And in every other aspect of life, they lead the way. From one generation to the next, that is how change becomes possible.

"Only if the younger generation does things that the parents never imagined possible, can a society evolve."
~Sadhguru

Or, as one of the brethren confessed a few years ago, it takes only one generation of disbelief to kill the church.

And I think it takes only a year or two away from the pressure and coercion of family, and away from the indoctrination machine, for young people to decide they don't want to be part of the church. That's why they dropped the missionary age. Don't let the guys have a year on their own. Go straight from home to mission and then marriage.

Each of my children have left the cult.

The oldest, a RM, has left. He's the one that TSCC placed for adoption through its LDSSS program as an infant when I was a teenager. But at least he is OUT despite his contrary TBM family.

My other two that I raised are both irrevocably out as well. So that is a step in the right direction for this sixth generation Mormon lass.

Why is "Video Killed The Radio Star" now playing in my head?

Because realization trumps recognition!

Hahahaha. Now we are both pulling our legs together in a circular motion.

My children are not following Mormonism, and I am grateful that they have moved on in their lives without it. But you don't know how much I hurt that I raised them with this crap. I really needed that tithing money to help pay for the "extras" (beyond basic needs) that children do need in order to thrive while growing up. When I tried to talk with my Mormon friend about it, she said that she had struggled too. But then after paying tithing, "miracles" happened so that she could pay for her children's activities after all. I had paid tithing faithfully for years, but no miracle had happened. It especially hurt when she cheerfully explained a miracle that had happened to pay for her child's need for music lessons. She had been tempted to use tithing money to pay, but faithfully had paid the tithing after all. Lo and behold, this wonderful, unexpected event happened, and her child got the music lessons. How did I feel? I had paid my tithing as usual, my talented daughter needed music lessons, but nothing miraculous ever happened to enable her to get them. Other kids had already snatched up the very limited scholarship funds. Why had God favored my friend's child over mine?

Looking back, I believe it was the well off and doting grandparents that paid for my friend's children's activities. My kids didn't have any non-abusive grandparents. God does not dispense miracles according to tithing payments handed to the Mormon Corporation.

Mormons are adept at passing around tithing miracle stories. They don't admit when a loving relative helps, but in my experience that is what usually happens when a child needs something and the parent is lacking the money (because they pay a full tithing). You are expected to believe the same old story--pay the tithe and God will send the miracle. There is a lack of integrity in this area.

Agreed. My family's needs were met as well or better after we stopped attending TSCC and I stopped paying tithing to the cult.

That was money that would've been better spent on my family during their formative years. We were misguided, and didn't know any better. The cult didn't need those funds as much as our families, that's for sure.

Nor did it appreciate them the same. Or single parents raising children in TSCC. We were routinely discriminated at the cult because I worked outside the home and was a divorcee. Instead of praising me for not being a welfare mom, I was ostracised for being self-supporting. Crazy assed priorities of a cult that was.

Leaving was one of the most freeing events of my life. TSCC is a mind f*ck big time.

I had a horrible Junior High school memory because I couldn't afford basic school supplies due to tithing. When I started 7th grade, I only purchased half of the school supplies. I remember using a worn out Trapper Keeper that I had used the previous school year. In the supply list was a list of required math tools that were necessary for the math class. The list required a parent signature that acknowledged that I needed 3 tools to be successful: metric ruler, metal protractor and a compass. Luckily, I had the ruler and protractor, but needed to buy the compass.

For a couple of months, I got by without the compass. However, the class started measuring angles and I couldn't do the work. I told Mom and she told me that I had to wait because she had just done "tithing settlement". So for two weeks, I had to sit in class humiliated earning zeros because I couldn't afford a $2.79 compass. The teacher wanted to set up a parent conference, but nobody answered because both my parents worked all the time to give it back to the stupid church.

That had to have been awful to get through that. My parents would've done the same as yours I'm pretty sure. It's a wonder I made it through school at all growing up with the things we went without.

Once I got lost in algebra in high school due to illness, I never caught back up. I can balance my checkbook. When it came to my children's math, after around 5th or 6th grade they were on their own, because I didn't know calculus, algebra, geometry, et al.

generation of "real" Mormons. For all practical purposes, I mean.

The things that have really set the Mormons apart from other groups have been all the beliefs that have been swept, or are now in the process of being swept, under the rug of forgetfulness.

Let's look at a few:

(1) Black people are the seed of Cain and cannot receive temple ordinances. Status: Completely under the rug.

(2) The Lamanites were cursed with dark skin due to the evil doings of their ancestors. They will become white and delightsome within a few generations following acceptance of the restored gospel. Status: Completely under the rug.

(3) The secret sacredness of the secret handshakes and passwords learned in the Temple must be protected by penalty oaths consisting of agreements to be executed by disembowelment, throat slitting, etc., as punishment for revealing the secrets. Status: Completely under the rug.

(4) Man is as God once was, and as God is man may one day become. Status: Ambiguous. Halfway under the rug. Referred to as only being a couplet, by a recent prophet guy.

I could go on. But you get the picture.

Even with all the temple building going on nowadays, I suspect that a lot of it is just to launder tithing and other Church moneys into the hands of "special" people. The Boomers seem to get excited about it. Not many of the younger generations seem to give a crap.

I'm sure there are some hard-core believers among the younger generations, but the Boomers seem to be the heart of the Church that was and is, but will not be for much longer. Within a few decades, it will be scaled down and mainstreamed to an extent that it would be completely unrecognizable to people who grew up in it in the last half of the 20th century. I wouldn't even be surprised if the temple garments get removed at some point within the next 20 years.

Keep on keeping on!

It's a process;
Ya gotta be strong!

The process teaches you to obey
So the form doesn't matter, just that you pay.

I am glad that the church is falling apart. In many ways, it's their own damn fault. As a generation X person, I grew up under the crushing effects of church correlation. I witnessed a lot of abuse of priesthood power. We were told not to judge or question anything. We were always told that you obeyed the leaders because the church was always right. Moreover, the mantra of "where much is given, much is expected" and "this is the only church that has all the truth." There was no middle ground accepted; all or nothing mentality.

I witnessed my friends being disciplined because they had the gall to publicly question if the church was really the "one and true church." I served a mission that pushed missionaries' beliefs to the limits; such as 10 hours Sundays while stranded at church with no food. Anything less than perfection was unacceptable. Many missionaries pushed their obedience to the church and God to the limits and the convert baptisms failed to materialize. Failure was directly correlated to sin. As senior companion and a month of ZERO baptisms. I was told that if I wasn't sinning then my companion was. The mission president told me that I wasn't monitoring my companion and that he likely was masturbating and driving away the spirit.

It’s like fraternity hazing.

“Thank you sir, may I have another?”

All of our family is out except for our oldest daughter and her husband. She is the nicest, kindest person you would ever hope to meet. We're trying little by little to plant a few seeds with them. But yeah, I remember those tithe paying days. Our kids had hand me down clothes and Payless shoes. Our middle daughter got made fun of in primary because her cheap shoes looked like boys' loafers. Our middle daughter moved out of state 3 years ago. She finally received her resignation acknowledgement letter from the church last week. We've never given her address out to anyone. We told her that least this means that TSCC can never bother her again. We're all relieved to be "out".