Hey there, thank you for the comment!

The documentary you mentioned sounds very interesting. I haven't seen it myself, but I'm sure it would be worth a viewing! I'm fortunate in that when I finished my mission, I had a network of friends and family who were able to help me process my experiences. Unfortunately not everyone gets that, but I was one of the lucky ones. My hope is that the negative experiences of missionaries will be more widely discussed in Mormon culture, so that young people who have them will have healthier ways of framing what they're going through and deciding whether they need to conclude their mission sooner than initially expected. I think opening up conversations like that can only benefit the mission program.

As for the Adam-God material, to clarify: I'm not arguing for Adam-God, just discussing some theological tendencies that Brigham Young appeared to have (eg, ever-advancing gods, eternal patterns, etc.). I believe providing the context of Young's overall vision helps to identify some of the tendencies I'm zeroing in on here. I'm also very well aware that the LDS Church does not teach Adam-God teachings; at no point did I indicate they should. I'm simply engaging Young's thinking in his own terms. (On a related note, if you're interested in learning more about the history of the Adam-God teachings, the degree to which they were taught among Mormon leaders, and the gradual process by which they were phased out (including attempts to deny they were ever taught in the first place), I highly recommend this Dialogue article: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V15N01_16.pdf )

Overall, I'm not attempting to draw a conclusion or argue for anything here, especially not when it comes to something as slippery as God. I instead chose to explore the concepts of trauma and perspective by bringing them into conversation with the various unique ways Mormon authorities within the LDS Church have articulated infinity. In that respect, I'm personally satisfied with how this piece turned out. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Thanks again for the comment, best regards!