Brandon Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight

Brandon saw the lack of social justice in the church as inexcusable. When the November policy of exclusion was leaked, he had to stand with his conscience and leave. He even hopes he would have done the same for his black brothers and sisters before the priesthood ban was lifted.

I served a mission and got married in the temple. I was fully active and believing until around age 30. I was a mormon. — The biggest problems for me were (1) race and the priesthood and (2) the church’s ongoing fight against LGBTQ individuals. Even though my beliefs went from literal, to nuanced, to completely non-literal, I still very much wanted to stay in the community and I remained active with a temple recommend. When the November 2015 policy was leaked, everything changed. I had often asked myself what I would have done if I had been living in the days prior to 1978. I would like to think that I would have spoken out about racial injustice in the church, but I can never be sure. When the 2015 policy came out I thought, “what would I do right now if I had a gay child?” The answer was obvious to me, I would immediately leave the church without hesitation. So my wife and I left, and we have never once regretted it. – Brandon

The weight on my shelf had been growing for years. Until around 2012 I had been fairly good at leaving the issues there, having faith, reading apologetics, and trying to feel the spirit more. But the more I read, the more I struggled. I finally got to a point where I stopped brushing aside all of the things that didn't make sense to me, and I stopped caring whether or not an information source was "approved of". — The biggest problems for me were (1) race and the priesthood and (2) the church’s ongoing fight against LGBTQ individuals. Even though my beliefs went from literal, to nuanced, to completely non-literal, I still very much wanted to stay in the community and I remained active with a temple recommend. When the November 2015 policy was leaked, everything changed. I had often asked myself what I would have done if I had been living in the days prior to 1978. I would like to think that I would have spoken out about racial injustice in the church, but I can never be sure. When the 2015 policy came out I thought, “what would I do right now if I had a gay child?” The answer was obvious to me, I would immediately leave the church without hesitation. So my wife and I left, and we have never once regretted it. – Brandon

“I served a mission and got married in the temple. I was fully active and believing until around age 30. I was a mormon.
The weight on my shelf had been growing for years. Until around 2012 I had been fairly good at leaving the issues there, having faith, reading apologetics, and trying to feel the spirit more. But the more I read, the more I struggled. I finally got to a point where I stopped brushing aside all of the things that didn’t make sense to me, and I stopped caring whether or not an information source was “approved of”.
The biggest problems for me were (1) race and the priesthood and (2) the church’s ongoing fight against LGBTQ individuals. Even though my beliefs went from literal, to nuanced, to completely non-literal, I still very much wanted to stay in the community and I remained active with a temple recommend.
When the November 2015 policy was leaked, everything changed. I had often asked myself what I would have done if I had been living in the days prior to 1978. I would like to think that I would have spoken out about racial injustice in the church, but I can never be sure. When the 2015 policy came out I thought, “what would I do right now if I had a gay child?” The answer was obvious to me, I would immediately leave the church without hesitation.
It became clear to me that I could no longer participate in an organization that persistently attacks those I care about. I knew that the fallout for leaving from friends and family members would be brutal and agonizing, but I simply could no longer stomach the revulsion I felt from the actions of the institution. So my wife and I left, and we have never once regretted it.”
Brandon

Continue reading the full wasmormon profile at https://wasmormon.org/profile/brandon-bridge/

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