#former mormon

[growingupmormon]

Reading M. Kelters essay in Knowing Why: adult diagnosed autistic people on life and autism 

There was a moment where I couldn’t help but feel so seen and this page was it

I hid, but my favorite place wasn’t in the ceiling but in a tiny secret closet off of one of the classrooms on the second floor above the sacrament meeting. I could see the meeting from up there and would know when it would be over.

And yes I see the irony of literally hiding in a closet at church!

#former mormon #lds #exmo #exmormon #mormon #apostake #ex mormon #apostate #mormons #church #asd #autism #actuallyautistic #religion #church of jesus christ of latter day saints #exlds #ex lds #ex cult #formermormon #former lds #lgbt+ #mkelter #m Kelter

[coppertophomegurl]

Me, watching 3 out of 6 kids in my family come out as queer/trans/nonbinary after my conservative mormon parents indoctrinated and homeschooled us for 18 years to "protect us from the dangerous influences of the world."

#exmormon #exmo #exchristian #ex mormon #mormon #exlds #ex lds #ex latter day saint #exvangelical #ex fundie #ex fundamentalist #fundie #fundamentalist #ex jw #former mormon #cult #cult survivor #cult free #indoctrination #homeschool alumni #anti homeschool #homeschooled #homeschool #queer #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtqia+ #trans #transgender #nonbinary

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

#talkin #tik tok #religion #mormon #mormonism #podcasts #ex mormon #former mormon

[divinefr1]

I’m Trustless and I’m a Mormon

Hello. I’m DivineFR1, and I’m a Mormon. The bottom line is this: I no longer trust the Mormon Church. I either leave activity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or I get excommunicated. If I were more public with my career duties, spiritual belief systems, and activism, I would eventually face the same fate in the Church as Margaret Toscano, D. Michael Quinn, Natasha Helfer Parker, John Dehlin, Sam Young, and Peter Bleakley, just to name a few. This is the story of my trust crisis and current faith transition from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I still like to believe I have a firm faith and foundation in the doctrines of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is kind of weird to say when I have made a major decision to not participate in the LDS Church and to not return to activity. Ultimately, I will always have “Mormon” in my identity due to my rich family heritage and personal experiences. I had every intention of remaining active for my entire life. My testimony and faith in the Restored Gospel were so strong, that they really gave me stability when none was available from other sources. I served a mission faithfully and diligently. I married in the Temple. I respected and honored my covenants. My covenants were the pillar of my faith to maintain activity. As I write this letter, I am heartbroken, tenderhearted, frustrated, and devastated. Yet, I also feel a great sense of gratitude and joy. I just hope I can convey a sense of understanding while sharing my story.

Over the last 5 years, so many of my experiences in and about the Church have led to this remarkable decision and outcome. In fact, it seems that it is an “inevitable” decision (as so many others who have made their own faith transition have put it). Contrary to what many believe, it was my personal study, commitment, and pondering of the doctrine and scripture of the Restored Gospel that led me out. It was official Church sources that led me out of activity. It is to the point that I cannot stay if I have any faith or intention of keeping any semblance of spiritual progress or health.

If someone were to tell me that I would leave the Church even two years ago, I would not have believed it was even possible. I was strong and active. Yet, I had my concerns but trusted in my faith, in my covenants, and in my Gospel Study practices enough to remain “faithful.” I was a person that so many other members leaned on for strength in their own struggles of activity. There seems to always be a “but.” I had experiences within my activity in the Church that were directly against what I know and trusted to be doctrine and essential principles of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. These were contrary actions and experiences that the leadership of the Church themselves engaged in.

When my spouse and I entered our marriage and our first family ward after being in a Young Single Adult Ward, we experienced some difficulties that could not be swept away as a leader’s “imperfections”. My mantra had always been, “The people in the Church aren’t perfect, but the Church is perfect.” Jesus Christ is the head of the Church after all, right? We seemed to be targets of ecclesiastical abuse, along with other Millennial couples and marginalized families. My Spouse and I continued to experience or witness ecclesiastical abuse from our Bishop in this Ward, even through the COVID-19 pandemic. The actions we directly experienced, heard about, and even witnessed led to us considering whether the Leadership of the Church was even practicing doctrinal counsel as laid out in the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and especially the Doctrine and Covenants.

