Hi, I'm Christopher.
I was a mormon.
Questions I've answered
How long was your struggle? More was mormon answers about 'How long was your struggle?'
Nearly twelve years from the time I read my first "anti-Mormon" website to the time I decided I was done with the church.
What was the response from your family when you left? More was mormon answers about 'What was the response from your family when you left?'
My parents were just like "Thanks for letting us know." One of my siblings who had already left years earlier reached out to talk about it for the first time.
What was the response from your ward when you left? More was mormon answers about 'What was the response from your ward when you left?'
I didn't make an announcement of it except to those I was close with, and they kept being my friends and welcoming me to hang out with them. My bishop asked if I wanted to have my records removed (which I didn't at that time but did a few months later) and said that if I could get closer to Christ somewhere else, I should go somewhere else.
What do you feel or know about the church's history/beliefs with race and the Priesthood? More was mormon answers about 'What do you feel or know about the church's history/beliefs with race and the Priesthood?'
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. 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. 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 either.