When you are a TBM, you live and breathe fear and superstition. I still have some left over qualms as I found out a few months ago. DH and I figured that we might as well get rid of our garments. I said: Whadda think if I cut them all up and then put 'em in the garbage? Any last regrets?" He said,no go ahead,so off he went to work,leaving me alone with the job to be done. I gathered them in a big pile,with my sturdy scissors and garabage bag for encouragement. I figured that cutting them up would prevent us from changing horses in the middle of the stream, because I sure couldn't stitch them back together again afterwards. I stared at that pile for a good half-hour. "Good Lord, I'm terrified of a pile of cloth!" I started in and finally got the bag all loaded up. The walls of the house hadn't collapsed on top of me, no comet came hurdling on the house to stop my unhallowed hand. Not even an angel with a drawn sword appeared to tell me to knock it off! I let the sin be upon the garbage can. Did it! Walked off of superstition cliff and had a soft landing, at least so far. Has anyone else experienced irrational fears when you decided you were done with the church?

Nice :) Me, I tore mine into pieces by hand, and then used them as car wash rags for months. I got some small satisfaction from getting them all dirtied up with grease and grime :)

Of course I had my "superstitious fear" moments. The mormon indoctrination runs deep, and is very effective.

Mine mostly came when I started drinking alcohol (in moderation...most of the time!), worrying that somebody mormon would see me.

And it took years (and some very understanding, patient partners) for me to have a decent non-married sex life.

I'd like to think that I have no irrational fears when it comes to TSCC, but.....a couple of years ago, I took my garments and put them in a black plastic garbage bag. Your story reminded me that I still haven't thrown that bag away. Trash day is next Tuesday.

I just put them in the trash, but if I could do it over again I'd cut them into strips to use as toilet paper. What else can you do about a religion that's built from the sheer audacity of a con man and perpetuated by hubris?

I kept them in a drawer even after I stopped wearing them. One day I was particularly upset about polygamy and polyandry, and how some of my family members think that God commanded it.

I took some scissors, and started violently cutting, saying things like "Take that, Joseph Smith! Take that Brigham Young!" and so on- John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Eliza Snow, etc. It was very satisfying. Then I threw them in the smelly garbage.

Thanks! I'm glad I was home alone ;)

Yeah, the cliff is often just an uneven spot in the floor.

I'm a FIRM believer (sorry HIE!) in individuals working out their own framework and timelines for exiting. Here's what my timeframe looked like:

1. 30 years ago, I tossed all church books into a dumpster and trashed them. Mrs. Boner was furious and demanded to know where I put them. I said I had donated them at DI. She went down and talked to the manager who told her the moment church books hit the shelves they were purchased. I didn't want to donate them to DI because shit like that was better put in a landfill.

2. 30 years ago, I took the garments and cut out the marking and burned them in authorized manner. I threw the rest of the cloth away.

3. 28 years ago, Mrs. Boner was furious at me for not wearing garments. We separated because of this. When I moved back home, I thought I would go buy the garments, if I needed to, even though I didn't believe in them. It became moot because she was now used to me wearing boxer-briefs.

4. 28 years ago, I thought I would keep my King James Bible and triple combination but I decided to chuck them too. I simply tossed them into the trashcan because I didn't want him anything to do with religion. Eventually, I bought a modern translation of the Bible when I felt that I wanted to read it.

5. Many years later my wife found the little overnight bag with my temple clothes in it and gave them to me. I carried them around the back of my car trunk. Finally in Las Vegas I saw the perfect stinky gross dumpster and toss them unceremoniously into the dumpster can.

6. 27 years ago, I started learning how to enjoy beer, being earthy, and engaging in copious amounts of cussing!

7. 15 years ago, I joined another church (something I said I wouldn't do).

8. 3 or 4 years ago, I started posting here.

9. 2 years ago, I officially resigned.

The Boner's Progress.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2017 03:17PM by BYU Boner.

One of the first things I did was cut up my temple costume.

It was a cold day, but the sun was shinning through the windows. I sat in the sunshine and cut the cult outfit into little pieces. When I was done, the sun was still shinning. It was like getting a thousand pounds off of my back.

I saved the apron to put on the flag pole. I used to hang it up the last two days of every month. I think it worked. The VT's quit showing up.

Ha-ha-Ha-ha-ha!! Ericka!

We have a new method of keeping away the VT's!

Thank you for this thread, Valkyriequeen!
--"I let the sin be upon the garbage can." Beautiful!

I made an unceremonious ritual (if there's such a thing) of getting rid of my garments, too. It was a beautiful, sunny fall Monday, and Monday was Garbage Day. I made my first cup of coffee ever (added whole milk and vanilla), and threw the garments, whole, markings and all, into the garbage bag, on top of some used kitty litter. As an inspired afterthought, I threw in the coffee grounds on top of the garments. I sealed up the bag, and put it into the garbage can at the curb, waited inside by the window, and sipped my coffee--and watched the garbage truck pick up the can, and dump out the whole mess. I was laughing at the relief! Never has a cup of coffee tasted so good!