I, along with several other members of our Ward, individually shared our troubling experiences and concerns with the Stake President. The takeaway from these meetings was that the Stake President expressed compassion and concern for our experiences. He listened and told me that he would follow up in his capacity. Yet the actions from that Bishop continued, and even escalated in serious and illegal ways over time.

My Spouse and I raised our hands to oppose the sustaining of this Bishopric in the last Ward Conference we attended (February 2022). In that meeting, I implored the Stake President to keep the targeted members in that Ward safe. I told him in this meeting and one previously that there was a family who seemed to be taking much of the brunt of this Bishop’s abuse. They especially needed to be kept safe. The Stake President stated that he would continue to do what he was doing: minister to this family, and to this Bishop. Not even two months after this meeting, I found out from this dear friend that she and her son were endangered by this Bishop- to the point of this Bishop engaging in illegal actions as a practice of his ecclesiastical authority over this family. The Bishop engaged in actions contrary to the counsel laid out in the Church doctrine, and he could not be stopped until it was too late. I don’t blame the Stake President for this. He likely had his counsel from the General Authority Area Presidency. I now no longer trust that the General Leadership system of the Church can and will protect its members against ecclesiastical abuse that Priesthood leaders can and do engage in. Where is the application of leading Gospel principles when dealing with very apparent unrighteous dominion from local Church leaders (that was repeatedly reported from several members over years)? [i]

When I began to open myself up to asking questions of the systemic leadership practices of the Church, I allowed myself to delve deeper into other questions. More questions and concerns arose in late 2020 due to the disconnect of the Church’s revenue/wealth and how much members were paying into the Church. These concerns generally came to a head when we were “voluntold” to clean the church building- in the middle of a major worldwide pandemic. I had an infant. I work with a population that is particularly vulnerable to death from COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. I did not, and would not, help clean these Church buildings anymore. It is not worth the health of my family, or the people I serve in a professional capacity. I know the Church can afford to employ insured custodial agencies to clean all of their church buildings in the USA (and in the world). Hey, it’s a 100-billion-dollar corporation! Why in the world, if the Church claims to take care of their members and be concerned about their health, require and ask for them to clean the buildings?? To risk their own health and family to clean a community building??? When the Ensign Peak funds were initially leaked, I trusted the response and claims the Church put forth. Elder Causé stated in the Church’s official video response to the Ensign Peak leak a few years ago that this was essentially a savings fund for when a “rainy day” hit.[ii] Wouldn’t a pandemic be considered enough of a “rainy day” for them to use their so-called “savings” from Ensign Peak? If a global pandemic is not enough, then what is?

My “aha moment” of the Church refusing to employ insured custodial agencies, especially during a pandemic, led me to further investigate their use of wealth that I could no longer dismiss or ignore. LDS scriptures clearly state that the sole dependence on wealth is sinful and against the teachings of Christ and His Gospel.[iii] [iv] [v] Yet, the Church is engaging in actions and practices to protect their wealth with no consideration of the poor, underprivileged, needy, or marginalized. The Quorum of the Apostles earn a 6-figure allowance for their “service.” [vi] This is on top of their already accumulated wealth from their jobs before their apostolic callings, retirement funds from said affluent careers, and other investments. At least one of the Quorum of the Twelve is already valued at almost one billion US dollars of personal wealth before being called as an Apostle (I.e., Gary Stevenson). [vii] The church recently increased their monthly price for young missionaries to serve a mission (from $400 to $500/month). [viii] This is at a time when every community in the world is experiencing added financial stress and turmoil. A time when there should not be added burden from the “true church of God” to participate in missionary service. A former prophet stated that there would be a time that the Church could afford to operate without any tithing donations, and that the Church would stop asking members to donate tithes. [ix] Yet, we have a current apostle who stated that the Church doesn’t need tithing donations anymore, but members are still expected to pay (even members who earn less than $5/day for their full-time work). [x] [xi] So, a prophet’s powerful prophecy seems to be fulfilled, but ignored by his successors in Church leadership. I cannot trust an organization that repeatedly contradicts former prominent leaders. I cannot continue to trust an organization that accumulates wealth in a way the LDS church does, and does not use it to do good in the world. The church could be earning more than an estimated $13 billion annually from membership donations across the world. [xii] In 2020, the Church used less than even $30,000,000 of reported monetary spending to aid communities and people and need during the start of the pandemic worldwide. [xiii] A fraction of one single percent of their income and wealth is going towards the actual welfare of who they call the Children of God- people of the world.

