I had the disturbing thought the other day -- if I had not been active in the Church after my mission, I never would have met my wife and my children would never have been born.

Then the lightbulb went off -- I can apply the same faulty logic to college.

I chose not to go to BYU. Had I gone to BYU, I never would have met my wife.

My point for those with similar thoughts -- don't worry about the past. Let's look to the future.

The only thing that matters is this moment.

Well, I think those thoughts help show us that everything about our past isn't bad. When I wish my family weren't Mormon, it does help to remind myself that if they weren't, my parents would not have met since my great grandparents on Mom's side only came to America because of the church, and I wouldn't be here.

I did take many good things from the church such as being able to speak in front of a group,leadership, how to cater a dinner for 100 people (ha), crafting, compassionate service, and self-sufficiency.

Although there were many bad things that happened as a member of the church and I'd never go back, it wasn't a total loss. I like to think that I kept the good and got rid of the bad.

experiences and thinking about: woulda, shoulda, coulda, what if, steals the ability to find inner peace: TODAY!


I have no regrets,anger,hate,malevolence,shame,guilt, embarrassment or resentment about being a member of the LDS Church for many decades as a convert. It was not a waste, nor did it ruin me. Quite the opposite.It set me on a course with lasting positive results: family, long marriage, many opportunities to use my talents and abilities,thousands of experiences with a variety of different people, and on and on and on. It was: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, like everyone else I knew. The behaviors were the same in many different circumstances, just the faces were different.

I just don't believe the claims anymore. That's not a reason for me to be hateful about any of it. I'm grateful for my experiences and life as a Mormon.