To all my Family, I’ve been contemplating this for some time and need to get this out and in the open, by e-mail because this subject <strike>likely will never talked about in person</strike> <ins>is difficult to talk about in person</ins>. <strike>I will attempt to keep the tone friendly, but be understanding that this is a highly emotional subject. Some of you know already what this will be about, so no surprise. </strike> <ins>I’m writing today</ins> <strike>This is simply</strike> to affirm and acknowledge my disaffection with the LDS church<strike>,</strike> and more generally with all religions. <strike>No, I’m not atheist, agnostic, or whatever other iteration or classification there might be.</strike><ins>I’m reluctant to label myself as an agnostic but I’m </ins> <strike>Yes, I am</strike> skeptical of religions in general. <strike>Yes, I have</strike><ins>I’ve</ins> sincerely prayed about this, and <strike>no there was</strike> never <ins>received</ins> a personal affirmation from the holy ghost that the church or the book of mormon is true. Yes, I have said that these things were true, but each time I’ve prayed for the spirit to confirm the “truth”, I did not receive the promised confirmation. I <strike>do</strike> realize <strike>that</strike> many of you have. <strike>Yes,</strike> I <strike>did try</strike> <ins>tried</ins> very hard, for years. If anyone thinks that I didn’t, that means you think the fault is mine, <strike>it is</strike> <ins>it’s</ins> not. [DW] and I are still working out the kinks in this new development of my beliefs. This <strike>has not</strike> <ins> hasn’t</ins> been easy for either of us, least of all for [DW], but getting better. I still have moments when <strike>a</strike> <ins>an</ins> lds related topic will trigger my emotions, I am working through it and will take time. I’ve waited this long to say anything about this because of these emotions, and <strike>yes</strike> because of the holidays. [DW] has been very understanding and loving through all this, and I’ve learned to accept that her beliefs are still the same and very likely will not change. <strike>We will </strike> <ins>We’ll</ins> be staying together, just in case anyone is wondering. I <strike>did not</strike> <ins>didn’t</ins> leave the LDS faith because I want to sin, or am lazy, or any other such excuse that you’ve been told by way of conference talks or other such sermon. I left the LDS faith because of doctrine issues, both past and current, historical issues, and because what was once considered by the leadership of this church in the past to be anti-mormon lies are now affirmed by today’s leadership as historical facts. Many of these issues are addressed briefly in thirteen essays, they are published on lds.org and now in the gospel library app under church history and titled Gospel Topics Essays. From what I’ve heard, everyone who attends Sunday School and Seminary will be studying them this year, or in the near future. They do present the issues in a faithful way, but they also omit facts, have circular logic, employ apologetics, and cite biased references friendly to the church’s narrative. I have yet to find an unbiased and objective source in their citations backing their position. I’ve considered placing in this missive a list of sources, for and against, for all to access. The final decision is against doing so because that would give the wrong impression. <strike>I am</strike> <ins>I’m</ins> not out to “destroy” anyone else’s faith. <strike>No, I did not destroy mine. If anything,</strike><ins>In studying these things</ins>, I’ve been awakened. Reality has been increasingly easier to see<strike>,</strike> and accept. If you have made it this far thank you for reading the wall of text. If anyone of you wants to ask “why” to understand what happened, then please ask. If the “why” question comes with the intention of fixing me, please don’t, I’m not broken. Now that this is written down and out to all of you, I can finally just be me instead of pretending to be something I’m not for the sake of appearances. In case you’re wondering, my affection for you, my <strike>Family</strike> <ins>family</ins>, hasn’t changed, and won’t. I hope that your affection for me won’t be hindered by your beliefs.