Stories of mormon faith transitions. Share your truth – own your story!
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"I was raised Mormon. My mother was very devout, but my father really didn't care one way or the other. I left 30 years ago. I was a mormon."- JR's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jrtaylor/
"I left because it's a cult and it's history is filled with lies and deceptions. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior and He is all I need for Salvation." - JR's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jrtaylor/
"Eventually, I got saved and was baptized in a local Baptist church. I played on the worship team for many years, was a Youth Leader, and numerous other ministries." - JR's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jrtaylor/
Ronald E Poelman - The Gospel and the Church - Comparing the Original and the Revised Talk - Diff Screenshot
https://gist.github.com/circlecube/b18da97c884683b75d820cd4740e225d/revisions#diff-ccff7643a5d68a6563a3687841b4162943edc8ad7799d66f9c4077d99266c3fb
"For truth, if it be truth, arises from each testing stronger, more secure.
Those that would silence doubt are filled with fear; their houses are built on shifting sands.
But those who fear not doubt, and know its use, are founded on rock.
They shall walk in the light of growing knowledge; the work of their hands shall endure.
Therefore let us not fear doubt, but let us rejoice in its help:
It is to the wise as a staff to the blind; doubt is the attendant of truth." - Cherish Your Doubts, Robert T. Weston, Unitarian Minister
"Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the attendant of truth. Doubt is the key to the door of knowledge; it is the servant of discovery. A belief which may not be questioned binds us to error, for there is incompleteness and imperfection in every belief. Doubt is the touchstone of truth; it is an acid which eats away the false. Let no one fear the truth, that doubt may consume it; for doubt is a testing of belief. The truth stands boldly and unafraid; it is not shaken by the testing:" - Cherish Your Doubts, Robert T. Weston, Unitarian Minister
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/jarad/. 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!
"Horses often have blinders put over their eyes to help them focus on just the road ahead and nothing else. When I accepted that the church wasn't true, it was as if those narrow blinders came off. I could see just how big and wonderful this world and all its fascinating people are!" - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"Eventually I realized that the mental gymnastics going on inside my head and heart were only serving me by propping up a house of cards." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"Life is full of terrific questions, and I have my own inner authority to seek, explore and choose my path. It hasn't been all sunshine and roses, but I'm so very grateful for the so-called faith crisis and the courage I've found to break free from the control that the church offers." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"I was struggling with a few things in church and I had hopes that trying harder to stay forever LDS would keep me full of faith. In spite of, or perhaps because of, all my extra efforts to study the doctrine and history along with participating in faith-promoting podcasts, my doubts loomed large." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"I officially separated from the LDS Church almost 3 years ago. I consider it one of the greatest accomplishments of my life." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"Letting it all go suddenly I could see more clearly than I ever had." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
"I was born and raised in the church and culture in the Utah bubble. I was a Mormon." - Jarad's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/jarad/
“I can say with confidence, that there is no people on the face of this earth that pay more respect to females than do this people. I know of no community where females enjoy the privileges they do here.” - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses Volume 9, 37
February 9, 1862 - Brigham Young had already married 50 of his 56 wives.
“Identify the ways that you can start to fill the holes that were once filled by sex.” - BYU School of Family Life - Covenant Intimacy Conversations Website: Single After Marriage - April 14, 2021
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/moreman2/ - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"I devoured all the information I could find and soon how the "truth can make you free." I handed in my resignation to my Bishop and have been enjoying freedom ever since. I still believe I would like to find a nice "ex-mormon" girl to live with now that I am retired... someone who understands our past pressures and deceptions of the Mormon Cult." - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"I became inactive... searching for the "truth" or "falsity" of Mormonism. I began searching the internet and libraries for books, periodicals, and diaries of research done on Mormonism. And WOW! What an eye-opener that was." - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"I was a "country boy" living on an acreage, raising horses, and paying country music. I had married a "city girl" with no interest in horses, country music, and as it turned out....no interest in me. We divorced after 25 yrs. of marriage. I then met another Mormon lady who had also just gone through a divorce. She was a country girl, grew up on a farm, so surely we would be compatible if we got married....WRONG. We did get married but I soon found out that it was the common thread of "Mormon control" in both marriages that was the problem. I divorced again." - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"Having been born into the Mormon Church, I naturally followed all of the rituals and jumped through all of the hoops required of me... like a good faithful Mormon boy. I served a two Mission, married a Mormon girl in the temple, raised 6 beautiful sons, and of course took numerous Church jobs." - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"I am a retired Chiropractor. My hobby is entertaining people with Country Music. I was a Mormon." - Doc Wade's I was a Mormon profile spotlight from wasmormon.org - https://wasmormon.org/profile/moreman2/
"There is not one of the general authorities in the Church that draws one dollar from the tithes of the people for his own use. Well, you may say, how do they live? I will give you the key: ... Tithing funds were invested in these institutions, for which the Trustee-in-Trust holds stock certificates, which are worth more today than what was given for them; and the dividends from these investments more than pay for the support of the general authorities of the Church. So we do not use one dollar of your tithing." - Joseph F. Smith, LDS Church President, 1907 General Conference
In accordance with approved procedures, the annual General Authority base living allowance has been increased from $116,400 to $120,000. This will begin with your paycheck issued on January 10, 2014 (pay period 1). - Leaked Living Allowance Increase for 2014 Letter
Addressed to Elder Porter of the First Quorum of the Seventy
light-the-world-filming-notice
1000009052
Leaked payroll paystub for Henry B Eyring from 1999 showing living allowance of over a thousand per week and even more in the form of reimbursements.
