The church was more a corporate business than a church for Rebecca. The church teachings did not reflect God or Love, rather they were shallow and manipulative. “I have come to realize so much about the construct of the Church and how it was designed for misery and compliance- it was designed as a business, …
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Debbie could no longer teach her primary children as well as her own children the things that she herself did not believe. She refused to be a part of the mormon brain-washing culture. “I found myself correcting my child’s church lessons to what I wanted her to learn. I.e. you are not chewed gum or …
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Alan found it impossible to reconcile the truth and science with the church and all the anti-truth he found there. “I was born and raised in the church. I was taught from a young age to value truth over all other considerations. Truth was more important than feelings, authority, or friends. As I grew up …
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As a member of the church and also a gay person, the November policy of exclusion in 2015 was the last straw for Austin. “I had my name removed from the records in 2015 when the Policy of Exclusion was leaked. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. By that point, I had …
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Jim methodically studies each truth claim of the church and found them all lacking. Each pillar truth claim the church makes is demonstrably false. The church keeps proclaiming these “truths”, in effect pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. He was then able to write a whole series of books detailing many of his findings! “Day …
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Autumn struggled with the church’s policy of exclusion in 2015 when considering her newly out brother. She could not reconcile denying companionship to so many others. “My older brother came out to me as gay on my 19th birthday. Just a month later, the Church’s Policy of Exclusion, or the November Policy, was publicly revealed. …
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Brandon dug into church history to help a friend resolve concerns and ended up finding concerns of his own. He was disheartened not that no one had answers, but the marginalization he found in even asking the questions! “I had a close friend leave the church and I decided to learn more about my own …
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Sydney found the CES letter both devastating and relieving. She followed up with her most sincere prayer ever but received no answer. There’s only one conclusion at that point. “I did my research, from sources inside the church and out. The breaking point, as I’m sure it was for many, was the CES letter. I …
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Ella bravely considered the scary question. “What if the church isn’t true?” In the end, everything makes more sense once we consider that conclusion. “I finally had the thought; What if it isn’t true? I’d read the gospel topics essays when they came out. I’d served a mission. I’d seen miracles and felt the gift …
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Jordan found happiness in authenticity, even though it meant leaving the mormon church behind. “It never felt congruent with who I knew I was internally. It felt inauthentic to my internal reality.” “I have never been as happy as I am now that I am allowed to be the person that I always knew I …
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Jude found the absurdity when BYU instructors ridiculed him for now fully grasping mormon theology and dove in deep. “when I went to BYUI for my sophomore year of college, I got CALLED OUT by my accounting professor who spent like 80% of our accounting class preaching. How dare I not know the answers to …
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Jim isn’t the only profile to mention the “Dark night of the soul” experienced during a faith crisis. He shows resilience in growing through it while also admitting that it does take some time. “To have been forced into a “Dark night of the soul” was, at first, devastating. But it did teach me to …
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Katie cuts to the chase with the simple acknowledgment that mormon culture is toxic. It’s not worth staying, she doesn’t even have to consider the other reasons. “Why I left: The culture is toxic.” Continue reading the full wasmormon profile at https://wasmormon.org/profile/ktsheets/ Find on social media:
Robbie feels abandoned by God when leaders promise blessings and nothing happens. His only relief is found in accepting that there are only men playing god. “I looked at my watch — they had started my disciplinary council at 7pm and it was now midnight. I went home to a cold dark house. Despite my …
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Nate has two issues and could potentially forgive the first (the church being fictional) if not for the second issue of the church just didn’t work for him. It is fiction and it also doesn’t work. “Besides it being completely fictional, the church just did not work for me.” Continue reading the full wasmormon profile …
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Shelby knows that if she wasn’t born into the church, there’s no way she would believe it. Tradition keeps many people in the church. Luckily, her husband stumbled on the CES letter and she didn’t take much convincing after reading it. “I’d always said ‘If I wasn’t born into it, I wouldn’t believe it.’ I …
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Becca admits that her shelf was loaded with questions and her church leaders were not comfortable with them. Presumably, because they couldn’t answer them, and even permitting space to ask them was too risky for them. The CES letter was bold enough to answer these questions. “I always had more questions than my leaders were …
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Olivia noticed that the promises from the church were empty as she did everything asked and saw the double standard applied to leaders and founder Joseph Smith. He didn’t live the sexual standards of the church. “My main concern has been sexuality— how it’s controlled in the personal lives of members, especially those who are …
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Beth could not rationalize the mental gymnastics required to stay mormon. “My faith transition was not something I took lightly. I spent several painful years trying to make the church work for me. Over time, it became more and more difficult to defend and justify certain things about church history, doctrine, teachings, and culture. I …
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We’ll start spotlighting profiles in the blog section with some memorable quotes in graphics format. First up, a concise snippet from Francis. He found that the church was not what it claimed to be. Remaining a mormon would require betraying his own values. “My reasons for leaving the church are most succinctly explained this way: …
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The honest investigator must be prepared to follow wherever the search of truth may lead. Truth is often found in the most unexpected places. He must, with fearless and open mind insist that facts are more important than any cherished, mistaken beliefs, no matter how unpleasant the facts or how delightful the beliefs. Hugh B …
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The church struggles to understand the exmormon community. That is, if they even have the intention of understanding. They are quick to vilify and dismiss those who have chosen to leave. Church leaders have even resorted to calling exmormons names. They try to control the narrative about those who leave. They try to “tell our …
It’s not that mormons are suffering from a faith crises, but rather, it’s the church that is suffering from a truth crisis. As members are learning actual truth rather than the faith promoting narrative taught by the church their faith ends up being dismantled and/or deconstructed. The truth, as it were, is found to destroy …
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The current president of the mormon church, Russell M Nelson, shared a thought in the October 2020 General Conference. After the world has dealt with the pandemic of Covid-19 and the US is in the throes of a heated election cycle, and much of the world is facing a racial reckoning and awakening, the self-proclaimed …
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Must there be a purpose to have a meaningful life? Some of us find purpose and meaning in a faith transition after navigating groundlessness of a faith crisis and stages of grief. Others still debate whether this purpose is objective or subjective to each of us. Can we have different purposes? Is there one universally …
Many people have as their main defense of Mormonism is that it gives them purpose and meaning. “The church is good or useful for me so I stay.” Those who find it useful may or may not be all in believers, they might or might not drink deeply of the kool-aid. We each have a …
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There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith promoting or not. Some things that are true are not very useful. Elder Boyd K Packerhttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/the-mantle-is-far-far-greater-than-the-intellect?lang=eng#subtitle2 Not everything that’s true is useful. Elder Dallin H Oakshttps://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/elder-oaks-interview-transcript-from-pbs-documentary There have been many statements …
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In response to those who wonder why mormons who leave the church and then speak out against it and echo the phrase: “You can leave the church, but you can’t leave it alone.” Glenn L. Pace, Follow the Prophet, General Conference, April 1989https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/follow-the-prophet As mormons, we have been taught to share truth. That desire and …
You have almost certainly heard of the “shelf” if you’re Mormon. This wasmormon.org site lists many of these shelf items and questions that users have responded to. Check it out, do you share any of these shelf items or want to contribute with your own story? If you aren’t familiar with the Mormon shelf, the …
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In honor of Star Wars day, I wanted to spotlight the moment of betrayal from Obi Wan and the parallel to my own faith crisis. Today is May the Fourth, also known as Star Wars Day – due to the “May the Force”, be with you pun. One thing we can learn from the prequel …
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