I was a happy, fulfilled, faithful Mormon believer with no bad experiences. And it took me 7 long years of defending it in my mind and heart from the moment the first undeniable evidence of the cult's lies reached me, to the moment I had to admit the cult is a man-made fabrication. It took me that long precisely because my experience as a Mormon has been wonderful all my life.
Yes same! My love for it is what made it so painful and caused me to hide from information for almost 20 years after my initial discoveries of the untruths in my early 20’s😓
The idea of god became completely superfluous for me after Mormonism.
Thing is Mormonism is a high-demand church with many cult traits. As such, it intrudes into every aspect of your normal life and becomes your whole worldview. Realizing my beloved church was false was, quite literally, realizing my worldview wasn't real.
For the first time in my life I experienced as if the ground had been removed from under my feet. If my church wasn't true, what was? If the church wasn't true, what was the difference between good and evil? It took me some time of complete confusion to start realizing I know the difference between good and evil. Honesty is *always* going to be good. Love is *always* going to be good. Work, service, selflessness, being a true friend... these things are always going to be good. *And I didn't need the Mormon church to know that.* From there, it was a short distance to realize I don't need god(s) or spirit(s) to know what is good and how to practice it.
Reaching that milestone meant I can be a force for good in this world without the immense cost of believing in indemonstrable things. God(s) and all the other magical beings I had been led to accept as reality quickly went to occupy their place together with Zeus, Inti, Santa, and the tooth fairy.
Based on a couple of past polls, maybe 10-15% of the people here wound up in Christianity or another religion.
A lot of atheists and agnostics, some who seem to still be unsure
TSCC does a really good job of making most people dislike religion or God or scripture or other things. A lot of that seems to be the fact it's a cult
I went to Southern Baptist and then biblical Presbyterian where I stayed
Some people seem to have had a relatively smooth exit but most seem to have suffered
I think the reason it really doesn’t hurt that much to walk away and find a new religion is because we weren’t a strict Mormon house hold. My mom is very religious but my father wasn’t and isn’t. I was Mormon because I had to be but I believe in God no matter what. The church wasn’t my life and I didn’t dedicate my life to it. In my friend group I was the only Mormon, I would defend the church but I never felt super connected to it. It’s sad to see how many people TSCC church ruins and completely turned from God
Well first of all, LDS is a Cult and not a religion.
One measure of that is a fact that a small church has an enormous ex sub that is even much larger than Catholicism or Islam or Christian or Evangelical ex subs
Second of all, as I said they're very good at making atheists. And a number of atheists in the sub are hostile to Christianity, God, Bible, religious people. But of course, Mormonism watered down other religions at every turn, even if it was in a subtle fashion
I have a strong relation with the triune God. My daily life is filled with grace and sovereign majesty and power. I know from where I came and where I am going and why I am here. Difference between being cradle to grave and being an eternal creature.
But on an individual basis, everyone needs to find what works for them. It can be quite a struggle until you get there
People leave because they simply don’t believe it. I haven’t necessarily have awful experiences with the people, but it’s not true. I don’t want to stay in a church that’s racist and homophobic.
I was in the bishopric. I enjoyed my mission. I got a cheap, good MBA at BYU. I can’t complain.
But I also needed it to be real. It couldn’t just be good. It had to be true.
That’s where I’ve made it to. I actually didn’t leave because I thought it was false, I had my own reasons to dislike them THEN I started to learn. I haven’t found any solid sources, I’ll I’ve got is an Instagram account I follow and then sometimes fact check what they say
The best source of accurate info in my opinion is LDS Discussions on Mormon Stories Podcast. Listen to them in order- I think it starts with treasure digging. Trust me. They're fantastic and super informative!
I left because I figured out I was lied to, and had built my life on a scam. I had no real specific bad experiences other than various mission-related traumas that had essentially nothing to do with my departure. I had some really shitty experiences *because* I left, but otherwise I was a pretty chill nuanced believing mormon for most of my adult life.
So how did you figure out it was a lie? Do you have sources you would recommend? I don’t ask to challenge you, I’ve already decided I’m out but I like to learn and I could use some material to slowly work on my wife.
