Yearly Archives: 2025

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Fast Food Orders vs Quitting Church – McDonald’s, Messed-Up Orders, and the Commoditization of Religion

A popular meme has been making the rounds. These memes read: “McDonald’s can mess up your order 101 times and you still keep going back… One thing goes wrong at church and you quit.” This suggests that people are more forgiving of mistakes at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s than they are of issues with a church. It …

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This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
Parenting without religion as the guide is 100% improved. We spend our time with each other and our children. They get more of us than they would have because church took so much time. No more therapy after church, no more arguing about seminary no more judging our kids outfits. We even started swearing which I enjoy. At the end of each day I check in with myself to see if i respect who I was that day. If the answer is yes, I rest peacefully in my best efforts and try again the next day. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
Parenting without religion as the guide is 100% improved. We spend our time with each other and our children. They get more of us than they would have because church took so much time. No more therapy after church, no more arguing about seminary no more judging our kids outfits. We even started swearing which I enjoy. At the end of each day I check in with myself to see if i respect who I was that day. If the answer is yes, I rest peacefully in my best efforts and try again the next day. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I like who I am as an ex-Mormon. I can love people better because I love myself better. I have more compassion for myself and others. I have changed how I orient to the “spirit”. I see my earnestness to do good and be good in the world as I used to see myself following promptings. I have discovered that all the miracles I was part of came from my own power and inner goodness or maybe even my inner god and amazing things continue to happen. Our families disapprove. We have been told that we are deceived by satan, that I am selfish for not staying and fighting, that we are ruining things for our kids and that we get our information from the wrong sources. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I like who I am as an ex-Mormon. I can love people better because I love myself better. I have more compassion for myself and others. I have changed how I orient to the “spirit”. I see my earnestness to do good and be good in the world as I used to see myself following promptings. I have discovered that all the miracles I was part of came from my own power and inner goodness or maybe even my inner god and amazing things continue to happen. Our families disapprove. We have been told that we are deceived by satan, that I am selfish for not staying and fighting, that we are ruining things for our kids and that we get our information from the wrong sources. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
But if I wanted to go, I had to wear a dress to show my support for dictator, I mean, President Lindsey. He told me that I also needed to apologize publicly in front of all the leadership in the stake for derailing trek. I was astonished but willing to do anything as I had poured my heart into this change and had kids who I wanted to experience trek. I barely got through it, because my heart was breaking and my tears were flowing. I was learning that my voice did not count and did not have power in this patriarchal system. Religion makes good people do bad things like treat dissenting opinions especially from women like heresy. He burned me at the stake in front of our stake as a witch for influencing this positive change. I was amazed at this experience. He did not like my passion or tone or volume or body language although I thought I was respectful. I don’t know if he’d ever met a woman who would challenge his authority in this way. I began to realize that I had internalized sexism homophobia and racism. I started listening to podcasts galore to undo these infectious diseases inside of myself. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
But if I wanted to go, I had to wear a dress to show my support for dictator, I mean, President Lindsey. He told me that I also needed to apologize publicly in front of all the leadership in the stake for derailing trek. I was astonished but willing to do anything as I had poured my heart into this change and had kids who I wanted to experience trek. I barely got through it, because my heart was breaking and my tears were flowing. I was learning that my voice did not count and did not have power in this patriarchal system. Religion makes good people do bad things like treat dissenting opinions especially from women like heresy. He burned me at the stake in front of our stake as a witch for influencing this positive change. I was amazed at this experience. He did not like my passion or tone or volume or body language although I thought I was respectful. I don’t know if he’d ever met a woman who would challenge his authority in this way. I began to realize that I had internalized sexism homophobia and racism. I started listening to podcasts galore to undo these infectious diseases inside of myself. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
We were given an assignment to be Ma and Pa at trek. My daughters did not want to come especially because they didn’t want to dress up in pantaloons and dresses to hike in. They said they would come if they could wear pants. So I raised my hand in a training meeting and asked if there was any flexibility with the women’s dress code. Hard no. So I wrote a letter and met with President Lindsay. I appealed to his inclusive side to make room for kids who did not fit in the box. Turns out he cared less about inclusion and more about me sustaining him as the stake president. He said that if women wore pants chaos would ensue. I asked if there was anything I could do to change his mind. He said he would only change the policy if an Angel came. So I told him I would pray for an angel. He took my letter to a meeting with 10 stake presidents. Then he changed the policy, and the kids were able to choose pants. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
