I'm interested in others' 'conversion' stories, particularly in if they match up with my theory--that TSCC preys on the lonely, depressed, frustrated, searching, poor...etc., etc.

Like me! I was barely 21 when I converted and had had a hellish time in college. The hookup/drug culture there made me feel so lonely that I'd entered a deep depression--it wasn't the casual sex, per se, but the fact that I was expected to do it or not have any friends, as well as the general emptiness of it all, along with the incredible stress (I went to an Ivy and worked nearly full time all through school). The sleep deprivation and competition had just about driven me crazy and I wanted an escape. The Mormons seemed kind, genuine, actually interested in my life, and wholesome. They were always around and always accessible. For a depressed new graduate in a new city with no family around who had been searching for the "answer" for a long time--it was heaven. They talked about actual doctrine so little that I was caught up in the heady rush of having a million friends and a community all at once and baptized before I had a chance to read about it at all.

When I did--yikes.

What makes me really angry now is that I truly was aching for genuine human connection instead of constant texting/Facebook and partying and keeping up social appearances, of which I was exceedingly tired. They provided exactly the opposite. Everything was conditional and nothing they told me was true. But they could sense my weakness, and they preyed on it.

I was a bullied kid. School was a nightmare for me, as the bullying happened daily. I remember the first time the missionaries taught me about the First Vision. I was only 15, but I remember raising an eyebrow and going, "Oh, yeah?" I thought they were nuts.

But over time, I thought about the adults in the youth program. I thought, "They wouldn't lie to me, would they?"

The Mormon kids didn't bully me and I was part of a social group for the first time in my life. It didn't hurt that my best friend had already joined.

It still took about 5 sets of missionaries and about a year and a half for them to get me into the water, but I finally set aside my concerns and joined.

As a critical thinker and an introvert, I was never well-suited for Mormonism, but I sure gave it the old college try. For 30 years I tried. But it's for the best that I'm finally out now, for good.

Years ago,I recieved a bit of inheritance from grandparents that I never actually knew.I thought that,thru temple ceremony,I could actually meet them&thank them.Missionaries picked up on this&sold it.Then,I found this board,Mormonthink,et al.Ya'all saved my butt.I tithe by either giving change to any who ask,buy from local,mom&pop places&anything for war vets.

This is a wonderful and touching story, saved by the board.

Thank you.

:)

I was 14. Freshman in a new high school. I had a pushy sister that was already Mormon and took the lessons with her urging. I didn't really fit in w/any crowd at school. Father was never home. Add that all up and its a recipe for vulnerability. The artificial love bombing got to me. After the dunking, I found the BIC teenagers in my high school clickish, rude and judgmental. This was outside the morridor, out in the mission field. Somehow I ended up doing the mission thing and eventually marrying in the temple. It took me 32 years to get out.

I was sad. The missionaries introduced me to lots of friendly, and most importantly, seemingly HAPPY people. I attributed their happiness to the church. Funny thing, a lot of these people who I thought were so happy in the church are now inactive or have left completely.

I was a young single woman who had just moved to a new state for my job. My next door neighbor was LDS and we became great friends. Her whole social circle were young LDS singles and they welcomed me to the group.

Although I had been raised in a church, I had lost interest through my college years, always feeling like I'd go back eventually. I was at that point in my life when I moved; so I was ready to go to church again.

The happiness these people had because of their sincere love of God and Jesus impressed me. I believed that God could do anything, even appear to a 14 year old boy. I got the internal feelings that the missionaries taught me was the Holy Ghost. I felt I received a testimony, and then I needed to have the integrity to follow through on what God was telling me.

I was totally faithful and active for almost 35 years. As God led me to the church, he also led me away. I figure this is all part of my journey through life.

However, since I've left in spirit (if not by record), I've developed doubts about the reality of Jesus and the Bible stories, etc. Now I don't know if there really is a plan for my life, or if I'm just floating along making it up as I go along. It's more difficult not feeling the security that comes from "knowing" what is true, but I believe it's more authentic.

I have no idea where I'll go from here.

That IS part of your life/spiritual journey. God leads you to the place/faith that is right for YOU at a particular time. That is what my faith (Hare Krishna) teaches but it is a common principle shared by many. Trust God and just "go with the flow" - see where He leads you next. :-)

Yes, God acts and guides us in mysterious ways. It is almost as if he doesn't exist at all and our paths are determined by a combination of random events, the actions of those around us, and our own actions/decisions. That is the beauty and grandeur of our mysterious, if not sometimes tricky and malicious, god.

I didn't have a single friend. A lot of people had used me for sex. I didn't have a car, so they were my only method of transportation.

I didn't actually "convert" (as I was not baptised in the faith) but I was an "investigator" for quite a while prior to accepting my now chosen faith. At the time I had concerns about, and later had already rejected, certain tenets of the faith in which I had raised, and was searching for a new faith.

I was quite impressed by the few Mormons in my life - with their good qualities as people as well as their faithful qualities as believers. Of course not all people of any faith will be like a few whom you encounter, and I knew that, but I did consider that their faith might have contributed to their positive development, and in several ways, I wanted to be like that.

In retrospect, I did also have a difficult relationship with my family and was raised in an overly restrictive household which may have negatively affected me at the time, but that motivation for exploring the faith was secondary to my desire to find my new faith and to learn the Truth.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring Mormonism and learning about its beliefs and practices. I did have some concerns, but the beliefs intrigued me and I continued to explore further.

