Stories of mormon faith transitions. Share your truth – own your story!
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"Becoming disillusioned was painful. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have my spouse and my family be with me through the hardest thing I've ever done. Healing is ongoing, and yet, I have the peace I yearned for that faith never afforded me." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Today, my life is worlds different than I dreamed it could be (in the best ways). I wouldn't have been able to dream up a marriage and life outside the "temple marriage" structure I saw my whole life. I thought if I stopped living the teachings and rules, my life would fall apart, and I'd never be happy again." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"The world is big and new. Somedays, it can be a little scary out of the mormon bubble- but I am so glad to be living life according to the dictates of my conscience. I'm so glad I can act and live congruent with my values." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"I sincerely believed the Mormon theology. I had experiences that made me feel I knew it was true. I did all the 'should's' and avoided the 'shouldn't's'. If I did a shouldn't, I felt guilt and shame and would repent." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"My Brethren have made the case for the metaphor of musket fire, which I have endorsed yet again today." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021
"Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but “friendly fire” is a tragedy—and from time to time the Church, its leaders, and some of our colleagues within the university community have taken such fire on this campus. And sometimes it isn’t friendly, wounding students and the parents of students—so many who are confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021
"I would like to hear a little more musket fire from this temple of learning, especially on the subject of our fundamental doctrine and policies on the family." - Elder Dallin H Oaks, 2017
"In a way LDS scholars at BYU and elsewhere are a little bit like the builders of the temple in Nauvoo, who worked with a trowel in one hand and a musket in the other. Today scholars building the temple of learning must also pause on occasion to defend the Kingdom. I personally think this is one of the reasons the Lord established and maintains this University. The dual role of builder and defender is unique and ongoing. I am grateful we have scholars today who can handle, as it were, both trowels and muskets." - Elder Neal A Maxwell, 2004
"I have a hard time with historians, because they idolize the truth. The truth is not uplifting; it destroys. ... Historians should tell only that part of the truth that is inspiring and uplifting." Elder Boyd K Packer, LDS Apostle 1970 - 2015
I _____, drink this coffee for and in behalf of ______ who is Mormon.
"Among his commandments is a law of health known as the Word of Wisdom.
This law teaches us not to take alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and harmful drugs into our bodies. These things damage our physical bodies and harm our spirits." - LDS Missionary Discussion #4 - Eternal Progression
"For your information please be advised that the drinking of a beverage made from the coffee bean, from which the caffeine and deleterious drugs have been removed, is not a violation of the Word of Wisdom, and the drinking of Sanka is not a justifiable reason for denying a temple recommend to one who is otherwise worthy. We shall be pleased to have you convey this information to the presidency of the elders quorum." - David O McKay deems decaf coffee not to be against the Word of Wisdom or bar members from the temple
"In August 2010, age seventeen, I stumbled upon my first "anti-Mormon" website and discovered a bunch of the things people typically cite for their loss of faith - Joseph Smith's 1826 trial, Joseph Smith's evolving accounts of the First Vision, Joseph Smith's failed prophecies, DNA evidence contradicting the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham not matching the papyrus, and so on. I was blindsided and confused, but because of my recent spiritual experiences at EFY (now FSY) I held onto my faith until I found answers." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I don't have the usual male apostate's checklist of qualifications. I didn't graduate seminary, I didn't serve a mission, I was never Elders Quorum president, I didn't marry in (or out of) the temple. But I was fiercely committed to The Church as a teenager and for my first decade of adulthood. I wanted to be a beacon leading souls to Christ, a role model for balancing faith and reason, someone that people could look to and say "He's intelligent and knows about all the issues and still believes, so I can too." Perhaps I felt a bit prideful about staying in the church while leaving it was the trendy, obvious choice for my generation. Changing my mind was very hard, embarrassing, and long overdue." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I might close my own remarks the same way Stewart Udall closed his Statement of Conscience when he distanced himself from the church seventy-five years ago: "All this is said respectfully, in the realization that the Church contains much that is good, true, and beautiful …. and that it fills a felt need for most of its adherents. I nevertheless feel that I cannot enter into full communion with the church, indeed cannot commune with it at all in good conscience, as long as these attitudes, ideas and principles - and the men who further them - dominate the church."' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"Most of the answers from FAIR and other apologists were good enough for me. What I could never resolve, though, was the feeling of betrayal at having to learn these things from hostile sources instead of the church itself, or why it had sanitized, dumbed down, and misrepresented its history, which is ethically dubious at best and has caused a lot of avoidable problems. Why didn't prophets, seers and revelators have the foresight to be more honest before the internet gave them no choice?" - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I do, however, want to get outside of its conditioning and see it more as outsiders see it. I want to learn in depth about other religions as objectively as I can, without evaluating all of their teachings through the filter of how much they align with what I already believe. I have no predetermined destination in mind and no goal of converting to something else. In all this, my highest priority is my personal relationship with God, which the church taught me to value. - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but, like all members, had to decide for myself whether I actually believed in it or not. I thought it was boring and my attitude toward it ranged from apathetic to hostile until a random spiritual epiphany around age twelve or so. From then on it was an incentive for me to not kill myself, first out of fear that I would be punished for it and later out of love for God and hope for a better future. I was a Mormon" - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"The church's history/beliefs with race (including but not limited to the Priesthood) are abysmal, full stop, and in my opinion there simply is no adequate explanation for why an organization led by God screwed up so badly on such a basic issue as the equality of God's children. I found this topic very troubling as a Mormon and researched it more than almost anyone else in the world, hoping that at some point it would make sense. That didn't happen." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I did "doubt my doubts." I was not a "lazy learner" or a "lax disciple." I've tried to be an honest seeker of truth, and at this time, my honest truth-seeking has led me outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I appreciate much of what I've learned and gained from the church and I don't intend to throw it all away.' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'And no, it's not true that "everyone was just as racist back then." Many people opposed slavery and supported the civil rights movement while this church did the opposite. Recognizing that its stance on race was never inspired helped me to recognize that its stances on women and LGBT+ individuals aren't inspired either.' - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
Decaf Coffee deemed OK by David O McKay First Presidency in 1965
Meme showing Mormon Missionary Meme with the text "Do you have a few minutes to listen to us say the full name of our church?"
Mormons: A "Pre-Nelson" term which today equates to Sustaining Contributors to the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, doing business as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints®️, a registered trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Elijah Abel was the first black person to be baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was also the first black man to receive the priesthood, ordained an elder in 1836 under the hands of the prophet Joseph Smith.
"After Abel's death, LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith on multiple occasions declared Abel's ordination to the priesthood as "null and void by [Joseph Smith] himself because of his blackness", suggesting based on Coltrin's previous testimony that Joseph Smith before his death had indeed repented of his initial decision that Abel receive the priesthood. Scarcely a few years had passed since Joseph F. Smith had himself been the one to ordain Abel and to set him apart to serve his final church mission. Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, who later became president of the church, went so far as to suggest that there had been two Elijah Abels – one white and one black." - Elijah Abel, Disputes over priesthood, Posthumous commentary on Abel's priesthood, Wikipedia.org
"In the early twentieth century, Able’s status as a black priesthood holder was largely forgotten. Historians later rediscovered the story of Able’s ordination, his faith in the restored gospel, and his service as an early missionary." Church History Topics: Elijah Able, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
License for Elijah Able, 31 March 1836, p. 61, The Joseph Smith Papers
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/license-for-elijah-able-31-march-1836/1
