一位五十岁的男性，曾是虔诚的摩尔门教徒，近期经历婚变和人生低谷后，重新回归LessWrong社区。作者发现LessWrong的理性主义原则深刻影响了他对世界的认知，并促使他审视并最终超越了摩尔门教的教义。他认为理性与绝对信仰水火不容，并强调了对权威“核实”的重要性。尽管离开了摩尔门教会，他仍保留了部分教义和对基督再临的信念，并以幽默和自嘲的态度回顾了这段转变历程，展现了对绝对真理的持续追寻。

✨ 重归社区与个人转变：作者是一位五十岁、近期经历离婚和人生重大变故的男性。他重新活跃于LessWrong社区，旨在成为一名重要的发帖者。他坦言，在人生的低谷期，他意识到自己需要新的社交圈和朋友，并因此重新审视了过去曾参与的LessWrong社区。

🧠 理性主义与信仰的冲突：作者发现LessWrong的理性主义原则与他根深蒂固的摩尔门教信仰产生了剧烈冲突。他认为，对摩尔门教会领袖的“绝对信仰”与对“理性”的追求是根本不相容的，最终理性战胜了信仰。他将自己的新世界观戏称为“摩尔门式基督教”和“LessWrong邪教”。

🔍 对权威的质疑与核实：作为“绝对真理的追寻者”，作者不再盲从信仰，而是秉持“信任但核实”的原则，并强调“信任越大，核实越要大”，这适用于所有领导者，包括声称是先知的。他认为，与那些声称拥有客观真理但行为却不符的人相比，真正寻求客观现实的社群更值得信赖。

💖 融合与独立思考：尽管作者认为理性与摩尔门教的教义不兼容，他并未全盘否定摩尔门教的价值。他承认摩尔门教带给他许多积极的东西，并引用他“天才级别”的摩尔门教兄弟的介绍，才接触到LessWrong。他目前仍相信基督会再临，并认为约瑟·斯密可能是“曾一度从恩典中坠落的真先知”，但他也保持开放态度，继续个人调查。

😂 自嘲与乐观的态度：作者以一种幽默和自嘲的方式回顾了自己的人生转变，包括他曾遭受的苦难。他引用了电影《死侍》中的台词“愚蠢！但值得！”来形容自己的经历。他希望能与家人和解，并能在笑声中面对过去，展现了其坚韧和积极的生活态度。

Published on July 18, 2025 3:13 AM GMT

Ok, so check this out.

I'm welcoming myself back to LessWrong.  This time, to become a significant post-writer, rather than a mostly-lurker.

Introduction To This Post:
Me: ~50 years old, Physically masculine individual. 4 kids, one lady, recently divorced, life-time Mormon (until recently).
 

Intro-Thought, The First:
I was here on LessWrong about 10 or 15 years ago, and I thank you all for this social group you've created.  As my divorce after ~20 years ends my marriage, and I'm slowly recovering from it, and building a new life, I identified that I need a social group.  
 

I need a new friends group.

And I asked myself, "what kinds of things did I USED to do, back before my life crashed?"  So I have been looking for those kinds of things.

 

Intro-Thought, The Second:
I saw the recent news articles about LessWrong being a possible cult, and also about the new book coming out.   "If Anyone Build It, Everyone Dies"
https://ifanyonebuildsit.com/?ref=nlmay14

 

Realization!

"Oh, yeah," I said to myself.  "I used to read that LessWrong site, huh?  Let's go check that out again!"

and,

"Huh?  Why are people calling them a cult?!?!?"

Imagine my surprise when I skimmed through the current site and current discussion topics, and in one session of about 2 hours, I found echoes of all my current deep belief systems in my soul?

ALL.

My entire current way I examine the world around me is colored by the principles of rationality I found here on LessWrong.  I ALREADY had questions about the Mormon church, and my faith in that church had survived (approximately) 10 crises of faith over my lifetime.  (Some minor, some major).  

