zeezrom wrote:EA and Stem,
Why am I having such a difficult time with your point? I'm looking at my past life and the lives of those around me and just can't see it. Religion is so vastly important to believers that I see it as impossible to be apathetic about it. What stopped me from looking at the hairy details? First, I thought I was already being thorough in my research! I thought I was systematically studying the issues. I read the Book of Mormon every day, participated in discussions during SS and EQ, and took seminary and institute classes. I thought this is the right way to learn everything.
I considered critical publications to be filthy and vile. It had nothing to do with apathy. I cared about my belief (testimony). It was my baby. I took care of it, dug about it, and nurtured it. I was wary of anything critical for it is filled with Satan's breath and vomit. This is what I was taught, EA. I was taught to fear the critical side.
Do you think I suddenly awoke from a fog of apathy in order to change my beliefs?
My two cents: EA is right that we tend to be passionate but lazy when it comes to easy ideological positions. We adopt some principle or belief, but we rely on other people to do the heavy lifting. In the church, however, there is, as you say, a "right way" to learn about the church and that is from officially provided and sanctioned sources. Outside materials tend to be shunned and demonized.
So, yes, we are perfectly willing to study thoroughly that which has been provided for us, especially because there's such a large amount of material we are expected to know (scriptures, manuals, conference talks, handbooks, church magazines, etc.). And we are conditioned to stay away from outside sources. I remember how scared I was when I came across No Man Knows My History when I was a teenager. I didn't read it until many years later, when I had already lost my belief.
What usually happens is that people stumble across an outside source and look at it out of curiosity. That triggers a desire to learn more, and often the apologists, rather than providing a good answer, simply confirm that the problematic is true. So, it's not laziness, just a step outside of our comfort zone that is often the catalyst.