But I decided that I could not commit to a faith without properly understanding its beliefs and practices and fully knowing what I was getting into before I committed to the faith. Eventually I decided not to commit to the Mormon faith.

I will also add that certain specific beliefs of Mormonism seem to be quite hope-giving. But real hope-giving beliefs must be of a genuine source to give true hope.

I was 15 years old, my mother had died 3 months before I met any missionaries. They told me about "Eternal Families". The small branch I was attending in England became family in a very short time, I had wonderful older ladies who quickly became mother figures to me. I felt at home with these lovely people (and yes they really were lovely).
38 TBM years later, I found out about Joseph and his merry wives club, it all came tumbling down .... once I realized what a fake he was, the rest just fell. 11 months later hubby and I resigned. Life got better, it was very painful at first. All the fears of Mormonizm have left me now, I search for my own answers and question everything. But there is life after the church.

The false impression of happiness in TSCC.

Most of the so called "happy" families had so many problems with suicide, drugs, violence in the home, divorce, extreme materialistic behavior, buying off children to perform in church & school, alienation from non-members, a superior attitude above all others and incredibly high expectations placed upon their children to succeed.

When I joined the underlying truth was, who are your parents?
Are they temple attending members? No? "Ban her from ever dating anyone from a good TSCC family!"

Why did I join?

I was an idiot.

I had that experience too...all the nice Mormon boys I met as an investigator and new member never wanted to date me. They all wanted a Molly Mormon, which I definitely was not. My "non member" family was a bit of a deal breaker.

My sister died, and I wanted to know I could see her again. A mormon family in our neighborhood asked if the mishies could come give us comfort. I ended up converting.

I left the church. I didn't resign but went completely inactive after going through the temple. Freaky experience.

And then, my sister died tragically. I was devastated and depressed. The Mormons swarmed and kept saying things like I had to be active in the gospel, wear garments and do temple work if I EVER wanted to see her again.

I went back to church. I wore those nasty garments. But I refused to go back to the temple. My husband was afraid he'd lost me to the church forever. I eventually came back to my senses and the next time I left the church, I resigned.

Grief has a nasty way of clouding your judgment.

I had a dream. Explanation elsewhere.

Temporary insanity.

In defense of converts:

Steve Hassan points out that people don't join cults, cults actively recruit people. Cults exploit people who are in temporary difficult circumstances or in a transitional phase of life. They deliberately give only a rosey view of their organization and pointedly discourage the potential recruit from investigating information from other sources. They will even lie because the ends justify the means.

It's easy to dismiss converts as dumb, easily fooled rubes, but that is unfair.

My daughter converted at 18. She was always the child who needed her hand held in new circumstances and when she went to college she stilled needed that reassurance but didn't want it to be us anymore. She was a straight arrow kid who didn't drink or do drugs, so her lifestyle fit right in with her Mormon friends. She was a bright girl on a full-ride scholarship. But they fooled her, they lied, they love-bombed her.

Admittedly, she isn't a deep "what is the meaning of life?" thinker and it all sounded so good. She really wanted it to be true.

Is your daughter still in?

notamormon Wrote:
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> Is your daughter still in?


Yes but not very active. I think she would be out except she met and married TBM/RM (in the SLC temple, another story). He's a wonderful guy and pretty liberal by Mormon standards. They even let me stash a jar of instant coffee in their kitchen for when I visit.

I also joined the Church my freshman year in college; there was a Mormon girl on my floor who went out of her way to talk to me and invite me to activities. An FHE game night became a church service became a meeting with the missionaries, etc. I also met lots of other older singles (I mean older than 18 year old me), who seemed interested in being my friend. It felt homey, and I think that's what did it. I've told many people that being a Mormon feels great on the inside, but once on the outside you can see it's surrounded by barbed wire and you can be easily bruised.

I joined when I was a teen. I had a good friend who was a member. The missionaries seemed like good guys. I was raised in a Christian home, so the superficial things that the missionaries taught seemed to make sense. I found that miraculously I was very interesting, popular, and had a wealth of new friends in the church. When they asked me how praying about the book of Mormon felt, I said I felt calm and peaceful. They said that the spirit was testifying that it was true. Well, that made sense to me. I just did not have the critical thinking ability to know that I had walked into a carefully planned trap.

I joined because I believed it was true. It all made sense to me, and not only that, but they could answer questions no one else could.
I wasn't in deep pain, or anything. It was were I was at that time in my life.

I was 16 when I joined the church. I came from a very abusive and violent home and I felt loved and accepted by the ward.

I was 9 when the Osmonds were in their hey day in the UK and I was completely bowled over by them. Their PR for the church was v clever and I bought it hook line and sinker. I was an only child from a poor family and their lives, and the church, looked like a magical wonderland to me.

Sod's law, when I started secondary school, there was a mormon boy in my class and I begged him to let me go to church with him.

Joined the church soon after and was ultra TBM for thirty years, I truly believed.... went through young women's, seminary, went on a mission, married an RM. Even my mum was baptised, the year before my mission.

When I look back I see a lonely little girl who couldn't resist the 'perfect' world the Osmonds presented.

Hasa diga eebowai.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2014 05:45AM by clairefergie.

I was just thinking that it may be one reason why many converts don't stay in the Church.

If they constantly seek out people who are vulnerable and are searching for something and then get them baptized, then once their situation improves and they don't need the Church anymore, they leave.