#post mormon

[lynnedwardswrites]

Finally started watching the Vox Machina animated series because I was once a Critter, but gave up about 7 episodes in because I just can't handle how simplifying the story into a TV series this way makes it obvious the kind of problematic themes and tropes the story relies on.

I could go on and on about misogyny and supremacy in general but I'll spare you, because I think most people are literate enough about those kinds of issues they can figure that stuff out themselves with a close inspection.

What I *do* want to talk about is how Vox Machina handles religion, because the Pike's-broken-amulet arc was so not-self-aware about real religious issues that it felt like Christian/fundamentalist propaganda (the kind that's often used to support homophobia, for example) and that is super weird for the Critical Role people.

(Fair warning: I only made it to episode 7, so I did not see Pike's return, only how her narrative was set up. I confirmed my suspicions by reading a summary, though, and I did see the original D&D.)

Ok so summary details in brackets, thoughts below:

Pike's magic god-speaking amulet breaks, so she goes to the temple of The Everlight to try to fix it and the already christianity-flavored religious figures are like "Don't worry child, we accept everyone as they are."

Good, great, everything is correct so far, and I mean everything. I don't know a church out there (except perhaps the most violent of homophobic ones) that won't say "we/Jesus accepts everyone as they are." The Mormons (my childhood group) say this, offering a hand of fellowship to absolutely everyone. The thing is that you can *say* you accept people "as they are" as much as you want, but that doesn't mean you actually do. Let's continue, to see what "accepting people as they are" looks like for the Everlight:

Pike says "ok, I think I'm cursed cuz I can't actually perform miracles or talk to god" and then they're like "oh no, honey, it's not a curse. It's because There's Something Wrong With You. You're Broken, that's why god doesn't talk to you."

The rest is implied, but it is confirmed by the story: "But don't worry, because we have the answers. We know what's broken about you or we have the right way for you to figure it out. Follow us and we'll teach you everything you need to know."

So I get that this is D&D and Pike has the literal ability to channel a "divine" being's power, and sure, maybe that literal being has rules about how you have to behave because he's a very controlling MFer. For D&D that's fine, that's whatever. In the real world, the existence of this divine being is under some pretty intense scrutiny right now. And yet, the conversation bracketed above is something that literally happens in the real world.

You go to church and tell your pastor "I just don't know if I believe this stuff is true, I didn't have the powerful experiences you promised I would" and the answer is "well, there must be something wrong with you, then, you must not be pure enough."

You say "I was promised good things if I followed this god's commandments, but nothing has changed in my life. In fact, things are getting worse" and the answer is "well there must be something wrong with you then, you didn't have enough faith."

You say, "I tried to pray the gay away and it didn't work. I'm having a hard time feeling like God and this community love me the way I am" and the answer is "that's just the devil talking. Of course we love you. Keep trying to pray the gay away ("keep trying to become straight," for the normies) because that's the only way you'll be able to feel the love God already has for you."

Hopefully you've picked up the pattern already, but that's the thing about religion and its assumption of being fully, divinely correct all the time. They can make any claims they want ("you'll be happier here!"), even about their own nature and morality ("we accept everyone as they are!") but if something is wrong, something doesn't line up, the answer is *always* "well there must be something wrong with YOU then, because we know we're right."

You can use religion in this way to support any oppressive system or ideology. "We love you, but you're broken and that's why life is hard for you. No, don't question the system. Don't question the gender binary. Don't question capitalism. Don't question us. It's you. You're the broken one."

That's one problem with real-world religions. They often can't keep their promises (or they just push the promises into an afterlife so you have no evidence they're false). Vox Machina plays into and legitimizes the same story. Pike couldn't get the promised reward of her religion because she hadn't molded herself to fit her church's ideals well enough, but once she did, I mean, yeah, superpowers, wow. You could have superpowers too, if you just gave 10% of your income to this megachurch and crushed your naturally fun loving, questioning, joke-making self into a demure puritan loyalist. That's how it works!

