Right?
Lots of people who participate on these forums use anonymous names, throw-away emails, and utilize VPN. They're already worried about government agents watching them, so it'd be pretty difficult for the church to figure out who everyone was. There will also be a lot of fringe-type believers who lie if they are ever questioned directly as they believe fervently that god has shared with them special, secret things, not to be revealed to someone lower on the ladder... even a bishop or a stake president.
See my comment above. When you're already living with extreme paranoia, you're not using your real name and identifiers on these forums... at least not unless you're a published author or speaker.
Because at the core, they believe the LDS church is the true, restored church. If they splinter (or get excommunicated), they lose clout with their communities. It's not just a financial decision. Being LDS is far more than belonging to a church. It's a way of life that saturates everything. Even leaving the church once you've lost your faith isn't a straight-forward decision. You can lose your job, your social standing, affect your kids, and fracture your family. Obviously Chad and Lori don't care about a lot of those things, but leaving is not simple. There's a huge, huge core belief that roots folks to the church. Add a business model that includes LDS books and a subscription forum? You definitely don't want to leave.
My family members passionately believe the LDS church is the true and everlasting church. They just believe that there are problems, and that it's under condemnation. They also believe they will be the ones called up to fix it in the last days. And finally, they believe that all their previous lives have led up to this moment in time where they are covenant members... they aren't going to give up that position easily.
Sorry, but the same question can be asked to the LDS church at large. Only a tiny percentage of the world's population belongs to the Lord's one true and everlasting church. If the call to belong to this church is so important (eg: the only way to get to the highest level of heaven), why wouldn't the Lord announce it to a broader audience, instead of to a small group whose influence may only reach a few? Is that the way the Lord loves his children? Warn only those who happened to read a book?
I know you'll disagree with me. I am still a member on record though I'm struggling to sort out the differences in theology with how I was raised (extreme end of days type) vs mainstream LDS, but this is one of the many issues I have with the church's truth claims. Add the mainstream teaching that there isn't progression through kingdoms and one life only is pretty bleak, even if members manage to baptize everyone in the millennium.
People splinter and start their own religions when they believe the mainstream church is too far gone or corrupt, or when they believe god or angels told them to do so. They absolutely lose clout with the mainstream body of the church and often only manage a few thousand members of support. The new church can't sustain itself financially, and eventually fails. There are lots of reasons to stay under the umbrella of the mainstream church, the primary one being that the fringe groups we're talking about don't consider themselves fringe at all. They still believe in the truth claims of the LDS church, but believe they are given extra important information and they'll be rewarded when Jesus comes again.
Members do believe in personal revelation and fostering a personal relationship with god. I'd say that MOST members do not visit the temple to receive special visions. I grew up in an extreme version of mormonism and my parents having visions was not the norm. Not unheard of, but definitely not the norm, if that makes sense. Members do visit the temple to pray for comfort or seek specific answers to questions: Who should I marry, should I serve a mission, should I take this job offer, should I have another baby, etc.
But yes, I think Chad would find it tragic to be cut off from temple attendance... but he also might feel himself above temple attendance or justify a nature temple like Moses on Mt. Sinai. I actually have no idea if Lori has ever been endowed. She doesn't wear the temple garment and I don't think any of her previous marriages were temple marriages. She and Chad moved far too quickly to seek approval for a sealing there, so any sealing they may have had would have been an unauthorized one by Chad.
