...they just choose to live their lives differently. I guess because the family members I had that had left the church. Some watched conference each year. Others refused to say anything bad about Joseph Smith or BoM, but talked bad about present day church and prophets.
As I have drifted away, at first I still believed it was true, but it was corrupt or that God wasn't this great being that I always thought he was. Then I didn't care if it was true, because I didn't want to go to the Celestial kingdom anyways. Now, I really truly belief it is false.
It shocked me when I finally came to that conclusion. I am guessing alot of members feel the same way I did, and that is why there is the big push to reactivate, thinking if they just try harder eventually that person will come around.
Did anyone believe they way I did? That exmos did have a testimony they just didn't want to live it. How was it when you finally realized that just isn't true?

There is a vast difference between inactives who often still do believe and the exmo who no longer believes any of TSCC's claims.

The inactives have often bought into one of TSCC's biggest lies: that there are no problems with Smith or the church, the problem lies with the inactive individual. He is too lazy or weak to live the rules. He didn't try hard enough to gain a testimony. They usually console themselves that someday they'll get their act together and return to the one true church.

Exmos have concluded that all the church's claims are rubbish.

I was exed over 24 years ago for being gay.
I was not believing in the church at that time. But they still had a hold on me. I was believing in what they taught about the bible. About a year ago I went on line and found out what a fraud the cult is. I would not look at anything anti because they said not too. Boy, were my eyes opened. I do not believe in any thing they teach at all.

Maybe when I was a little girl, I believed Joseph Smith was a prophet. But as I got older (and was inactive ages 12 - 28), my attitude abotu the chruch was "Well, maybe its righteous, but this chruch is NOT the only means of getting in touch wiht God."

I had spent the night at a friends house when I was a teenager, and went went to HER chruch the next day. I found it to be much mroe fun that the LDS church, and I felt "the spirit" in her chruch just as much as I did LDS. So that clenched the deal for me tha tother chruches were blessed too.

Besides, doesn't it say in the bible, "Where 2 or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst." ???

However it doesn't say, "But only if its and LDS church..." So to me, that's a sign that as long as a group believes in god, and they are gathered in a place to talk about god-- then god is there among them.

I've only been to a total of 5 different churches in my life, the non-LDS ones were a one-time thing:

1- LDS when we were active
2- My sister's wedding in Kansas
3- My uncle Kevin's wedding in the CA bay area
4- My friend's church in high school
5- My own wedding in a tiny, non-LDS chapel

And I felt the spirit EQUALLY in each one. I listened to my heart, and that finally led me to believe that the LDS's stance on being "the only TRUE chruch" was false.

Then a few months ago, I left the chruch again, and started doing research on its history. I decided it was a cult, and came here to discuss this with others. It was a shock when I first figured it out, but... It wasn't so bad. I mean I can still believe in God and live a life that I consider decent. God was around long before the LDS chruch was, so there is no reason to stop believing in him, just because the chruch isn't "the one and only true church".

I'm VERY happy knowing that the idea of "Your family won't be together in heaven, and can't be with God, if they're not all sealed in a Mormon temple"-- is FALSE.

Come on, NOBODY (except a TBM with all TBM family members on all sides) would ever want to believe something like that. I think that's the biggest selling point for people to get out of the church, because half the members there are terribly worried and stressed about it. Thinking "Oh, I hope (name of non-LDS or inactive family member) joins the chruch or gets more active, otherwise we won't be with them in the afterlife..." Bla, bla, bla.

Its a HUGE load off your shoulders to know that is not true.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2010 10:47PM by melissa3839.