Speaking of the welfare of the children of God, the events of August 2022 sealed my fate to my exit and transition from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [xiv] It was the Church’s official responses that led me out, not any other sources (besides my own actions concerning the matter). Any leaders in an organization that would sincerely try to act in good conscience and be active in protecting the vulnerable would do the opposite of what the Church has reported. [xv] A “Perfect” church led by imperfect people would be very appalled at the violent abuse reported that occurred in a span of almost a decade. They would be doing all they could to ensure the safety and protection of that (and other) family’s children. Instead, the leaders admitted they knew about the report to the Church’s Help Line. But, all they said they did to help protect those kids was they encouraged the parents -- THE ABUSERS -- to get the kids into therapy so the psychologists would report the abuse. Talk about shirking responsibility in protecting children and the vulnerable. The admission lies in the face of how the abuse cycle works. Repeated studies and evidence show that abusers will isolate their victims. They rarely, if ever, place their victims in a situation where the victims would be helped to escape the abuse, such as mental health therapies. [xvi] How disingenuous the official response is against how to effectively protect people against violent (or any) abuse. The Church had so much power and resources to stop the abuse in its tracks. Yet, they allowed it to continue for over SEVEN YEARS because of some sort of “repentance process” for the abusers??? Sure, they didn’t “break any laws.” However, how does this response show that the Church leadership follows the counsel in the scriptures of acting on a good cause? Of not being compelled to do good in all things? [xvii] [xviii]

I am employed on professional work teams to ensure that abuse from others against a vulnerable population is prevented and reported when it does occur. How can I continue to participate in an organization that says that abuse is abhorrent and unacceptable, but engages in actions that fosters and allows long-term abuse? How can I continue to participate in a religious organization that says one thing about honesty and goodness, but does the opposite? I am angry, heartbroken, and devastated. I spent my entire memory of life in this church, thinking, searching, and believing that this Church (my Church) was one of the greatest sources for good. That it is active in helping bring the marginalized out of marginalization. That this church aims to help protect against and prevent abuse of all kinds. That the Church uses the money donated by its members to be a force of great relief for those in dire need across the world. That it uses the great talents and input from others to make a better world. It is clear to me now it truly does none of those things effectively.

I do not sustain or support the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Quorums of the 70s. I do not trust them to have interest in my or others’ full well-being. I am by nature an intellectual with a spiritual side, thanks in large part to my upbringing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is because of that spiritual intellectualism that I started to consider and delve deeper into “Church-approved” sources than ever before in the last year. The deeper I got, the farther I ran away from my trust in the General Leaders of the Church. The farther I went, the farther I knew I could not and do not trust the Church or its leadership systems. I cannot walk the line of my God-given talents to support the needy while maintaining active membership in the Church. I will not. I cannot walk the line of advocacy for the vulnerable and marginalized while maintaining active membership in the Church. I will not. I cannot remain active in this Church. I will not continue my life as an active Mormon, because I am ultimately trustless and Mormon.

Endnotes:

[i] Doctrine and Covenants 121:36-37, 41-42. “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. … No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.”

[ii] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-of-jesus-christ-finances

[iii] Matthew 19:16-24 (KJV). And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wild enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

[iv] 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV). For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

[v] Jacob 2:18-19. 18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to ado good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

[vi] https://faq.churchofjesuschrist.org/do-general-authorities-get-paid

[vii] https://www.hjnews.com/news/local/debut-stock-offering-by-logan-based-ifit-could-make-latter-day-saint-apostle-almost-a/article_98990e5c-9afa-5dff-bbfb-3460db886744.html

[viii] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/first-presidency-announces-increase-in-monthly-missionary-contribution?lang=eng

[ix] Joseph F. Smith, April 5th, 1907, General Conference Address, Page 7. “Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God. I want to live to see that day, if the Lord will spare my life. It does not make any difference, though, so far as that is concerned, whether I live or not. That is the true policy, the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His Church.”

