Doubt and leaving

religious belief · scripture

Latter-day Saint scripture, including 2 Nephi 2, teaches about moral agency. That teaching does not tell a specific person whether to stay in or leave the church.

Needs human verification

documented fact · current teaching

BYU requires an annual ecclesiastical endorsement; Latter-day Saint students who leave the Church lose it and can lose good standing, and the Honor Code treats same-sex romantic behavior as incompatible.

Needs human verification

interpretation · not applicable

Several teachings or practices once presented with divine authority were later ended or reframed: plural marriage (D&C 132; the 1890 Manifesto and the 1904 Second Manifesto), the racial priesthood and temple restriction (1852 to 1978), Adam-God teachings (denounced in 1976), the temple oath of vengeance (removed in 1927) and penalties (removed in 1990), the Word of Wisdom (counsel that became a temple-recommend requirement in the 1920s and 1930s), and the 2015 policy on children of same-sex couples (described as revelation, reversed in 2019). Church leaders describe such changes as continuing revelation and adjustments of practice, with doctrine itself constant. Critics and many historians read the same record as doctrine changing under outside pressure and as evidence of prophetic fallibility.

Needs human verification

documented fact · current teaching

General Handbook 32.14.9 says a member may resign Church membership by giving the bishop a written, signed request or by sending a signed, notarized request to Church headquarters; leaders are to act promptly and to explain that resignation revokes all ordinances and that readmission requires an interview and sometimes a council.

Needs human verification

documented fact · current teaching

Since about 2013 the Church has published Gospel Topics essays and the Saints history to address hard historical topics more openly; critics such as a 2012 Reuters report said members were leaving after finding this history online.

Needs human verification

disputed · current teaching

Holland told the BBC shunning "is not one of our practices." No written policy directs shunning; commentators describe the statement as accurate as policy but not as some families' lived experience.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

Research on people leaving the Church describes discovering unfamiliar history and feeling betrayed, along with social, moral, and belonging factors.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

Survey research such as Jana Riess's The Next Mormons studies why some Latter-day Saints stay and why some leave. This library does not store that book's statistics. A book about leaving does not decide whether any person should leave.

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disputed · not applicable

Who is accountable for the ban is disputed. Faithful readings hold that leaders were products of their time, that the ban was of God for reasons not revealed and ended by revelation, or that it was Brigham Youngs mistake corrected in 1978. Critical and independent readings (Harris, MormonThink, CES Letter) argue that because every Church president from Young to Lee upheld and defended it as Gods will, either God sanctioned a racist rule or prophets repeatedly spoke as men while claiming to speak for God, and that disavowing the theories without an apology leaves that unresolved.

Needs human verification

disputed · past practice

Whether the priesthood and temple ban was doctrine or policy is answered differently across the record. The 1949 First Presidency letter said it was "not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord," on which the doctrine of the Church was founded. The 1969 First Presidency said the reasons were known to God but not made known to man. Sterling McMurrin later recalled President McKay calling it a practice, not a doctrine. Elder Holland in 2006 spoke of "that practice, that policy, that doctrine," and the current Gospel Topics essay calls the 1852 restriction a policy and says no explanation for it is official doctrine today.

Needs human verification

documented fact · current teaching

Later apostles have called the earlier explanations for the ban wrong. Bruce R. McConkie in 1978 told members to forget what he and others had said that contradicted the new revelation. Dallin H. Oaks in 1988 said that the reasons people put to the ban "turned out to be spectacularly wrong." Jeffrey R. Holland in 2006 said almost all of them were "inadequate and/or wrong." None of them formally apologized for the restriction itself.

Needs human verification

disputed · not applicable

Church records put Latter-day Saints at about 2% of the U.S. population, while the 2025 Cooperative Election Study found 0.9% of U.S. adults self-identifying as Latter-day Saints; how large the gap really is, and what it says about people leaving, is disputed.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

In a 2012 online survey of about 3,000 former believers, respondents most often named doubts about Church history, doctrine, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon as reasons for losing belief.

Needs human verification

2 Nephi 2

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

2 Nephi 2 is a Book of Mormon chapter that teaches about agency, opposition, and the Fall. It is scripture about moral choice. It is not a study of why modern people leave the church, and it does not decide a person's membership. Summary, not a quotation.

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2025 Statistical Report

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · Church Newsroom · 2026-04-04

The Church reported 17,887,212 members at the end of 2025, 385,490 convert baptisms, and 91,835 new children of record. Membership counts include people who no longer attend. Summary, not a quotation.

