To which I would respond...

Hey Scott!

All 3 of your reasons are the same old tired arguments we've heard forever.

We "walk away" because it's simply nonsense!

The real question is: Why do YOU stay???

Do YOU have a learning problem???

Or so it seems to me...

Believers can never grant that anyone has valid reasons for leaving. Leaving must always always always be the wrong choice.

Even if it is a choice. I walked away because I had to. Once the scales fall off and it all falls apart and your whole life is a lie, maybe you will turn away too.

Some of us didn't even walk away. We downright ran away. LOL

Yeah, they really don't get it. They can't even comprehend it.

The answer of course is, "Because it's all nonsense. I can't understand how you don't see that."

I don’t think you appreciate the malevolence of Mormonism. It’s not accidental. Joseph made a deal with the devil, which we are all still paying for. That he was just the fool for the job is beside the point.

TSCC has always been the kid playing with matches. They don’t get that if they burn the house down, their religious freedom will go with it.

Scott's post read as if he's speaking only to TBMs by saying, "I'm a righteous Mormon. I look forward to the
accolades from you, my church friends and priesthood leaders."

I've got siblings who think just like he does and there is absolutely no room in their Mormon-bubble-brain for critical thinking, research or FACTS! Their complete indoctrination rejects an individual need to question church lesson manuals, conference talks or general authorities.

Hey Scott, the Q15 LOVE YOU, I mean YOUR MONEY, when you don't do your homework. They will never tell you to dig deep, take a deep dive into Joseph Smith and church history, do your homework and verify that we are telling you the whole truth. Never, ever will they give you that advice.

I invite you to discover FACTS. Read everything at:

https://cesletter.org/
http://www.mormonthink.com/
http://packham.n4m.org/index.htm

(and for a really long read) http://www.utlm.org/other/changingworld.pdf

Then you might be incredibly embarrassed for having written what you have on your Facebook post and we will look forward to a new post from your neighbor (cl2) who can share with us your revised post: "Why I Ran Away."

I hate reading this guilt ladened garbage. All written using pseudo quotes and experiences from fat cat leaders that have never experienced life threatening experiences.

A PH leader told:

-a sister that had been thrown out onto the street after her husband moved in his mistress that she should have been a better wife. When she complained to the stake presidency, they found her actions to be contrary to the teachings to the church. She was disfellowshipped for 6 months. He was released from his PH calling as a counselor in the bishopric, but not otherwise punished for adultery.

-my longtime friend that grew up in the church was that he was abusive to his temple married wife. He was found to be verbally and emotionally abusive according to the stake president. My friend was also found to him be hard heartened about his ph duties because he occasionally attended church. Well no shit stake prez! He was working almost 80 hours a week to pay his mortgage and keep his material girl wife satisfied. Yet, she ran off with a younger RM because her husband abandoned her everyday to go to work! She was pregnant with the RM's child. My friend lost his temper and told the SP to fuck off and they excommunicated him. His cheating wife was disfellowshipped and the no disciplinary action was wagered against the complicit RM. My friend got a divorce and his cheating wife got married to the RM. The RM was a relative of the stake presidency.

-me that I should count my blessings after my house burned to the ground. I stupidly thought that the church could help me. It was the only time that I ever asked for any type of assistance. It made me angry that I had given so much time and money to such fucking greedy corporation that masquerades as a church.

I think you’re being a little unfair to crazy people. Don’t they need a place to go on Sundays?

I walked away because it wasnt working for me and I find und it unfulfilling

We didn't walk away from the Gospel of Christ. We walked away from a bunch of idiots who tried to convince us they knew more about it than we did.

I walk away from lies.

TBM: If I'm right about Mormonism, then those that leave are making a very foolish decision.

Fair enough, and of course you "know" you are right. We disagree. We think you are wrong about Mormonism. Given that, our walking away is totally rational and reasonable. It's not that complicated.

BTW, thinking that only people who believe like you can be moral and ethical is condescending nonsense. Get over yourself.

Have a nice day. :)

^^ LIKE ^^

^^^ I like too! ^^^

Great post, Brother of Jerry, containing an important, universal truth:

"Thinking that only people who believe like you can be moral and ethical is condescending nonsense. Get over yourself."

That should be marked on signs set up on every street in the world!" :-D

Tom in Paris

"Lastly, if you choose to leave, where will you go?"

My life belongs to me because I'm free.
https://vimeo.com/348076710

Where will you go? What will you do? Everything from GA schtick.

Non Gratum Anus Rodentum

I read that just before I left to go to a movie with my boyfriend, yes that one that I've been in a sinning relationship with for almost 15 years.

They are so self-righteous. They really DO NOT GET IT. They don't know what freedom really is.

