the flying spaghetti monster

Those stories about the magic underwear remind me of the stories told about the veilings worn by conservative Mennonite and Amish women. #FormerConservativeMennonite

My son told me he is an atheist, and I was the one who was pretty devout, at the time. My husband was raised in a very stoic Anglican church, and he never went with me or participated. It wasn't his thing, and HE was the one most upset about it. He kept saying, "Well you're really like...AGNOSTIC...as in, " You mean that you aren't sure." And our "man for his own time" son said, 'No. I am sure." We totally respected his deision. He has a right to live his own life. I raised him to think for himself, even though I exposed him to Sunday school and stuff. I never made a deal about his getting baptized or confirming his faith. I also didn't care that he had no use for the youth group in Jr. High and High School. I am still at the "I'm not sure what I believe" stage, but leaning toward saying, "This is all horse shit" phase. It fluctuates. I definitely do not acknowledge the "sacred holidays" that are rooted in paganism, so...I am halfway there. I had a couple of unexplainable experiences that make me wonder WTF else there might be. I don't know. But I love your broadcasts.

To answer the question at 50:00 minutes, it's a personal preference as to how many sets of garments a person owns. I am not a garments wearing member, but my wife is a temple recommend member and she buys couple pairs at a time. BTW, our oldest son is readying himself to go on a mission. I am also a recent closet atheist/agnostic/deist, I haven't decided which yet. I love this channel and also love watching videos of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Bill Maher, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Penn Jillette, Richard Carrier, and my most favorite, George Carlin.

@metalhead0274

3 жыл бұрын

Sean.... Just run...run farcaway from them.. you will most likely lose your family if they do not go with you though..the church will see to that. You'll probably have to move to a whole new area..start fresh and never let the local church community know your an ex mormon. Good luck to you.

How the hell could an atheist go on a mission and try to proselytize people knowing that what they're telling is just out and out BS?

The term elder is certainly strange. One of my friends is Mormon and one of two of his mormon friends came over to see his new baby awhile ago. They looked quite young maybe about 22 to 25 or so. I just thought it was very strange how they actually introduced themselves as elder so and so (I can't remember their names now). These guys are practically kids and addressing themselves as elder? I thought it was just weird.

@RumTumTuggy

10 жыл бұрын

It's just a title

@ElveeKaye

10 жыл бұрын

RumTumTuggy It's pretentious. Plus, Mormons hate women.

@RumTumTuggy

10 жыл бұрын

Spouting off random opinions of the LDS not backed by fact but simple conjecture based upon those whom have never even entered an LDS church and a few who entertain convoluted ideas about the church because they are unhappy with their own place in life, only serves to illustrate your own immaturity and ignorance about the entire subject. Keep your snide and ill-considered remarks to yourself unless you want to show off your ignorance.

@ElveeKaye

10 жыл бұрын

RumTumTuggy Your comments only illustrate how easy it is for people to be brainwashed into believing the dumbest things. Do you really believe Joseph Smith received sacred information on magical golden plates that somehow mysteriously disappeared? You know, before anyone else could see them and examine them to know if they were real? Do you think there MIGHT be a possibility that he, like every other religious leader in the world, was simply making up stuff to lure the gullible into his weird new cult? Because that certainly is what it looks like from where I'm sitting. It looks that way to lots of other people, too, especially those who finally got smart and left this cult while they had a chance. It is not their fault if your beliefs are silly. You should quit believing silly things, too, and then you wouldn't be made fun of.

