Extract from the introduction

I hope what some of you find written here brings you peace in a strange way. Strange because it may not seem natural to find peace in controversy. But a wider understanding and acceptance of views can bring a healthy dialogue, and understanding and respect can improve relationships within part-member families and help heal old wounds. However, a word of warning: any desire to quickly “bring back the lost sheep” is of itself an unhelpful and generally self-motivated shortcut. We need to be more sincere than that. In fact, my primary motive in writing this book is not to convert people or bring back the lost sheep but simply to help you (the rising generation) in the Church.

So, I write for the sincere seeker who wants to stay in the LDS Church but who has questions that they might be afraid to ask or that they feel have never been answered. I do believe there is a generation who grew up in the Church (in many cases, but not exclusively, the millennials) who were or who are struggling in a faith crisis somewhat of the Church’s own making because leadership avoided the tough questions. Within this book I ask approximately three hundred and fifty questions, and for many of those questions I provide insights, but I’m not claiming to have all the answers. I share those answers that I feel have helped me. However, there are times when sincere seekers need to find their own answers in their own way, and for those occasions I hope what is written here helps with some understanding. This little book is designed to be short, but that’s not to say it’s a quick read. Take your time and ponder over what I hope is thought provoking. I urge you to take it slowly to really get something from the book because in this instance, slow is fast and fast is slow. Those with difficult and profound questions will normally not be satisfied with easy answers. So I seek to delve into the heart of the issues, asking not only the key questions but also the supplementary ones.

In terms of our controversial Church history, it is interesting to hear that within fairly high levels of Church leadership there have been discussions along the lines of, “How much do we tell them?” I appreciate that is a fair question and a good debate to have. Reveal too much and the delicate convert might struggle, or a faith crisis might be provoked within a member who wasn’t asking any tough questions at all. On the other hand, reveal too little and we fail to prepare ourselves properly for the millennial “online onslaught”.

Within the Church we might have thought there shouldn’t be any real obstacles in our modern “path to Zion”, but for an increasing proportion of people there really are. I liken navigating such obstacles to somewhat swimming in a metaphorical LDS lake. Within the lake lies various versions of LDS truth, deception, and misconception. There’s lots of complex issues; there’s lots of hidden weeds. The lake needs navigating, so I admire the seeker (or the wild swimmer) because in my experience they reach a point where, with the right motives, they want to move in their faith beyond simplicity to a wider understanding or a quest for truth, and that comes with enormous risks. Such a quest comes with facing unknown challenges that can even shake your faith. But, like wild swimming in deep water, while searching for truth comes with risks, it can also be incredibly rewarding and invigorating. Joseph Smith said that after his First Vision he got used to “swimming in deep water”, so perhaps it’s not unsurprising that in order to get remotely close to some of these issues ourselves we’re metaphorically going to get a little wet.

When it comes to these LDS faith-crisis issues it seems everyone within the Church fits into one of six categories highlighted by the following sketch:

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