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I would in general 100% agree with you. However, you can read my story elsewhere. Definitely, not what I experienced. I would also say that I have experienced a tremendous amount of two-facedness. I have another old friend from college, she posted something about "Love is Love" or some other such nonsense. I politely, disagreed on Facebook and said 2 men (or for that matter a man and a woman) engaging in sodomitic acts is ungodly-regardless of what it is called. She was polite in public and said-let's talk about this privately. I said sure. She PM'd me and oh my goodness. She laid into me like white on rye. I was stunned . . .literally stunned. Here is someone my wife and I had over to our house for dinner, we played games with them before kids. And now in a private PM she is telling me off and saying things like "I'm a sex therapist/counselor/whatever and I bet you can't even please your wife b/c you are so boring" or some other nastiness. I showed my wife the txt and she was stunned as well. It was horrible. I've had so many experiences with LDS folks that when they are behind the wall one-on-one they have ended up being extremely, extremely vicious and nasty. Now . . maybe it's just people being people. But I'm the opposite. Publicly I might go overboard from time to time but in private I'm always extremely polite individually.

Maybe . . .but when my buddy doesn't talk to me for months on end (and he is a good guy; I don't blame him in the least bit-he has his own struggles and I do forgive him-it's more the culture).

That's a great response. I'd say globally that it is a problem because of Elder Oaks in a youth fireside read a letter from a young woman who mentioned the drastic difference being taught and practiced in her local area. But I fully understand that depending on one's age & stage in life as to whether it could be perceived as a bigger or smaller problem.

I'm doing my best here 🙂 While trying to answer the questions and comments posed.

The members ARE the Church. That's exactly what the Scriptures state. The members ARE the Body of Christ. To me it's irrelevant to make a dividing line between the two.

It depends on how it is handled. Witnesses another human being sin, ask for forgiveness, humbly come before others and seek reconciliation can be a tremendously uplifting spiritual experience. Witnesses another human being sin, browbeat others into saying they are right-simply because they hold the authority, no persuasion, no attempt to understand, simply "do what I say b/c I say it" can be a tremendously destructive spiritual experience. Was there ever any message provided saying STE we should have love and compassion for those who don't follow these words? Literally man . . . when you've got an entire religion shunning those who don't get a medical procedure-you've got a problem. That's a systemic problem. That's a revelatory experience. I almost felt like asking a leader-"when did getting the vaccine become part of the Temple Recommend?"

Is there or is there not a problem in the LDS Church with LGBTQ+ support? Is there or is there not a problem in the LDS Church with LGBTQ+ theological shift?

Lol . .well you know I'm not the one that posted on reddit!!! I don't expect anything, my apologies I might have gone a tad overboard 🙂 What I mean is that it is very, very hard for in-the-boat traditional LDS members to even admit there is a problem and a serious one with LGBTQ+ doctrinal and practical (i.e. day-to-day ward and stake) activities.

I will not mention the SP any more as I know that's a no-no here. But I stand by what I said. Spiritual Abuse.

Yes, I'm sure that when my Stake President used this talk to browbeat the entire Stake into getting an untested, unproven, medical procedure that the evidence now shows is tremendously detrimental to an individuals heart, that he was doing it b/c the Stake had a moral failing. Never a word about the LGBTQ+ infiltration, same-sex slow dancing, transgender cabins . . .but he can read everyone the riot act to fall in line and get the shot. I'll call it what it was. It was spiritual abuse. I told my wife afterwards, we should just stop the charade and put up a sign outside the building what the Church really is: "The Church of the Living Prophet" . . that's how spiritually abusive that talk was from the Stake President. I had a great buddy of mine who called me up after GC and this Stake talk-he was anti-vax prior, afterwards whole hog. He was trying to push me to get the shot. I told him, look brother I appreciate your concern for me. We have taken this matter seriously, we have prayed, we have taken it to God and we feel very strongly that we should NOT do this. He wouldn't talk to me for 9+ months later. That's a negative spiritual experience. Talk about anti-Christ man . . . for real. Literally, my family and I were ostracized, shunned and lost friends because we prayed to God, He told us not to do it and now the religion we belong to and go to Church to every Sunday has made us outcasts? For real? Seriously, this is Christian? Over a stupid, idiotic shot...you are going to throw away a friendship b/c I said no to a shot? SMH. Yeah, no thanks man...that's a religion that is in need of serious reform.

If we only thing that spiritual experiences can be positive then we aren't seeing the full range. Negative spiritual experiences are things when a religion indulges in the passions and allows the passions to run free. Positive spiritual experiences are things when a religion advocates for, teaches and practices the virtues and helps individuals bridle their passions. Emotions MAY be a part of that-however confusing emotions with the Holy Spirit is a huge, huge mistake.

Except you have it backwards. The rest of Christianity does not demand inerrancy and 100% correctness. They have the freedom to call out their leaders for evil, wicked or wrong acts, wrong doctrine. All one needs to do is take a look at this thread to see that is not the same for LDS. People in LDS culture are afraid, yes afraid of calling a spade a spade. It is tremendously sad.

At the end of the day it comes back to what is a prophet. I absolutely believe in modern day prophets. I do not believe that just because an individual has outlived everyone else in a group of people and that a another group of people proclaim that he is a prophet that THAT is what makes a prophet. The scriptures provide a pattern for prophets.

I agree. I have had many spiritual experiences with LDS. And I have also had spiritual experiences outside of LDS. I wouldn't have served a mission had I not had a spiritual experience from God in which I knew it was what I needed to do. While tremendously hard, I loved my mission, I still do. I wouldn't change a thing about it. However, over time it became self-evident to me that my spiritual well-being and those of whom I am in charge of providing for were being damaged by the faith of my youth. This wasn't a "I am so desperate to leave", this was "I/we are doing everything we can to stay". Eventually the quantity and quality of negative spiritual experiences overrode the positive spiritual experiences and we came to the point where we know that God was directing our paths outside the LDS Church. This is just as powerful of an experience (if not more so) than what it took to stay or as an experience gained to serve a mission. And now after the quantity and quality of positive spiritual experiences elsewhere that are tremendously positive-we feel God is calling us elsewhere.

But that is interesting. The reddit exmo post was made 5 days ago, which was when the thread was created. I had no clue about the video when I posted . . or I probably would have posted the video too! I only found out about the video a day ago. So that's interesting . . . someone is definitely watching this forum (insider or lurker . . who knows)! addendum: I don't astroturf. That to me is dishonest.