We were given an assignment to be Ma and Pa at trek. My daughters did not want to come especially because they didn’t want to dress up in pantaloons and dresses to hike in. They said they would come if they could wear pants. So I raised my hand in a training meeting and asked if there was any flexibility with the women’s dress code. Hard no. So I wrote a letter and met with President Lindsay. I appealed to his inclusive side to make room for kids who did not fit in the box. Turns out he cared less about inclusion and more about me sustaining him as the stake president. He said that if women wore pants chaos would ensue. I asked if there was anything I could do to change his mind. He said he would only change the policy if an Angel came. So I told him I would pray for an angel. He took my letter to a meeting with 10 stake presidents. Then he changed the policy, and the kids were able to choose pants. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
Derrick's brother’s baby Charlotte dies of cancer. The family doesn’t want me or the kids to come to the funeral and uninvites us. Derrick has major crisis of self and marriage crisis. We find Jennifer Finlaysen-Fife and start the therapy needed to undo superiority, patriarchy, family enmeshment, validation seeking, toxic positivity, purity culture, modesty etc. We take a time out from Derrick's family and try to fix our marriage. In the process we become differentiated. We grow ourselves up and learn how to self manage. We realize many sources of trouble with our kids and marriage are coming from our rigid belief system. This actually takes several years and a few more bad experiences with church. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
Derrick's brother’s baby Charlotte dies of cancer. The family doesn’t want me or the kids to come to the funeral and uninvites us. Derrick has major crisis of self and marriage crisis. We find Jennifer Finlaysen-Fife and start the therapy needed to undo superiority, patriarchy, family enmeshment, validation seeking, toxic positivity, purity culture, modesty etc. We take a time out from Derrick's family and try to fix our marriage. In the process we become differentiated. We grow ourselves up and learn how to self manage. We realize many sources of trouble with our kids and marriage are coming from our rigid belief system. This actually takes several years and a few more bad experiences with church. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I met Molly. Molly was questioning the church and her desire to leave was growing. She was the primary chorister and was trying to increase female representation in the songs being taught which I greatly respected and admired. She helped me to start thinking more critically. Because of Molly I started opening my mind which was very rigid and devout. Watching her in the primary room teaching on her last Sunday was heartbreaking- why were all the best people leaving?? And did we really want to know the answer? Many of Derrick's home teaching people left. We were so confused- how could they leave god and his church. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I met Molly. Molly was questioning the church and her desire to leave was growing. She was the primary chorister and was trying to increase female representation in the songs being taught which I greatly respected and admired. She helped me to start thinking more critically. Because of Molly I started opening my mind which was very rigid and devout. Watching her in the primary room teaching on her last Sunday was heartbreaking- why were all the best people leaving?? And did we really want to know the answer? Many of Derrick's home teaching people left. We were so confused- how could they leave god and his church. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
The wedding itself was very stressful. Derrick's mom suggested we call everyone and tell them we actually weren’t getting married in the temple. We refused to do that, but it was awkward at our reception when loved ones asked how the temple was. We were ashamed and embarrassed. We got pregnant on our 1 year anniversary which we interpreted as god rewarding us for being sealed in the temple. Derrick went to dental school and we bit off way more than we could chew, kid after kid after kid and callings galore. We served our hearts out and made some great friends along the way. Looking back to that time we both have major PTSD. We did too much, especially for church. We continued to work hard and serve hard and have lots of babies. My sister passed away in 2010 and we adopted her daughter along with having a baby. We had her sealed in the temple which was followed by a bunch of weird comments about how she now belonged to us for eternity. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
The wedding itself was very stressful. Derrick's mom suggested we call everyone and tell them we actually weren’t getting married in the temple. We refused to do that, but it was awkward at our reception when loved ones asked how the temple was. We were ashamed and embarrassed. We got pregnant on our 1 year anniversary which we interpreted as god rewarding us for being sealed in the temple. Derrick went to dental school and we bit off way more than we could chew, kid after kid after kid and callings galore. We served our hearts out and made some great friends along the way. Looking back to that time we both have major PTSD. We did too much, especially for church. We continued to work hard and serve hard and have lots of babies. My sister passed away in 2010 and we adopted her daughter along with having a baby. We had her sealed in the temple which was followed by a bunch of weird comments about how she now belonged to us for eternity. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
