From Deseret News archives:
Those who feel betrayed may turn toward faith — or away
As he has explored the reactions of those who come to doubt their faith, particularly among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, D. Michael Quinn said three avenues for questioning generally emerge: doubting deity, doubting religious leaders and doubting the religious institution around which their lives are structured.
A Yale-educated former history professor at Brigham Young University who was excommunicated from the LDS Church more than a decade ago, Quinn has continued to explore the history of the faith. He said he determined at age 17 to explore any question that came his way about LDS origins and doctrine after reading an anti-Mormon pamphlet authored by an evangelical ministry.
His topic drew a standing-room only crowd to the Liberal Arts building at Utah Valley State College Thursday night, where nearly 200 people packed a lecture hall meant for 125.
He acknowledged personal bias in the presentation from the start but explained that he does so as a rule before he begins such presentations so his audience can put his comments in context. He said during a question-and-answer session that he has not rejected the LDS Church or its doctrines.
Though his focus centered around LDS and other "restoration" church members, similar patterns of doubt, betrayal and characteristic reaction can be found throughout religious history, he noted. Some people turn more deeply toward God while others turn away.
He said Abraham, Job and even Jesus Christ all expressed doubt in deity at various times, with the latter asking God why he had been forsaken while he hung on the cross.
He also detailed the written doubts that some modern LDS leaders — including LeGrand Richards, Heber J. Grant, James E. Talmage and J. Reuben Clark — recorded when personal tragedy occurred despite their pleas that God prevent such happenings.
Such examples show that many who feel betrayed on a deep personal level can still turn to God in their anguish.
Yet others — many of them Latter-day Saints — have found themselves not only feeling betrayed but victimized and determined to share their tales. A small group go to the media, while others find various other venues for dealing with doubt, he said.
At first de-conversion involves doubt or denial, he said, which is then characterized by criticism and loss of faith, which brings emotional upheaval.
Finally, such people are usually rejected by their former faith community, Quinn said.
Quinn's lecture, in honor of former faculty member Eugene England, was sponsored by the Mormon Studies Program at UVSC.
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com