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All Are Alike unto God

Bruce R. McConkie · BYU Speeches · 1978-08-18

Event date discussed: 1978-08-18

Two months after the 1978 revelation, Elder McConkie told religious educators to forget what he, Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon, or others had said that contradicted it, because they spoke with limited understanding. Summary, not a quotation.

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Approaching Mormon Doctrine

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · Church Newsroom · 2007-05-04

The Church says not every statement by a Church leader, past or present, is doctrine; a single statement by one leader is often personal opinion, and doctrine is found in scripture, official declarations, and consistent teaching by the First Presidency and Twelve. Summary, not a quotation.

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Becoming True Millennials

Russell M. Nelson · Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults · 2016-01-10

Event date discussed: 2016-01-10

In a January 2016 devotional, then-Elder Nelson said the November 2015 handbook policy on children of same-sex couples came after the First Presidency and Twelve sought the Lord's will and that President Monson declared the mind of the Lord, describing it as revelation. Summary, not a quotation.

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Church provides clarifying statement on Honor Code language for BYU, other Latter-day Saint schools

Church News · 2020-03-04

Event date discussed: 2020-03-04

Church News reported a March 2020 Church Educational System letter clarifying that removing the Honor Code's homosexual behavior section did not change moral standards and that same-sex romantic behavior is not compatible with the Honor Code. Summary, not a quotation.

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Come, Join with Us

Dieter F. Uchtdorf · General Conference · 2013-10

Event date discussed: 2013-10

President Uchtdorf said that members and leaders have at times simply made mistakes and said or done things not in harmony with the Church's values, and invited those who left or doubt to come back. Summary, not a quotation.

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First Presidency Shares Messages From General Conference Leadership Session

Dallin H. Oaks (for the First Presidency) · Church Newsroom · 2019-04-04

Event date discussed: 2019-04-04

The 2019 reversal: children of LGBT parents may be baptized without First Presidency approval, and same-gender marriage is no longer treated as apostasy for discipline, though the Church still considers it a serious transgression. Summary, not a quotation.

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First Presidency statement on the Churchs position on the Negro, December 15, 1969

First Presidency (Hugh B. Brown and N. Eldon Tanner) · B. H. Roberts Foundation records (transcription of BYU L. Tom Perry Special Collections MSS SC 2969); published in Improvement Era, February 1970 · 1970

Event date discussed: 1969-12-15

A letter to Church leaders, issued after confusion over reports of an imminent change, restating the Churchs position. It supports full civil and constitutional rights for Black Americans but says the priesthood restriction is a matter of religion, not civil rights. It says every Church president since Joseph Smith taught that Black people were not yet to receive the priesthood for reasons known to God but not fully made known to man, and that only revelation to the prophet could change it. Summary, not a quotation.

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First Presidency statement on the status of Negroes and the priesthood, August 17, 1949

First Presidency (George Albert Smith, J. Reuben Clark Jr., David O. McKay) · Appendix to Bush and Mauss, eds., Neither White nor Black (Signature Books, 1984), archived online text · 1984

Event date discussed: 1949-08-17

The First Presidency says the Churchs position on Black people is not a policy declaration but a direct commandment from the Lord, on which the Churchs doctrine has rested since its organization: Black people may join the Church but may not hold the priesthood at present. It quotes Brigham Young on a curse on the seed of Cain to be lifted after others receive the priesthood, and explains the restriction through the doctrine that conduct in the premortal existence affects the conditions of mortal birth, so that no injustice is involved. Summary, not a quotation.

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General Handbook, 32.11-32.14: Membership Council Decisions, Appeals, Records, and Resignation

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 2026-10

Sections 32.11 to 32.14 describe membership council outcomes: remaining in good standing, personal counseling, formal membership restrictions (no temple, priesthood, sacrament, or callings, but attendance encouraged), or withdrawal of membership, which is required for murder and plural marriage. A member may appeal within 30 days to the stake president or, for a stake council, to the First Presidency. Members who ask to resign are told resignation revokes all ordinances; they submit a signed request through the bishop or a notarized request to headquarters. Summary, not a quotation.

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Gospel Topics Essay: Race and the Priesthood

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 2016

Event date discussed: 1978

The Gospel Topics essay Race and the Priesthood says that from the mid-1800s until 1978 the church did not ordain men of black African descent to the priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. It describes the June 1978 revelation, announced on June 8 and canonized as Official Declaration 2. It says the church today disavows theories that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, that mixed-race marriage is a sin, or that any race is inferior. Summary, not a quotation. The 1978 date is the policy change, not the essay's publication date.

