Understanding why those we love leave the Church
Torn offers a compassionate, research-driven look at why so many people step away from the Church—and what their stories can teach us about faith, trust, culture, and belonging.
Built on Research and Real Stories
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Meet the Research Team
Learn more about the researchers and advisors whose experience helped shape the study behind Torn.
Not a faith crisis — a crisis of trust and belonging
Being torn does not have to be the end of faith.
Torn. That is how many faithful Latter-day Saints feel today.
Torn between love for the Church and love for someone who has stepped away. Torn between deep faith and difficult questions. Torn between the traditions they cherish and the tensions they struggle to balance.
For many, this is not a crisis of faith. It is a loss of trust and belonging.
Jeff Strong brings clarity to a reality many are living but struggle to understand: a significant number of once-active, deeply committed members are stepping away, often not because they stopped believing, but because something in their church experience no longer felt life-giving or whole.
This book is not about choosing sides. It is about building understanding.
In Torn, Strong combines personal experience—as a father, bishop, and mission president—with rigorous research to help readers see more clearly what is happening and how to respond with greater wisdom, deeper faith, and more love.
Foreword by Steve Young
Steve Young is an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback; cochair of the Forever Young Foundation with his wife Barb; and author of The Law of Love and The Law of Love in Action.
Early reader impressions
Here’s some of what readers have shared after reading and reflecting on Torn.
It helped me strengthen my connection to Jesus Christ because it helped me separate the church culture from how Christ taught us to live.
My eyes feel wide open after reading this book — I feel better equipped to actively love and include people like Jesus did.
I feel seen, and maybe even hopeful for my experience with the church.
Finally, someone gets it — and they articulated what I’ve felt with the right balance of data and heart.
This book gives hope that we can build a Christ-centered path of discipleship where those who doubt, wander, and question still belong.
It portrays beautifully the conflict so many of us feel — and shows how we can cultivate a healthier, more loving church culture.
About the Author
With decades of executive, academic, and Church leadership experience, Jeff Strong brings unusual clarity to a deeply personal subject. His work on Torn is shaped by both rigorous national research and years of lived pastoral experience. The result is a voice that is thoughtful, faithful, and grounded in both data and discipleship.
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