Audio of Bill Reel's Disciplinary Council

[_Jersey Girl]

Public Facebook post

Bill Reel
5 hrs ·

Bill Reel – Statement on Excommunication – 12.3.2018
To those who have supported my family, me, and the podcast,
Yesterday December 2 2018 at around 12:30 in the afternoon the Stake President for the Mormon Church in my geographic location hand delivered his decision to my Disciplinary Council. The decision was as we all had expected, I had been excommunicated. Immediately, my family signed onto QuitMormon.org and completed their resignations. It has been a long journey but one in which our home was united. Our Family united in valuing truth and standing up for those who are marginalized and harmed led to our being hand in hand as we woke up to our lives. When Mormonism one last time made it clear that the truth is not only not useful, but even more directly it is antithetical to Mormonism’s mission, our family unitedly said goodbye.

In regards to the Excommunication Document it is linked HERE ( on site)
In regards to its wording, it is just more of the many games that Mormonism plays. It speaks in generalities and as a good friend said, “it is impossible to box shadows”. In the end Elder Oaks was correct, In Mormonism “it is wrong to criticize leaders even if the criticism is true”. In fact it may be the only real true Doctrine left in Mormonism from the beginning of the restoration.

A lot of folks encouraged me to resign but I went out doing what I have always done which is being a voice for those who for one reason or another don’t have a voice, standing up against the the dishonest telling of our narrative, and shining a light on leaders who lie and deceive in order to protect their authority.

Mormonism, while not what it claimed to be was the very lie I needed to believe as a young man in order to change my life. For that I say thank you. When it fell apart my loss was so great that I only could express my fracture as a “faith crisis”. But as time went on, I came to the realization it wasn’t a faith crisis at all. It wasn’t me who had something wrong…. something broken. It took years to come to grips that it was in fact Mormonism that had a Crisis. A Truth Crisis. It had built its entire foundation on stories that simply don’t hold up.

Its defenders try to keep us from trusting any information outside of the faith promoting point of view. But I say read everything. Trust no-one. Read both sides, chase down sources, make space for even your most sacred beliefs to need adjustment and perhaps even discard.

“We must trust to nothing but facts: these are presented to us by nature and cannot deceive. We ought, in every instance, to submit our reasoning to the test of experiment, and never to search for truth but by the natural road of experiment and observation.” – Antoine Lavoisier

Mormonism can not stand an honest investigation. I learned this the hard way. Mormonism itself does not trust the truth seeker to explore both sides objectively and dissuades one from such a course at every turn and hence it poisons the well of every data point that seeks to expose its shadow.

To those who have sent messages, have supported the podcast by listening, giving donations, who had shown up at my disciplinary proceeding, stopped in to talk at my work, came to some event where I was in attendance, or who have followed my journey with appreciation….. Thank you! It has been one of the best things about this journey. Meeting, hearing from, getting to know good good people who also have woken up. You were as much a lifeline to me as many of you claim I was to you. The day of the “Court of Love”, I was calm and at peace. That mindset has continued. I am in a good place and have made peace with all that has occurred in the past month and even years. I am proud of how I faced the challenges every step of the way in my journey. The podcast will continue for the foreseeable future and I will continue to ensure that it offers the tools and resources to help others wake up and to deconstruct their religious system. In fact I expect very little to change.

Lastly I want to speak to those who fear the full deconstruction of their religious system. Many are scared of the unknown of what lies on the other side of deconstruction. Many fear that what the Church says about those who leave could be true. That without outer authorities within your specific tribe telling you how to live your life, your life will in fact fall apart. While there are no guarantees, this much I do know. I have spoken to thousands of people at this point, either by email, phone, face to face, and private messages. I have, when I have gotten the chance, asked as many of them as I could a question?
“If you could go back to when it all fit so well and was so beautiful, and you were naïve to the mess that is Mormonism, would you?”

At this point I have presented that question to hundreds and hundreds of people. Can you guess how many answered YES? ZERO

I want to add my testimony to theirs. I wouldn’t go back. This journey wasn’t easy. It hurt and at some points it hurt a lot. Learning your Religion and the God your religion handed you are not what was claimed is chaotic and imposed a ton of anxiety, hurt, anger, and grief. But what I have gained from this journey I wouldn’t trade for anything. Empathy, Learning to value authenticity over belonging, appreciation for diversity, learning to claim my independence, recognizing the moral authority within myself, and learning to confidently stand on my own ground and for my truth, oh…. and the Best friends in the world! I wouldn’t trade any of it. If your scared to grow up and out, know that your not alone. But when your ready…. lean into it. There is a huge beautiful world out here and like always, my hand is extended for you to hold and to walk through this beautiful thing we call life together. The world is bigger and more beautiful than Mormonism ever gave it credit for. What a beautiful world and what a beautiful life. I wouldn’t trade or change my journey one bit. Thank you to those who went ahead of me and your welcome to those come after. And in case I don’t see ya, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Goodnight!

This video captures my journey as best as possible - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkTbzmq8uJc
https://mormondiscussionpodcast.org/…/bill-reel-statement-…/

https://www.Facebook.com/bill.reel.7/po ... 3983723835

[_Shulem]

The facsimiles that we have in our scriptures, those facsimiles, Joseph named every single picture on those facsimiles, every single one of those, Egyptologists acknowledge, they're all wrong, he didn't get the translation correct.