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Gospel Topics Essays: Introduction

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The introduction to the Gospel Topics essays says the Church published them to give accurate, transparent information on difficult historical and doctrinal topics, approved by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. Summary, not a quotation.

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Interview: Jeffrey R. Holland (The Mormons, PBS)

Jeffrey R. Holland; interview by Helen Whitney · PBS (American Experience and Frontline) · 2007

Event date discussed: 2006-03-04

In an interview for the PBS documentary The Mormons, Elder Holland concedes that the explanations earlier leaders gave for the priesthood restriction, however well meant, were almost all inadequate or wrong, says it would have been better to say nothing, says there should be no effort to perpetuate them, and says Church leaders simply do not know why the practice, policy or doctrine was in place. He addresses the folklore about premortal valiance. Summary, not a quotation.

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Lord, I Believe

Jeffrey R. Holland · General Conference · 2013-04

Event date discussed: 2013-04

Elder Holland encourages members with doubts to hold to the faith they have, to be honest about questions, and to remember that leaders and members are imperfect. Summary, not a quotation.

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Moroni 10 (Book of Mormon)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Moroni 10:3-5 promises that those who read the Book of Mormon and ask God with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ will learn by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true. Summary, not a quotation.

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Official Declaration 1

Wilford Woodruff · The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Event date discussed: 1890

Official Declaration 1 is the 1890 Manifesto issued under President Wilford Woodruff and printed with the Doctrine and Covenants. It is the canonical statement associated with discontinuing new plural marriages. 1890 is the year of the Manifesto, not a modern web publication date. Summary, not a quotation.

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Official Declaration 2

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 1978-09-30

Event date discussed: 1978-06-08

Official Declaration 2 is the canonized statement in the Doctrine and Covenants that records the end of the racial restriction on priesthood ordination and temple ordinances. The announcement associated with the revelation was June 8, 1978. The declaration itself is dated September 30, 1978, when it was presented in general conference. Those are different dates. Summary, not a quotation.

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Our Own Liahona

Spencer W. Kimball · General Conference · 1976-10

Event date discussed: 1976-10

President Kimball denounced the Adam-God theory, which he said was alleged to have been taught by some general authorities of earlier generations, and warned members against it. Summary, not a quotation.

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Race and the Church: All Are Alike Unto God

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · Church Newsroom · 2012-02-29

Event date discussed: 2012-02-29

Issued after a BYU professor repeated old racial explanations in the press, this statement says the origins of the restriction are not clear, that some explanations were given without revelation, and that they do not represent Church doctrine. Summary, not a quotation.

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Saints, Volume 1: Preface

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 2018

The preface to Saints, the Church's four-volume narrative history begun in 2018, explains that it is written for members in plain language and draws on historical records, including difficult episodes. Summary, not a quotation.

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Student Standing Policy

Brigham Young University

BYU's student standing policy describes how students lose good standing, including loss of the annual ecclesiastical endorsement, and the consequences for enrollment, graduation, and employment. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Doctrine of Christ

D. Todd Christofferson · General Conference · 2012-04

Event date discussed: 2012-04

Elder Christofferson teaches that doctrine comes by revelation to the united First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve and that not every statement by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage (Gospel Topics Essay)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 2014

The Church's essay says a smaller number of new plural marriages were performed after the 1890 Manifesto, mostly in Mexico and Canada, until the 1904 Second Manifesto made new ones grounds for excommunication. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century

M. Russell Ballard · Evening with a General Authority · 2016-02-26

Event date discussed: 2016-02-26

Elder Ballard told seminary and institute teachers that the days of protecting students from difficult history are gone, and that they should know the Gospel Topics essays and help students with hard questions. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Second Half of the Second Century of Brigham Young University

Jeffrey R. Holland · BYU Speeches · 2021-08-23

Event date discussed: 2021-08-23

Elder Holland told BYU faculty that the university must stay loyal to Church doctrine on marriage and family, used the image of musket fire in defending it, and also said LGBTQ students should be treated with love. Summary, not a quotation.

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Despite 'remarkable' growth, the big question remains: Will converts become LDS lifers?

