I’ll conclude tonight with a little exercise.
Imagine being an apostate, for real. Imagine for a moment you’re ignorant of your history, or have a weak testimony. You read the CES Letter. You just go with your instant reaction, which is to shock and change course to head the

other direction. Your faith is shattered almost instantaneously. You don’t even try to understand the bigger picture of what’s written, but despite that your view of the world, and the Church has changed. Your prophet is now a pedophile charlatan, the Lion of God a hateful racist

. You start jam everything into this new worldview. Your bishop becomes a symbol of misogyny, and your ‘oppression.’ Your family becomes deranged cultists, and the way you perceive yourself, your culture, lineage, history, and religion changes.

You see your forefathers as ignorant saps who’s sacrifices mean nothing. Your culture as irrational, authoritarian, and something only idiots buy into. Your history as something to be ashamed of, and your religion as a deplorable system of oppression.

You eventually come to see yourself as the latest in a long line of people who have been duped by this ‘obvious fraud.’ You withdrawal your name from the Church, and immediately begin engaging in taboos. Drinking alcohol, coffee, tea, watching porn, maybe even premarital sex.

You start to think morality is all subjective, and if there even is an objective one, it’s based off the empathy of humanity. You adopt all sorts of worldly philosophies, and by this point actively engage in sinful actions and behaviors.

You claim to be happy with your decision, but deep down are resentful of the Church and everyone in it. You become an ego maniac. You start to look down on the Church, and the people in it. You project the idea you KNOW your ways are best, but you’re really very insecure abt em.

You start to realize what you lost. But you’re too far in now, right? You reassure yourself that you know the truth, and those joyous members who follow the culture of God, and live up to the expectations of their forefathers are the real unhappy ones.

Therefore, with this self-righteous coping mechanism you go forth in an attempt to spread your apostasy. No one listens. You try again not a single soul is moved. How could these people be so blind, you think to yourself. You eventually arrive at the conclusion their brainwashed.

Now not only are you self-righteous and arrogant, but you are also snide. You continue your crusade using increasingly hateful vitriol as your doubts about your decision weigh on you. As you begin to realize how truly unhappy you are, you grasp at whatever straw you get.