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· Blogging the Ex-Mormon World - by Infymus.
· News, Recovery, Information, Meetings, Humor & More.
· Containing
1,983 Articles Spanning 148 Topics
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Online since January 1, 2005
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FAQ: About The Mormon Curtain
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Q: Who runs this site?
A: Infymus AKA Michael Hoenie runs this site.
Q: What is the purpose of the Mormon Curtain?
A: Ex-Mormon Blog. The primary purpose of the Mormon Curtain is to blog the Ex-Mormon world. This includes "recovery" boards, message boards, sites and more. The secondary purpose of the Mormon Curtain is to expose to the world that Mormonism is a cult. It is hoped that the information and links contained here will help non-Mormons avoid the Cult of Mormonism. It is also hoped that current members of the LDS Church will find the answers that Mormon leaders have forbidden them from seeing. in addition, those recovering from Mormonism (known as Ex-Mormons) will find links and information necessary to aid in recovery.
Q: Is this a hate site?
A: No, this is not a hate site. No hate material can be found anywhere on this site. Mormons may call material found here as "hate-material" or "Anti-Mormon" but only because we expose the truth behind Mormonism. For instance, Missionaries may be talking to you about the Temple - what they won't tell you is that the Mormon Temple includes secret names, secret passwords, strange clothing, signs, tokens and bizzare rituals. There are many things that Mormons will not tell you - they consider them "sacred" - however, you should know these beforehand. Because we are exposing these things, Mormons consider this to be hate site or Anti-Mormon site.
Q: Is this an Anti-Mormon site?
A: The LDS Church considers anything that does not conform to their rules and regulations, or their version of history as Anti-Mormon. The LDS Church hides that Joseph Smith did not practice polygamy (See Ensign Jan/2006, see http://www.josephsmith.net, See the current Missionary Lessions). This site claims that Joseph was a polygamist (including polyandry), therefore the LDS Church considers this site Anti-Mormon. Any site, book, person or manuscript that does not promote Mormonism is considered Anti-Mormon by the LDS Church.
Q: Were you ever a member of the LDS Church?
A: Yes, I was a member of the LDS Church for fifteen (15) years.
Q: How often do you update?
A: I update generally once per day early in the morning MST Monday through Friday. On long weekends sometimes I will post articles then or I will catch up on Monday.
Q: Where do you get your material for the Mormon Curtain?
A: The material for the Mormon Curtain is culled throughout the Ex-Mormon communities, news organizations, personal blogs and other areas of interest.
Q: Do you always give full credit for the postings?
A: Yes. All posts are given full credit. If a post is pulled from a personal blog - a link to the original post is given.
Q: How come you do not post links back to culled messages off message boards?
A: Message boards are volatile - messages do not last on them very long. Once an article moves off the front page and into archives, the link to the original message generally stops working within 30-60 days. In order to not have to go back through and clean them up, I do not post links back. Message boards such as Recovery From Mormonism are concerned that if any copyright material is posted, linking back to them will put them in legal jeopardy.
Q: Are you here to expose Ex-Mormons?
A: No. Sometimes I am accused of this and it is completely untrue. Again, the purpose of this site is to blog the Ex-Mormon world and provide a repository for some of the very best of those articles published.
Q: Will you remove articles if an author requests it?
A: Yes. Absolutely.
Q: If an author submits corrections, will you correct your online article?
A: Yes. Absolutely. This happens all the time, sometimes on very old articles.
In 2001 I had my name removed from the records of the LDS Corporation. It was a very lonely time for me. In 2002 I discovered RFM and began reading. I finally found a group of people who shared the same feelings that I did and were on the same path of recovery.
In 2003 I began posting as Infymus. I have always been a positive contributor to RFM - always following the rules. There were some extremely positive messages on RFM that I deeply cherished. These people posting understood what I was feeling! These people had knowledge about Mormonism that I did not previously know! It fueled my recovery. It aided in my ability to stand up to Mormonism. It helped me to realize that the LDS Corporation was indeed a cult and that it was *NOT MY FAULT*.