"The living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people." - Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference October 1985
“All of the work in the Church is voluntary. No one is paid for such service.” - Preach My Gospel: Study and Teach: Laws and Ordinances: Service, Page 87. LDS Missionary Teaching Manual 2004
Jesus teaching how to flip a table. "And now you just flip it like this!" - @NakedPastor.com
Old Version: "Do what is right; let the consequence follow"
New Kirton McConkie Approved Version: "Do what is technically legal, to avoid any potential consequences;"
"[Bishops] should not yield the arrangement for funerals or missionary farewells to families. It is not the proper order of things for members or families to expect to decide who will speak and for how long. I have told my Brethren in that day when my funeral is held, if any of them who speak talk about me, I will raise up and correct them. The gospel is to be preached. I know of no meeting where the congregation is in a better state of readiness to receive revelation and inspiration from a speaker than they are at a funeral. This privilege is being taken away from us because we don't understand the order of things--the unwritten order of things--that relates to the administration of the Church and the reception of the Spirit." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996
"When the family insists that several family members speak in a funeral, we hear about the deceased instead of about the Atonement, the Resurrection, and the comforting promises revealed in the scriptures. Now it's all right to have a family member speak at a funeral, but if they do, their remarks should be in keeping with the spirit of the meeting." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996
"Revelation in the Church is vertical. It generally confines itself to the administrative or geographic boundaries or limitations assigned to the one who is called... revelation comes from above, not from the side. However more experienced or older or however more spiritual someone to the side may appear to be, it is better to go up through proper channels." "[Bishops] should not yield the arrangement for funerals or missionary farewells to families. It is not the proper order of things for members or families to expect to decide who will speak and for how long. I have told my Brethren in that day when my funeral is held, if any of them who speak talk about me, I will raise up and correct them. The gospel is to be preached. I know of no meeting where the congregation is in a better state of readiness to receive revelation and inspiration from a speaker than they are at a funeral. This privilege is being taken away from us because we don't understand the order of things--the unwritten order of things--that relates to the administration of the Church and the reception of the Spirit." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996
"We are called to positions in the Church by inspiration. Even if the call is presented in a clumsy way, it is not wise for us to refuse the call. We must presuppose that the call comes from the Lord." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996
"For counsel, you go to your bishop. He may choose to send you to his file leader--the stake president. But we do not go to the General Authorities. We do not write to them for counsel or suppose that someone in a more prominent position will give a more inspired blessing." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996
“Do what is right; let the consequence follow.” - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings, "Do What Is Right"
#237 LDS Hymn Book. 2017 April General Conference
"Come what may, and love it." - Joseph B. Wirthlin, LDS Apostle, General Conference 2008
"Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told, while obedience is doing what you are told, no matter what is right." Henry Louis Mencken
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/baxxiefish/. 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 am a trans man, artist, cosplayer, and musical theater fan. I was a mormon." - Baxter's I was a Mormon Story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/baxxiefish/
"I started researching all the messed up stuff the church did." - Baxter's I was a Mormon Story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/baxxiefish/
"I was raised mormon, never really was into it. At first, because I wanted to do other things on Sundays. Back then, I had no clue on what wrong stuff the church had done, or that I would be in actual legitimate danger every time I went." - Baxter's I was a Mormon Story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/baxxiefish/
"When I hit the shock therapy groups for gay people I just couldn't be a part of it any longer." - Baxter's I was a Mormon Story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/baxxiefish/
"I refuse to be part of a cult that demonizes, and endorses such violence against people just for being who they are." - Baxter's I was a Mormon Story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/baxxiefish/
"Would there have been fewer mistakes, fewer messes, if God had only restored His Church and gospel through you?" - Elder Kyle S McKay: Lawyer, Seventy and Executive Director of the Church History Department
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl Sagan
"In February 2012, I experienced an awakening to the LDS Church's truth crisis, which subsequently led to a faith transition that summer. In the spring of 2013, I was approached and asked by a CES Director to share my questions and concerns about the LDS Church's origins, history, and current practices. In response, I wrote what later became publicly known as the CES Letter." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
!["[Bishops] should not yield the arrangement for funerals or missionary farewells to families. It is not the proper order of things for members or families to expect to decide who will speak and for how long. I have told my Brethren in that day when my funeral is held, if any of them who speak talk about me, I will raise up and correct them. The gospel is to be preached. I know of no meeting where the congregation is in a better state of readiness to receive revelation and inspiration from a speaker than they are at a funeral. This privilege is being taken away from us because we don't understand the order of things--the unwritten order of things--that relates to the administration of the Church and the reception of the Spirit." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Boyd-K-Packer-The-Unwritten-Order-of-Things-not-yeild-arrangement-of-funeral-to-families-the-gospel-is-to-be-preached.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)
!["Revelation in the Church is vertical. It generally confines itself to the administrative or geographic boundaries or limitations assigned to the one who is called... revelation comes from above, not from the side. However more experienced or older or however more spiritual someone to the side may appear to be, it is better to go up through proper channels." "[Bishops] should not yield the arrangement for funerals or missionary farewells to families. It is not the proper order of things for members or families to expect to decide who will speak and for how long. I have told my Brethren in that day when my funeral is held, if any of them who speak talk about me, I will raise up and correct them. The gospel is to be preached. I know of no meeting where the congregation is in a better state of readiness to receive revelation and inspiration from a speaker than they are at a funeral. This privilege is being taken away from us because we don't understand the order of things--the unwritten order of things--that relates to the administration of the Church and the reception of the Spirit." - The Unwritten Order of Things, Boyd K. Packer - BYU Devotional 1996 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Boyd-K-Packer-The-Unwritten-Order-of-Things-revelation-is-vertical-go-through-proper-channels.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1)
