- Aug 27, 2014
- 13,897
- 14,168
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Oriental Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Private
Just wanted to share this video I just found, which has in it a clip from John Dehlin's Mormon Stories podcast wherein he interviews Roger Hendrix, a man who has worn several hats within the LDS church and says that the God is essentially a story that people have invented, that Joseph Smith told a great story, etc. He does not believe any of it to be literally true. He is essentially some kind of LDS atheist.
After absorbing a bit of the video uploader's commentary which is around the clip (no need to watch that if you don't want to; I just wanted to share it for the interview clip which begins around 0:36 and ends at 3:33, because the Mormon Stories podcast is long-form interviews that last for hours, so it's good to find just this one small clip to illustrate the point), and looking around the internet, it is hard to shake the notion that the central truth claims of the LDS religion are not necessary to believe in if you are faithful to the organization in whatever way you are, as in the case of Hendrix, who stays despite his clear disbelief. I was unable to find online any clear evidence that he has been excommunicated, unlike John Dehlin himself. I don't really understand that, as by answering as he does in the interview Hendrix is not being any less publicly in opposition to the LDS religion than Dehlin is, and Dehlin got booted for exactly that. But maybe Hendrix has also been excommunicated and I just missed it.
If not, it would seem that the uploader's comment is correct regarding there being two tiers in the LDS belief system: one for the laity, who must toe the line, and another for higher-ups like Hendrix who are free to disbelieve in God so long as they believe that the LDS Church is "good" and/or that Joseph Smith thought up some good and important stories.
That's pretty weird.
After absorbing a bit of the video uploader's commentary which is around the clip (no need to watch that if you don't want to; I just wanted to share it for the interview clip which begins around 0:36 and ends at 3:33, because the Mormon Stories podcast is long-form interviews that last for hours, so it's good to find just this one small clip to illustrate the point), and looking around the internet, it is hard to shake the notion that the central truth claims of the LDS religion are not necessary to believe in if you are faithful to the organization in whatever way you are, as in the case of Hendrix, who stays despite his clear disbelief. I was unable to find online any clear evidence that he has been excommunicated, unlike John Dehlin himself. I don't really understand that, as by answering as he does in the interview Hendrix is not being any less publicly in opposition to the LDS religion than Dehlin is, and Dehlin got booted for exactly that. But maybe Hendrix has also been excommunicated and I just missed it.
If not, it would seem that the uploader's comment is correct regarding there being two tiers in the LDS belief system: one for the laity, who must toe the line, and another for higher-ups like Hendrix who are free to disbelieve in God so long as they believe that the LDS Church is "good" and/or that Joseph Smith thought up some good and important stories.
That's pretty weird.
