All 7 Of Jacob Hansen's Siblings Have Left The Church

[The Stig]

A rather shocking admission from Jacob Hansen. Jacob also mentions that about half of his extended family have left the church.

The fact that all of his online content hasn’t managed to persuade any of them to return to church speaks volumes. I know it's hard to believe, but maybe they just don't believe all of Jacob's brilliant apologetics? Maybe Jacob's siblings need to start reading all those Interpreter articles that come out every single Friday?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coi2zBlUe1Q&t=122s

If I recall correctly, Jacob's wife is out, as well.

In my opinion, Hansen has the intellectual depth of a dry puddle. On top of that, he's an asshole. It's a lovely mix.

[sock puppet]

A rather shocking admission from Jacob Hansen. Jacob also mentions that about half of his extended family have left the church.

The fact that all of his online content hasn’t managed to persuade any of them to return to church speaks volumes. I know it's hard to believe, but maybe they just don't believe all of Jacob's brilliant apologetics? Maybe Jacob's siblings need to start reading all those Interpreter articles that come out every single Friday?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coi2zBlUe1Q&t=122s

If I recall correctly, Jacob's wife is out, as well.

in my opinion, Hansen has the intellectual depth of a dry puddle. On top of that, he's an asshole. It's a lovely mix.

So Hansen and MG 2.0 are like brothers from different mothers?

[The Stig]

If I recall correctly, Jacob's wife is out, as well.

in my opinion, Hansen has the intellectual depth of a dry puddle. On top of that, he's an asshole. It's a lovely mix.

So Hansen and MG 2.0 are like brothers from different mothers?

Something like that...

[Marcus]

That’s not been my experience. I think that folks who leave often do develop a view of God and Jesus that doesn’t align with the seemingly quirky view that Mormonism dictates—but that’s not the same as leaving them behind. The Mormon conceptions of God are alien and strange to many other faith traditions. It’s often difficult to understand that while you’re ensconced in the LDS faith.

MG’ly has already been shown the data that shows less than 30% of members who stop attending do so because they become atheistic. More than half of members who leave maintain a belief in a higher power. With another portion maintaining an agnostic position.

But those facts aren’t the narrative MG’ly wants to portray, so he ignores them and carries on misrepresenting the situation. He’s either delusional, or he’s trying to be wilfully deceptive.

So once again, very few leave God and Jesus in the dust when they leave the Mormon Church.

The one thing I’ve learned about MG’ly is that when he asserts something as a fact, it’s usually nothing of the sort.

His response to you was to post (well, link and run, another no-no here) three links. I took a quick look, NONE of his links dispute what you stated in your post, and not only that, if they came even close to using the same words as in your post, the meaning was only peripherally related to your over-arching concept.

It looks as though he picked out a few key words that he got out of skimming your post, plugged them in to Google, and then picked out what he considers 'faithful' sources from the search, which is meaningless. That's not a researched response, it's a troll tactic designed to disrupt.

[MG 2.0]

MG’ly has already been shown the data that shows less than 30% of members who stop attending do so because they become atheistic. More than half of members who leave maintain a belief in a higher power. With another portion maintaining an agnostic position.

But those facts aren’t the narrative MG’ly wants to portray, so he ignores them and carries on misrepresenting the situation. He’s either delusional, or he’s trying to be wilfully deceptive.

So once again, very few leave God and Jesus in the dust when they leave the Mormon Church.

The one thing I’ve learned about MG’ly is that when he asserts something as a fact, it’s usually nothing of the sort.

His response to you was to post (well, link and run, another no-no here) three links. I took a quick look, NONE of his links dispute what you stated in your post, and not only that, if they came even close to using the same words as in your post, the meaning was only peripherally related to your over-arching concept.

It looks as though he picked out a few key words that he got out of skimming your post, plugged them in to Google, and then picked out what he considers 'faithful' sources from the search, which is meaningless. That's not a researched response, it's a troll tactic designed to disrupt.

From the first link I posted earlier that was apparently ignored:

The survey asked a variety of questions to former Latter-day Saints, including questions related to their beliefs and affiliation with religion. We found that nearly half (about 44%) of former Latter-day Saints said they do not believe in God, or they aren’t sure if there is a God and they don’t believe there is a way to find out.

However nearly a third (about 29%) say that they either know God exists, or tend to believe in God, and about 26% of former Latter-day Saints pray at least once a week.

