On a good day, I couldn't care less about what happens to the church. At least I don't feel much emotion about it on those days. On a bad day, I feel the same way as ozpoof does (want to see the church crash and burn). For me, I can see that as I recover, that the anger is replaced more and more by an objective desire to rid society of something that is bad for all of us. There's a significant difference in these motives. Maintaining a desire for revenge over the long-term is very difficult and carries a big personal cost. The desire to make the world be a better place to live in, can be an uplifting theme of a person's life. It can make you a better person.
So along with making financial donations to worth-while charities, along with donating my time to good causes, I also look for new methods and opportunities to expose religious organizations that exploit people and to reverse that damage where possible. On one hand, compared to the average person (though no compared so much to everyone else here), I see myself as uniquely qualified to do this. The job can be thankless and can even go unrecognized. But that's truely okay with me. It's like my United Way donation. I know that I am contributing to a worthy cause whether or not I ever personally see the results or not.
So you can give up the anger while not giving the church a pass on all of the evil they've done and that they continue to do. I haven't mastered the process yet. But I am getting happier as I head in that direction. If the television cameras ever point at me and I am asked about the Mormon church, I've got a story to tell. If a friend ever asks me about the Mormon church, I 'll tell the same story. In either case, the story will be truthful and will hopefully help prevent others from experiencing the negative things that I have experienced. In the mean time, I have a fulfilling life to live.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2014 12:22PM by azsteve.
I've got one of the most intensive in-your-face personal experiences with how the cult destroys families, they turned my wife (29 faithful yrs) & children against me.
TSCC conditions ppl to do as they're told, in the name of obedience; That's all.
No focus on Values, none whatsoever, yet they claim to follow Christ, that's the ultimate lie.
Just a little word of advice: hate will turn you into what you hate.I don't think most people realize that. A heavy level of negativity will eat you up. The best thing for you is to find a way to let go, and live a life with a positive, grateful attitude. All we can control is our own life and sometimes some of it is out of our control. The only way to live, in my experience, is in peace and harmony, with humor and love, treating others the way you want to be treated.
Most healthy minds can loathe and despise the despicable without being consumed by it. I prefer a full range of honest emotions rather than turning a blind eye to harmful things that exist.
Many great leaders have conquered injustices and brought bigotry and unfairness to the ground and yet not become the same.
Strong emotions used wisely with class and restraint are a powerful tool while suppression is actually reinforcement.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2014 12:55PM by blueorchid.
You are beautiful, SuzieQ. Thanks for being a peacemaker.
But there is a time for peace and a time to fight for truth. You can't treat people like you want to be treated if you love the truth and they only want to be fed bull puckey. There's a natural conflict there.
I agree, though, that anger is usually counterproductive. Humor is more useful, and Mormonism provides plenty of that.
The cult stole my life, and now I want it to crash and burn.
I'm pretty hardcore Christian, so you might think that I would be content to just walk away and move on with my new religious path...
But I want it to crash and burn. Just as Jesus attacked the scribe and pharisees at every opportunity, I feel the need to see the cult exposed for the twisted and perverted fo of Christianity that it is.
Jesus said my yoke is light. The Mormon yoke is destructive in so many ways.
As a Christian I also feel that unless a false prophet repents and makes full disclosure of their lies, coverups... They will have to suffer for the harm they have caused others. You can't take advantage of, use, lie to, manipulate, shame others and get away with it. Jesus saw right through the scribe and pharisees and he will see right through these lieing deceptive 15 old f,ers.
My version of Christianity is one of mercy AND justice. They took my life from me, and they will pay. For me as a victim of a cult, I will be anxiously looking forward to watching them try to keep their sinking ship afloat.
I want to able to have a normal conversation with my family again where my opinion and life experiences count and are not just seen as misguided. That would be a wonderful gift that would end an ache in my heart.
The crashing and burning of the Mormon church would go along way toward achieving that dream.
I wish I could have normal conversations with my family too. Leaving the church has made me realize just how little they have to talk about that is not church related. :(
Me too. But it won't crash and burn. It's more of an erosion. The brethren are in constant damage control mode. It must be exhausting for them to keep this thing alive.
I thought I was pretty much recovered. I absolutely wasn't because I was in denial of being who I am inside.
The cult is to blame for that. I denied who I was for my entire life because to them it was wrong & unacceptable. To them, who I was inside also didn't exist. It was a supposed "figment". To them, all I was doing was choosing to sin, & denying "God" & his "plan". I was in denial even though I was a completely unbelieving NOM, because I was dead scared, & couldn't think for myself when it came to who I really was.
Yes, I want nothing more than for the cult to fucking implode.
I'm with azsteve and blue orchid pretty much. I want it gone in the same way that I want anything which harms society gone. The CULT to me is like Ebola. The faster it is gone completely from the earth, the better.
I would like to see my family members and have a conversation without hearing what the HTs or VTs or Monsoon or someone in the freaking ward did or said and how wonderful it all is. And I hate the phrase "He/She is a member," in that tone that indicates that He/She walks on water since they are A MEMBER and I'm not. If I never had to hear that phrase again, I'd love that. And talking to the family without hearing "Sister or Brother So and So." I think the original reason the CULT called everyone Sister and Brother is due to the incest which was so rampant that everyone was related! If that doesn't make you gag, then maggots on your dinner plate won't either.
When smallpox was eradicated a while back, scientists kept a smallpox virus stash in a freezer (just in case they ever needed to make more vaccine.) Good thing that they did that since smallpox is not gone completely due to our global environment.
So, what they need is a vaccination for the CULT (and Scientology, JW and 7th Day-ists). When anyone like JS starts talking like a false profit trying to create another CULT, everyone gets a vaccination against it. Or just have one as part of the vaccinations most all babies get.
First we need a pharmaceutical that un-brainwashes people so that they resign. I put this on another post but it applies here too. "Take TWO of these each morning for 6 days and on the 7th day, mail in your resignation letter." YEESSS!
The pharmaceutical could be called "cogdisbegone."
The vaccination could be called "cultfreeforlife."
I'm thinking someone on this board could think of better names for these. Ideas?