Derrick fit the list: returned missionary righteous priesthood holder. We had similar goals and got engaged. Our engagement was traumatic. We were so in love and were all over each other. We accidentally had oral sex. Which was amazing, but also terrible because we broke the law of chastity. Being the extremely righteous people we were we ran to our bishop and tried to repent. Several traumatic things followed. Derrick's parents wanted us to tell his 5 younger siblings why we couldn’t get married in the temple. We spent the night in the hospital because the stress caused me to get food stuck in my throat. Derrick lost his favorite job teaching at the MTC. Fortunately we did not get kicked out of BYU as we were both almost finished. 3. Disciplinary council for Derrick. BYU Bishop ensued the council to feel bad bad bad-god is so mad and sad at your behavior. In fact maybe Mary should have been a better gatekeeper-is she even wife material? - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
Derrick fit the list: returned missionary righteous priesthood holder. We had similar goals and got engaged. Our engagement was traumatic. We were so in love and were all over each other. We accidentally had oral sex. Which was amazing, but also terrible because we broke the law of chastity. Being the extremely righteous people we were we ran to our bishop and tried to repent. Several traumatic things followed. Derrick's parents wanted us to tell his 5 younger siblings why we couldn’t get married in the temple. We spent the night in the hospital because the stress caused me to get food stuck in my throat. Derrick lost his favorite job teaching at the MTC. Fortunately we did not get kicked out of BYU as we were both almost finished. 3. Disciplinary council for Derrick. BYU Bishop ensued the council to feel bad bad bad-god is so mad and sad at your behavior. In fact maybe Mary should have been a better gatekeeper-is she even wife material? - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I graduated from BYU, got married had 8 kids by 35 years old, and became disillusioned with the church at 40. I went to EFY when I was 16 and saw righteous good looking men and knew that was where I would go to college. It was the only place I applied. BYU or bust. I declared my major engineering and started college. I listened to every devotional, religion teacher and general conference talk and quickly learned my place. I was to be a wife and a mother. I switched majors to family money management and started my search for a man who could support the large family I was to have as a devoted member and a builder of the kingdom. I was a Mormon. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/
I graduated from BYU, got married had 8 kids by 35 years old, and became disillusioned with the church at 40. I went to EFY when I was 16 and saw righteous good looking men and knew that was where I would go to college. It was the only place I applied. BYU or bust. I declared my major engineering and started college. I listened to every devotional, religion teacher and general conference talk and quickly learned my place. I was to be a wife and a mother. I switched majors to family money management and started my search for a man who could support the large family I was to have as a devoted member and a builder of the kingdom. I was a Mormon. - Mary's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/marykathrynprice/

The Other Mormon Extermination Order, from Brigham Young against the Timpanogos People

The Provo River Massacre, also known as the Battle of Fort Utah, was a brutal campaign of extermination carried out in 1850 under the direct orders of Brigham Young against the Timpanogos people in what is now Provo, Utah. Tensions between Mormon settlers and the Timpanogos had escalated over land disputes and trade conflicts. Rather …

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“The famous five stages of grief may help us to name our feelings and experiences inside of grief, but they were never meant to be a step-by-step prescription for how to move forward. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance reflect how people tend to cope with the reality of death and dying. They were never intended to offer a roadmap for grief.” - Speaking Grief Documentary | speakinggrief.org
“The famous five stages of grief may help us to name our feelings and experiences inside of grief, but they were never meant to be a step-by-step prescription for how to move forward. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance reflect how people tend to cope with the reality of death and dying. They were never intended to offer a roadmap for grief.” - Speaking Grief Documentary | speakinggrief.org
“The five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with who/what we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief.” - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American Psychiatrist, On Death and Dying (1969) | wasmormon.org
“The five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with who/what we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief.” - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American Psychiatrist, On Death and Dying (1969)
Meme, "McDonald's can mess up your order 101 times and you still keep going back... but one thing goes wrong at church and you quit. People just aren't hungry enough. - If by “one thing goes wrong at church,” you mean “I studied its history and lost my belief.” It’s not about not being spiritually hungry enough—it’s about realizing the entire foundation is built on claims that collapse under scrutiny. McDonald’s never claimed to be led by God or to even be divinely inspired—the church does. | wasmormon.org
"McDonald's can mess up your order 101 times and you still keep going back... but one thing goes wrong at church and you quit. People just aren't hungry enough. - If by “one thing goes wrong at church,” you mean “I studied its history and lost my belief.” It’s not about not being spiritually hungry enough—it’s about realizing the entire foundation is built on claims that collapse under scrutiny. McDonald’s never claimed to be led by God or to even be divinely inspired—the church does.
