Hi, I'm Austin.
I enjoy True Crime documentaries, spending time at the beach, and hanging out with my family. I was a mormon.
About me
My family joined the church when I was 2. I was baptized at 8. I was sealed in the temple to my ex-husband when I was 20. I was ex-communicated for having an extramarital affair w/a woman when I was 29. I rejoined the church when I was 31. I had my temple blessing restored 18 months after I was re-baptized. I have 2 children who were born in the covenant. Both were blessed and baptized at 8. My son was ordained a Deacon and then decided that church wasn't for him and quit going. My daughter was married in the temple in 2018 and is still very active.
Why I left More answers about 'Why I left' the mormon church
I had my name removed from the records in 2015 when the Policy of Exclusion was leaked. That was the straw that broke the camels back. By that point, I had been "out" (as in as a gay person) for 11 years, and I was tired of being celibate and being told that I would be "fixed" in the next life, and that there was something inherently wrong with me. I was tired of having monthly worthiness interviews to make sure I wasn't doing anything inappropriate. I had also felt that my internal gender did not match the body I had been born with since I was little. It was constantly reiterated in conference and Sacrament talks that gender is eternal, and that mistakes are not made. However, it made me feel extremely suicidal to think that the only way I would ever be “right” was after I was dead. After I had my name removed, I started finding out about the fact that there were 4 different versions of the First Vision, and that Joseph had married 14 year olds. I found out about the "rock in the hat", and all of the REAL history of the church. My mind was blown and I was pissed. I couldn't believe I had believed all that crap for so many years.