"But this is D&D! We're going to assume the promises are all true!" Alright fine. Say you are in the camp of believing the Christian god is just as real to us as the Everlight is to Pike (or if you're in the camp of allowing that some people feel that way and you want to be respectful). Say you believe or allow that maybe religion's promises are true, and asking people to suppress their nature to meet a higher ideal is Good and Reasonable. The problem with Vox Machina's portrayal, the part where all of this becomes problem-atic, is that Pike's narrative stops with "she shoehorned herself into a religious mold and then she was happy" when there are millions and millions of people with lived experiences telling us that that's not how it works.

Because even if the promise of religion happens to pan out for you (you start acting more "straight," say, hiding your gayness, and as a result get more love acceptance being treated with basic dignity from the church members around you), that doesn't mean you wind up so happy to be straight-er. Rather, you end up with deeeeep deep shame about the normal-ass human parts of yourself that religion taught you were wrong. Maybe it's not being gay, maybe it's getting angry sometimes. Maybe it's relationships with friends or family that were "getting in the way" of your spiritual journey (like it was for Pike). You cut all that stuff out to be "worthy" and you end up depressed, anxious, shame-riddled (and heading back to religion to solve a new round of issues; a vicious cycle).

But VM doesn't show that for Pike. They stop at "religious dedication will solve all your problems" and it's fuckin weird to see Critical Role of all people telling that story, and ignoring the stories of people they claim to care about who are going "Um! No actually?" It's weird that they hold up a controlling, god-like authority figure who will let children die rather than heal them because his instrument "doesn't have a friend-religion balance that favors god-worshipping highly enough" as the Good and Great Everlight. It's weird to see Critical Role taking the stance that tolerance means telling the stories that abusers pick for themselves, instead of tolerance making sure that everyone is actually being treated with dignity. It's weird how many otherwise open-minded people are just completely uneducated about the harmful effects of religion when religion is tied so closely to homophobia, racism, misogyny and supremacy of all kinds in this country. It's weird!

#once again i get that this is supposed to be a fun campy retelling of a story a bunch of white kids came up with while playing dnd #its not supposed to be that deep #but i do think its good to be aware of where the narratives living in our subconscious come from and who they benefit #even as we enjoy them for what they are #vox machina #critical role #critter #exmo #post mormon #ex fundie #exmormon

[seeruthievonrun]

Everyone always "aww"s at the fact that we've been together since we were 17. And I guess sometimes it's pretty "aww". They're my best friend, and it's nice to feel like I've had one friendship that has really lasted the test of time. But then I'm also like "is this because we were legally bound to each other for the last 15 years?"

Maybe. Maybe not. But I don't like that marriage is still treated as the ultimate romantic goal, even within the queer community.

Both of our attitudes toward marriage have changed over that last few years. Aside from the legal/isurance benefits it grants us, marriage has proven to not mean much to us in the grand scheme of things. We're together because we want to be. Marriage is an institution that's neither necessary or natural. Sometimes it helps people put in the work when things get sticky because of the legal commitment they made. But I'd rather stick around because I wanted to, not because I felt like I had to, or like it would be less of a legal headache to stay.

Maybe not everyone experiences as much change as we have through the span of our relationship. Maybe it's because we met at 17. But maybe people who meet at 30 feel like completely different people by the time they're 60. Probably.

All these old versions of ourselves, the ones we've chucked out the window-- the ones we've tucked into drawers around the house, the ones we wear like undergarments-- they've been peeking out of doors in my subconscious, leaving messes for me to clean up.

Maybe my mistake was thinking we could banish them and pretend they never existed.

I'm glad we're still in this together, but boy does a high-demand religious, cisheteropatriarchal past leave a mark.

#ace #asexual #aromantic #angled aroace #queer #2sLGBTQIA+ #post mormon #agender

[nednickerson]

does anybody have any recommendations for exmo creators that aren't the normal woke misogynists

#istg these people are soooo sexist it's insane #exmo #post mormon

[alightshadeofblue]

Coming from an ultra conservative and Christian upbringing.. deconstructing all of that and living life on my own terms has been so freeing.