"This certifies that Elijah Able has been received into the church of the Latter Day Saints, organized on the sixth of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred & thirty, & has been ordained an Elder according to the rules & regulations of said church, & is duly authorized to preach the gospel agreeably to the authority of that Office. From the satisfactory evidence which we have of his good moral character, & his zeal for the cause of righteousness, & diligent desire to persuade men to forsake evil & embrace truth, we confidently recommend him to all candid & upright people as a worthy member of society. We, therefore in the name, & by the authority of this church, grant unto this, our worthy brother in the Lord, this letter of commendation as a proof of our fellowship & Esteem: Praying for his success & prosperity in our Redeemer’s Cause. Given by the direction of a conference of the Elders of said church, Assembled in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, the third day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred & thirty six. [signed] Joseph Smith Jr., March 31, 1836." - License for Elijah Able, 31 March 1836, p. 61, The Joseph Smith Papers
"How grateful I am that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has from its beginnings stood strongly against racism in any of its malignant manifestations." - Elder Alexander B Morrison, First Quorum of the Seventy
"Unfortunately, racism—the abhorrent and morally destructive theory that claims superiority of one person over another by reason of race, color, ethnicity, or cultural background—remains one of the abiding sins of societies the world over. The cause of much of the strife and conflict in the world, racism is an offense against God and a tool in the devil’s hands." - Elder Alexander B Morrison, First Quorum of the Seventy
"If you allow the people of the church to turn you against the church, then you were not worthy to be in the church in the first place" - Ezra Taft Benson, speaking to Natalie Palmer-Taylor, a black mother upset that her child was a target of a racial epithet from another member, 1988
"You keep your eyes riveted on the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We will not lead you astray. We cannot." - Elder M Russell Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, March 12, 1996
"If there is a despicable character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this Church. He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed his trust, and forfeited every principle of honor that God placed within him. They may think they are respected, but they are not. They are disgraced in their own eyes. There is not much honesty within them; they have forfeited their heaven, sold their birth right, and betrayed their friends." - President Brigham Young, Journal of Discources 12:20
"An official Church Statement says: "On Friday evening they were having dinner together in the mission president's home when armed assailants entered the home and robbed them. We don't have complete information yet, but we understand that Sister Packard's arm was broken. In addition, she and others suffered some superficial injuries, mainly cuts and bruises. Elder and Sister Nelson will continue their assignment over the weekend as planned." - In May 2009 Elder Nelson was attacked during a visit to Africa.
"On one occasion, we were attacked by armed men with malicious intent. They announced their purpose: to kidnap her, and to kill me. After they maliciously molested us in those evil objectives, they became totally foiled. A gun to my head failed to fire. And my wife was suddenly released from their hideous grasp. Then they disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. We were mercifully rescued from potential disaster. We know we were protected by angels round about us." - In 2015, Elder Nelson retells an embellished version of the robbery.
Find Daniel's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/danieljohnson/. There are over a hundred more stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
"I quickly realized the narrative taught in the Church is far from truthful, and doesn’t match the historical or scientific record." - Daniel Johnson, https://wasmormon.org/profile/danieljohnson/
"This lead to depression - it’s difficult to pretend to believe something you think is hurtful, especially when you fear losing your wife and children if you decide to leave the church. The Church has an undeniable history of racism and sexism. The Church has over 100 Billion in assets and gives an infinitesimally small portion to the poor." - Daniel Johnson, https://wasmormon.org/profile/danieljohnson/
!["After Abel's death, LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith on multiple occasions declared Abel's ordination to the priesthood as "null and void by [Joseph Smith] himself because of his blackness", suggesting based on Coltrin's previous testimony that Joseph Smith before his death had indeed repented of his initial decision that Abel receive the priesthood. Scarcely a few years had passed since Joseph F. Smith had himself been the one to ordain Abel and to set him apart to serve his final church mission. Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith, who later became president of the church, went so far as to suggest that there had been two Elijah Abels – one white and one black." - Elijah Abel, Disputes over priesthood, Posthumous commentary on Abel's priesthood, Wikipedia.org | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Elijah-Abel-church-president-declared-Abels-priesthood-null-and-void-because-of-his-blackness-or-suggest-two-Elijah-Abels.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)