Despite a significant number of respondents believing in God, over 70% of former members consider themselves “nones”

Granted, a minority retain faith in some kind of deity. Here is an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfC0MQwakjM

Jacob Hansen's sister, Rachel.

I think IHQ would want to look side ways at this poll/information (just posted here) and say that it doesn't represent the 'real world'.

I think Hansen's point still stands. In many if not most situations where people leave the church it is somehow connected to the faith/belief that they lacked in regards to there being a God and a divine Son of God. They were more or less converted to the church and its programs than they were to the deeper underlying doctrines of the gospel.

Again, God comes first.

I mentioned it earlier, and only one person responded I think (gadianton), but it would be interesting to take a poll here among ex-Mormons a to whether once they left the church they THEN lost their faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. And if that is the case, the question could be asked, "Did they ever have that belief/faith to begin with or was that belief rather shallow?"

I would ask that of you, although I don't expect we will receive a direct answer: Did you ever have a firm faith and belief/testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ and in God the Father...at any time? Meaning before or after your loss of faith...assuming you had faith at some point/time in your life.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

I would still maintain, that those that leave the church and lose their faith in God and become atheistic may have never had that connection with God and Jesus in the first place.

As a non-believer, I would maintain the very same. In fact, not only did those who leave never have a connection with God and Jesus to begin with, those who stay, stay, independent of never having a relationship with beings who don't exist. What does exist, is a culture that emphasizes having a relationship with God and Jesus independent of whether such a relationship is real. If NOBODY has a relationship with God and Jesus, Mormonism could go on exactly like it is, with everyone just saying that they have such a connection.

Consider this, MG, all it would take is a single Hindu having a connection with Vishnu in order either make your church completely false, or so different from what you believe it to be, that membership is mostly pointless. In order to have a connection with a supernatural being, the supernatural being must be real. In order for Mormonism to be true, Vishnu must be imaginary. If Vishnu is imaginary, then billions of Hindus, not merely a few million Mormons, mistakenly believe they have a connection to a supernatural being.

So before you tell me that the Church could never carry on as it does if no core members really have a connection to God and Jesus, consider that world religions much larger and longer lasting than your own have carried on, and do carry on, despite the implication from Mormon theology that their followers do not have connections to their believed-in deities.

I think I've gone into a bit of detail on this before in reference to 'my god vs. your god'. Succinctly, my position is that one god doesn't have to be thrown out in preference of another in order to make the statement that God exists. If you go back through my posts over a period of time on this board I think you would see that I am of the opinion that God is MUCH BIGGER than any one religion can wrap their doctrine/practice/mind around. God is in and through ALL things. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. Any belief system that brings people to greater light/good and teaches the importance of personal worth, family cohesiveness, treating others with love and respect, honoring a higher power, and on and on...is part and parcel of God's Work.

The CofJCofLDS has its very important part to play in the larger scheme of things, in my opinion. But it isn't the only game in town as far as truth and light and God's work or influence in the affairs of mankind.

So, my point still stands in relation to what Jacob Hansen is saying in the linked to video in the first post of this thread. I do think that if the pyramid is upside down that directly impacts faith in the restoration narrative.

The whole idea that one person's 'god' is just one step away from atheism is something that never made sense to me. For an atheist, I think it is a rather important and cardinal rule of belief.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

In my opinion, Hansen has the intellectual depth of a dry puddle. On top of that, he's an asshole. It's a lovely mix.

In my opinion, that is a rather shallow view of a larger picture.

It almost sounds like something a teenager might say without giving it much thought.

Regards,
MG

[I Have Questions]

From the first link I posted earlier that was apparently ignored:

The survey asked a variety of questions to former Latter-day Saints, including questions related to their beliefs and affiliation with religion. We found that nearly half (about 44%) of former Latter-day Saints said they do not believe in God, or they aren’t sure if there is a God and they don’t believe there is a way to find out.

However nearly a third (about 29%) say that they either know God exists, or tend to believe in God, and about 26% of former Latter-day Saints pray at least once a week.

Despite a significant number of respondents believing in God, over 70% of former members consider themselves “nones”

Granted, a minority retain faith in some kind of deity. Here is an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfC0MQwakjM

Jacob Hansen's sister, Rachel.

I think IHQ would want to look side ways at this poll/information (just posted here) and say that it doesn't represent the 'real world'.