Learning to trust myself, my intuition.. has only built confidence. It has brought strength. I have loved the process of becoming who I am now.

Not living my life by the terms and conditions a very narrow and strict path has set for me has been difficult in other ways. Those ways being that I’ll be judged by my entire community. I’ll be judged harshly and with lack of understanding. I’ll be looked down on and others will sigh when my name comes up. My parents will feel shame.

All in all, I’ve reached a point of freedom that I’ve never experienced. Not feeling like I need to explain my way of life, my way of doing things or my why. I really am just 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. I do not feel the need to explain or prove myself. To anyone.

I am finally free.

#post mormon #mormon #exmormon #my words

[flintoaster]

Sure sex is cool but have you ever found a full tithing envelope that you never turned in?

#I've never had sex tho so #for the record #exmormon #exmo #exmo stuff #tithing #post mormon #ex christian #ex cult

[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

[gibbearish]

kids who werent raised christian being like "lol baptising children is whack if they tried to do that to me i would start doing things to make it look like i was possessed" no you would not. you would bask in the pride and approval coming from the adults around you and you would quietly wait your turn because you were told from birth that sinning sends you to hell and baptism is The Promise that youre dedicating your life to jesus that youve had hyped up for years and watched other people be fawned over as they cry happy tears about it and you do NOT want to fuck up your One Big True Promise To Love Jesus Forever So You Don't Get Tortured For Eternity when you are literally 8 years old. im begging yall to remember its a thousand times easier to see the church's bullshit for what it is when you're not actively in the church. eight year old you is not thinking about trying to fight back against an oppressive religious group indoctrinating children because You Are The Children Being Indoctrinated. stop acting like you would've magically known better if it were you.

#origibberish #ex christian #also yes this is very christian centric but from what ive gathered this could go for Catholics and mormons w their confirmation things #but i know very little about either so didnt feel comfortable mentioning them explicitly in the post

[talisidekick]

If a transgender person asks you to deadname and misgender them in front of certain people. Misgender them and deadname them in front of those people. It doesn't matter how icky or gross it may feel, it doesn't matter you'd rather be honest. It doesn't matter if there's more of you there. Certain people aren't safe, and honesty IS NOT the best policy when honesty could put them at serious risk. It doesn't matter if there's a crowd, because when there isn't shit goes down.

Be an ally, do what they ask. Understand that the trans person knows more about their situation than you do, and this includes who's safe and who's not. Some one can be "trans friendly" to other people, but not to people they know or specific people. Do as the trans person asks, yes it's uncomfortable, but it's 10 times worse if the person we don't trust finds out. 100 times worse if they have access to us when you're not around.

Respect trans peoples safety. Misgender and deadname when asked.

#trans #transgender #lgbt+ #lgbtq+ #2slgbtqia+ #lgbt #transfem #transmasc #transneutral #there is a post about this on my blog but it reminded me of my own situation #my whole family knows I'm out and I didn't want them to #my entire extremely christian catholic and mormon extended family knows because I let my sister tell my parents because we weren't talking #now I live in constant damn fear I'm going to get a message forwarded from family to the point I blocked my own parents #these are dangerous people who will stop at nothing to ruin my life if they find me so I'm going to ask I get deadnamed and misgendered #in front of them #i'm going to lie that it's a joke so I can live my life in relative peace.

[tethered-heartstrings]

if the abyss is a hole can you fuck it

#aaand post #blame Ripley for this #my alpaca au was getting frisky with mormon hell #< i love no context for this #the speaking clown

[evilmario666]

It’s time for celebration.

