In a family of ten children, I was technically the second born—arriving less than five minutes before my twin brother. As part of my birthright, I became the namesake of my great-great-grandfather, Lars Peter Christian Nielsen, who emigrated from Denmark in the mid-19th century to join the Mormon movement. Having been born of thoroughly Mormon parents, I identified with their high-demand belief system throughout my youth—most of which I passed in Modesto, California. From January 1998 to December 1999, I served as a missionary for the Brighamite sect of the Mormon church in Sonora, Mexico. Returning to the States, I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry after which I moved to Boston for graduate studies, earning a Ph.D. in organic chemistry as well as an MBA. In 2009, I left Harvard University for Minnetonka, Minnesota, where I have worked for both non-profit and for-profit corporations in the healthcare sector.

While raising my three little girls, I felt a profound desire to make sure that I never taught them anything that was not strictly true. For better, and for worse, I allowed myself to study Mormon history from academic/“uncorrelated” sources, which inexorably led to the unweaving of my rainbow. I resigned from the Mormon church in 2010. Ever since, I have been intrigued—and even fascinated—by just how distortedly the contemporary Mormon church continues to whitewash its own history. Over a period of about fifteen years, I conducted my own research (and sometimes furtive investigations) through which I discovered the true sources of inspiration for what later became The Book of Mormon.

Incidentally, in 2019 my twin brother, David (then an employee of Ensign Peak Advisors), shared with me the details of a Klein conspiracy perpetrated by the Utah Mormon church on both its membership and the unsuspecting public. Its “prophets and apostles” did more than stockpile $100 billion of surplus tithing; they also deliberately and painstakingly lied to the IRS and SEC for multiple decades. After months of research and compilation, I submitted this information to the IRS Whistleblower Protection Program on David’s behalf and subsequently leaked it to the Washington Post, which reported the scandal on December 17, 2019. Almost simultaneously, I published an op-ed for Newsweek as well as two YouTube videos—a 7-min summary and a 77-min exposé. One month later, the Post followed up with another piece, as did the Wall Street Journal (here and here). The church has been fined, and several Mormons are now suing to get their tithing back.