Mormon Stories #316:Part 4 of 4-How the LDS Church Education System (CES) Harms Church and Members

In this series we interview John and Brooke McLay. John served for 14 years as an employee of the LDS Church Education System (CES). In this capacity he served as: a seminary teacher and principal, an institute teacher and director, a BYU Education Week speaker and an EFY Director. John also served as a member of a stake high counsel, and was serving in a bishopric during the months leading up to his decision to leave the LDS Church. John and Brooke resigned their membership of the LDS Church in August of 2011. This is their story.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• lds
• mormon
• religoin
• faith
• belief
• ces
• church education system
• john mclay
• brooke mclay
• john dehlin

[Jimrmcgregor]

The LDS church has some major issues to deal with. My guess is that active membership will continue to decline. The days of partial truths have passed, and the realization that their "spiritual" experiences, are universal and emotional, rather than confirmation from God that they've found the one and only truth. Is Joseph Smith really all that different from Warren Jeffs???

[cupoftestosterone]

I really loved this video. I feel really bad though for all the crap they have gone through. One of the major reasons I REALLY delved into church history, which led me out, was that I understood that the further you get into the church, the harder it is to get out. Going on a mission and having my parents expect me to stick to my covenants was really hard to get over and I expected that the pressure would be more intense after marrying and having kids. It's hard but life moves on, for sure.

[MrMFHORN]

@JimrmcgregorYou havn't got a clue what you're talking about. Theres a lot of heavenly power associated with the Lds church . I've experienced many personel revelations, too sacred to relate here, that can not be explained away. These people fell away through seeking out the negative.

[MrMFHORN]

''Oooh! I hate those mormans They're so bad!!!!!! They are just out to destroy my family and get control of us. Let's do a vid against them and show how happy we are as ex morms''

Soppy sods..

[Mrjony251]

@soulfuljourney na man after watching this video, I asked questions and searched things out to find out the difference between, emotion and spirit, you see im a convert tot the church I have always had emotion but the spirit is something different, its the same yet different for everyperson, after my baptism, It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, I wish I could pause time at that moment that i felt pure and clean, That change that overcame me overnight which has changed my life forever

[soulfuljourney]

@MormonsLoveFamilies I didn't get the sense that they were 'false' so much as maybe dealing more with the politics of things and this part was less political in regards to the context and perhaps less emotionally raw to discuss.

[soulfuljourney]

John said he was looking for therapy through telling his story and it is definitely a healing and educational journey for so many and hearing stories like this is so fundamental. It is a group therapy process as we all piece together our relationship to our individual and collective experiences inside and outside of the LDS church. Thanks John and Brooke for your courage and sharing your stories and insights with us through this format.

[soulfuljourney]

@tmiller5400 ps... there is a writing from the Gnostic Gospels that says 'Seek and you shall find and when you find it shall disturb you...' There are many people who find their psyche disturbed by all sorts of things in history when they look into American History or any history. Good luck with your integration of whatever you felt as you watched. It is lot for anyone to deal with watching whether inside or outside the church. Hopefully it gives all more depth who watch it. 

[soulfuljourney]

@tmiller5400 Yes, loss of one's reality is emotionally draining and numbing, as is losing one's community, having family judge them, etc... But then look at a pregnant woman after birth or a person after surgery. Often they look like crap and feel like crap, but afterwards they are all the better. People get drained when they move in many cases. Think about renovating a home. I have seen people go through this several times. Think about the Mormon pioneers after their treks.

[soulfuljourney]

@123NateDee Yes, Mormons do a lot of ugly hateful things in the name of righteousness. No, it would not seem based on historical things such as cross burnings and killings that they are as bad as the KKK. Although, they have certainly had a lot of people suffer and their torment is psychological which often results in physical deaths like suicides or stress related illnesses. Being angry and working for truth is understandable, but equating with KKK seems unfair.

[soulfuljourney]

@ohmgrown1991 The Bible itself seems to have done a lot to corrupt Christianity with various writings about stoning people. Also the inclusion of opinions and perspectives and stories other than Jesus seems to have done plenty to discredit Christianity. Ironically Christianity seems to be pretty full of a lot of things that have nothing to do with Jesus. It has done plenty of ugly things such as the crusades and the murder of native Americans. Mormons murdered far fewer people.