What I also began to realize was that these precious posts were being archived about 1% or less of the time. RFM does have an extensive area of previous posts, but many of the best posts were disappearing. At that time I was discussing many of the aspects of Bob McCue's publications and began discussing a little of my concerns of the disappearing posts with him.
I also began exploring other forums, such as Zarahemla, and the myriad of websites containing a wealth of information on everything from Zelph the White Lamanite to Joseph Smith and the Kirtland Printing Press.
Now, let me give you a little background on why I enjoy archiving material.
In 1997 I started playing a game called Ultima Online. I loved it. And when players got together and made their own engine to run the game, I joined in. I created a website called The Smithys Anvil. I chronicled the advance of that engine and many other engines, sub-engines and etc. for nearly six years. The Smithys Anvil continues to receive millions of visits per year found at http://www.smithysanvil.com. As you can see, I did an excellent job of documenting and archiving what occurred in the emulator world for nearly five years. There are 112 topics on the Smithys Anvil with a total of 1,336 articles. I spent countless hours reading news groups, websites and chat rooms to provide the community with up-to-date news and information concerning different emulator projects and groups.
In May of 2004 I decided to begin archiving my journey out of Mormonism and to help archive the best of the best posts coming out of Ex-Mormonism. I created the Mormon Curtain and began working on the details and layout of the website. In January of 2005 after securing web space, I brought the Mormon Curtain online.
I pull posts and articles from all over the Ex-Mormon world and archive them here into what I call "Topics". All of those topics appear on the main page and then are automatically archived off into Topics. You can see a list of all topics here: http://themormoncurtain.blog/topics.html. Anyone can then come in and read those topics. While the URL location may fall off after a time, I always post a link back to where I found the article and I *NEVER* take credit for it.
I have received correspondences from Bob McCue, Steve Benson, Tal Bachman - and many many many more. Most all of the parties who wrote such messages have full knowledge that their articles are on my site for everyone to view. Sometimes I even get emails asking for corrections of such articles or updates to articles, and oftentimes the articles come directly to me for posting. Not a single person in 11 months 9 days has come to me stating that the post I culled was copyright and should be removed immediately. Only one person has asked that their posts be removed - and I complied immediately.
I receive my share of hate mail, but I receive far more positive emails from people who have personally thanked me for helping them in their dark periods of Ex-Mormonism. Some have even claimed that my website and the material posted here by Ex-Mormons has helped them journey out of Mormonism. I get people like Daniel C. Peterson from FARMS who come in and attack me - and when I retaliate, he places those emails up on SHIELDS to flaunt them before his Mormon pals. This is how Mopologists operate - discredit Anti-Mormons first. They know that Mormons who pay, pray and obey will read those discredited works first and then dismiss anything further that person has to say. I find this to be one of the greatest tactics used by people like Daniel C. Peterson.
I spend countless hours visiting Ex-Mormon websites, newsgroups, news portals and forums to bring the information onto the Mormon Curtain. I do it with a great deal of pride and I am very happy to provide this service to the Ex-Mormon Community. My intentions are pure and humble - I want to provide one of the best archived portals of Ex-Mormon information out there. I want to cull all of the information into one place so that anyone who is investigating Mormonism will have the information at his or her fingertips to make the correct decision. Alternatively, I want to provide a safe haven for Mormons who are looking for information that the LDS Corporation refuses to provide them - and punish them if they look. This is a work of passion. This is a work of love.
That is my goal - to help. I am devoted to this cause. I answer dozens of emails per month from Mormons who are in perilous times with their families because they have suddenly realized that Mormonism is a cult and they are stuck in the middle of it. I am very careful to respond to them with words of kindness and I extend my hand to them in friendship to let them know that *THEY ARE NOT ALONE*.
I hope this clears up any miss-understandings anyone may have about me and my true intentions in the Ex-Mormon World.
I am an Ex-Mormon and I am damn proud of it.
Peace,
Infymus.
This FAQ is a work in progress and will continue to be updated.
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