The book Torn is the topic of several podcasts lately.
The book explains the reasons why people leave the Church in terms of four "waves." Several influencers, both pro-LDS and con, have focused on the cultural and social issues discussed in the book.
But Church History is the largest wave.
"Wave II (Church History), the largest wave, is the main reason people are stepping away from the Church (approximately 42 percent). It is also a contributing factor for another 40 to 50 percent."
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This is not surprising. The question is how much of a "contributing factor" history may be for another 40-50 percent. If it is a significant factor (which is surely is), that means Church history issues lead 82-92% out of the Church.
That makes sense because the truth claims are historical. It is axiomatic that if the history is false, then the truth claims do not hold up.
By now, it is well established that the Book of Mormon is the "keystone of our religion." Just two years ago, Elder Bednar reminded us that President Benson "emphasized repeatedly that “the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion—the keystone of our testimony, the keystone of our doctrine, and the keystone in the witness of our Lord and Savior.”
(David A. Bednar, ‘In the Space of Not Many Years,’ General Conference, October 2024, ¶ 3)
Other Christian churches teach faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. They, as well as other religions and secular groups, offer community, culture, social, emotional and psychological support, etc.
It is the Book of Mormon that makes all the difference. Few people leave the Church while still accepting the Book of Mormon as an actual translation of ancient records that testify of the reality of Jesus Christ.
To be sure, the faithful scholars/influences often use euphemisms such as "speculated," "assumed," "guessed," "adopted a false tradition," etc. But Oliver declared it was a fact that Cumorah/Ramah is in New York, that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates, that John the Baptist restored the priesthood, etc.
Nevertheless, Brant Gardner, Jasmine Rappleye and the other participants in the recent podcast on "Informed Saints" (each of whom is an awesome Latter-day Saint) showed how to repudiate the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah/Ramah. They do this solely because those teachings conflict with their M2C theory. They are so determined that they refuse to even present the case in favor of the prophets so viewers can make informed decisions.
This podcast and others like it do the same with the translation. They all embrace Royal Skousen's conclusion that Joseph and Oliver "deliberately misled" everyone about the translation, solely to prop up their "Early Modern English" theory that Joseph did not really translate anything.
In both cases, Joseph and Oliver explained the truth with plainness and simplicity.
And in both cases, it has required considerable sophistry for the scholars to justify their repudiation of what Joseph and Oliver taught.
Although the scholars have so far prevailed (as we can see in the Saints book, the Gospel Topics Essays, and even the commentary in the Joseph Smith Papers), the original teachings are still available for anyone to read.
But you wouldn't know that if you watch "Informed Saints" and similar podcasts, or if you read the Interpreter and related content.
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Torn, on page 6, makes this observation:
"History, doctrine, and leadership are hugely consequential factors. Culture powerfully shapes how these things are taught, lived, and experienced, often in ways we do not intend, want, or even recognize. Culture can either deepen trust and discipleship—or erode them."
No one can watch "Informed Saints" and similar shows and then come away thinking these podcasters have deepened trust in Joseph and Oliver. Instead, the podcasters deepen trust in themselves and erode trust in Joseph and Oliver.
The Interpreter, FAIRLDS, and the rest do likewise because of the groupthink that naturally arises from an insular set of people who barricade themselves within their intellectual fortress.
This is the classic academic tendency to elevate one's own opinions. It's an especially egregious form of confirmation bias when perpetrated by people in a position of trust and influence.
As I repeat frequently, I'm fine with people believing and teaching whatever they want. And all of these scholars and podcasters are no doubt wonderful people, faithful Latter-day Saints, well educated, etc.
But anyone who wants to encourage and enable Latter-day Saints to make informed decisions would not resort to sophistry, misinformation, and similar tactics to deprive the Saints of all the relevant historical records, including the teachings of the prophets and the evidence that corroborates those teachings.
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On page 23, Torn describes how this process works for many people.
These people encounter historical, doctrinal, or institutional information that conflicts with what they were taught or assumed about the Church’s origins and truth claims. For many, the deepest rupture is not learning of troubling things; it is concluding they no longer know who or what to trust. They are often less disturbed by the actual historical problems (although for many those are troubling enough) and more disturbed by how they believe Church leaders have handled them.
As a thought experiment, think how different the situation would be if faithful LDS scholars and podcasters embraced, instead of repudiated, what Joseph and Oliver taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.
We all know that critics can find things to attack. The 1834 book Mormonism Unvailed attacked both the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon exactly the same way the modern critics and the M2Cers and SITH sayers within the Church do.
Joseph and Oliver effectively responded to Mormonism Unvailed with facts, enabling people to make informed decisions.
It was then, and is now, a binary decision.
Did Joseph and Oliver tell the truth, or did they not?
So long as prominent LDS scholars and influencers insist that Joseph and Oliver did not tell the truth about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon, more and more faithful Latter-day Saints will find themselves "torn" as well.
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