But, now that I have both sets of 'source material' in front of me again (Christianity, Bible, Mormonism, on the one hand, and LessWrong on the other.),  in the last few days it has become obvious that my current, deep, internal philosophies that guide me in understanding the world are what I now call 'Christianity, Mormon-Style', and 'Rationality, As Understood By The Cult At LessWrong.com'

 

Message From Me, To You All - LessWrong IS A Cult, But In A Good Way:

Please understand,

I speak fluent Spanish.  I went on a Mormon mission to Spain after high school.  My current joke is that "The Mormons sent me to teach Jesus.  To. The. Catholics.  As if the Catholics don't know Jesus.....'   And in Spanish, the word 'cult' (, 'culta' in Spanish, pronounced KOOL-tah) has no negative connotations whatsoever.   It just means, 'that other Christian church over there' .   (And for the moment, no jokes about ALL Christianity being a cult, ok?  Yes, I know.  More details soon).

 

So,

When people call you guys a cult?  (in the negativity, American-English sense.)  It's ok.

You are.

But in a good way.

Your adherence to rationality above all other philosophies has turned out to be the reason I was able to grow and change and LOOK and actually see the reality all around me.  (And let me tell you.  I have found some SERIOUS coolness out there, that was technically visible all along, but I could never see it.  And I guarantee a lot of it will be news to you folks too.  More details soon.)

However, it was not at all compatible with the Mormonism inside me.

And, using the Jesus-style-metaphor, straight out of the bible, those two fundamental concept-seeds, (ie 'Absolute Faith In The Leaders Of The Mormon Church', and 'Rationality'), were not able to grow in the same soil.   They are completely and fundamentally incompatible.  

And Rationality has won out over Faith.

 

I consider myself to be what I call a 'Seeker Of Absolute Truth'.  

I say it all the time now-days.  'I don't do faith, I do science.'   

Also, "In the National Guard we used to say, 'Trust But Verify'.  But NOW I say, 'The Bigger The Trust, The Bigger The Verify."  And that applies to ALL leaders, including those who claim to be prophets.

 

And the quick summary of what has happened inside my mind/spirit/soul/psyche ever since then, very clearly in hindsight, is that it was the principles of rationality 'growing inside my soul like seeds growing in a garden' which caused my 'soul' to be incompatible with my Mormon culture.

Actually finding a group of people who ACTUALLY are looking for objective reality?

And comparing that on a daily basis with people who SAY they already HAVE objective reality/the whole truth of the whole universe......  But whose actions don't even come close to matching their stated philosophies?

Unacceptable.

 

In Conclusion Of This Post:

I was raised in Mormonism from childhood, and I take away MANY good things from them.  However, I can now clearly see what happened.  It was my solid-Mormon, genius-level brother who turned me on to LessWrong in the first place, actually!   And I was confused by the fact that he let LessWrong slide, and didn't keep up with it, like I did.  Now I know.  He's NOT a seeker of absolute truth, like I am.  Regardless of his intellect.

I now get to make jokes about my own people.  Upon hearing my background in Mormonism, one of the catholic friends I made last year said, 'The Mormons do everything right..... Except their religion.'  He and I both laughed.  A LOT.   It's nice to be able to laugh about it now.   I hope to reconcile with my family some day.  And, full disclosure, at the moment I believe Christ IS coming back in a biblical 'second coming' (80% likelihood only), and that the the Mormon 'prophet' (!??!?!?) Joseph Smith was a 'true prophet, who later fell from grace' (Although I've got personal investigations going that may change that).  And so I allow myself to use the Mormon philosophies and techniques, while distancing myself from the Mormon Church.

However,

Have you seen that Deadpool meme?

https://tenor.com/view/deadpool-stupid-worth-it-gif-16258628881754106376

 

And so, in describing my horrible life-crash in 2023, and the two years of homelessnsess and suffering from then to now?  Speaking of my own self, I shall quote Ryan Reynolds.....

STUPID!
STUPID!
STUPID!
STUPID!

<deep cool-guy voice - on>
 

Worth it.

Discuss