I need imput from some people who have been there..I fear that my heart is so hardened that HF can't answer my prayers and Satan has won me so now I'm "lost".
I was raised in an extremely mormon home. I was told that my questioning mind brought Satan into my life (and consequently my years of major depression with suicide attempts). I was also told that Satan lusted after my soul and would try to ensnare me in any way possible.
I married in the temple in ultimate hopes that my "intellectual" testimony would become a spirtual testimony. After many years of searching and trying to get a testimony (that "warm fuzzy feeling"), I just felt empty and "sick" inside. I was told to trust others' testimonies, to look for signs of the truth and to bear my non-existant testimony in order to gain one. Eventually I became inactive.
Both of my parents begged me on each of their death beds to return to the truth, that I was breaking up our eternal family, I was breaking their hearts, and that because I made promises in the temple and left the gospel would I would be sent to outer darkness.
I'm so confused and scared. They believed so ferverently and only wanted one thing for me--our eternal salvation as a family.
If anywone out there can offer some guidance I would really appreciate it.
ag

You are suffering from religion-induced fear. You were a good child and listened to your parents, who taught you to fear the bogeyman. You are now an adult. Your parents really didn't know any better. You are not bound by promises that they coerced out of you, just as you are not bound by oaths in the endowment that you were forced to make.

Instead of fearing an imaginary "outer darkness," begin enjoying the "inner light" - the light that shines in the soul that has cast out all the fear and demons that were instilled in you as an innocent child victim.

The reason you never got a "testimony" is because your common sense kept telling you that it was all nonsense, and not a path to happiness.

Remember, there are no monsters under the bed.

Listen, you have been brainwashed by family and the LDS "church". You are not in danger of any kind. YOU will see family at your death if you are a believer in JC. Don't allow the mormons who want your money to tell you otherwise. WE don't always see eye to eye with our parents. Live your life - not the LDS view of what your life should be. Just do what your gut tells you. The temple promises are part of a masonic ritual. There is nothing spiritual about what you did in there. So relax and go with your personal feeling of what is right for you and do not do something for other people....do it cause it feels right for you.

I was a young adult convert, and left the LDS Church in my late 50's, so our situations are different. But, there are some basics that might be helpful.

First, you are not responsible for other people's happiness. You can't live your life pleasing someone else.

Also, it helps if you change your World View. This is what I did. I decided to take God and Satan and religion in general out of the equation and look at the world as an individual human being doing what brought me the most happiness, joy and freedom.

That required that I take my power back and own it. That means that I stopped giving other people the power to tell me how to live, how to think, how to dress, what to read, what movies to see, how to spend my time, who I worked for, what days I worked, and on and on and on.

I also decided to write down all of the automatic thinking scripts that I had lived with and used as an LDS woman and mother for several decades then start deleting them, and creating new though patterns for myself.
This really helped me create my own World View.

I also did a lot of research into the history of the LDS Church, the history of other religions and decided what I wanted for myself. I attended other churches and soaked up their beliefs and how they lived their religions.

Ultimately, I found I didn't need a religious basis for my life, as I could do just fine as a common ordinary human being without the overlay of religious rules and commandments. I could govern myself with easy and confidence.

In this process, I kept my self confidence, self respect cooking on the high burner! I was not going to give anyone permission to tear me down! I knew I was OK and did not need to be fixed by any religious notions.

These are just some of my ideas and part of my Exit Process from Mormonism. It's a highly personal process with no manual or no right or wrong way to do it.

It seems to help a lot if we go slowly with LDS friends and relatives and give them tiny snapshots and not go overboard with our changes too fast.
It helps also to take a more private approach about personal beliefs and have a very small "need to know" list of people that you trust.

I'm confident you'll figure out what is best for you. It's a process you are well equipped to handle.

Keep asking questions and you'll get lots of different suggestions and idea.

My best to you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2011 03:53PM by SusieQ#1.