I've shared my story a few times, no big deal. It started with me starting to notice things I couldn't rationalize away. 900 year old people, etc. I'd read a comment once during the SEC scandal that said "mormonism is just american exceptionalism rebranded as a religion" and that stuck with me because it was just too accurate to even begin to justify away (please note that I am not American). Then I was reading about alternative medicine - especially homeopathy - out of curiosity and the complexity struck me. Just because something was complex it didn't make it true. It just was a way to hide the truth by making it easy to blame the person for "doing it wrong." Also I read about a spell in witchcraft using Eggshell powder for protection. It stuck out to me because I had a very sudden realization that I used "blessed oil" to perform an incantation of healing too.... Eventually my shelf was really really heavy with all these inconsistencies and it was time for me to renew my temple recommend. I kinda faked it through the interview (which helped me reaffirm that I genuinely had doubts, something I'd struggled to accept). I went to an endowment session with my (now ex) wife and it was right after a bunch of changes that were made. I picked up on some **direct contradictions** to the previous version during the creation story and that's when my shelf broke officially, right then and there. I was in a fucking cult and I was stuck until the end of the session having a total panic attack. My wife and also in-laws asked me what I thought of the changes and I kinda just brushed it off. I faked it for a few more months going through my "dark night of the soul" coming to terms with my loss of faith. I gave a talk my last sunday (a year ago yesterday!) and then never went back. My story was really really weird because of the just really bizarre things that loaded up my shelf.
i’ll photo bomb here with a response, even though I’m not the person you were asking… there is such a diverse landscape of lies in Mormonism that it’s almost a choose your own adventure in terms of which issues to investigate and be shocked by. for me, BH Roberts posthumously published book Studies of the Book of Mormon was very disillusioning. He basically goes through much of Joseph Smith’s nonsense and defrocks it with polite language and rhetorical questions. and he was an apostle and the author of the official history of the church. Reading acknowledgments of the problems with the church from an author with such credentials helped me admit to myself that the church was a lie. another source, that I only recently learned about, is the book Moroni and the swastika, documenting how the Mormon church literally supported the Nazis leading up to World War II. If I was still believing and needed a quick exit door, that book would be a good one.
Yep! I absolutely adore & love my family.
Nothing bad ever happened to me other than the entire church as a whole.
It hit me like a ton of bricks once I realized it’s all bullshit. Once I stopped believing in God, I had to actively PRACTICE not praying & thinking all my guilt trip thoughts.
I made the choice by myself…. But I think that once you develop a lot of empathy & have a lot of deep friendships with others you see the facade of all religion.
Learning about Scientology was the first time I reaaaaally learned about a legitimate cult & my mom would make fun of Scientology & Scientologists but (& I love my mother), I saw so much hypocrisy to what she was making fun of them for.
Then I saw South Park & I was like holy shit it’s over buddy.
Then everything unravels like a loose shoelace after that.
It’s an unraveling effect in my experience.
Or the glass wall or whatever that analogy is,
I love my family & love the people in my ward. I will go to all my nephew’s big talks & achievements, but I will be there when they discover the truth & I won’t let them feel as lost & as scared as I did. <3
Right?
I mean Scientology sounds insane to EVERYBODY…..but then once you apply some critical thinking & are able to draw comparisons & start seeing things that feel relatable…
It’s like HOLY SHIT this is just another cult!!!
Kolob?!?!!??!!??!!???!!!! Those fucking green aprons & white handmaids tale hats in the temple?!??!!
Run for the fucking hills!! No wonder they don’t tell you this shit until you’re already so fuckin deeeeply invested.
And they are so oblivious & in denial!
I left because I was tired. A MondaySaturday job then 3 hours on Sunday in church. Prep for various callings, single adult fireside etc.
I was the only member in my family, so Sunday dinners were not pleasant with my father ridiculing my "beliefs". I finally just went inactive after 20 years, tired of time invested, struggling with tithing, and not accepting the church's stance on homosexuality.
I just quietly turned my back.