@RumTumTuggy

10 жыл бұрын

There were eleven other men that stated they saw the plates before they were taken back into Moroni's custody. So no, he was not the only one to see them. I guess if he did make a new cult to have gullible followers, why would he have died for it? Why was his testimony sealed in his blood? Why would he and his family and friends endure so much hardship and trial even from the age of 14 from men who supposedly "knew" god? We know "6 Now ye may suppose that this is afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. 7 And the Lord God doth work by ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very bsmall means the Lord doth cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." Alma 37. Here are the circumstances surrounding the translation of the Book of Mormon. After reading these tell me that he made it up. You must be between twenty-three and twenty-four years of age. You cannot be a college graduate. In fact, you can have only three years of formal schooling. Whatever you write must be on the basis of what you know and not what you learn through research. You must write a history of an ancient country, such as Tibet, covering a period from 2200 B.C. to 421 A.D. You must write a book with 102 chapters, twenty-five of them about wars, ten about history, twenty-one about prophecy, thirty-two about doctrines, five about missionaries, and nine about the mission of Christ. You must include in your writings the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people. Your writings must describe the religious, economic, social, and political cultures and institutions of these two nations. You must weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the pattern for Christian living. When you start to produce this record covering a period of over twenty-six hundred years, you must finish in approximately eighty days. When you have finished, you must not make any changes in the text. The first edition must stand forever (this does not include grammatical errors, etc). After pauses for sleep and food, if you are dictating to a stenographer, you must never ask to have the last paragraph or last sentence read back to you. You must start right where you stopped previously. Your history or record must be long, approximately 777 pages with over 500 words per page. You must add 180 proper nouns to the English language (William Shakespeare added thirty). You must announce that your "smooth narrative" is not fiction, but true-yes, a sacred history. In fact, your narrative must fulfill the Bible prophecies; even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom given, and its purpose and accomplishments. You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, declaring it to be the Word of God. You must include with the record itself this marvelous promise: "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Tens of thousands must bear record to the world for the next 178 years that they know the record to be true. Because they put the promise to the test, the truth is manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost. Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, and scholars, must subscribe discipleship to the record of its movement, even to the point of laying down their lives. There can be no flaw, whatever, in the entire book (except in grammar, or other errors of man in transcribing, etc.). Your descriptions of the cultures in these civilizations, of which you will write about, is not known when you publish your manuscript. Yet, you must not make any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Even so, many of the facts, ideas, and statements given as true in your record must be entirely inconsistent with, even the direct opposite of, the prevailing belief of the world. Yet very little is even claimed to be known about these civilizations and their thousands of years of history. You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care. You must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of all those most eager to prove it a forgery and who are most competent to expose any flaws in it. After 178 years of extensive analysis, no claim or fact in the book is disproven, but all are vindicated. Other theories and ideas as to its origin rise and fall, leaving your claims as the only possible ones. Thorough investigation, scientific evidence, and archaeological discoveries for the next 178 years must verify your claims and prove even the minutest details of your history to be perfectly true. Internal and external prophecies must be confirmed and fulfilled in the next 178 years. Three honest, accreditable witnesses must testify to the whole world that an angel from heaven appeared to them and showed them the ancient records from which you claim your record was translated. You must hear out of heaven the voice of the Redeemer declaring to you and those three witnesses that your record is true, and that it is their responsibility to bear testimony of it-and that they do. Eight other witnesses must testify to the world that they saw the ancient records in broad daylight, and that they handled them and felt the engravings thereon. The first three and the second eight witnesses must bear their testimony, not for profit or gain, but under great personal sacrifice and severe persecution, even to their deaths. You must talk a friend into financing your book with the understanding that he or you will never receive any monetary remuneration from it. This person must mortgage his farm to have it printed. You must sell the book at cost or less. Finally, after suffering persecution and revilement for twenty-four years in the process of producing and defending this book, you must give, willingly, your own life for your testimony that the record is of God.

Seth, this was really great to listen to. And I can pretty much attest to everything discussed here. It's all true. This is an older video, but I just want to say a few things, incase you get to reading this. I was born and raised in southern Utah and was surrounded by devout mormons and jack-mormons my whole life. I am not religious (I'm Agnostic) and neither was my family. My parents were from opposite sides of the country and decided to move to Utah just for its clean water and scenic beauty... It really is beautiful there btw. But neither me nor my siblings were ever subjected to be a part of the religion or any religion for that matter -Thank you mom and dad for letting us roam free and have Sundays off 🙂 The mormon religion is screwed up. It really is. But I have to say, they really are some of the friendliest, most nice people, I've ever met. Very kind, generous, and sweet. But they are also quick to judge. Very quick. My best friends were mormons, and even though my family were the non-believer outsiders of the town, my LDS friends still treated me very well, almost like family. And I learned very quickly to never sleep over their house on a Saturday evening, otherwise I would have to go to church with them on Sunday. Nonetheless, they always treated me well. That SouthPark episode about the mormons was spot on... they really are nice, super nice people... but they are also a buncha goofy fucking weirdos. And they just love to judge those around who are not part of the cult. It wasn't God or Jesus or religious teachings that made me walk the other way... rather it was the consistent judgement of my character by mormons, christians, jahovas, etc,. simply for not knowing or being a part of that religion(s). Especially the mormons. I couldn't stand being told that I was going to hell, or that I was a sinner , or not worthy of heaven by people. I think Bill Burr said it best - "Why would you ever listen to another human being tell you where you're going to go when you die? Go fuck yourself!" It was the mormon religion that put me on the path to avoiding all religion, if not most. I do have to mention this however.... All these religions and religiou-tards always go around pointing fingers and judging others, again humans judging other humans. But in my life, I have been around and met people from three religions who didn't downcast me, try to scare me, ask money from me, or tell me I was to going to burn. Only three. Those are: Islam, Hinduism, Buddism. These people never judged me, pointed fingers at me, or said shitty things to me.... Never an unkind word. I cannot say this at all about western religions, period. I really enjoy watching your show. Its entertaining and enlightening, so keep it up! Cheers. Benjamin

“Tim” you’ve got plenty of support down here in Fort Worth, Texas

Yes I use those two area codes, too. I always find it amusing to see people from close by on a site as big as youtube. And it's also nice that they're a fellow atheist/free thinker!

I am an Athiest. I love you show Seth. One of my shoe string relatives was Sydney Rigdon. I was raised in an evangelical UCC church, so I was never a Mormon.

