much like flashbacks, are causing me to gasp at the terrible decisions I made in my youth due to counsel at the hands of the LDS. Some of it was from the uncorrelated, in the 70's. Both correlated and uncorrelated gave me advice which I often interepreted as "inspired by the Holy Ghost" or "the Spirit speaking". Not always, but frequently. I made horrific decisions that messed up my life in many ways. As a teen, I still had a lot of magical thinking. Perhaps due to the home background of abuse? I saw the priesthood, spiritual discernment, Mormon Holy Ghost as easily divining inspiration directly from God, there for my taking. I don't think I got this completely out of my head until my late twenties! By then, I had a child and had to get into the real world. I was never very active at church again, only attending enough and doing just enough to be seen as (barely) active. There were swaths of time when I just didn't attend. But instead of blaming the church for misleading me, I blamed myself for not "getting it" right. Not a a vulnerable, emotionally messed up case who was preyed upon, especially by the uncorrelated.

It would have helped if Mormons had had some trained people to help guide me.

Oh gosh. You're not alone. Go easy on yourself. You're OK. You did what thousands of other people have done and still do. They join up with a group, in this case a religion, and think it's going to work for them, and eventually, it's clear, that it doesn't.

I did that. Fortunately, I have a great family as a result. We've all left Mormonism and created our own lives.
We all had very different experiences, but all came to the same conclusion. I need to change my mind and get out. And we did, each one in their own time.

Now is a great time for you. You are creating your own life on your own terms. Let the past go. You don't live there anymore. Today is a great day !

My family of origin was a disaster, which is why I got mixed up in Mormonism in the first place. But my husband is good and left along with me.

I still feel silly, that I believed in Mormon Magicalism in the first place. The concept of the Holy Spirit in other churches is totally different from Magical Mormon Holy Ghost.

Josephina


I hear ya. We joined when my younger brother was in a juvenile camp. Mother fell for her Mormon friend's praise of their good youth group. We took the lessons, got baptised, and he never joined. She stayed a believer.

I try to see the humor in the metaphysical beliefs. Get a good laugh out of it. I had a lot of fun with my visuals! Some were a little naughty! :-) But oh so healing!

I remember the seminary teacher setting up a structure that fell down, which is what she said is what would happen to the church if the Book of Mormon turned out not to be true. The Book of Mormon is the Keystone...

Anyone who honestly researches the facts knows the truth now. It can't be hidden anymore. Anyone who stays in Mormonism is under delusion, like I was in the 70's.

I remember the magic that paying tithing was supposed to bring. Disneyland results! I remember the crazy tithing stories. If you stopped paying, your life was supposed to turn into disaster until you again paid, which would return you to Disneyland.

Your last sentence is great advice for anyone with a difficult past!

The magical thinking is one of the hardest things to undo in my opinion.