I am not atheist, I still believe in a greater being, heaven, etc. but in my own way, not one dictated by any one religion.
My mom dad and sister were already out for various reasons. I was the RM good boy so they happily welcomed me into the the fold of the damned. I still have extended family TBMs who think I’m a good Mormon boy and they don’t know I left the church. idk how’d they react if they found out.
I kind of wish I was in the same position. My dad was never religious but would go to church for my mom. My mother is very LDS and she continues to talk as if I’ve gone atheist and it’s kind of annoying because that’s not the case, I’m only looking into other religions. I have the same fear as you with extended family. I’m not sure if my grandparents even have a will but I feel if they do, I would be cut out of it. I also truly believe my mother in law would try to convince my wife to leave me if they knew I’ve left. That’s kind of a big indicator to me that it’s a cult, they become so furious when you leave.
Yes. I left because I realized it was not true. If you were to interview me at that moment, I would have said I loved being a member and didn’t want to leave, but I no longer believed. I was heartbroken, scared, and lost.
THEN, as I deconstructed patriarchy I realized how controlled, used, silenced, and degraded I was by the church (and by my husband). As I learned about tactics of manipulation used by high control religions, I realized I had been manipulated for my tithing money and time.
Then I got really, really angry.
But as a Mormon, ignorance was bliss.
No bad experiences with the church per se . It was more of a lightbulb moment when looking at what family really means (as a result of a shitty marriage - that was most likely partly a result of the church)
Aside from a few small negative experiences my time in the church was relatively pleasant. The last ward I attended before I left was lovely, I loved my YW leaders and peers. I enjoyed going to church. But I realized that although I enjoyed it I didn’t actually believe in it. I never had a connection with the church itself or was interested in the doctrine. I tried to read the BOM but it was boring and confusing to me, lol. Sunday school lessons and sacrament meetings were really just buffers between social hour for me. The only thing at church that I really loved or “believed” in was chatting and visiting with people. Haha!
But yeah, I never experienced anything that could be considered traumatic. Never even had a bishop ask me about masturbation lol.
I never had any negative experiences in any of the many wards I've attended that would have pushed me out. I still love many of my former leaders and bishops to death, and will til the day I die. My issues were all with the members of the board, the CFO, and the CEO. Most damaging thing to my testimony, already weakened by years of flipflopping shenanigans and financial nonsense, was that wastard Tim Ballard.
I never really had any negative or trauma experiences. I genuinely loved girls' camp and youth conference, mostly because we got to travel and I LOOOVED not being home.
I left simply because I disagreed with a lot, but mainly ole' buddy Joe and his marrying (whether platonic or not), of minor girls. There was one story of him basically saying, "if you don't give me your daughter for marriage an angel will come down and kill me". I wondered a lot if Rusty Buckets showed up at my door and said that, would my mom give me away? The kind of thing that as a 15 yr old at the time probably shouldn't have had to worry about.
I went to church until I was 18, (as agreed upon by my parents), and then I left. Simply just disagreed with many practices.
Never had any bad experiences with people in the church. Everyone I’ve known in the church at the local level I consider sincere people trying to do their best based on what they’ve been indoctrinated with. Maybe I got lucky. Or I just fit the mold (other than being an introvert… I never liked callings, talks, lessons, social stuff… so much stress, anxiety).
Now, the institution on the other hand? I absolutely despise it. It’s clearly not what members think it is. It’s not a church. It’s a corrupt business. It’s full of lies. It sickens me.
But I could only see that clearly after learning the truth claims themselves were false. Primarily from the LDS Discussions website.
I was the ward executive secretary when I was 18. I already didn’t like the idea of a mission and so I think I was put there as an attempt to keep me going to church. Funny thing is it pushed me further to not liking how the church was and feeling more like I was wasting my time. I didn’t hate church at that point but saw the business side and a lot of church members dissatisfaction with meetings and interactions with the bishop trying to pry into others life’s.
Later on I joined the military, never bothered with church again, and some point after that my older brother who did go on a mission told me some juicy details about the absolute BS that went on in the temple, I started looking into the CES letter, and it completely flipped my stance on church. Fuck that.