I'll bet the stake presidency and the high council were quite uncomfortable about the Book of Abraham knowing they cannot defend it. I'll bet their shelves got heavier on this account. Perhaps some of them were wondering why those annoying Facsimiles are still in the scriptures seeing they do nothing to promote faith or demonstrate Smith's legitimate ability to translate Egyptian into English.

I wish Bill Reel had asked the stake president if he personally believed the Explanations of the Facsimiles were correct translations from Egyptian into English as Joseph Smith claimed. What might he have said?

[_Viriatu]

Hahahhaha. I haven’t posted here in quite a while. I see my post was deleted. So much for “open discussion.” Mormon Discussions is r/exmormon 2.0 (0.1?). God speed, brethren. You’ll need it.

[_Shulem]

Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner is a young lady who goes out when the book of commandments are being, the press is being destroyed, and they're blowing all around, and she saves them in her dress. And we're told that story in our manuals, the story we don't tell is that Joseph propositioned her at 12 years old. They ended up, she ended up being a plural wife with Joseph years later.

Oh dear, 12 years old. My, my. Joseph Smith was a dirty old man.

Loved Bill's part on polygamy. I'm sure the brethren in the council were uncomfortable about having to listen to those things.

[_Shulem]

Hahahhaha. I haven’t posted here in quite a while. I see my post was deleted. So much for “open discussion.” Mormon Discussions is r/exmormon 2.0 (0.1?). God speed, brethren. You’ll need it.

Nobody deleted your post. You're just being dumb.

[_Dr. Shades]

Hahahhaha. I haven’t posted here in quite a while. I see my post was deleted. So much for “open discussion.” Mormon Discussions is r/exmormon 2.0 (0.1?). God speed, brethren. You’ll need it.

Shulem is correct; no one deleted your post. I couldn't have, since I didn't even see it.

You simply need to click the "Submit" button when you're finished typing.

[_I have a question]

Hahahhaha. I haven’t posted here in quite a while. I see my post was deleted. So much for “open discussion.” Mormon Discussions is r/exmormon 2.0 (0.1?). God speed, brethren. You’ll need it.

Shulem is correct; no one deleted your post. I couldn't have, since I didn't even see it.

You simply need to click the "Submit" button when you're finished typing...

...after vigorously checking your spelling, grammar and punctuation!

[_lostindc]

Really disappointed in the recording.

I was once asked to be involved in an excommunication. The ward asked that a few of us stand outside the doors to let media know they couldn't enter. I was young and had no idea who was on trial and for what. Thankfully, the DC didn't occur. I had no idea what I was involved in and didn't understand the game.

For the Bill Reel DC, I feel sad for the high council member that voiced his concerns under the idea that he wasn't recorded. I feel bad for anyone recorded that believed they could speak in a confidential manner. The high council member was outed by the person that recorded the DC and the Mormon Discussions podcast broadcasted this outing. Shame on the Mormon Discussions podcast for broadcasting this recording and of course for stealing this board's name. Really get an original name for your podcast, mormondiscussions.com has been here forever. Hopefully, you asked to use the name.

Bill's approach didn't work. Bill fed the negative portrayals of exmos and doubters. He is what they fear, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Conig, I hope you're not tied to any of this because I've alway respected you and the path you walked. We were both believers on MAD at one point. If this recent DC occurred when we were believers, I imagine we might've easily cut off the message because of the messenger.

[_lostindc]

Hahahhaha. I haven’t posted here in quite a while. I see my post was deleted. So much for “open discussion.” Mormon Discussions is r/exmormon 2.0 (0.1?). God speed, brethren. You’ll need it.

Messages don't get deleted, guy, unless you dox someone.

[_Kishkumen]

I wish Bill and his family the best. Hopefully they continue to find joy in their new life’s journey.

Bill’s experience is evidence of a crisis in Mormonism today. I agree with him when he says it is a truth crisis, but I do not agree with his interpretation of the nature of the truth crisis. Mormonism was born in the midst of a collision between modernity and what came before. The phenomenon of religion is much older than modernity, and the concept of truth therein is not necessarily the one Bill has adopted. That is no one’s fault, really; it’s simply the way of things. The world changes, and growing pains are pains indeed.

Needless to say I think Bill’s assumptions about what is best for everyone are not necessarily correct. There are other people out there who are happy in Mormonism. There are those who are uncomfortable but respond to that discomfort differently than Bill has. Mormonism will continue to change, albeit not at a pace Bill was ready to be patient for. That’s fine. No one is obliged to be patient. What I regret about Bill’s framing of all of this is his tunnel vision about what is right and true. He finds validation in his ability to convert others to his perspective. I am sure Joseph Smith felt the same way.

I am not saying that Bill is a prophet, or a minister. Bill is an influencer, and the fact that he is good at influencing is not evidence that he is, in some ultimate sense, right. I agree with a lot of Bill’s criticisms, but I don’t see his choices as inevitable, or as the only authentic way of responding to this situation. Bill has done what he feels is right for him, and his family, presumably feeling the same way, has followed suit.

Other honorable, intelligent lovers of truth stay in Mormonism. I know that is difficult for some to conceive of, let alone respect, but it is true. And, until we are able to disagree agreeably and, moreover, see the good in others following their own paths, while not being overconfident of our own righteousness and rightness, we remain part of the problem. The problem is not that there is Mormonism, or religion; the problem is a lack of humility, sympathy, tolerance, and restraint.

This board exhibits some of those faults and problems on a daily basis, but, hey, we’re the good guys, right?