[He] chose to be a perpetual doubter. As one concern was resolved, another one was found. “Church history whack-a-mole.” The children’s game where a mole pops up from a board and as soon as you hit it, another mole pops up in another place. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
[He] chose to be a perpetual doubter. As one concern was resolved, another one was found. “Church history whack-a-mole.” The children’s game where a mole pops up from a board and as soon as you hit it, another mole pops up in another place. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
Doubt is not and will never be the precursor of faith any more than light depends on darkness for its creation... This is what happened to Stephen. He let doubt and uncertainty occupy his mind. As time went on, he did not have the strength to confront the challenges that one faces as a member of the Church. He grew weary in his mind, and his faith disappeared. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
Doubt is not and will never be the precursor of faith any more than light depends on darkness for its creation... This is what happened to Stephen. He let doubt and uncertainty occupy his mind. As time went on, he did not have the strength to confront the challenges that one faces as a member of the Church. He grew weary in his mind, and his faith disappeared. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
What Stephen was doing is a form of “Church history whack-a-mole.” You know, the children’s game where a mole pops up from a board and as soon as you hit it, another mole pops up in another place. While further intellectual information may temporarily resolve an intellectual concern, further information is not the complete solution. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
What Stephen was doing is a form of “Church history whack-a-mole.” You know, the children’s game where a mole pops up from a board and as soon as you hit it, another mole pops up in another place. While further intellectual information may temporarily resolve an intellectual concern, further information is not the complete solution. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
He was digging up in doubt what he had planted in faith. As time went on, as one concern was resolved, another one was found. No matter how much anyone tried to respond and answer these questions, he found another topic on which he was anxious. He focused on the dents in the boat instead of on the capability of the boat to lead him to the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
He was digging up in doubt what he had planted in faith. As time went on, as one concern was resolved, another one was found. No matter how much anyone tried to respond and answer these questions, he found another topic on which he was anxious. He focused on the dents in the boat instead of on the capability of the boat to lead him to the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
But now I really am concerned that the priesthood was withheld for a time from those of African descent” ... Sadly, Stephen had chosen to be a perpetual doubter. For him, doubting pleased him more than knowing - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
But now I really am concerned that the priesthood was withheld for a time from those of African descent” ... Sadly, Stephen had chosen to be a perpetual doubter. For him, doubting pleased him more than knowing - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
But now I’m really concerned about the polygamy that was practiced in Nauvoo and after the Manifesto in 1890. That is really troubling me.” I asked Stephen to visit with someone who had researched these topics in reliable primary sources. After that discussion, I contacted Stephen and asked how he was doing. He said, “Well, that doesn’t bother me anymore. I understand what happened, and my concerns have been resolved... - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
But now I’m really concerned about the polygamy that was practiced in Nauvoo and after the Manifesto in 1890. That is really troubling me.” I asked Stephen to visit with someone who had researched these topics in reliable primary sources. After that discussion, I contacted Stephen and asked how he was doing. He said, “Well, that doesn’t bother me anymore. I understand what happened, and my concerns have been resolved... - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole
As I visited with Stephen, he said that he had concerns with the fact that Joseph Smith related four versions of the First Vision. He thought that this might mean that Joseph Smith made up his experience. I put Stephen in contact with a man who had researched these four versions decades earlier. Stephen visited with the researcher. The next time I spoke with Stephen I said, “So, how do you feel about the First Vision?” He said, “Well, I feel okay about that because my questions have been answered. That no longer bothers me... - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole | wasmormon.org
As I visited with Stephen, he said that he had concerns with the fact that Joseph Smith related four versions of the First Vision. He thought that this might mean that Joseph Smith made up his experience. I put Stephen in contact with a man who had researched these four versions decades earlier. Stephen visited with the researcher. The next time I spoke with Stephen I said, “So, how do you feel about the First Vision?” He said, “Well, I feel okay about that because my questions have been answered. That no longer bothers me... - Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L. Renlund, Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • BYU–Hawaii - Church History whack-a-mole