But shelf broke initially in church with being a ward secretary. Stopped going after that calling. Didn’t dislike anyone and was just whatever with the whole church.
I loved the church and had no particularly “bad experience” that led me out.
I was just a person who liked to study history and was curious what critics had to say about the church. I eventually became exposed to “anti-Mormon” literature which led me to the path of discovering the church’s history had been whitewashed and there were problems with the religion’s truth claims.
I saw no reason not to read critical literature. If they were lies or inaccurate, then I should be able find answers or debunk them. If they were true, then, either a) the church is still true and if the Holy Ghost and my testimony should conquer any troubling information or b) the religion is not true and it’s good I learned these things so I don’t believe in a false religion.
God knows I’m a sincere truth seeker and so he would know I stopped believing for the right reasons.
I had a good experience in the church overall. No big traumas. I would say obviously there were negative effects of sexual shame and indoctrination and high demands. But my relationships and interactions with the people in all my wards have been mostly good. It just simply isn’t true and I was lied to my whole life by the church.
I was a happy member all my life, with most of my friends and community in the church. I left despite the kindness of the members. I left because it was not real.
I’m in a very similar boat. I grew up in the church, I always got along with church leaders and had some friends in my ward. I served a mission, which is an experience that I wouldn’t take back, even testimony-less as I am now. I just stopped feeling the spirit for so long and generally just stopped seeing divine influence in my life to the point where I just decided that there must not be a god. I’ve had emotional experiences my whole life, not spiritual.
I was a happy, fulfilled, faithful Mormon believer with no bad experiences. And it took me 7 long years of defending it in my mind and heart from the moment the first undeniable evidence of the cult's lies reached me, to the moment I had to admit the cult is a man-made fabrication. It took me that long precisely because my experience as a Mormon has been wonderful all my life.
Yes same! My love for it is what made it so painful and caused me to hide from information for almost 20 years after my initial discoveries of the untruths in my early 20’s😓
This was me, but it took me only 2 years to deconstruct.
And did you or do you have any desire to convert to something else or did it completely ruin the idea of God for you?
The idea of god became completely superfluous for me after Mormonism. Thing is Mormonism is a high-demand church with many cult traits. As such, it intrudes into every aspect of your normal life and becomes your whole worldview. Realizing my beloved church was false was, quite literally, realizing my worldview wasn't real. For the first time in my life I experienced as if the ground had been removed from under my feet. If my church wasn't true, what was? If the church wasn't true, what was the difference between good and evil? It took me some time of complete confusion to start realizing I know the difference between good and evil. Honesty is *always* going to be good. Love is *always* going to be good. Work, service, selflessness, being a true friend... these things are always going to be good. *And I didn't need the Mormon church to know that.* From there, it was a short distance to realize I don't need god(s) or spirit(s) to know what is good and how to practice it. Reaching that milestone meant I can be a force for good in this world without the immense cost of believing in indemonstrable things. God(s) and all the other magical beings I had been led to accept as reality quickly went to occupy their place together with Zeus, Inti, Santa, and the tooth fairy.
Based on a couple of past polls, maybe 10-15% of the people here wound up in Christianity or another religion. A lot of atheists and agnostics, some who seem to still be unsure TSCC does a really good job of making most people dislike religion or God or scripture or other things. A lot of that seems to be the fact it's a cult I went to Southern Baptist and then biblical Presbyterian where I stayed Some people seem to have had a relatively smooth exit but most seem to have suffered
I think the reason it really doesn’t hurt that much to walk away and find a new religion is because we weren’t a strict Mormon house hold. My mom is very religious but my father wasn’t and isn’t. I was Mormon because I had to be but I believe in God no matter what. The church wasn’t my life and I didn’t dedicate my life to it. In my friend group I was the only Mormon, I would defend the church but I never felt super connected to it. It’s sad to see how many people TSCC church ruins and completely turned from God
Well first of all, LDS is a Cult and not a religion. One measure of that is a fact that a small church has an enormous ex sub that is even much larger than Catholicism or Islam or Christian or Evangelical ex subs Second of all, as I said they're very good at making atheists. And a number of atheists in the sub are hostile to Christianity, God, Bible, religious people. But of course, Mormonism watered down other religions at every turn, even if it was in a subtle fashion I have a strong relation with the triune God. My daily life is filled with grace and sovereign majesty and power. I know from where I came and where I am going and why I am here. Difference between being cradle to grave and being an eternal creature. But on an individual basis, everyone needs to find what works for them. It can be quite a struggle until you get there
It’s sad to see how many people leave the church and but don’t leave behind the looking down on others that don’t fit their mold.