I think Hansen's point still stands. In many if not most situations where people leave the church it is somehow connected to the faith/belief that they lacked in regards to there being a God and a divine Son of God. They were more or less converted to the church and its programs than they were to the deeper underlying doctrines of the gospel.

Again, God comes first.

I mentioned it earlier, and only one person responded I think (gadianton), but it would be interesting to take a poll here among ex-Mormons a to whether once they left the church they THEN lost their faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. And if that is the case, the question could be asked, "Did they ever have that belief/faith to begin with or was that belief rather shallow?"

I would ask that of you, although I don't expect we will receive a direct answer: Did you ever have a firm faith and belief/testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ and in God the Father...at any time? Meaning before or after your loss of faith...assuming you had faith at some point/time in your life.

Regards,
MG

You don’t seem to know how to read data, or maybe you don’t understand how percentages work. You say “Granted, a minority retain faith in some kind of deity” using data that shows 56% retain faith in some kind of deity. Not only that, a proportion of the actual minority 44% (that you described incorrectly as a majority) retain an open mind towards the notion that a deity exists.

I don’t understand why you make an assertion but use support data that actually refutes your assertion. I’m actually starting to be embarrassed for you.

[MG 2.0]

Granted, a minority retain faith in some kind of deity. Here is an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfC0MQwakjM

Jacob Hansen's sister, Rachel.

I think IHQ would want to look side ways at this poll/information (just posted here) and say that it doesn't represent the 'real world'.

I think Hansen's point still stands. In many if not most situations where people leave the church it is somehow connected to the faith/belief that they lacked in regards to there being a God and a divine Son of God. They were more or less converted to the church and its programs than they were to the deeper underlying doctrines of the gospel.

Again, God comes first.

I mentioned it earlier, and only one person responded I think (gadianton), but it would be interesting to take a poll here among ex-Mormons a to whether once they left the church they THEN lost their faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. And if that is the case, the question could be asked, "Did they ever have that belief/faith to begin with or was that belief rather shallow?"

I would ask that of you, although I don't expect we will receive a direct answer: Did you ever have a firm faith and belief/testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ and in God the Father...at any time? Meaning before or after your loss of faith...assuming you had faith at some point/time in your life.

Regards,
MG

You don’t seem to know how to read data, or maybe you don’t understand how percentages work. You say “Granted, a minority retain faith in some kind of deity” using data that shows 56% retain faith in some kind of deity. Not only that, a proportion of the actual minority 44% (that you described incorrectly as a majority) retain an open mind towards the notion that a deity exists.

I don’t understand why you make an assertion but use support data that actually refutes your assertion. I’m actually starting to be embarrassed for you.

From the above poll/survey:

Over 70% of former members consider themselves “nones”.

More:

“Just under half (44 percent) have not become involved with another religious tradition since leaving Mormonism; these are represented . . . under the categories atheist, agnostic, and nothing in particular. Another fifth [21 percent] consider themselves “just Christian” but do not specify a particular church, which likely means they have retained Christian beliefs but are not regular attenders. The remaining third (33 percent) now identify as something else, mostly remaining within the Christian orbit.”

Even more alarming is that very few end up as Christians. Out of the 33% who “identify as something else,” 11% now belong to other religions; 10% became evangelical Protestants; 7% are mainline Protestants; and 6% are Roman Catholics. When the totals for “evangelical” and “mainline Protestants” are added together, this totals a mere 5% of everyone who has left Mormonism. This number is too low, especially since there are more former members who end up as atheists and agnostics than Christians!

https://mrm.org/leave-their-church

You just can't accept the possibility that there might be something to what Jacob Hansen and I are saying, can you?

I'll pose the same question to you as I've posed to Marcus:

Did you ever have a firm faith and belief/testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ and in God the Father...at any time? Meaning before or after your loss of faith...assuming you had faith at some point/time in your life.

I don't expect to get an answer of any depth from either one of you. Your track record for answering questions is dismal.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

So Hansen and MG 2.0 are like brothers from different mothers?

I don't know Jacob in real life. What I can say is that I have traveled, in certain respects, a path similar to what it seems he may have traveled in order to arrive at a place of faith in the restoration narrative.

I traveled it years before he did.

I think that the time and effort he has put into his faith is admirable. I watched a conversation between him and his brother:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMydBGkvnKM&t=3525s

It has always been interesting to me how differently people can view/see the world even when presented with the same evidence. (I'm saying this in regards to Mormonism specifically.)

Regards,
MG