[x] David A Bednar. National Press Club conference, May 26, 2022. Live feed 51:22. “The Church doesn’t need their money, but those people need the blessings that come from obeying God’s commandments.” (Emphasis added)

[xi] https://www.paylab.com/top-salaries/rankings/top-20-countries-lowest-salary?lang=en

[xii] Since the LDS Church is not public about their finances worldwide, I had to make some rough estimations as follows:

Roughly 6.8 Mil LDS members in US.

Average wage index in US: $60,575. (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/AWI.html)

Estimate average tithe donors: 30% of church members

30% x 6.8mil = 2.04mil tithe donors

10% x $60,575 = $6,575 tithing donation for each average US wage.

2.04mil x $6,575 = $13,413,000,000

Estimated Tithing income from US based on average wage index: $13,413,000,000

United Kingdom tithing income from 2021: $34,408,000. (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

Australia donation income from 2021: Estimated $35mil (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

Canada donation income from 2020: Estimated $179mil (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

[xiii] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saint-charities-boosts-global-efforts-2020

[xiv] https://apnews.com/article/Mormon-church-sexual-abuse-investigation-e0e39cf9aa4fbe0d8c1442033b894660

https://apnews.com/article/Mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10

[xv] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-offers-statement-help-line-abuse

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-provides-further-details-about-arizona-abuse-case

[xvi] https://www.kgfamilylaw.com/the-role-of-isolation-in-domestic-violence

[xvii] Alma 32:16. “Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble…”

[xviii] LDS Doctrine and Covenants 58:26. “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.”

#pimo #exmormon #exmo #mormon #former mormon #ex lds

[apostatement]

My mormonism and my eating disorder intersect in a very specific way and I am not sure if it was because of my family or if it’s a more widespread thing in the church? Basically starving myself to make myself thinner was considered holy and right and connected directly to fasting by those around me… anyone else experience this?

#exmormon #apostake #exmo #apostate #eating disorder #tw disordered eating #former mormon #former lds #ex lds

[wasmormon]

I love logic and reason. I love my family. I was a temple worker with multiple callings throughout local and stake levels. I was a mormon.

I was called to do research for the Stake, to be use as a supplement in Sunday School lessons. Because of the nature of the calling, I was brought into contact with the controversial issues of church history. It was at this time that I encountered the issues regarding The Book of Abraham, Joseph’s polygamy, the seer stone, The Book of Mormon anachronisms, etc. This is when I started building my shelf. It became a rather large shelf, and it wasn’t sagging, for one reason alone.

I couldn’t figure out how Joseph Smith came up with The Book of Mormon. The explanations I’d seen from “anti” sources, just didn’t cut it. I happened upon a video presentation by Chris Johnson, “How The Book of Mormon destroyed Mormonism”, where, in short, he demonstrates that Joseph Smith, Jr., certainly borrowed from a book of his time “The Late War”, in the creation of The Book of Mormon.

Bam!! No more shelf. What had been building for over 20 years, collapsed in 2 hours. I then knew precisely how Joseph Smith, Jr., fabricated The Book of Mormon.

I resigned from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in December of 2014. It was a difficult thing to do. I’ve been called absolutely horrible things by people who I thought were inalienable friends. I was wrong. And that shows how profound the Cult of Mormonism actually is.

- Rodney

Continue reading the full wasmormon profile at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rodney-james-mcguire/

#exmormon #faith crisis #postmormon #ex mormon #deconstruction #former mormon #cult survivor #was mormon #joseph smith #mormon shelf

[lightdissolved]

Teaching hate produces terrorists

#mormonism #club q shooting #ex lds #ldslife #former mormon #mormon church #lgbtq #lgbtq community

[dorian-they]

christian missionaries: the original MLM

#literally tho the way some mormons talk about who baptised them or their families is like they’re talking about their upline #former mormon

[twotrenchcoatsinaguy]

the relief society president is here to talk to my parents because we just moved and so my parents are in a new ward.