Hopefully this link works, if not search for a thread titled WWJD under my name:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,205145,205145#msg-205145

You are the little girl in the story who had been taught about these fictional characters instead of being parented by your mom and dad. It is really your mom/dad you will disappoint, not God, it is not Satan who will punish you but your mom/dad. There are NO consequences for leaving.

The church tries to make it seem like there are greater consequences for those who know the truth and leave compared to those who never knew. Does that make sense to you? Would God send you to outer darkness for rejecting the "gospel" and let a murderer who never heard the gospel get into the celestial kingdom just because you got baptized for him in the temple after he died? You are a good person, and your family will NOT be punished in the afterlife for it.

Your parents are good people, they meant well, they did the best they could and used religion to help raise you. There is nothing wrong with remembering fond memories or events with your family, you can appreciate them for who they are without being exactly like them. Mormonism will always be a part of your life because of your parents, it is your tribe so to speak. That doesn't make the church true.

SusieQ has some excellent advice:
"First, you are not responsible for other people's happiness. You can't live your life pleasing someone else.

Also, it helps if you change your World View. This is what I did. I decided to take God and Satan and religion in general out of the equation and look at the world as an individual human being doing what brought me the most happiness, joy and freedom.

That required that I take my power back and own it. That means that I stopped giving other people the power to tell me how to live, how to think, how to dress, what to read, what movies to see, how to spend my time, who I worked for, what days I worked, and on and on and on."

I was amazed I could just decide that Satan doesn't exist - and be right. My life is far better now. I haven't turned to any bad habits, I am in most ways even MORE moral and ethical than I was as a Mormon. I have to analyze my choices more carefully.

You are in the grip of a downward spiral, and you have to do something to break out. I actually managed to pray about it, and I got the answer that I was right, God isn't vindictive, doesn't want to be worshiped, and that I was still protected from evil. It removed much of my anxiety and I was able to move forward.

Please feel free to share more details here. We'd love to help you find peace and freedom like we have.

Re: bad habits

I was worried about this one as well, some of my friends who have left do drink, a lot more than they did before. I've never had the desire too, so I find it difficult to relate to their new freedom. I don't mind that they do, I've been around people that drink so I'm not being judgmental, they can chose how to live their own lives...it just troubled me personally. Would I drink too? Would I change who I am? Nope, still the same person I just don't believe anymore.

I grew up with the same ideals being beaten into my head from the time I was born.

It was tough to leave, to send in the resignation, even though I knew it was the right thing to do, but I still had that little nagging "what if" in the back of my mind.

I just shoved that "what if" aside, and know I made the right decision.

All you have to do is read a little RfM every day to remind yourself you made the right decision, to read about all the unhappy people in TSCC, to read the crap they have to do to BUY their way into heaven, into god's good graces. Read a little of this and you'll never doubt yourself again.

Best of luck and I hope you find happiness and relief.

One step at a time.

You will find your life is not cursed, everything will work same as yesterday, sun also rises. Been out about 30 years and I still come here, so you may find the support useful.

Lost wife, kids, felt pretty cursed, as you may imagine, but could no longer lie to myself.

Married again, kids raised non LDS are much healthier, and I believe the Kolobians edged up my first family, they are an emotional and physical mess.

Time will tell, but you're in for a ride. Mr. Packham certainly speaks from experience, ohers here may help, just find who suits you.

I am irreverent, bombastic and normally quite abnormal. But I was a genuine Kolobian, and done most of the same things, felt most of the same emotions as those far different from me.

AIC, Gay Lay Ale, Raptor Jesus, Annagramy (never spell that right) are very different from me, in different ways, but I feel like they are EXACTLY LIKE ME in my personal journey, I see me in their joys and pain.

I hope you will stay here and talk more with us, and never ever take me seriously... except right now, I am being serious now...seriously.