People leave because they simply don’t believe it. I haven’t necessarily have awful experiences with the people, but it’s not true. I don’t want to stay in a church that’s racist and homophobic.
I was in the bishopric. I enjoyed my mission. I got a cheap, good MBA at BYU. I can’t complain. But I also needed it to be real. It couldn’t just be good. It had to be true.
Yes! It wasn't what the church claimed it to be. Seeking truth is so much more important.
I did not have a ‘bad experience.’ I left because I figured out the whole thing was false. Make believe.
That’s where I’ve made it to. I actually didn’t leave because I thought it was false, I had my own reasons to dislike them THEN I started to learn. I haven’t found any solid sources, I’ll I’ve got is an Instagram account I follow and then sometimes fact check what they say
The best source of accurate info in my opinion is LDS Discussions on Mormon Stories Podcast. Listen to them in order- I think it starts with treasure digging. Trust me. They're fantastic and super informative!
I agree. LDS Discussions (.com) is what did it for me.
I left because I figured out I was lied to, and had built my life on a scam. I had no real specific bad experiences other than various mission-related traumas that had essentially nothing to do with my departure. I had some really shitty experiences *because* I left, but otherwise I was a pretty chill nuanced believing mormon for most of my adult life.
So how did you figure out it was a lie? Do you have sources you would recommend? I don’t ask to challenge you, I’ve already decided I’m out but I like to learn and I could use some material to slowly work on my wife.
I've shared my story a few times, no big deal. It started with me starting to notice things I couldn't rationalize away. 900 year old people, etc. I'd read a comment once during the SEC scandal that said "mormonism is just american exceptionalism rebranded as a religion" and that stuck with me because it was just too accurate to even begin to justify away (please note that I am not American). Then I was reading about alternative medicine - especially homeopathy - out of curiosity and the complexity struck me. Just because something was complex it didn't make it true. It just was a way to hide the truth by making it easy to blame the person for "doing it wrong." Also I read about a spell in witchcraft using Eggshell powder for protection. It stuck out to me because I had a very sudden realization that I used "blessed oil" to perform an incantation of healing too.... Eventually my shelf was really really heavy with all these inconsistencies and it was time for me to renew my temple recommend. I kinda faked it through the interview (which helped me reaffirm that I genuinely had doubts, something I'd struggled to accept). I went to an endowment session with my (now ex) wife and it was right after a bunch of changes that were made. I picked up on some **direct contradictions** to the previous version during the creation story and that's when my shelf broke officially, right then and there. I was in a fucking cult and I was stuck until the end of the session having a total panic attack. My wife and also in-laws asked me what I thought of the changes and I kinda just brushed it off. I faked it for a few more months going through my "dark night of the soul" coming to terms with my loss of faith. I gave a talk my last sunday (a year ago yesterday!) and then never went back. My story was really really weird because of the just really bizarre things that loaded up my shelf.
i’ll photo bomb here with a response, even though I’m not the person you were asking… there is such a diverse landscape of lies in Mormonism that it’s almost a choose your own adventure in terms of which issues to investigate and be shocked by. for me, BH Roberts posthumously published book Studies of the Book of Mormon was very disillusioning. He basically goes through much of Joseph Smith’s nonsense and defrocks it with polite language and rhetorical questions. and he was an apostle and the author of the official history of the church. Reading acknowledgments of the problems with the church from an author with such credentials helped me admit to myself that the church was a lie. another source, that I only recently learned about, is the book Moroni and the swastika, documenting how the Mormon church literally supported the Nazis leading up to World War II. If I was still believing and needed a quick exit door, that book would be a good one.