I am not here. I am in my room, making no noise and pretending I don't exist :)))))))

the missionaries and also this one member from our old ward that we haven't spoken to in years have been really "friendly" lately.

and by that I mean the missionaries showed up at our old house to "see how we were doing" about a month and a half ago (we're fine, we've been fine, its just that most of us have realized the church is bullshit by now and aren't active in it anymore) and subtly try to get us to invite them inside (no. we're not gonna invite you to dinner to hear the same song and dance that we've heard for so many years about how great the church is and how our lives would be better if we just surrendered most of our personal freedom and 10% of our gross income to said church)

and also one of the moms of one of the more strict/devout families from our old ward has been texting my mom constantly to try and have lunch with her. and discuss what exactly? that her kids are unapologetically queer and she has decided to support us even though the church doesn't want her to? that you don't like that? where exactly could that interaction go that would be productive and worth my mom's VERY limited time and energy?

it kind of baffles me tbh. because my dad is the only one in our family who still likes and is active in the church, but the rest of us? there's quite simply nothing you can say to convince us that coming back is a good idea. we know too much now and have been hurt too many times to ever fall for that again. it actually surprises me that a lot of mormons, especially from my ward, have this view of ex-members as if there's no possible way we could genuinely not like the church. as if all of us are just poor lost souls who just need a friend to invite us back to church. as if there's never a valid reason not to believe, or to choose not to follow anymore.

exmos? having free will and minds of their own? it's more likely than you think.

#exmo #exmormon #ex mormon #ex lds #exlds #ex religious #former mormon #former lds #exmos

[inbabylontheywept]

I was walking out of the Walmart today, and a car passed me, and I got this incredibly vivid impression. It wasn't really in words, but if I had to put it into words, the two key points would be

a). I needed to watch that car and

b). That I needed to be careful, because the driver of the car was a massive bitch.

It kind of took me by surprise, because I really had no reason to be beefing with that car, and I also hadn't really had an impression like that since I was religious, which was in my teen years. Right? It'd been a decade since I had a little voice whisper in my ear, and I'd basically written it off as nonsense.

Anyway, I watched the car, because The Spirits or whatever were very insistent that I did. Car drove fine, went into the parking spot, inched forward, and right when it should've just stopped, the driver gunned it for some reason and it ran into the curb and cracked its bumper.

So, the driver got out, and she went to the front of the car to check that yes, she had cracked her bumper, and then she turned to look at me. The parking lot wasn't empty, but we were the only two people standing in that row, and I'd probably been staring at her for tenish seconds now.

She demanded very angrily to know why I hadn't warned her of the curb. And I could have said I didn't know you were about to gun it or is it my job to help every stranger park, or even could you have even heard me, inside your car?

And all of those would have been fine, but I was really, really busy digesting that I had somehow communed with Mormon Jesus again for the first time in fifteen years, and that the communion had mostly been there to let me watch someone park badly (?), so what I responded with was:

"Because it was foretold."

And I can't tell which would be funnier, if she went silent because there's not much to be said to that, or if she went silent because in Utah, she might actually believe me, but we parted ways without more words.

I'm still kind of digesting this myself, actually.

#Mormon Jesus really wanted me to watch someone crack their bumper? #It was kind of funny to watch #like if this is gods apology i guess i can take it #a decade and a half of radio silence between former highschool friends and then one sends the other a shitpost #and maybe the friendship isnt fixed but its a channel you know? #at least we're talking again #would that all my stupid mistakes could be divine shitposts #amen

[growingupmormon]

I know I say it every year but the cadence of the speakers at Gen Conf makes me so uncomfortable and makes it hard to process the information or lack thereof

#former mormon #exmo #exmormon #lds #ex mormon #apostate #apostake #mormon #mormons #church #ex cult #cult #formermormon #genconf #ldsgenconf #lds general conference #general conference #ldsconf

[coppertophomegurl]

Having a lot of thoughts this m*thers day.

I HATE the way the mormon church automatically assigns m*therhood to all girls/women/afabs.

M*ther's Day at church always looked like making ALL the girls and women 12 and older (literal children) stand up while a member of the bishopric/branch presidency placated them with meaningless missives of gratitude and about how being a m*m is the most divine role a woman can hold (🤮🤢) while the young men passed out a cheap little gift to every single women standing.

I thought this tradition wouldn't exist in the singles ward. I was wrong. Same shit again. It was around then (18/19) I realized how gross this felt to me.

I don't want to be a m*ther. EVER. But I didn't even realize I had the choice to opt out of parenthood until I was a full blown adult (fortunately before I had any children) I was literally groomed for m*therhood by the church.

Young women's lessons and activities spent planning out children's names, making baby quilts for our future children (ma'am I am 12 years old. I AM children.) And learning parenting tips and how to be a good stay at home wife/m*ther.

