Why Won't You Listen?

When we want to know more about a subject at school, we find reliable resources on it--textbooks, teachers, people who have done their own research, websites, scholars, etc. When we want to know about politics, we--ideally--research the issues and make an educated decision before voting.

So why can't Mormons do this with their religion? Why can't you listen, Mormons? Suddenly, if it's about religion, you don't want to hear anything negative, regardless if its true. It suddenly becomes a very emotionally charged and irrational topic. And the last thing you do is go to multiple sources and types of sources to put together a big, comprehensive picture so you can come to an educated and complete understanding of the religion and make choices about it based on that.

Other faiths can/should be able to do this. I know I can as a Christian. I research the historical reliability, whether foundational beliefs are possible and sensible, etc., all the time. I get feedback from atheists all the time, often unsolicited. I have atheist friends, and while they don't usually plaster their pages and such with atheist materiel, they sometimes post things that I will read to get their perspective on it. I usually disagree, though I won't usually start an argument or debate about it unless it seems appropriate and welcomed. But I read. All of it strengthens my faith.

So why can't you, Mormons, do the same? Do you know that you will fall away if you do, because your religion is on such shaky grounds? Do you doubt your own faith? Do you think that somehow knowledge is in opposition to God and comes from Satan if it does not come from carefully controlled and biased sources (i.e. Mormon sources)? Do you think faith cannot be reasonable, as if God is not reasonable?

Listen, Mormons! This is not a small matter. Do you really want to not know why you believe what you believe? Do you not want to know with confidence that your faith can stand the tests? If it can't, do you really want to stand before God and say you were too much of a coward to find out, or live the rest of your life believing a lie? You shouldn't!

Knowledge isn't always fun or easy. It can be scary. It can be a burden. But truth can also be very, very freeing, when you decide to pursue it no matter where it leads you.