Our little family unit of FIVE have resigned from the Mormon Church now for over 20 years, but would attend our extended family reunions for much of that time. The reunions were hardly bearable by our children who were shunned by their Mormon cousins. Much of this time DH and I wondered outloud if the emotional pain was worth it. We attended less and less as the Mormons went on missions and married in Temples. I am happy to report that today, out of all the cousins, they are either inactive or have resigned from the church. I think maybe one or two are active. I don't expect an apology for previous actions of children, but I find much happiness that our early resignation had an influence on young impressionable minds. I write this in hopes of helping others who've endured Mormon Family Reunions!

I'm jealous.

I've been out nearly 20 years, officially for 7. I am unaware of any of my living Mormon relatives who may have discovered the joy of freedom from Mormonism. Perhaps I am wrong. I hope I am.

Congratulations on your growing family of true non-believers.

That's a success story and I am glad to hear your family saw the truth concerning Mormonism! I am jealous in a good way too!

I did not attend my family reunion this summer...my dad's side of the family. He is one of six kids and as far as I know all of their kids except three of my dad's are active. That's 2+1+10+4+5+5=27 total cousins(then you have to add in spouses and their kids,). I hope I am wrong also, and I will never use the I told you so thing...not just because none of my active siblings will hear me out, but because I will be sooo happy for them and there for them if they ever need anyone or thing to lean on....it is a painful process, especially if you suffer in silence. I had no one to talk to about me leaving....thank goodness for this little website. My two inactive/non-believer siblings don't care either. I seem to be the only one obsessed with the Mormon church, well besides you all :)!!

Nice to see Mormonisms turn on their head.

We are too used to hearing about one missionary in the 1920s converted mum and dad, and now 90 years later there are 167 living Mormons in four generations thanks to his efforts and bla bla bla yadda yadda bullshit.

Congratulations on your deconversion tree :)

I think it helps when they see our children went to good University's, and are well adjusted without the church. We had fewer children, didn't need to pay tithing, or pay for missions. In real-life terms Mormonism doesn't offer much. If nothing else, we set an example of freedom without saying much. Nothing succeeds like success. Looking back I think the children had no way to get away from the backward upbringing.

That is very happy news but sorry they were unkind to your kids as they grew up. Maybe one day they will talk about it. Hopefully your new reunions will be much more fun. Are any of the cousins parents out?

are still uber active. Most of my cousins are middle aged and are now going on couples missions.
All nieces and nephews except for one are active.
I think they are caught in the Utah transe, however, where they really don't realize that mormonism is a religion. They just think it is the way everyone IS.

My two sisters are die-hard TBM's but encourage having us in their lives. As long as we agree not to talk about religion, we get along alright. When they forget this boundary, I just get that constipated look, and change the subject. Will future reunions be improvements? I can't promise that my children are as forgiving as their mother, but who knows? The middle child was very sensitive, and to this day, avoids all people with a religious bent.

I don't go to my TBM family's reunions...no beer...I prefer the ones with my wife's Catholic Hungarian family...great food, good beer and lots of love!

Gotta hand it to Catholics, they know how to throw a party! And without them, there'd would be no beer...saints be praised! Lmao!

Congratulations!!!!
Revel in your victory! Now you can get together & have coffee! :)

Yes, it is satisfying to see some of the TBM relatives finally leaving.

I got an e-mail a couple of years ago from a TBM nephew, who has been married now for quite a while, with lots of kids. He wanted to write to me and to apologize for how he and his TBM siblings had always treated me whenever I visited their parents. He was apologizing, he said, because now he and his wife have left the church, and they are now treating him the way they treated me - cold, aloof, disinterested, disdainful.

He said that it wasn't anything personal - just the way they were brought up.

I found that odd, because his parents (my brother and his wife) were also TBM, but I always got along fine with them. And I was never treated that way by the TBM kids of my other TBM brother - they were always friendly and affectionate. (And they are all still TBM, and I get Christmas letters with personal notes from almost all of them)

Do you recommend resigning as a way to "impress" one's family members and friends and extended family?