I have such a difficult relationship with m*therhood and the mormon church is the cause for a LOT of it. I've been out of the church for many years now and I am still unpacking and unlearning.

But, damn this time of the year is hard for me.

#tw mothers day #tw mom mention #tw mother mention #childfree #childfree by choice #ex lds #lds church #exmo #exmormon #ex mormon #exlds #exvangelical #former fundie #ex fundamentalist #ex jw #ex christian #mother's day #mommy issues #mother wound #mommy trauma #cult free #cult #cult survivor

[latter-gay-witchery]

To the small handful of other LDS witches out there that follow me or otherwise: I just got my hands on a copy of Early Mormonism and the Magic Worldview by D. Michael Quinn. Would folks here be interested in me like, writing up some posts here about my thoughts as I go through it?

I would probably write one post for each chapter or group of chapters depending on length and subject matter.

I’m probably gonna do the thing anyway for my own benefit but I wanted to gauge interest so I know what kind of target audience to expect if any.

#witchy ramblings #mormon witch #christian witch #witchblr #it’s not specifically a witchy book mind but #I’m sure it’s got some great history #(it was written by a former church historian/BYU history professor after all) #faith and magic

[hell-heron]

Because I'm terminally allergic to accepting movie canon as canon when it comes to this saga here is my map of Panem drawn from vague memory. The sizes are a bit wonky but I think most larger districts are not fully inhabited either way. I decided that the numbers are given for distance from the Capitol which sadly prevented me from putting district 4 in Florida as my heart desired. I'm soso good at gerrymandering

#we get canon positions for 12 and capitol and we know 12 is tiny 11 huge 2 mountainous and 5 has hydroelectric dams #so that was taken in account + vibes #it made sense to me that 13 might be in the former east coast bc it explains why the former 'center' if it makes sense fell completely out #of prominence if its now nuclear experimentation site #panem seems to no longer have alaska or hawaii. good for them #and i was really undecided if district 1 or district 2 should be mormon country but i guessed 1 fits the vibes more and i want 2 to be the #more dramatically mountainous one #hunger games #op #tbosas

[wasmormon]

Was the first vision a “vision”? Was it the “first” one? Which one is “The” first vision? There are so many different accounts. The gospel topic essay mentions some of the main versions, but they also gloss over the differences and dismiss them all. The First Vision is a total misnomer and can be completely debunked with some simple reading and thinking. Something the church does not want members to do, they do everything they can to keep members from looking at the accounts. They first tried to hide them, and then they dismiss them by saying "we’ve always been honest and transparent about these accounts, and they all tell the same consistent story anyways, so don’t worry, trust us" ...

#church history #con artist #first vision #gospel topic essays #Heavenly Father #Jesus Christ #Joseph Fielding Smith #Joseph Smith #lies my prophet told me #mormon truth crisis #restoration inconsistencies #sunday school #treasure digging #truth claims #truth crisis #exmormon #exmo #former mormon #was mormon #post mormon #mormonism #deconversion #faith crisis #ex lds

[miraculous-ninjabird]

I as an ex-mormon have found a pretty solid strategy for the missionaries who are always coming around my house. (I never bothered with the legal process of getting my name removed). It’s so far worked pretty well and doesn’t actually involve me telling them no (since I often have an issue with that. I’m working on it).

I’ll note my strategy won’t work for everyone. I’d encourage people who encounter mormon missionaries to try it if they are able but if you can’t or won’t then the best thing you can do is just politely tell them ‘no thanks’. Please don’t antagonize them it’ll just make thing worse. But anyways. Moving on.

I’ll almost always let them in when they ask unless I’m busy or have plans. I’ll often times let them schedule another time to come by if I am busy.

My strategy is to immediately engage them and get them talking about themselves. Their interests, where they’re from, their pets back home, what they plan to study in school, places they are interested in checking out on the one day off a week they get, ect. Anything other then the reason they came (religion).

My reasoning behind it as follows. These are young men and woman ages 18-22, many of whom this is their very first time out ‘on their own’ in the real world. But they have lots of rules to follow and they are literally expected to eat, sleep and breath religion. Even on their ‘days off’ they are heavily restricted on what they are allowed to do. I want to give them a chance to be just people without all that. I want to help remind them that they individuals and that their religion does not define them.