David Noyce and Peggy Fletcher Stack · The Salt Lake Tribune · 2026-05-04

Edited excerpts from a Mormon Land podcast interview with independent researcher Matt Martinich on the 2025 data. He attributes the record convert total to more missionaries and more converts per missionary (almost five in 2025, versus about 3.4 to 3.5 in recent years and six to eight in the 1970s to 1990s); notes 44 countries and territories grew at least 10%, and DR Congo membership (nearly 160,000) grew 19.2%; explains the 186-member U.S. decline by fewer children born to active families, deaths in an aging membership, children of record dropped when not baptized, some resignations, and possibly immigrants leaving; calls children of record stuck in the low 90,000s deeply concerning; reports a net gain of almost 400 congregations; and estimates about half of converts are retained after 12 months, with larger losses over 2 to 10 years. Summary, not a quotation.

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Disenchanted Lives: Apostasy and Ex-Mormonism among the Latter-day Saints

E. Marshall Brooks · Rutgers University Press · 2018

An anthropologist's ethnography of Utah members who lost faith describes how discovering unfamiliar Church history often triggered a sense of betrayal, and how leaving affected family and community ties. Summary, not a quotation.

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Mormon Church Expels Outspoken Critic

Laurie Goodstein · The New York Times · 2015-02-11

The New York Times reported that John Dehlin, host of the Mormon Stories podcast, was excommunicated in February 2015 for apostasy after a disciplinary council in Logan, Utah. Summary, not a quotation.

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Independent journalism. Reports events, allegations, and responses; not peer-reviewed scholarship and not a court finding.

Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society

Pew Research Center · Pew Research Center · 2012-01-12

A national survey of 1,019 self-identified U.S. Latter-day Saints found high religious commitment, with 77 percent attending weekly and 79 percent saying they tithe. It did not survey former members. Summary, not a quotation.

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No apology? Really? Mormons question leader Dallin H. Oaks' stance

Peggy Fletcher Stack · The Salt Lake Tribune · 2015-01

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Elder Dallin H. Oaks saying in a January 2015 interview that the Church does not seek apologies and does not give them, and members' reactions to the statement. Summary, not a quotation.

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Independent journalism. Reports events, allegations, and responses; not peer-reviewed scholarship and not a court finding.

Religious Landscape Study 2023-24: Latter-day Saints

Pew Research Center · 2025

Pew's large national survey reports the share of U.S. adults who identify as Latter-day Saints and their demographic, belief, and practice profile, along with retention of those raised in the faith. Summary, not a quotation.

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Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality

Matthew L. Harris · Oxford University Press · 2024

Drawing on newly opened papers, diaries, oral histories and meeting notes of senior leaders, Harris traces the half century of internal debate before 1978, including the 1949 decision to call the restriction doctrine and commandment, factions for and against lifting it, and outside pressure. He argues that ending the ban was as much the product of human agency as of revelation, and that afterward the Church left unaddressed the theology behind it and has declined to apologize, in his reading partly to protect prophetic authority. Summary, not a quotation.

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Independent scholarship that leans critical of how Church leaders handled the ban. Not an official Church source.

Shunning

Bishop Bill · Wheat & Tares · 2026-07-19

Progressive LDS blog post calling Holland's "not one of our practices" statement technically true of policy but not of culture for many families.

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Special Report: Mormonism besieged by the modern age

Peter Henderson and Kristina Cooke · Reuters · 2012-01-31

Reuters reported that Church Historian Marlin Jensen acknowledged to a Utah State University class that members were leaving in significant numbers, partly over historical issues found online, and described Church efforts to respond. Summary, not a quotation.

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Independent journalism. Reports events, allegations, and responses; not peer-reviewed scholarship and not a court finding.

Sterling M. McMurrins account of a March 1954 conversation with President David O. McKay on the priesthood ban

Sterling M. McMurrin (as recorded by the B. H. Roberts Foundation) · B. H. Roberts Foundation records · 1968

Event date discussed: 1954-03

University of Utah philosopher Sterling McMurrin wrote to David O. McKays sons to report a March 1954 conversation in which, as McMurrin remembered it, President McKay told him there was no doctrine that Black people were barred from the priesthood, that it was a practice and not a doctrine, and that the practice would one day change. Summary, not a quotation.

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Secondhand, later recollection by McMurrin, not a McKay statement in his own hand. Treat as reported speech.

Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism

Taylor G. Petrey · University of North Carolina Press · 2020

A historian traces how Church teachings on gender, sex differences, and homosexuality changed after World War II, arguing that ideas presented as eternal were often revised over time. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony

David John Buerger · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1987

A history of the endowment from Kirtland and Nauvoo to the 1980s. Buerger traces the Masonic background of Nauvoo-era elements, the oath of vengeance and its exposure in the Smoot hearings, and the 1919 to 1927 revision committee under Heber J. Grant that removed it and softened other wording. He describes elements only at a historical level. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History

Matthew L. Harris and Newell G. Bringhurst, eds. · University of Illinois Press · 2015

A collection of about thirty key primary documents on race in the Church from the 1830s to the 2013 essay, each with an editors introduction. It includes Brigham Youngs 1852 statements, the 1949 and 1969 First Presidency statements, the 1978 revelation and later statements, so readers can follow how leaders described the restriction as doctrine, policy or practice over time. Summary of the books published scope, not a quotation.

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The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church

Jana Riess · Oxford University Press · 2019

Jana Riess, The Next Mormons, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019. It is a survey-based book about generational change among Latter-day Saints, including belief, practice, and people who leave. This library does not copy its statistics. Read the book before citing a number. Academic source, not an official church statement. Summary, not a quotation.

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The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement

Thomas G. Alexander · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1981

Alexander traces how the Word of Wisdom moved from advice to a requirement for temple attendance in the early twentieth century, noting leaders' changing emphasis on details. Summary, not a quotation.

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This World: The Mormon Candidate (incl. Jeffrey R. Holland interview)

John Sweeney · BBC · 2012-03-27

BBC documentary on Mitt Romney and the Church. In it Holland says "We do not have penalties in the temple," then "We used to" when pressed; says shunning "is not one of our practices"; and says of the Book of Abraham that he does not understand the "vehicle" of translation and knows no Egyptian.

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Analysis: For accurate conclusions about Latter-day Saint retention, look at the best data

Justin Dyer · Deseret News · 2026-04-28

A BYU religious education professor argues that the Cooperative Election Study, an online, English-only, largely opt-in panel, overstates Latter-day Saint decline. CES shows the Latter-day Saint share of U.S. adults falling from 1.9% in 2010 to 0.9% in 2025 and a 45% drop from 2014 to 2025, while Pew's Religious Landscape Study (8% decline, 2014 to 2023-24) and PRRI's Census of American Religion (16% decline, 2013 to 2025), which recruit randomly by mail, show smaller declines he says are not statistically significant. He stresses that population share is not retention, says Latter-day Saint retention is higher than most Christian denominations, and acknowledges retention has declined since the 1980s. Summary, not a quotation.

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Written by a BYU faculty member in the church-owned Deseret News.

Is Elder Holland a Liar?

David Grant · Third Hour · n.d.

LDS blog answering critiques of Holland item by item: temple vow concerned the ordinance; no shunning policy; Hyrum book provenance (1898 note, second copy); Prop 8 true of cash; stakes remark colloquial.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Faithful apologetics. Written to defend Church claims. Not peer-reviewed and not an official Church source.

Mormonism and racial issues/Blacks and the priesthood

FAIR (Faithful Answers, Informed Response) · FAIR · 2024

FAIRs apologetic overview of the priesthood ban, with sub-pages on its origin, whether it was policy or doctrine, social pressure and First Presidency statements. It quotes the 1949 statement, Dallin H. Oaks in 1988 (reasons people gave turned out to be spectacularly wrong) and Holland and Hinckley, and presents several views faithful members hold, including that the ban began as an administrative policy rather than revealed doctrine. Summary, not a quotation.

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Faithful apologetics. Written to defend Church claims. Not peer-reviewed and not an official Church source.

Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt

Patrick Q. Mason · Deseret Book and Neal A. Maxwell Institute · 2015

A historian writes for members facing doubt, arguing that the Church should make room for questions, that faith can coexist with uncertainty, and that many leave because they feel unwelcome rather than only because of history. Summary, not a quotation.

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Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood; Race and the Priesthood: Response to LDS.org

MormonThink · MormonThink (Internet Archive snapshot) · 2026

MormonThinks critical pages on the priesthood ban collect racist statements by past leaders, scriptures cited for the restriction, events before 1978 and the question whether it was doctrine or policy, and respond line by line to the Gospel Topics essay. They argue the record shows a deliberate, scripture-based policy endorsed at the highest levels, that the Church has never said the ban was a mistake or apologized, and that this raises questions about the moral authority of past and present prophets. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical website. Presents critic and apologist views but is written to raise problems with Church claims. Not peer-reviewed.

