Welcome to another episode of the Almost Awakened podcast. I am one of your host, Bill Real.

And I am Teresa Hops, and I'm happy to be here. Yeah, we're here to have a good conversation.

We plotted out some things to talk about and then some things have gone on the last day or so.

And we thought it actually plays into the same topic and we'll see where this conversation goes.

We actually have no idea about where this will go.

But I think it'll be helpful if I maybe set the stage this way.

I'm going to add this to the screen.

I used to be Mormon.

I of course left.

And everyone who listens, you know, 95 of the people who listen to this will know

that but so i i think Mormonism is not legitimate in that its truth claims don't hold up it's not a

it's not a true religion it's to some degrees uh and some those degrees are really strong it's a

what i would call a cult or a high

demand fundamentalist religion if you want to say it nicer. And there's very little

religious truth in the historical narrative of Mormonism. In fact, in the history,

I think there's, for me, there's very little

that's redeemable in terms of a spiritual system that is effective at getting us back to God.

But I do find things in Mormonism useful. I say all that to say this. I do find things in Mormonism

useful. There are things from time to time that I'm like, man, that really gave me something.

And examples, one on the screen, but the one that comes to mind is that Mormonism is what

equipped me to be a public speaker, to be able to sit in front of people or stand in front of

people and to talk for periods of time without being extremely nervous.

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