Guys you should see how excited some of these people get when they see I genuinely I want to hear about them and their interests outside of their religion. They’ll go on and on about this or that. Their favorite books or that movie they’re really excited to see when they finally get home or the dog that they miss or how they used to love helping out on their grandfather’s goat farm or how they hope that they’ll get transferred up norther next spring because they really want to see that solar eclipse or the degree that they’re planning to peruse. Often times they get so caught up in what they are telling me that they forget the reason they even came in the first place.

It’s both very heartwarming and in a way kind of sad because I know my house is one of the few times that they can just be who they are without the religion. When they are with me I actively encourage them to talk about and think about things that are important to them but that they simply don’t get the chance to talk about or hardly even think about while they are on their missions.

Often times I’ll get the same pairs coming back and a good 8/10 they forget the religion entirely and just get to be themselves. Sometimes I’ll make dinner for them. I’ll invite them to play board games (this invitation can be hit and miss). Overall we all have a pretty enjoyable time with the trade off is the 2/10 times they remember I have to sit through a prayer or a 5 minute lesson or an invitation to come on Sunday. But I personally don’t mind that. I spent a lot of time feeling oppressively surrounded by their belief system when I was just as an everyday member so I can’t imagine how bad it must get sometimes to have that be your only thought every moment of the day. If I can provide a space to help relieve that pressure on these missionaries then I’m more than happy to sacrifice here or there.

And you know. I’m queer and while I don’t flaunt it I’m not shy about it in my own home. Anyone who visits will immediately know. Most missionaries won’t ask or even bring it but but the results in regards to the ones that do have actually been resoundingly positive. They’ve been polite and willing to engage in an honest discussion with me about their beliefs in that front and why I take issue with it. I’ve had times where having these people over, engaging them on a personal level, and showing them that ‘hey I am a normal person just like you’ has actually made a legitimate difference. I’ve gotten missionaries to question the very bigoted beliefs held by many members of their church. I’ve had missionaries say ‘you know that’s a good point. I don’t know why that is, I’ll have to look into it.’

Even if that doesn’t happen I’ve never had things go badly. I’ve never been insulted or called slurs. I the worst I’ve gotten is them explaining their beliefs say my ‘lifestyle’ is wrong and then asking if they’re still anything they can do to convince me to change it. It’s always dropped when I say no. And while this is obviously not a good thing to say to a bi/enby person like me, I’m also fairly forgiving on that front. This is because I myself have had to go through the process of unlearning those bigoted beliefs. Unlearning and then Restructuring your entire worldview is a long, difficult, and confusing process and I personally am willing to give people the benefit of the doubt to allow them a chance to start that process. <- I will note that the missionaries that I have to politely but firmly shut down on this front often don’t come back but that’s fine since I’m not at all interested in what their religion has to say on the matter.

My hope here is that by being kind and welcoming and giving these people a safe place to see that ‘hey the outside world really isn’t as terrifying as the church tells you it is and that we are all just people trying to live our lives’ that maybe I’ll make a difference and encourage someone to reconsider their beliefs or give someone who doesn’t want to leave but feels trapped the courage to do so. I honestly couldn’t tell you if it makes a difference in their lives afterwards in regards to the church but I do know I’m making a big difference in their lives in that moment and for me that’s enough.

Plus there’s also the bonus of I don’t mind entertaining them for a few hours here or there and every hour they spend with me is one less hour they spend in the house of someone who really doesn’t want them there but was to nice to say no. So yea.

This was prompted by the fact that I had missionaries over at my house this morning and we had a lengthy and interesting discussion about space and exactly zero discussion about religion.

#tw religion #ex mormon #thoughts on missionaries and religion #I will say I belive religion can be a very good thing for many people #and that religious freedom is crucial. #but mormanism is a cult who promote beliefs that are dangerous and harmful #there’s no if ands or buts about it #as a former morman I feel like I need to help #but I’m limited in my options so this is how I can #be nice to the missionaries and maybe help them see that their belief is not everything #I get not everyone has that in them #but I will at the very least emplore people not to be outwardly cruel or mean to them #I see that happens a lot but all that does is reinforce their beliefs #so yeah #if you can’t or don’t want to help provide a safe space for them #just tell them no and go about your day #they’re used to people closing doors in their face so it’s better than antagonizing them