CES Letter: Prophets

Jeremy Runnells · CES Letter

The prophets section argues that past Church presidents taught things later rejected, citing Brigham Young's Adam-God teaching, blood atonement sermons, polygamy, and the priesthood and temple ban, and it points to leaders buying forged documents from Mark Hofmann as evidence that they lacked special discernment. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical advocacy. Argues against Church truth claims. Not peer-reviewed and not an official Church source.

CES Letter: Testimony and Spiritual Witness

Jeremy Runnells · CES Letter

This section questions spiritual feelings as a test of truth, noting that members of many faiths report similar confirming experiences, and argues that feelings cannot settle historical questions. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical advocacy. Argues against Church truth claims. Not peer-reviewed and not an official Church source.

Jana Riess: Other data takes some luster off the LDS Church's glowing growth report

Jana Riess (Religion News Service) · The Salt Lake Tribune · 2026-04-08

An opinion column contrasting the church's 2025 report (385,490 convert baptisms, an almost 25% rise over 2024 and the most in church history; nearly 17.9 million members; over 114,000 missionaries) with 2025 Cooperative Election Study data in which self-identified Latter-day Saints fell below 1% of U.S. adults (0.9%) for the first time, while church rolls have stayed around 2% of the U.S. population. Riess notes the 2025 CES had only 161 Latter-day Saint respondents of about 17,000, attributes much of the gap to people who leave without removing their names, credits the growth partly to heavy social-media advertising and a larger missionary force, and reports a small uptick in religiosity among remaining self-identified members. Summary, not a quotation.

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Opinion column by a Latter-day Saint commentator; views are the author's.

MormonThink: Mormon Prophets after Joseph Smith

MormonThink · MormonThink

This page reviews teachings by later Church presidents that were later dropped or disavowed and asks how members should weigh prophetic statements. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical website. Presents critic and apologist views but is written to raise problems with Church claims. Not peer-reviewed.

The Changing World of Mormonism

Jerald and Sandra Tanner · Utah Lighthouse Ministry (online edition) · 1980

A condensed version of Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? that argues Church history, scripture, and doctrine have been changed over time, with documents the Tanners reproduced. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical advocacy from an evangelical Christian ministry. Argues against Church truth claims. Not peer-reviewed.

The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology

Lavina Fielding Anderson · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1993

A Latter-day Saint writer compiles a chronology of tensions between Church leaders and scholars, feminists, and writers from the 1970s to 1993, including surveillance and discipline. She was herself excommunicated later that year as one of the September Six. Summary, not a quotation.

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Written by a participant who was disciplined; documents cases from the dissenters' side.

Understanding Mormon Disbelief Survey: March 2012 Results and Analysis

John Dehlin et al. (Why Mormons Question) · Why Mormons Question · 2012-03

An online survey of about 3,000 people who had once firmly believed and then lost belief. Respondents most often named doubts about Church history, doctrine, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, rather than offense or a wish to sin. Summary, not a quotation.

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Survey by a critic-led project. Not a representative sample.

An Insider's View of Mormon Origins: An Interview with Grant Palmer (Ep. 30-33)

John Dehlin (host); Grant Palmer (guest) · Mormon Stories Podcast

A four-part interview with Grant Palmer, a former institute director, about his background, the Hofmann period, and the research behind An Insider's View of Mormon Origins on translation, the First Vision, and priesthood accounts. Summary, not a quotation.

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Personal account of a former CES teacher who became a critic.

Mormon Stories

John Dehlin · Mormon Stories

Mormon Stories is a podcast and community associated with John Dehlin. It hosts personal stories and critical conversations about the church. A guest's experience is personal evidence, not universal proof of a doctrine or of a historical fact. Critical and personal-experience source, not an official church source and not a primary-document edition. Summary, not a quotation.

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Critical advocacy and personal stories. Not universal evidence.

Mormon Stories 472-475: Sandra (and Jerald) Tanner

John Dehlin (host); Sandra Tanner (guest) · Mormon Stories Podcast · 2014-05-19

A four-part interview in which Sandra Tanner tells how she and Jerald Tanner left the Church, founded Utah Lighthouse Ministry, and dealt with issues such as the First Vision, Book of Abraham, Mark Hofmann, Masonry and the temple, and the race restriction. Summary, not a quotation.

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Personal account by long-time critics.