Helpful links
These are some of my favorite links for research into the LDS church.
LDS CHURCH-APPROVED LINKS
NON-CHURCH APPROVED SITES
FORUMS
PODCASTS/VIDEOS
SUPPORT SITES
LDS AUTHORITY NOTABLE QUOTES
DOCUMENTS/FILES
RESIGNING FROM THE LDS CHURCH
- LDS.org- The Front page of the LDS church
- Gospel Topic Essays- general link to all the gospel topics discussing controversial LDS history
- Polygamy- The beginning of plural marriage in Nauvoo
- Polygamy- Plural marriage and families in Utah
- Polygamy- The end of plural marriage and The Manifesto
- Joseph Smith Papers- scans of Joseph Smith's documents, journals, thoughts, etc
- The 1830 Edition of the Book of Mormon- a complete scan of a 1st edition copy
- FairMormon- the unofficial apologetic website for the LDS church discussing complex questions/history
- Encyclopedia of Mormonism- The History, Scripture, Doctrine, and Procedure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- History of the Church- Volumes 1 through 7
- Journal of Discourses- Volumes 1 through 26. A couple of easier websites to see the complete JOD HERE and HERE
- BYU Research Library- Great place for finding articles about anything LDS related
- Response to the CES letter by former CES employee- 300 page document debunking every line of the CES letter
- General Conference Talks- A site dedicated to searching through every known conference talk from the 1850's to today. GREAT reference if you're looking for a specific quote, or topic.
NON-CHURCH APPROVED SITES
- Mormon Essays- non-lds website pointing to each Gospel Topic essay on lds.org- easier to find the polygamy ones.
- Mormonthink- Comprehensive website covering all major controversial topics in LDS history. Negative tone (IMO), but is a good starting point to learn about all major issues with the LDS church.
- The CES Letter- Very popular document detailing historical inaccuracies of the LDS church. A popular starting point to start down 'the rabbit hole'.
- Mormon Bandwagon- Eric Nelson wrote a similar document like the CES Letter that has just as much if not better info (IMO)
- The Mormon Challenge- A presentation of the other side of Mormonism using only LDS-approved sources
- 20 Truths about Mormonism- By Jim Day PhD who tried to document and challenge the 20 biggest issues with the LDS church, showing both sides.
- The Wives Of Joseph Smith- A website dedicated to the wives of Joseph Smith- Very insightful
- The Mormon Curtain- A collection of articles, books, sources, etc of everything ex-mormon. A LOT of info.
- Letter from a Doubter- A well put-together blog with all major controversial issues researched very well
- Rethinking Mormonism- A collection of articles about mormonism, Polygamy, Temples, History and Sexuality
- Rational Faiths- blog site with a collection of articles on many topics about mormonism
- Thoughts on Things and Stuff- Blog site addressing hot topics in the LDS church.
- Comparison of "The Late War" and "The Book of Mormon"- a comparison of similarities between both books
- Book of Mormon Depot- website dedicated to changes between the 1830 and the current BOM
- After All We Can Do- website describing everything Mormons must do in order to be saved by grace
- Book Of Mormon Origins- crowd-sourced analysis of the historical origins of the BOM
- General Authority Censorship- A talk given by Ronald E. Poelman that the church made him change for print/video release.
- Letter to my Wife- a CES type letter written for a man's wife and kids- genuine research and nice document. OR HERE
- Mormonthink LDS Links- Has LDS as well as critical links
- Recovery from Mormonism- A very active ex-mormon community that has A LOT of links to go through
- Rethinking Mormonism- Many different post-mormonism links to go through
- The Mithryn Bookshelf- A great set of books to read after mormonism
FORUMS
- Reddit Exmormon- By far my favorite forum to connect with people going through very similar situations post-mormonism. Currently there are 300+ active members on the boards at any given time.
- Recovering From Mormonism- VERY active ex-mormon community. More negative and satirical IMO
- New Order Mormon- A community for those who find themselves stuck in the middle between active member and post-mormon.
PODCASTS/VIDEOS
- Mormon Stories- probably one of the most popular post-mormon podcast with host John Dehlin
- NewNameNoah- Youtube channel with secretly recorded videos of the LDS temple rituals
- Year of Polygamy- a podcast site that talks about Polygamy issues in the LDS church
- Zelph on the Shelf- articles and podcasts about current LDS issues, part humorous, part serious
- Mormon Matters- a weekly podcast exploring mormon culture and current events
- Brother Jake Videos- satirical videos explaining LDS issues, seems to be mentioned alot, very popular
- Dan Vogel Videos- serious historical videos about Joseph Smith, the LDS church, etc
- Infants on Thrones- humorous ex-mormon podcast
- Hard To Find Mormon Video's- just what it states
SUPPORT SITES
- Mormon Spectrum- support for any LDS member, from true-believing to ex-mormon
- Reddit Exmormon Forum- Great for interactions and support from people going through the same thoughts and feelings mostly after a crisis of faith, people range from active members to post-mormons
- Recovering From Mormonism Exmormon Forum- Another very active forum for support from post/exmormons
- New Order Mormon- support for those members who want to maintain activity in the church, but no longer believe in alot of what Mormonism has to offer
- Exmormon Foundation- personal stories, conferences, articles, books, etc for post-mormons
- Stay LDS- finding ways to stay in the LDS church after a crisis of faith. I found a very informative article entitled "How to stay in the church" on this website, very useful and can be found HERE
- Mormon Path- for anyone who may be interested in the author's thoughts surrounding literal belief, non-literal belief, and non-belief in Mormonism
- The Pros and Cons of Mormonism- LDS friendly website helping one to decide if the church has an overall positive or negative effect
LDS AUTHORITY NOTABLE QUOTES
DOCUMENTS/FILES
- Shared Google Drive folder- contains PDF's and documents of literature about the LDS church, ie CES letter, mormon masturbation, the sealed portion of the Gold Plates, etc
- Mormon File Leaks- contains leaked LDS documents, ie handbooks, financial records, etc
RESIGNING FROM THE LDS CHURCH
- Quitmormon- Seems to be the easiest way to have your records removed from the church with minimal/no contact from your local ward/branch. Keep in mind though, all of your info is still technically on the records after resigning, they just won't contact you anymore. Free legal help to leave the church.