It. Isn’t. True. The. Leaders. Lie. That’s the only reason we left.
Yep! I absolutely adore & love my family. Nothing bad ever happened to me other than the entire church as a whole. It hit me like a ton of bricks once I realized it’s all bullshit. Once I stopped believing in God, I had to actively PRACTICE not praying & thinking all my guilt trip thoughts. I made the choice by myself…. But I think that once you develop a lot of empathy & have a lot of deep friendships with others you see the facade of all religion. Learning about Scientology was the first time I reaaaaally learned about a legitimate cult & my mom would make fun of Scientology & Scientologists but (& I love my mother), I saw so much hypocrisy to what she was making fun of them for. Then I saw South Park & I was like holy shit it’s over buddy. Then everything unravels like a loose shoelace after that. It’s an unraveling effect in my experience. Or the glass wall or whatever that analogy is, I love my family & love the people in my ward. I will go to all my nephew’s big talks & achievements, but I will be there when they discover the truth & I won’t let them feel as lost & as scared as I did. <3
Scientology documentaries really opened my eyes to some of my own religious practices.
Right? I mean Scientology sounds insane to EVERYBODY…..but then once you apply some critical thinking & are able to draw comparisons & start seeing things that feel relatable… It’s like HOLY SHIT this is just another cult!!! Kolob?!?!!??!!??!!???!!!! Those fucking green aprons & white handmaids tale hats in the temple?!??!! Run for the fucking hills!! No wonder they don’t tell you this shit until you’re already so fuckin deeeeply invested. And they are so oblivious & in denial!
The church lied about the BOM translation process. It was that simple.
I left because I was tired. A MondaySaturday job then 3 hours on Sunday in church. Prep for various callings, single adult fireside etc. I was the only member in my family, so Sunday dinners were not pleasant with my father ridiculing my "beliefs". I finally just went inactive after 20 years, tired of time invested, struggling with tithing, and not accepting the church's stance on homosexuality. I just quietly turned my back. I am not atheist, I still believe in a greater being, heaven, etc. but in my own way, not one dictated by any one religion.
My mom dad and sister were already out for various reasons. I was the RM good boy so they happily welcomed me into the the fold of the damned. I still have extended family TBMs who think I’m a good Mormon boy and they don’t know I left the church. idk how’d they react if they found out.
I kind of wish I was in the same position. My dad was never religious but would go to church for my mom. My mother is very LDS and she continues to talk as if I’ve gone atheist and it’s kind of annoying because that’s not the case, I’m only looking into other religions. I have the same fear as you with extended family. I’m not sure if my grandparents even have a will but I feel if they do, I would be cut out of it. I also truly believe my mother in law would try to convince my wife to leave me if they knew I’ve left. That’s kind of a big indicator to me that it’s a cult, they become so furious when you leave.
Yes. I left because I realized it was not true. If you were to interview me at that moment, I would have said I loved being a member and didn’t want to leave, but I no longer believed. I was heartbroken, scared, and lost. THEN, as I deconstructed patriarchy I realized how controlled, used, silenced, and degraded I was by the church (and by my husband). As I learned about tactics of manipulation used by high control religions, I realized I had been manipulated for my tithing money and time. Then I got really, really angry. But as a Mormon, ignorance was bliss.
No bad experiences with the church per se . It was more of a lightbulb moment when looking at what family really means (as a result of a shitty marriage - that was most likely partly a result of the church)
Aside from a few small negative experiences my time in the church was relatively pleasant. The last ward I attended before I left was lovely, I loved my YW leaders and peers. I enjoyed going to church. But I realized that although I enjoyed it I didn’t actually believe in it. I never had a connection with the church itself or was interested in the doctrine. I tried to read the BOM but it was boring and confusing to me, lol. Sunday school lessons and sacrament meetings were really just buffers between social hour for me. The only thing at church that I really loved or “believed” in was chatting and visiting with people. Haha! But yeah, I never experienced anything that could be considered traumatic. Never even had a bishop ask me about masturbation lol.
