Gordon B. Hinckley (15th President of the LDS Church) famously stated, “As has been said many times, either this work is true or it is false. If it is false we are all engaged in a terrible fraud. If it is true, it is the most important work on earth. There is no middle ground.”
Unfortunately, some throw the baby out with the bathwater and reject the Church when they see something amiss. We think it doesn’t need to be that way. We think that there is a middle ground. The Middle Way is a path within Mormonism designed for individuals who have experienced a major challenge to their faith and find themselves caught between two extremes: remaining a traditional, literalist member or leaving the church entirely. It provides a framework for staying in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by radically restructuring one’s perspectives on belief and participation.
Here is a summary of the core principles and strategies associated with the Middle Way:
1. Moving Beyond the Binary Worldview
A central tenet of the Middle Way is rejecting the “all-or-nothing” or “true/false” paradigm often found in religious culture. Instead of viewing the church as either a “complete fraud” or “completely true,” the Middle Way allows for a nuanced perspective that acknowledges both inspiration and imperfection within the organization. This approach involves lowering unrealistic expectations of leaders and history, accepting that all human institutions are flawed.
2. Personal Agency
We think it is important that members choose the doctrines and practices that provide value and goodness while setting aside those that do not. Key aspects of this include:
• Reframing Faith: Shifting from “knowing” to “hoping” or “believing,” which the sources describe as a “blessed state” and a foundational principle of the gospel.
• Doctrine: Focusing on core Christian tenets (love, service, charity) while “shelving” or discarding speculative or troubling past doctrines that no longer resonate.
• Supplementation: Nurturing one’s own spirituality by seeking wisdom from “the best books” and other faith traditions both within and outside of Mormonism.
3. Practical Adaptation of Church Life
To successfully navigate the Middle Way, individuals often modify how they engage with church structures:
• Callings and Meetings: Members are encouraged to set boundaries, only accepting callings that are healthy for them and attending meetings at a frequency that feels spiritually productive.
• The Temple: Participation can be reframed by viewing ordinances as symbol and metaphor rather than literal history, allowing for a sacred experience without requiring a literalistic belief in every detail.
• Tithing: We support traditional tithing, and we acknowledge that some on the Middle Way Mormons may choose to pay what they feel the Church is worth to them or redirect funds to other charitable causes while maintaining the “spirit of the law.”
4. Navigating Relationships and the Community
The Middle Way emphasizes maintaining the social and familial benefits of the church—such as community support, “clean living,” and heritage—while managing the friction caused by differing beliefs.
• Spousal Harmony: In marriages where one spouse remains orthodox, the Middle Way advises separating church problems from relationship problems and avoiding pressuring the either the orthodox or unorthodox spouse to change.
• Raising Children: Parents may choose to teach their children to respect the church as their culture and a place of service, while also encouraging them to think critically and not feel compelled to believe everything they hear in Sunday School.
• Discretion: Be extremely cautious when speaking to Church leaders about doubts, as most local leaders are not equipped to handle complex historical or doctrinal nuance.
5. Why Choose the Middle Way?
The motivation to stay often stems from the realization that Mormonism is an integral part of one’s identity—a “heritage” that is difficult to extract without significant personal and social cost. By staying, individuals can serve as a “part of the solution” from within, helping to foster a more compassionate and informed community3435.
Navigating the Middle Way is like living in an ancestral home that has developed structural issues over time. Rather than demolishing the entire house (leaving the Church) or pretending the cracks don’t exist (strict orthodoxy), you choose to stay and renovate. You reinforce the foundations that are still strong, repurpose rooms to fit your current needs, and accept that while the house isn’t perfect, it is still where your family and history reside.