I'm sorry about your house messygoop. (Glad you are still here.)
I've got stories like the ones you shared. A woman who they wouldn't give a TR to because she wouldn't stay with her cheating husband who was on at least his third affair while in the bishopric. She refused to bow to their pressure.

It is hard for me to comprehend ever being able to believe it again. Once you see the light, there is no going back.

“I don’t wanna break these chains, but you’re poison”

- Alice Cooper

Scott is yet another Mormon who equates "The Gospel" with the Mormon church (as if "the gospel" somehow went missing for 1,800 years.) Scott, there are other Christian churches that give better value for money spent, should exmos still be in search of the gospel.

First off, TSCC is *not* the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is the antithesis of it.

TSCC is a prosperity gospel; a get rich gospel. A do unto others gospel and then split doctrine. It is Machiavellian, not the pure love of Christ doctrine found in the bible.

Secondly, if one is wanting to turn somewhere for peace he or she is not going to find it in TSCC. It is a false doctrine and the proverbial wolf in sheepskin clothing designed to fool and deceive the very elect - which by the way it has on occasion.

It is not there for people in need. It is a church that takes more than it gives. It looks down on the truly needy and teaches they deserve what they did to get that way.

If you find yourself looking for a little more love or compassion, empathy, heart, soul - practically anywhere is better than the effing Mormon church.

I had a Catholic friend who converted to Mormonism in the years leading up to my resigning. He would tell me he knew the church was either 100% false or 100% true because of all the persecution the members heaped on one another. He'd never seen a more hateful church in all his life. With the back stabbing, gossiping, and underhandedness by people calling each other "brother this" and "sister that," he was sickened by the false appearances.

You hit the nail on the head. Every ward has the same (to differing degrees) undercurrent of resentment. That’s why gossip and backbiting come naturally. Tying personal worthiness to material success is a recipe for disaster. Didn’t Jesus trash a temple over this?

Don't you find it funny that the mormon church is the definition of irony?

In the temple, the mormons are warned about "the philosophies of men....mingled with scripture"

I have a distinct memory of sitting in a temple session and thinking "what if THIS (the mormon church and specifically the temple rites) is what he (Satan in the temple film) is warning us about.....the philosophies of men....mingled with scripture" then realizing that that would be a total and flawless paradox.

Anyone, anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhiCFdWeQfA

#1. I became aware of over 10 different cases of child sexual abuse by MORmON Penisholders, all of which were covered up. All of the victims were silenced with threats of losing their relationships with family. If that didn't work, and they filed a lawsuit, they were silenced with large settlements and NDAs.
#2. In the wake of 9-11 it became clear to me that the so-called "PRofit" had about as much of a clue as about God's intentions on 9-11 as my dog.
#3. I became aware of the fact Joseph Smith and Brigham Young destroyed the lives of their followers, like Henry Jacobs, by stealing their wives and children from them, after sending them off on missions for the church.

Scott's opening sentence is: "It is painful to watch people I love walk away from the gospel of Jesus Christ."

People aren't necessarily walking away from "the gospel of Jesus Christ." They're walking away from the b.s. that is the Mormon Church. They're walking away from lies, extortion, depression, brain washing, etc. People can believe in Jesus and not have anything to do with the Mormon church.

He then wrote: "those who leave the gospel generally can not leave it alone. They pick at it, try to dissect it, then become an enemy of the church they once embraced." I'm so sick of hearing this. Before the internet, Mormons who left LDS Inc. didn't have support groups for recovery. If they wanted to be heard they had to go to general conference and shout something out before being escorted out. I rarely talked about leaving the Mormon church to anyone. I rarely mentioned it to my best friend who had also left. Now we can visit websites and hook up with others like us. We can Yelp and Tweet. We can warn others on Facebook. We have RFM and Reddit. It's not that we can't leave the Mormon church alone, it's just that now we have the means to express ourselves and commiserate with others who have also left, thanks to the internet.

A few years ago when the sister missionaries came by--first time I'd had missionaries in years. They told me how nice I looked. I had just been out walking in the wind. I knew I didn't look nice. They were just trying to make conversation without telling me who they were. I told them I knew I didn't look good.

Somehow it got around to them asking me about the church and I said, "Oh, I resigned." They said, "Oh, that's so sad." I said, "Not for me it isn't."

I couldn't believe I actually came back with that as I'm usually SLOWER than that.

Then of all things they asked me if there were any neighbors I thought would be interested.

A lot of great comments on this subject, but the one thing that hit me was that with the Church™ children would be "...vulnerable...to predatory falsehoods."

I immediately thought of JS and his "angel with a sword threats" to try and nail young women--if that's not a predatory falsehood I don't what is.