#Mario posts #Fuck Mormonism

[iwantofall]

been watching new vegas

#acedraws #fallout new vegas #joshua graham #courier #so theres this mormon . #i rlly love post apocalyptic settings w established societies like metro and fallout #seeing how civilization persisted (albeit in a decrepit manner) w new customs and old traditions that survive is so interesting to me #how old world structures are repurposed for the new dead world.. #like the metro systems or how society mirrors the old world like new vegas #more interesting than outbreak apocalypse stuff like the walking dead #theres a bleak hope and comforting normalcy in the face of ruin present only in metro n vegas

[atjsgf]

nevermos are like "why do so many mormons end up writing scifi and fantasy, it's such a weird correlation" meanwhile mormons grow up learning this:

#someone on twt said joseph smith is like if charles manson had tolkein-level worldbuilding abilities #good post op #exmo #ex mormon

[nednickerson]

For exmo creators I personally really love exmolex, Jordan and McKay, Zelph on the shelf

i haven't watched any zelph on the shelf, although i do have one of their videos in my to watch playlist on youtube. I've watched a few exmolex videos and they're generally okay although she does veer over into saying some iffy things. my biggest issue with her is that she reminds me of my old yws leaders which is obviously not her fault and is definitely not helped by the fact that i watch youtube on 2x speed. jordan and mckay are where i have the most problems, i've seen a lot more of their videos and while i usually like the overarching message they're so fucking sexist that i find myself having to stop the video halfway through. the thing with them is that they really truly think they're like woke enlightened feminists or whatever but they're parroting such sexist bullshit like i was watching the not enough nelsons maui video today and within the first 10 minutes they criticized her appearance in what was clearly not meant to be a criticism of the beauty industry or standard or anything of that sort and jordan made a girl math joke in response to mckay saying he was too lazy to count and that's just one video! almost every single video they do similar. in the one dating horror stories video they were giving the men so much more grace than they gave to the women and you could see how progressive they felt for thinking about the poor repressed men. anytime mckay says something about male misbehavior jordan throws in a "women are bad too" line like girl!! where is your sense of female solidarity and why is your greasy husband being more supportive of women than you are???

#sorry that wasn't supposed to be such a long rant i do appreciate the suggestions #i'm just feeling very bitter recently #anon #answered #exmo #exmormon #post mormon

[funeralpotatoesorbust]

I think it’s funny when the “Mormonism is a cult” crowd finds my blog

Sorry friends, you have stumbled into the Weird Mormon Zone

#I’m tired and still half delirious from ovarian cyst pain #idk if this post makes any sense #like if you wanted to prove Mormonism is a cult #maybe don’t find a Weird Mormon #she’s not gonna be a good example of Mormonism as a whole #do not reblog this if you’re going To Do Discourse. I will block

[samwisethewitch]

One element of cultural Christianity that took me forever to move on from is the idea that you have to pick one spiritual path, or one set of spiritual beliefs, and stay on that path to the exclusion of everything else.

You do not.

Speaking from a pagan perspective, most pagan groups not only allow but encourage sharing space with/learning from other spiritual traditions, and I know the same is also true for a lot of other non-Christian religions. You can practice or believe multiple things, even if they seem to contradict each other! If it works for you, makes you feel connected to something greater than yourself, and doesn't cause discomfort or cognitive dissonance, there's no reason not to include it in your practice!

Fyi this post isn't just for ex-Christians who still want to have a spiritual practice. I absolutely see this same basic belief that you can only believe/do one thing show up in culturally Christian atheists who seem to think being atheist means they can't be open to spiritual or mystical experiences. There are many, many religions and spiritual traditions that do not require belief in a God, but culturally Christian atheists seem to mostly believe atheism and spirituality are mutually exclusive. They aren't.

#let yourself contain multitudes #ex christian #exvangelical #ex mormon #exmo #exmormon #ex catholic #cultural christianity #deconstructing christianity #religious trauma #pagan #paganism #paganblr #baby pagan #baby witch #my post #mine

[boredsoup]

Bruh she sent me her location tf is this??

#my posts :3 #falsettos #in trousers #the boys in the band #the book of mormon musical #the rocky horror picture show #sillyposting #theatre #i know i’m late to the game #but I wanted to do this with #my favorite pieces of media #which also happens to be queer #¯\ (ツ) /¯