=D

May I suggest that you are a normal human being that didn't get pulled into a fake feeling, and, and others have said, you have been manipulated by an institution that uses the fear of an invented bogey man (Satan) and another invented belief ("eternal family") to try and make you toe the line.
I'll bet your parents were wonderful people who were also manipulated, not to say they didn't find happiness in the LDS church.
If you are a believer in Jesus, whether spiritually or just philosophically, you don't need warm fuzzy feelings to follow the Golden Rule, and things will sort themselves out in the afterlife, despite the mormon church laying claim to the "truth" in their Dollars for Diety scam.

Since Satan is said to be the father of lies, wouldn't he be the one trying to keep you from seeing the truth?

If the church is not true, then Satan should typically only try to keep you ensnared in it rather than help you see the FACTS that disprove the church.

These FACTS were written by members of the church in diaries, journals, their own newspapers and publications.

Surely if Brigham Young said awful things and the church recorded them in the Journal of Discourses and sold them to the members, then at one time they were in favor of you reading them!! And surely if the church now says that satan is leading you astray by letting you find those writings, then you have to wonder why the TRUE CHURCH would be afraid of you reading the prophets' words.

I found in my own terrifying journey that no matter how earnestly I prayed and fasted that I would find the truth, I kept finding more and more evidence against the claims of the church. I did not use antimormon sites unless they could provide documentation for their claims, but mostly I used only church authored items.

Anotherr thing I found was that by going to FAIR and reading their works it is clear that they have to make all kinds of strange and awkward arguments to make the issues sound rational. Truth is simple. Only deception requires a tangle web.

To sum it up, if God is a God of light and truth and cannot lie and has a hell prepared for the liars, then you have nothing to fear from God by finding the truth and leaving falsehood behind.

You were told wrong.

There are no eternal consequences of leaving! NONE whatsoever.

The key thing is this...are you seeking truth?

If so begin by reading your bible, and your questions will be answered.

After which you can now begin to deconstruct and decide.

But for myself...what I do know...NO MORTAL man can tell, so don't worry about a man said!

AIC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are no eternal consequences of leaving! NONE
> whatsoever.
>
> The key thing is this...are you seeking truth?
>
> If so begin by reading your bible, and your
> questions will be answered.
>
> After which you can now begin to deconstruct and
> decide.
>
> But for myself...what I do know...NO MORTAL man
> can tell, so don't worry about a man said!

Begin by reading your Bible? That's just sick and wrong. The Bible will just give you more of the same "fear and guilt and self-loathing" that LDSCorp. gave you. This is very poor advice, IMO.

There is life beyond fear and guilt. Many have found great comfort without fear and guilt in their lives. You can decide to move away from fear and guilt, the choice is yours. Set yourself free from fear and guilt!

+1

The Bible will induce fear and guilt to the max. Ditch it.

Not necessarily, I appreciate Christ's life even more now without the LDS spin, it was very simple not complicated like LDS Inc makes it. If you still believe in God (I'm agnostic, I don't know if he's real or not); the Bible can actually bring peace to you. Read about Christ's life of helping others and then read about the humanitarian efforts of the church--there are estimates here and online about how much of the money actually goes to humanitarian efforts.

That was my opinion.

It sounds like he is still believes.

Remember...the bible until Christ dies is OT...

Once Christ dies...it is GRACE all the way!

The OT is fulfilled. NO MORE LAW.

I feel NO GUILT once I understood that the words of Christ were not for me to keep.

What he did was bring the law back up to its impossible standard...to show the Pharisees and MORGdom for that matter just how wrong they were.

Okee dokeee....good luck buddy.

I don't want to end up in bible wars.

It's a rough but very valid question that BIC members are facing (or anyone who was born into a religion not just LDS); for me it really hit when I saw the BoA video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcyzkd_m6KE

If the BoA is crap and the BOM is crap, is the Bible crap too? Is God not real at all? A lot of ex-mormons become atheist for this reason. For me it's looking at Christ in a different way and seeing just how un-Christlike LDS Inc really is.

Hey that's my personal favourite of all the revelations.

I mean being black and all. I just love it!

Now you see why I say there are no eternal consequences.

Now you see!

YUCK>>>>>>STUPID CULT!

My daughter asked the other day:
"Is it possible Christ was just a charismatic guy with a health condition that caused him to sweat blood?"

I laughed and said yes it is possible, but if he was doing good and helping other people, what's wrong with that? You can be "Christ-like" and care about other people without believing in anything else. I don't know if he's real or not, but there's nothing wrong with being nice to other people.

Kids say the darnest things!

Tehehehehehehe!

It does say that ALL things are possible!

"I don't want to end up in bible wars."

And yet, you keep blowing your bible trump in our ears.

Your interpretation of the NT is just your belief.

I suspicion AIC is from the South, this is VERY VERY common here. People talk about religion like they do the weather. Which I find odd because religion is a personal matter.

hello-you are correct, it is just a belief; exchange anything Bible for weather (to make it fun make it sunny one day, rainy the next, etc) and you won't be so troubled by it.

Hmmmm....well I am not from the south...not all black people who talk about religion are from the south.

I gave an opinion.

Believe, don't believe. This guy asked a question that concerns him relative to the eternities.

Had the bible not had a religious connotation there would be no snarky comments.

Had I discussed Rome & Pompeii...no would complain.

The bible is a a book like any other.

This how I am recovering and sharing, if you have a problem with that okee dokee that is fine.

Leave me [the person out of it]

"not all black people who talk about religion are from the south."

I'm well aware of this--I live in the South and speak to everyone (black and white) about religion. It is a southern cultural phenomenon, not limited to blacks. It was not your color that made me suspect, it was your ability to freely talk about religion.

I don't have a problem with you or how you express yourself, I thought it was a valid comment because I did have that question myself. It may be difficult for atheists to read however because they find all religion to be offensive. I was offering hello a way to read around it to be less offensive.

You (the person) are the one who promoted the Bible as a source of divine truth, in your response to the OP.

And my posts are matter-of-fact and plain, not snarky. You haven't seen my snarky yet.

I empathize with your plight. I was a convert of 30 years and leaving was the most difficult decision I have ever made. I had to, however because I simply could no longer believe.

Unfortunately, you have been raised in a culture that includes extreme guilt, mystical devils who will lure you away, the promise of eternal families, etc. So this is likely your only frame of reference.

Consider this. There are about 4.5 million active mormons on the planet which has about 7 billion people. Mormonism is a very tiny, tiny fraction of humanity. Then consider all who have lived and dies without the LDS church over the course of recorded history.

The rest of the people on our planet live without Mormonism and a very large number of them are doing just fine. Personally, I researched the history of Christianity, the concept of a devil, angles, etc. The Christian religion, and I will include Mormonism in this for the sake of this discussion, is based upon COMPLETELY man-made mythology. The Jesus story, Moses, Adam and Eve, and so forth.

I don't think I need to convince you that the LDS church is a fraud, but I will try to impart somw well earned wisdom. Find out who you really are and live your live accordingly. Don't let fear or mythology govern your path. Let go of the guilt. There is nothing 'out there' that will suck you into hell for leaving the church. You can live a beautiful, perfectly happy, and guilt free life outside the church.

My life improved wonderfully after breaking away from the church. It is only getting better. You are capable of the same.

Michael

applies to VERY FEW members of the church.

1) Not just ANYONE can become a son (or daughter) of perdition--The only way to reach "outer darkness" is to LIE and say you do not have a testimony, when indeed you DO have a firm conviction that it is true. According my understanding, if you are having doubts, you don't qualify for a son/daughter of perdition.

2) Need I mention that if the church isn't true, then all the threats in the world about leaving don't mean a dang thing? We are talking about a false religion, with fake penalties, and fake promises here. And nearly EVERY cult has really scary threats for those who leave.

But I KNOW the fear you are experiencing right now, because I was there about 11 years ago. Although there was a time when I believed in the church with all my heart, I never felt like I had a real testimony. In other words, I felt it would be dishonest for me to say I KNEW the church was true.

When I stopped believing, I found comfort in a quote by one of the early church leaders that basically said that you can only deny the Holy Ghost if you had a sure knowledge that it was true. He compared denying the Holy Ghost to a person looking at the noonday sun, and denying that it was there. In other words, outer darkness is only for liars who sinned against pure knowledge of the truth.

just found a link to the quote, by J.S. about sons of perdition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_perdition_(Mormonism)

Funny how people try to extend that threat to everyone who has ever been LDS.

My advice: Figure out what is true, and what is not. And try not to let threats influence you, because if the whole religion is a bunch of baloney (it is), then the threats are just a bunch of hot air. Once I got away from it, it was easier to look back and see how silly, yet convincing it was.

Would it comfort you to know that all Christians believe that they will be reunited with their families and other loved ones when they die? Even many non-Christians believe this. If you watch the movie, "Gladiator," at the end you will see the pagan gladiator being reunited with his family as he dies and enters the afterlife (what the Romans called the Elysian Fields.) Despite what they would have you believe, the Mormons do not have a lock on this concept.

I agree with "the other Michael". Mormonism has been around for less than two hundred years. Only the most minute percentage of people on this planet are Mormons. People got along just fine before Mormonism came along, and they will continue to get along just fine without it. You can as well!

Look at it his way -- were you happy as a Mormon? It would appear not. It gave you a legacy of major depression, lack of belief in the worth of your own life, fearfulness (of Satan and of never seeing your parents again.) Can inactivity or apostasy possibly be any worse?

Stick around, and you will learn quite a lot about the religion and culture that you were raised in. Much of it will shock you. The Mormon church would have you believe that all we have are "anti-Mormon lies," but what we have is the unvarnished truth -- the truth that the church runs and hides from, the truth that church authorities fervently hope you will not see. It is the truth that will set you free.

There are some who still believe in Jesus, etc. after leaving. They feel that the LDS church got it wrong but still retain faith in Christianity.

I had considered this path when I left, but discovered that I was simply trading one mythology for another. You should live your life as you see fit, with no hope or guilt about life after death. A belief in JC to see your family again is simply another myth that will bind your life. In reality, noone knows what happens when we die. Noone has any meaningful evidence of any god or afterlife. Everyone who tells you they do are basing their belief in ancient words written by people with no divine inspiration (for example, study the history of the Bible and Christianity for a while and you will see why I say this). Or they have had warm and fuzzy feelings or some other spiritual experience that they interpret as coming from their chosen god.

My personal philosophy is that we have one life that is verifiable and it is here and now. Not yesterday and not tomorrow and certainly not some mythical existance after death that you will be privy to if you believe in the RIGHT god and obey the RIGHT commandments. Don't waste your time and energy looking. If indeed there is some all powerful being that we will meet when we die, then do you think this being is going to be so petty to hand out rewards and punishments based upon whether we happened to believe the right things? NOT!!! That would be a petty god indeed and not someone I would care to be with. I would think that any such being, etc. would value an authentic life far more than one lived out of false hope or fear.

There are Biblical verses that match up with the way I lived before joining the church at 20 and after leaving in my 50s. They are good values to live by which I suspect is why the authors placed them there - and you will find the concepts in many other writings. My favorite is to treat others as you would like to be treated. You can find inspiration for your life in the Bible as long as you understand that the content is from men, often with an agenda and not from any god. Also understand that there is no need to adopt a faith in any god to live a 'good' and spiritual life.

I am only one of very many people here who have seen through the facade of religion mystical belief and are doing just fine.

The only advice I can give is to see a qualified therapist. Not just one who gives you drugs, but one who will listen to you and give you some quidance in your journey out of the mind-raping maze that is Mormonism.

I'll say it again, after thirty years out, I am, and and my family also is, much better off. Richer in every single thing from education, fitness, fun and mental health to how well we shoot marbles.

We still see some of our extended family, and we see what a twisted mess it makes of people. Literally my heart aches, and yes, I get angry. That, I believe, is why some venting occurs here. People have been, and are still being hurt in terrible ways.

For what it's worth, your fear is one of those terrible things they give you.

Hang out where you get inspired, learn something exciting or hidden, challenge you intellect.

Most of us empathize since we felt the same anxiety you describe. Know this, with time it leaves, and more clarity comes.

As you see what really happened to you, and believe me, when I was first out I couldn't even see it yet. You will realize you haven't any choice, you cannot unlearn what you've learned. You cannot unsee what you have seen.

My main point is you have nothing to worry about, but it may take a little time, then you'll feel better and better as you learn more and more as a free soul.

=D



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2011 07:14PM by roflmao.

My mom was not coping well with my "falling away." On her death bed her last plea to me was to go back to church.

It has been many years since then and here is what I found out. My parents were not people who questioned anything. They were sheep. They were from Mormon families who didn't know anything else. They were taught to obey and fear authority.

My parents did the best they could but frankly, as RPackham said above, they really didn't know any better. I've come further and I thank them for giving me the start I had.

The remnants of a religious upbringing are still embedded in your brain. A devil and god are things people make up to associate good and bad, and the need for rewards, eternal life, and punishment for misbehavior. We don't have answers to the big questions. Religion makes them up for you.

Imagine a life where the religious authority figures don't have control of your life. You do good for the sake of goodness and seek happiness by defining your own goals. It seems scary, I know. There probably is no boogy man or a daddy in the sky that grants your wishes any more than there are invisible unicorns. Do you want to spend your life as if they were there like your parents said? Many do.

The Bible is a book for people who look to the past and need supernatural external authority figures running things. Maybe that is what you want. Or maybe you can look to the future without guilt and fear. Instead be glad for what makes you unique and seek to follow your bliss. The journey is yours. Your parents had their gods. You get to make up your own gods and be the hero of your own journey. Good luck!

"The journey is yours. Your parents had their gods. You get to make up your own gods and be the hero of your own journey. Good luck!"

+1 on this! Very well said!

If just ONE thing is false in the Mormon church, it all falls apart because they teach it's all 100% true. So just look up facts about the Book of Abraham. Boom. Mormonism is proven false, without even getting into all of the other nonsense such as no DNA from BoM, changing of scriptures in the BoM, the creeper that was Joe Smith, etc. And just like that, most, if not ALL of your fear should vanish.

They threaten you with Outer Darkness? Boy that sounds bad. But oh wait, Mormonism isn't true, so Outer Darkness doesn't exist, and you aren't going there! They're telling you Satan is taking hold of your soul? That also sounds horrible. But wait a second... if there's no Devil that means he can't take over you! Glorious!

Really, the only REAL consequence of leaving is social. It is sad you have to disappoint your family members. It is unfortunate 95% of your Mormon "friends" will ditch you. But on the other hand, you're completely FREE to experience life again. No paying 10% of gross income, no spending hours upon hours slaving away for free in church callings. No irrational fear of monsters under your bed.

So try to look at the bright side :)

As someone who experienced the same anxiety less than a year ago, I totally relate to what you're feeling. A lot of people here have also been through the same thing and have offered a lot of good advice.

The main thing I can add is to trust your instincts and listen to yourself.

You talked about being miserable within the church. Some Mormons act like that the problem is with you, when in reality there is nothing wrong with you at all. That's right, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you!

The problem is with the church, and how it tries to fit everyone into a cookie-cutter way of life. If God intended everyone to live the same, why is everyone so different? Why is the world so diverse? Instead of seeing differences as some sort of trap set by Satan, consider the beauty and wonder of a diverse world. There's so much out there for you to see and experience.

You mentioned that people attributed your questioning mind to Satan's influence. Would God have given you that mind if he didn't want you to use it? A lot of people in the church link intellectualism with weakness, but in reality it's because they're too insecure to let their beliefs stand next to logic and reason. (There's nothing wrong with faith, IMO, it just becomes a problem when people treat faith as fact.)

I used to wonder if I was "hard-hearted" or not as well. Once I realized that people's attempts to get me to church weren't really about me, but rather their need to validate their own beliefs, I was able to just let myself "be" without fear of punishment.

Consider doing more research about the church, and talking to people on this board when you need input or advice. Give yourself permission to live life in a way that gives you peace.

Also, if you have time, I recommend watching some of the videos over at iamanexmormon.com -- they have videos from people who've left the church and found happiness outside of it. You might find some of them encouraging.

Good luck.

faboo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If God intended everyone to live the same, why is everyone so different? Why is the world so diverse? Instead of seeing differences as some sort of trap set by Satan, consider the beauty and wonder of a diverse world. There's so much out there for you to see and experience.

***********************************

I completely agree. I still believe in God. I believe that God enjoys the diversity of the life that he/she created. I believe that he enjoys seeing Jews worship at the Wailing Wall, Sufi dancers dancing, Hindus wading into the Ganges river, Buddhists meditating, Christians singing, atheists ruminating ;-)...all of it. He enjoys all of it. He enjoys it because he is so much bigger than any one religion or culture. We are all God's children. Why would he not welcome us back home again? If you are a believer, the notion is absurd. I believe in a God who is more (much more) spiritually evolved than I am. I believe in a God of love, peace, acceptance, maturity, and understanding. I believe in a God who is far, far bigger and more inclusive than the petty image reflected by the Mormon religion.

Your heart is not hardened by god and anyone who tells you that nonsense is trying to manipulate you, whether they know it or not.

I grew up BIC and received quite a bit of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical abuse because of my TBM mother and that cult. Make no mistake about it, that church IS A CULT.
http://www.howcultswork.com/

The only reason it was so easy for me to leave when I got out of the house was because I already experienced how sweet life is without the cult in spurts. I had a job all through HS, never-mo friends and boyfriends, and I have a strong will to be myself.

It sounds like you feel a lot of guilt because of your promise to your parents, and again, that's the cult still messing with your head. Even if you don't believe, sometimes you want to comfort someone as they die just to give them a little peace. It doesn't mean you have to live that nightmare. YOU are still alive and you deserve happiness and a real life. You don't deserve to be lied to, manipulated, lose your money, time, and freedom to a cult that only wants one thing: MONEY!
I wish you the best and please stay on this site. You will start to feel better, I promise, if you really want to leave the cult.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2011 08:56PM by itzpapalotl.

most of them, however will be from an atheistic, anti-religion perspective; not from me however.

Mormonism is a false gospel but the Christ of the Bible is true and good. He will meet you where you are. God does not need you to be a member of any church but to truly seek Him. If you do this, he will be found. There is no salvation to be found in the false gospel of Mormonism but Christ offers salvation and peace.

Ask the one true God to help you and he will.

All other ground is sinking sand.

out

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." -- the Dalai Lama

It all comes back to this, no matter what your faith or lack thereof.

most of them, however will be from an aRaptorJesus, anti-Church of Raptor Jesus perspective; not from me however.

Mormonism is a false gospel but the Raptor Jesus of the Bible is true and good. He will meet you where you are. Raptor Jesus does not need you to be a member of any church but to truly seek Him, and then become a part of his church. If you do this, he will be found. There is no salvation to be found in the false gospel of Mormonism but Raptor Jesus offers salvation and peace.

Ask the one true Raptor Jesus to help you and he will.

All other ground is sinking sand.

O my raptor! My heart burns and melts for you, dear raptor. I know by your holy spirit that you are the true god, the raptor of raptors! Praise raptor!