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The Sixth Sense and Studying LDS History (March 27, 2019) ​ This might seem like a goofy blog post (and in a lot of ways it is), but I actually have thought of this a lot over the last year since diving down the rabbit hole of church history. One of my earliest thoughts to explain what studying LDS history has been like for me is to compare it to the ending of The Sixth Sense, with all of the many troubling issues coming together in perfect clarity the moment I let go of my preconceived conclusions, but the comparison actually works well through the entire movie. ​ If by some chance you have never seen The Sixth Sense, you should probably bookmark this page and come back after you've seen the movie. The movie is awesome so it's worth watching regardless, and this post will have a lot of spoilers (ha). Plus, this post just won't make much sense if you've never seen it. ​ So with that out of the way, the following is a very quick plot synopsis of The Sixth Sense but through the lens of researching the truth claims and doctrinal history of Mormonism. It is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the overall themes are both real and meaningful. Sometimes the best way to approach difficult issues is with a little bit of humor, so I hope maybe this is helpful to some of you who are searching for answers or to those just trying to understand what it's like for members who have taken the deep dive into church historical/doctrinal issues and are struggling. ​ The Sixth Sense (Mormon History Edition) ​ As the Sixth Sense begins, Dr. Malcolm Crowe is receiving an award for his years of work as an apologetic source helping those with doubts about the church. After he gets home, he is caught by surprise when one of the members he previously helped try to get past his doubts (Vincent) brings him all of the research he refused to discuss (CES Letter, Mormon Think, responses to the official LDS Essays, research showing being gay isn't a choice, etc). As Malcolm looks at the evidence and rebuttals to the apologetic answers, he falls back on the bed in shock at the realization over problems with the church’s history and doctrines while his wife Anna runs over to comfort him.

We then fast forward months later to when Malcolm meets Cole, who is experiencing some of the same doubts that Vincent was troubled with, and Malcolm is even more driven to help Cole overcome them with even more detailed rebuttals to troubling church historical/doctrinal issues.

Since the time that Malcolm had processed all of the information about church history from Vincent, his wife Anna had stopped talking to him, and some of the rooms in their house were now locked to Malcolm, further driving him to help Cole avoid falling into the same trap that Vincent did. ​ As Malcolm continues to work with Cole, they begin to build up a level of trust and friendship. While Malcolm was under the impression the doubts about church issues were just with Cole, he knows there is more to the situation. This leads to the most famous dialogue of the movie, translated exclusively for this Director’s Cut: