Stories of mormon faith transitions. Share your truth – own your story!
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“The furor now arising over the homosexual issue is but one example. Legislators, like everyone else, must recognize that the unclean is unclean regardless of the attire in which it appears. Some say that this evil is no longer evil. But who has the right or the ability to change its basic definition? It was the Almighty Himself who laid down the law on this practice. He condemned it and classed it as a capital crime... Who are they that they should parade their debauchery and call it clean?” - LDS Apostle, Mark E. Petersen, Church News, March 18, 1978
“Legislators are being asked to rule that adultery should no longer be considered a crime, that homosexuals and other deviates should be allowed to practice their depravities legally and without restriction... Apostasy through immorality is at least as bad as returning to paganism... Paul says of those who deviate from the path of virtue into some of the great perversions,
"they which commit such things are worthy of death."” - LDS Apostle, Mark E. Petersen, General Conference Talk, April 1965
“... the "new morality" that is being flaunted now; a lowering of the standards of virtue, a philosophy that anything goes these days. This is a doctrine of Satan. Not only does this delusion include sex before marriage, the abolition of marriage altogether, and assent to infidelity, but it embraces the now widespread movement of homosexuality.
The homosexuals claim that God made them that way and hence are powerless to change, which is a complete fabrication and a deep delusion, for it was the Lord who provided the death penalty for these people in ancient times.” - LDS Apostle, Mark E. Petersen, Church News, January 14, 1978
The Announced Cody Wyoming Temple received approval but was later redacted "It's a lot easier to build temples, than it is to fill temples." - Dallin H. Oaks
"According to relevant Chinese laws and regulations, foreigners are not allowed to establish religious organizations or set up places for religious activities in China. The American Mormon Church released information about building a so-called "temple" in Shanghai, but our city's religious and religious departments were completely unaware of it. This is wishful thinking on the part of the American Mormon Church and a fabrication out of nothing. - Shanghai Municipal Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau Office
"I'm queer. I'm not cisgender or heterosexual and that's a huge problem in this religion. When I was finally able to accept myself for that, I realized the mormon religion would never accept me for it and I'd never be happy where I'm not even accepted." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"I received a patriarchal blessing. It was generic and the life it foretold made me miserable to think about. The patriarch used what little knowledge he had about me to make a few statements, saying things like "you have the gift of love, service, empathy, and listening", "if you cling to your covenants, you will rise above all your challenges", "when the time comes you will find an eternal companion and enter the temple and get sealed", "you'll have lots of kids who will all look to you as an example of faith" (which was one of my worst nightmares), "you have a duty to do missionary work", and "you'll be resurrected". I was still trying to believe at the time and this "blessing" disappointed me and gave me a lot of anxiety. It didn't mean anything to me and it eventually became one of the items on my shelf." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find Frey's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/. There are hundreds more stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
"The church teaches marriage is between a man and a woman. They also teach that a person should remain the same gender they were assigned at birth and not socially or physically transition in any way. Members are allowed to call other people by requested names and pronouns but I experienced a lot of homophobia and transphobia in the church regardless. A conference talk once included the phrase that the 3 greatest threats to the mormon church were the homosexuals, the feminists, and the intellectuals. Look at that, I'm a triple threat! 😂" - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"I didn't believe it and I couldn't force myself to. I was happier not following that lifestyle. I could see how I'd been manipulated. And I could see how those beliefs were illogical and hateful. I'm an atheist as well as an eclectic witch and I'm the most happy I've ever been in my entire life." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"I went inactive multiple times before leaving for good. The vast majority of my immediate and extended family were mormons and my mom's reaction to any problem I had was to "pray about it" even though I never seemed to get answers to prayer. So far, I think I'm the only member of my immediate/extended family to leave." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"When I was finally able to accept myself for that, I realized the mormon religion would never accept me for it and I'd never be happy where I'm not even accepted. I'm queer. I'm not cisgender or heterosexual and that's a huge problem in this religion." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"I had so many concerns and questions that were either not answered, or the answers were not logical. I'd never even wanted to get baptized in the first place, and when I started trying to leave apparently an 8 year old was old enough to make a decision about joining but a 16 year old wasn't old enough to make the decision to leave and I "didn't know what was best for me"." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"I was raised in the church, but I'd always felt something was wrong. I was a mormon." - Frey's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/frey/
"As time went by I learned I wasn’t told the full truth about polygamy when I discovered widowers (but not widows) could have more than one wife in the hereafter. Then in college I learned the truth about The Book of Abraham. I knew it wasn’t an anti-Mormon lie because I learned it in my Pearl of Great Price class." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"I came to this conclusion without reading/listening to anything critical of the church or challenging its truth claims. I’m a slow study but in 40+ years I finally made my way out. I am unequivocally happy now." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"I was a teenager about to enter my senior year in high school. At the time I had many friends converting to versions of Evangelical Christianity. I was a little skeptical of their teachings. I also had a friend who was Mormon. After a lot of discussion I agreed to the missionary lessons. I was skeptical of the Book of Mormon, it seemed like a significant portion of it was copied from the King James Bible." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"Almost from the moment I was baptized I started to feel less than. First I was told my clothes were immodest. Then that I was too fat. (I wasn’t, I was within normal weight for my height) I dieted got very thin and came down with an eating disorder. That was just the beginning." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"However Joseph Smith's first vision resonated with me because he was of similar age as me at the time and seeking the truth like I was. I agreed to be baptized because it was the only church that made sense to me. They also assured me that polygamy was no longer practiced, which would have been a dealbreaker." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"Then the the treatment of LGBTQ people, backtracking on whether being gay was a choice and then not admitting the mistake, as well as the purity culture teaching that women who had sexual relationships before marriage were like chewed gum challenged even that." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"Over the years, as more stuff piled onto my proverbial faith shelf, I came to decide that I didn’t need a true church, just a good one." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
"I finally had to admit it wasn’t a good church, much less a true one." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find Nancy's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/. There are hundreds 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 was a golden convert. I was a Mormon." - Nancy's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nancypantsy72/
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find Olivia's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/. There are hundreds 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 was born in Utah in the church and spent 22 years trying my best to fit into it and belong. My whole family was mormon, except for a great grandmother who drank coffee and a couple aunts and uncles I rarely saw and didn't know well. The church meant everything to my parents, but there were always pieces of it I could never reconcile with. I'm a paramedic and love learning and helping people however I can. I was a mormon." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"I graduated without being caught by the Honor Code Office, and I've never looked back. I went to UVU to get my paramedic license and I currently work as both a firefighter and a paramedic with many of my coworkers also being ex mormon. The things I've seen in my admittedly short career have, to me, confirmed the lack of a caring higher power I was raised to believe in." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"When I was a teenager, I had a typical rebellious phase where I didn't want to be involved in anything church related. I remember fighting with my parents because I was supposed to go do baptisms for the dead for mutual and I was refusing to go. Eventually I lashed out and yelled at them that I wouldn't go because I didn't believe. Back then, however, that was a lie - I always thought to myself during that stage of my life that I 'knew' it was true but that I wished it wasn't. Spirituality brought me no joy and I always felt like everyone was just faking it as they went because that's what I was doing. I hated church activities and my parents getting me to voluntarily participate in things like scripture study was like pulling molars." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"That stage didn't last long. My shelf was already splintering. One day in my research, I came across the story of Sam Young and his Protect LDS Children campaign. That was the real beginning of the end for me, and within a matter of days, my shelf was broken. I learned things about the church I'd never known before, I found To A Mormon Man, Letter For My Wife, the CES Letter. It was all over. Most importantly, I got tired of trying to cut off the pieces of myself that would never fit into the box the church had designated for me." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"It was some relief that church was canceled in person during covid. However, the real issue was that I was still attending BYU at that point. I knew I couldn't bring myself to go to church again with how angry I was, and so I had a plan - I chose to work my one, 24 hour shift a week on Sundays, pretending I had no choice but to work that day due to scheduling. It was only because of this, and finding new community volunteering as an EMT on campus, that I survived those final couple years at BYU. I lost all the friends I had apart from coworkers and fellow volunteers, including friendships I'd had since before I could remember. But I made it out." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"I don't know what changed, but it was probably due to peer pressure from family and friends that that stage didn't last long. I threw myself full on into the church the way my family wanted. I went to BYU for my undergrad, served in young single adult relief society presidencies, and even took out my endowments at 21 without serving a mission or being engaged. I was the kind of person who would have spiritual talks with my friends for fun and would even go sit on the temple grounds singing hymns together." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"I'm the happiest I've ever been. After years of dealing with depression, self worth issues, and suicidal thoughts, I'm finally at peace with who I am and where I am." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"That all changed again, very rapidly considering how devout I was for so long. At the beginning of 2020, I had the realization that I was bisexual. I spent a few weeks frantically researching to try to find fellow bisexual mormons, and initially came to the conclusion that I could still be accepted if I only married a man and never explored that other side of me." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"I love drinking coffee and alcohol without any guilt. I have piercings and tattoos without shame. I wear what I want, when I want. I'm not ashamed of my sexuality, and I even enjoy doing boudoir photoshoots sometimes! My money is mine to do with as I want and need, and any volunteering or donating is done out of desire rather than peer pressure. I know that religion isn't what makes a person good or bad, and even though I'm still angry at the church, even though my family is still deep in the church with the exception of one of my older brothers, I try to keep my resentment from running my life." - Olivia's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/livandletlive/
"My father rarely attended church or activities in my teens. Our congregation and neighborhood consisted of families who were well off and secure in their finances who also had large families with lots of children. I believe the shame my father learned from his peers and the stark differences in family dynamics made a very uncomfortable environment for him. I believe that he was pressured and shamed by my mother because she was demanding for him alone to provide her fantasy life. In the Mormon culture I learned to judge and fear those people who are not part of the Mormon faith. I never viewed my father in a negative way, I had empathy for him and I trusted him. My mother made it vocally clear that the congregation especially the bishopric were pressuring her to convince my father to attend church and that she was frustrated and uncomfortable with it." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"My family has consistently struggled financially. When my brother and I were children my mother didn’t work and stayed at home as the Mormon religion promotes. My father always worked and his goal seemed to be focused on providing for his family. He had ambitions and was impressive in my eyes especially since he originated from a poor farm in Delta, Utah to becoming a refined car sales man in Salt Lake City." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"During my teens we lived in an undesirable house. It was not the typical cookie cutter Mormon family house and it was, at best a fixer upper. I believe that’s when my mother’s mental health turned for the worst because she couldn’t fit in and get the life she wanted fast enough. She wanted the cookie cutter Mormon life with a large house in a neighborhood and to have lots more children than what she had. All our anxieties were focused on the threat of going without essentials and I remember shameful periods of time that our electricity was actually shut off. Taking showers surrounded by mold and without any light while my mother pretended that nothing was wrong was very difficult." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"I believe that the childhood trauma that my mother experienced caused mental illness and resentment. Those experiences combined with the Mormon culture developed into abusive situations. My mother’s temper and emotions always seemed to rule our household. I’ve always known her to be emotionally distant, rarely nurturing or comforting especially with me and I can remember this treatment as early as 6 years old. The dysfunction in my close family became readily apparent during my teens. Backhanded compliments, silent treatment and passive aggressiveness towards me was a daily occurrence from my mother. I began to notice the contrasting behavior my mother had outside of the home. Smiling and pleasant as if there were no issues." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find Rosana's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/. There are hundreds 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 never liked church starting at the primary age. It was boring with weird stories with weird names and was a confusing language. Listening to the congregation sing was depressing it sounded like torture not a celebration of worship. I had crippling shyness and I didn’t like singing and I didn’t like dresses and I always felt pressure from my peers and the culture to be outgoing and share my testimony boldly. There weren’t real discussions about struggling with my beliefs or my family issues. The main message that came across was fitting in, being loyal and having strong faith. It seemed unacceptable if you or your family doubted any beliefs or weren’t fitting the Mormon mold." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"I was constantly told who I was supposed to be in this life, how I was supposed to act and feel and that never aligned with my soul. I was told to date a certain way, to get married a specific way to a specific type of person and I was supposed to make babies. I felt pressure to conform to church standards and believe things that I didn’t care about. I knew from a young age that I never wanted to birth children, I never wanted to be a mother… just look at the one I had. I was constantly told that bringing souls to earth was my overall life purpose by my church leaders. It was even in my patriarchal blessing! My mother always felt burdened by her kids except when it came to the topic of giving her grandchildren. She felt entitled to a better life but was unable or unwilling to go get it. I wasn’t going to follow her footsteps. I didn’t want to be with my family together forever." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"This is just the tip of the iceberg. It would take me through a temple marriage and a divorce, cutting ties with my family and up until age 28 to finally say “Enough!” and walk away from the torture of the Mormon religion. Realistic conversations, belief struggles and mental health topics need to be more common in any religion. Heaven knows it would have helped me." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"When I was in middle school my mother’s emotional abuse escalated towards me enough for her to start a physical fight once, I tried to fight her but ended up running off the property. I never fit in with my community and never considered anyone, any neighbors a true ally. I felt alone without any support. No one ever talked to me about my family issues. No one saw my mother’s abuse." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
"Both my parents grew up Mormon and so I inherited their beliefs by default. I was born and raised in Utah where my family was actively involved and attended the church and their activities consistently. My mother grew up in a large Mormon family being one of 12 children and my dad was also one of 9 children who grew up as Mormon. Needless to say they both suffered in their childhoods due to financial strains and a lack of nurturing attention. Looking back now, I had the same upbringing. I was a Mormon." - Rosana's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/rosanna1818/