I was the only active Mormon in my family. I was achingly preachy trying to bring it up all the time. When I left the church, I went totally atheist. At church you must wear a suit or white shirt and tie. No outlandish clothes or hairstyles.

Excellent info. Mr Fitzgerald has a wonderful wit. Great podcast

"Upscale hell" sounds pretty kick ass

one time i had some mormons turn up and i was hungry, so they gave me food, and then kept bringing me food for a year and a half. went through a bunch of missionaries and all that, different ones sang to me and played instruments, others tried to staunch me out. but over all they were nice and desperate for me to join, and kept asking me to feel a burning in my breast etc. eventually after i admitted i burnt their books in the fire to keep warm in winter, they left me alone...so sad, i miss them

lol thanks for the info for the Mormon Temple garments been looking to buy them for a wile.

I would contribute to a Kickstarter for a movie that has John Lovitz play Joseph Smith.

1:33:49 the Star Trek episode is called “The Alternative Factor”.

haha it was really fun to hear my friend Jack on here. As soon as I heard my area code I had an idea who it was, but didn't think I was going to run into someone I hang out with everyday.

51:00 I like that you guys mentioned this. Even when I was a mormon missionary, it always grinded my gears when other christians would call us out for having ridiculous beliefs. I always wanted to say, "Have you read your fucking bible?"

David may very well be the finest Skeptical writer we have right now. "Nailed" and "Mything" are DAMNING for the concept of a historical Jesus. "Nailed" is sort of the summary. "Mything" is the full thesis. It's long, but it's fascinating. All of this work is crucial.

I keep getting ads for Gaia on skeptic videos.... That shit is bananas!

I just realised that Kolob said backwards sounds like Bolok, which in English slang with a letter “s” at the end means crap, or garbage. Written as Bollocks. Lol 😂

Ooo, thanks for posting!

The Thinking Atheist, Are you a fan of Garrison Keillor by chance? I'm asking because I am, and I think I detect a lot of similarity in your delivery. He's a great guy to have as an influence that way so if you are, kudos and if not you need to find some of his radio shows on MPR as soon as possible because he's a hoot.

The guy that called and said "I am an Atheist but I am but I am addicted to the Religion topic" I can SO identify with you man. I am no where near the fence but I am totally hooked, I find it fascinating that so many people take obvious fantasy so serious. I think this comes from our drive to help people, I feel like I could plant some seeds of logic in an argument that may grow into a tree of reality check.

I wish I had been Atheist when this was broadcast. I could have given them SOOOO much insider info.

31:20 reminds me I've seen ads of Scientology on The Amazing Atheist channel (:

I'm a "Mormon" and proud of it. We are truly followers of Jesus Christ and we know and believe God lives and loves everyone regardless of your beliefs and things you do. If you guys really want to know what we know and believe don't google or listen to people who think they know the truth about the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just go to the church and get the information from the actual source.

@andreworr4307

5 жыл бұрын

Then why oh why does your religion not allow knowledge of seculer learning or anything outside the Mormon church ?surely if your religion is real and people are solid in belief then surely they can be trusted to hold to their religion even if educated in other things,this to me is what shows that church leaders have no real faith that their religion can withstand free thinking,this shows how weak they think their hold on people really is

Advice to “Tim”: Use caution if you plan to proactively be a “bad” missionary; it will get you sent home early *dishonorably.* I’m certain a “dishonorable discharge” will be far worse for your parents than if you just hadn’t gone in the first place.

good for you

i almost went on a mission as an atheist. i finally had the courage to tell them and they responded pretty well. my parents had a fund for me for when i went on my mission. when my mom found out i was atheist she took that fund and made a movie about my sexist mormon grandpa, and it actually made it onto netflix.

The first (three?) gospel stories were composed by Flavius Josephus, aka Joseph Bar Matthias, but known to his friends as Tiberius Julius Alexander. They were written in the imperial palace under emperor Flavius Titus.

I'm going to kirtland ohio today to see the oldest mormon temple, should be interesting. Also, thanks for this upload.

@jessehuckabee4551

7 жыл бұрын

JesusChrist I found you!

Seth, I had multiple pairs of garments (as did all Mormons). There are all different fabrics and styles. But always "blinding white" in color. They would get worn out and faded pretty easily. So of course, I had to buy them often. And they weren't cheap. I'm happy to be free from that cult.

David is one of the nicest people around.

Well said.

i'm an ex mormon and a former missionary. mormons can buy as many pairs of garments as they want. when they're old and worn out you're supposed to cut out the symbols on them before you throw them away.

I once met a couple of smartly dressed, young Mormon men trying to get me to take a Mormon bible. Their pitch was that it was free, they assumed being a student it would be too tempting and normally, something free would but I saw no point in taking something I would never ever read.

I got an ad for "The Amazing Re-blooming Rose of Bethlehem" necklace. Talk about poor targeting.

It's shows drive that Shaun keeps going back to the Mormon service.I went once and my Mormon "friends" couldn't get me to go again.