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Today we break new ground on Mormon Stories Podcast – we are interviewing a currently serving Mormon bishop who no longer believes in the core truth claims of the Mormon church (e.g. that it is the “one true church,” that the Book of Mormon is historical, that Joseph Smith as a prophet in the way we are taught, in paying tithing, etc).
Join us now as we learn about how he became a Mormon bishop, how he lost his literal Mormon faith as bishop, why he chose to “come out” on Mormon Stories Podcast while serving as bishop, and what he thinks the consequences will be for his actions.
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Mormon Stories Related
- 1733: Mormon Bishop Speaks Out About Misleading Church Statistics
- 363-364: Bishop Bill Reel on Being a Mormon Bishop, a Critique of Mormon Stories, and Resolving Faith Struggles
- 984-985: Truth Seeking with Hans and Birgitta Mattsson
- 535-539: Tom Phillips, the Second Anointing, and Mormon Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland
- 480-482: Jeremy Runnells and his Letter to a CES Director
- 1339-1341: Dr. Robert Ritner – An Expert Egyptologist Translates the Book of Abraham
- 1443-1447: Recovering Agency – Examining Mormon Mind Control w/ Luna Lindsey Corbden
- 1346: Shannon Caldwell Montez – The Secret Mormon Meetings of 1922
- 973: Sam Young Set to be Excommunicated for Protecting LDS Children from Sexual Abuse
Resources
- View of the Hebrews
- Second Anointing
- CES Letter
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner on Treasure Digging
- Shannon Caldwell Montez thesis
Church Sources
- Boyd K. Packer, “To Young Men Only”
- Zion’s Camp Seminary video
- Rough Stone Rolling by Bushman
- Gospel Topics Essay on the Book of Abraham
- Saints Volume 1, Chapter 40
- Emma Smith’s last interview
- Richard Bushman “The dominant narrative is not true”
- Gospel Topics Essays DNA and the Book of Mormon
Other
- Quetzalcoatl legend
- Benito Jarez
- Apostalic United Brethren
- Truth Seeking by Hans Mattsson
- Nauvoo Expositor
- New York Times expose on Book of Abraham in 1912
- Washington Post about Ensign Peak
Other Podcasts
The ordinance of “calling and election made sure” was performed routinely in nineteenth century Utah. Stake Presidents selected members of their stakes to receive the ordinance; issued them letters of recommendation stating that they were to receive the ordinance; then those selected traveled to Salt Lake City, presented their letters of recommendation to the brethren, who would then perform the ordinance.
Slowly, the brethren took control of the process, requiring that they knew in advance the names of the members selected before they traveled to SLC and, eventually, requiring that those being selected by the Stake Presidents be pre-approved by the brethren.
The brethren eventually rescinded the authority of the Stake Presidents to select members for the ordinance and took complete control of the process, resulting in the process the Church utilizes today.
The above comes from the book, “The Development of Temple Worship, 1846 – 2000, A Documentary History,” edited by Devery S. Anderson. The book is a comprehensive compilation of letters and journal entries of church leaders concerning temple ordinances and procedures.
If he doesn’t believe anything about the LDS church or about Joseph Smith or anything like that and he’s coming out talking about it like that why is he still a bishop then why hasn’t he been either this fellowship or excommunicated and has he because if he talked that way and you don’t believe it how come you’re still in office giving recommends and things like that
I’m sure many of us who viewed this are celebrating the honest approach to the history & truth claims of the LDS church.
Please find a way (MS FB?) for us to follow Bishop Ortiz’ story.
THERE ARE NO LITERAL BELIEVERS LEFT
When it comes to non-literal believers in the Church, the truth is that there are no longer any literal believers. The social club’s proponents defend the removal of “principal ancestors” as simply an errant, though dearly-held, belief derived from non-canon, personal opinions. However, the notion that the flood was a global event is explicitly expressed in the Book of Mormon. Just two decades ago, the global nature of the flood was the officially published version. Nowadays, it is difficult to find a devoted member under the age of 50 who believes in the canonical account of a global flood. Regarding Moroni Ortiz not being a literal believer, this actually makes him like everyone else, as no one is a literal believer.
POSSIBLE EXCOMMUNICATION
The recording of Jeremy Runnells’s kangaroo court, revealed that the official reason for his attempted excommunication was his expressed appreciation for the teachings of Buddha over Jesus during an interview on a John Dehlin podcast. However, the actual underlying reason was simply the cardinal sin of interviewing with Dehlin.
In a similar vein, I was eagerly awaiting to Ortiz’s response to the famous question: If not the Church, then where will he go? While Ortiz did not mention Buddhism like Runnells did, he did express a preference for remaining within the LDS community. Considering his stance, if Ortiz were to be excommunicated, it would be solely due to his appearance on the show.
I have shared Ortiz’s side of the story with both LDS and non-LDS individuals, and they all agree that the Church is in the wrong for insisting that he continue serving as Bishop for the past year. If the Church were to proceed with excommunicating him solely for appearing on the show, it would only serve to reinforce their own questionable actions and behavior.
I enjoyed Moroni’s story so much–such honesty and intelligence
Please give us update in the status of Bishop Ortiz after been casting in mormon pod cast.
Is there a follow up after this podcast and after the ward conference?!