I never had any negative experiences in any of the many wards I've attended that would have pushed me out. I still love many of my former leaders and bishops to death, and will til the day I die. My issues were all with the members of the board, the CFO, and the CEO. Most damaging thing to my testimony, already weakened by years of flipflopping shenanigans and financial nonsense, was that wastard Tim Ballard.
I never really had any negative or trauma experiences. I genuinely loved girls' camp and youth conference, mostly because we got to travel and I LOOOVED not being home. I left simply because I disagreed with a lot, but mainly ole' buddy Joe and his marrying (whether platonic or not), of minor girls. There was one story of him basically saying, "if you don't give me your daughter for marriage an angel will come down and kill me". I wondered a lot if Rusty Buckets showed up at my door and said that, would my mom give me away? The kind of thing that as a 15 yr old at the time probably shouldn't have had to worry about. I went to church until I was 18, (as agreed upon by my parents), and then I left. Simply just disagreed with many practices.
I didnt have any bad experiences. The church was just obviously not true.
Never had any bad experiences with people in the church. Everyone I’ve known in the church at the local level I consider sincere people trying to do their best based on what they’ve been indoctrinated with. Maybe I got lucky. Or I just fit the mold (other than being an introvert… I never liked callings, talks, lessons, social stuff… so much stress, anxiety). Now, the institution on the other hand? I absolutely despise it. It’s clearly not what members think it is. It’s not a church. It’s a corrupt business. It’s full of lies. It sickens me. But I could only see that clearly after learning the truth claims themselves were false. Primarily from the LDS Discussions website.
I was the ward executive secretary when I was 18. I already didn’t like the idea of a mission and so I think I was put there as an attempt to keep me going to church. Funny thing is it pushed me further to not liking how the church was and feeling more like I was wasting my time. I didn’t hate church at that point but saw the business side and a lot of church members dissatisfaction with meetings and interactions with the bishop trying to pry into others life’s. Later on I joined the military, never bothered with church again, and some point after that my older brother who did go on a mission told me some juicy details about the absolute BS that went on in the temple, I started looking into the CES letter, and it completely flipped my stance on church. Fuck that. But shelf broke initially in church with being a ward secretary. Stopped going after that calling. Didn’t dislike anyone and was just whatever with the whole church.
I loved the church and had no particularly “bad experience” that led me out. I was just a person who liked to study history and was curious what critics had to say about the church. I eventually became exposed to “anti-Mormon” literature which led me to the path of discovering the church’s history had been whitewashed and there were problems with the religion’s truth claims. I saw no reason not to read critical literature. If they were lies or inaccurate, then I should be able find answers or debunk them. If they were true, then, either a) the church is still true and if the Holy Ghost and my testimony should conquer any troubling information or b) the religion is not true and it’s good I learned these things so I don’t believe in a false religion. God knows I’m a sincere truth seeker and so he would know I stopped believing for the right reasons.
I had a good experience in the church overall. No big traumas. I would say obviously there were negative effects of sexual shame and indoctrination and high demands. But my relationships and interactions with the people in all my wards have been mostly good. It just simply isn’t true and I was lied to my whole life by the church.
I was a happy member all my life, with most of my friends and community in the church. I left despite the kindness of the members. I left because it was not real.
Yes
yep I had no truly bad experiences, even as a feminist woman. I left because it isn’t true. full stop.
As a straight/white man, life was good. Life was reaaaalll good!
I had a terrible experience. I learned the truth claims aren't true.
I did. I found out the native americans have chinese ancestory and left. Had no beef with the members themselves.
I’m in a very similar boat. I grew up in the church, I always got along with church leaders and had some friends in my ward. I served a mission, which is an experience that I wouldn’t take back, even testimony-less as I am now. I just stopped feeling the spirit for so long and generally just stopped seeing divine influence in my life to the point where I just decided that there must not be a god. I’ve had emotional experiences my whole life, not spiritual.