It’s nothing personal against Tom. I feel tremendous pity for Mormons. It is earth shattering to realize that all your life, you’ve been lied to by your church, parents, friends, etc. I firmly believe that the leaders of the the Mormon church will be held to accountable before God one day.
It’s interesting to me that Mormonism has never had a Cardinal Newman. No one looks into the objective evidence and says “This is the true church. I’m going to join.” People in the church say “I looked at the evidence, this is a train wreck. I’ve got to go.”
I have read extensively from Cardinal Newman. As an Anglican religious and then a Catholic religious he had an advantage that converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lack. He to my knowledge only mentions the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he speaks positively of how being subject to ridicule like LDS would make us have profound common ground with the Early Church. He suggests that to be Catholic is the same thing and this is a mark of truth. I of course have only read his more famous books and most of two volumes of his letters, so perhaps he has more to say elsewhere.
Father Jordan Vajda grew up Catholic. He attended seminary and became a Catholic priest. He wrote an essay,
“Partakers of the Divine Nature”: A Comparative Analysis of Patristic and Mormon Doctrines of Divinization
He continued as a Catholic Priests for a number of years, but eventually he became a LDS, claiming:
“Why am I doing what I am doing? To put it most simply: I have found a fuller truth and goodness and beauty in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After years of study and reflection, I have come to believe that the LDS Church is the only true and living Church of Jesus Christ, guided and led by living apostles and prophets.”
Now, unlike Cardinal Newman, Father Vajda had to give up his “occupation.” He went back to school and works in the medical field. He doesn’t continue to produce letters and sermons and books. But, “after years of study and reflection” he found “fuller truth” in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I know a wonderful lady who participated for years in pro and anti discussion of the CoJCoLDS who became a member.
A pair of Mesoamerican archeologists became members (not due to PROOF the BOM is true, but with a recognition that it was not disproven).
I am not in this list. I explored anti-Mormon argument briefly, but it was then and is now obvious to me that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not come from Joseph Smith. I became a member. I spent volumes of time reading anti-Mormon arguments and have never waivered from the clear conclusion that Joseph Smith could not have done this. Eventually, I got what LDS call a testimony, but mine came long after I considered the intellectaul case for the CoJCoLDS to be much stronger than the case against it.
Well, the burning in your bosom will probably be the beer but otherwise, it still counts!