Matthew Mason

Spiritual Deconstruction Resources

4 min read

These are just a few of the resources I’ve watched, listened to, or read that has helped me on my journey through My Faith Crisis.

YouTube

@aDoseofReason

@AronRa

@BeliefItOrNot

@cosmicskeptic | Alex O’Connor

@earbiscuits

@JakeDoubleyoo

@NonStampCollector

@ProfessorDaveExplains

@TheEsotericaChannel

@MindShift | Brandon

@ProfessorDaveExplains

@Skeptical Heretic

@HeliocentricOffical

@NEMOTHEMORMON

Works Cited

All references I used in my original note: My Faith Crisis.

Bloomberg Television. “Trump: Is There a Way We Can Do Something With Disinfectant?” YouTube, 23 Apr. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0eDaYt413g. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Ear Biscuits. “Rhett’s Spiritual Deconstruction.” YouTube, uploaded by Ear Biscuits, 3 Feb. 2020, https://youtu.be/1qbna6t1bzw?si=xaJ6MVkrPxIIWh-G. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025. 

———. “Rhett’s Spiritual Deconstruction – One Year Later.” YouTube, uploaded by Ear Biscuits, 3 Feb. 2021, https://youtu.be/CnYG6x-aOTk?si=p9ebyjkbuOGIzPwO. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

———. “Rhett’s Deconstruction Talk with a Spiritual Atheist.” YouTube, 7 Apr. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Iu999EY98. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Fife, Austin. The Light and Truth Letter: My Search for More Light and Truth. Self‑published, 2024. Light and Truth Letter, https://www.lightandtruthletter.org/letter. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

“First Presidency Urges Latter‑day Saints to Wear Masks, Be Vaccinated.” Church News, 12 Aug. 2021, https://www.thechurchnews.com/2021/8/12/23218564/first-presidency-message-urges-latter-day-saints-wear-masks-vaccines/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

HuffPost. “Donald Trump vs. Jesus Christ: 10 Quotes.” HuffPost, 27 July 2016, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-vs-jesus-christ_n_5798e188e4b0d3568f85724a. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

“In Focus: Mormonism in Modern America.” Pew Research Center, 16 May 2007, www.pewresearch.org/religion/2007/05/16/in-focus-mormonism-in-modern-america/.

Knoll, Andrew H. Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth. Princeton University Press, 2003.

Nelson, Russell M. “Thanks Be to God.” General Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, Apr. 2012, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/04/thanks-be-to-god?lang=eng. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Pew Research Center. “How COVID-19 Restrictions Affected Religious Groups Around the World in 2020.” Pew Research Center, 29 Nov. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/11/29/how-covid-19-restrictions-affected-religious-groups-around-the-world-in-2020/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

PBS Space Time. “Does Timescapes DISPROVE Dark Energy?” YouTube, uploaded by PBS Space Time, 18 Feb. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXg6YVcdOcA. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Rasband, Ronald A. “To Heal the World.” General Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, Apr. 2022, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/45rasband?lang=eng. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Runnells, Jeremy T. CES Letter: My Search for Answers to My Mormon Doubts. CES Letter Foundation, 2017. CES Letter, https://cesletter.org/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025. (See also CES Letter)

Sagan, Carl. “Carl Sagan on the Existence of God.” YouTube, uploaded by carlsagandotcom, n.d., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML4kiFCKZGo. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

———. The Demon‑Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books, 1997.

Sapolsky, Robert M. Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. Penguin Press, 2023.

Scientific American. “Why Anthony Fauci Is Concerned about Bird Flu and Public Division.” Science Quickly, produced by Rachel Feltman, Tanya Lewis, Fonda Mwangi, and Jeffrey DelViscio, Scientific American, 4 Dec. 2024, https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/anthony-fauci-warns-of-bird-flu-dangers-and-how-public-division-could-make/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Spackman, Ben. “Evolution and the Gospel.” BenSpackman.com, 11 Oct. 2022, https://benspackman.com/2022/10/evolution-and-the-gospel/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

Talks on Evolution

Below is a list of the talks featured in the video Latter-day Prophets Speak on Evolution with their corresponding timestamps and official links:

  • 00:10 David O. McKay – “A Message for LDS College Youth” (BYU Address, Oct 10, 1952)

  • 03:10 Joseph Fielding Smith – “The Origin of Man” (BYU Address, 1954)

    • Note: This address is widely cited in his book Man: His Origin and Destiny. An official transcript of the 1909 First Presidency statement with the same title can be found here: The Origin of Man (1909)

  • 05:57 Harold B. Lee – “The Iron Rod” (General Conference, April 1971)

  • 08:08 Ezra Taft Benson – “The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God” (General Conference, April 1975)

  • 11:50 Ezra Taft Benson – “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet” (BYU Address, Feb 26, 1980)

  • 14:27 Bruce R. McConkie – “The Seven Deadly Heresies” (BYU Address, June 1, 1980)

  • 21:01 Mark E. Petersen – “Adam, the Archangel” (General Conference, Oct 1980)

  • 22:12 Bruce R. McConkie – “The Caravan Moves On” (General Conference, Oct 1984)

  • 31:05 Boyd K. Packer – “The Pattern of Our Parentage” (General Conference, Oct 1984)

  • 39:17 N. Eldon Tanner – “Staying on the High Road” (General Conference, Oct 1974)

  • 40:10 Russell M. Nelson – “Thanks Be to God” (General Conference, April 2012)

  • 41:37 Jeffrey R. Holland – “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet” (General Conference, April 2015)

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