https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/12/08/jana-riess-why-do-people/

"In 2016, one of the main questions driving The Next Mormons Survey was the one in the headline: Why do people leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? In particular, why do young people do so?

Just as importantly, why do some people stay?

(edited for those who have the ability to get by the paywall, screw everybody else!)

As you can see, we have a lot of great ideas for new survey questions. But because the costs of doing the research have increased in the past five years, we need to raise more money this time to make it happen."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2021 06:26PM by schrodingerscat.

What's your take on all of this, Sir Cut'n Paste?

I think it will be interesting to see the data once it’s published. As far as her questions go, I think she isn’t really interested in answers to the questions I’d ask MORmONs who choose to stay, despite all the lies, abuse and corruption.

Agreed. Posts linking to an article should contain a *brief* summary of why the article is relevant to our community, and also contain some commentary by the poster. Please don't violate others' copyrights by including large chunks of the linked content.

Exmormon.org is not your Facebook wall. Please keep your posts relevant and mostly written by you.

Schrodingerscat: please edit your post accordingly.

Thanks,

CZ (admin)

Is CZ a great Admin or what!!!!

I gotta admit, he totally came outta left field, catching me totally off guard, but I can get on board.




Now if we can just get ziller to toe the line . . .

"Why do people leave the Mormon church?"


Once the still small voice tells you that the mormon church has no more connection with ghawd than the Zambian Department of Extraterrestrial Licensing, what do other opinions matter?

"As you can see, we have a lot of great ideas for new survey questions."

How about this one?

• How do people feel about recent inflations that have been happening when it comes to paying tithing to the church?

Or even better.

• How do people feel about the 100 billion hedge fund when it comes to paying tithing to the church?

BECAUSE, it sucks (the life, freedom, happiness, love, money and truth out of you)!

My position is this regarding"tithing'
I do not owe tithing! it is a voluntary donation.
When the money I donate stays in the ward where I donate it I MAY again donate



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2021 11:48AM by thedesertrat1.

I think some of the things Mormons ascribe to those who leave are true but not with the same moral judgements attached. If you take away a belief in sin or calling normal, healthy human behaviour sin, then saying to me, "You left because you just wanted to sin" is actually true. Yes. The things you describe as sin and forbid people from doing were things I wanted to be free to do because they're not bad. I'm not ashamed to say that I wanted to have a normal sexuality, drink coffee, and embrace the dark and light parts of myself without constantly being at war internally.

Or how about "You were offended by someone at church". Yes. That is also true. I was lied to, manipulated, and emotionally abused by people I trusted to know the truth and guide me. I AM offended by that because the lies are still being told and not once has any one of the leaders taken responsibility or apologized for harming me, for stealing my money and my youth. In fact, they've gaslit me repeatedly trying to play games about what I should have known while I was encouraged to doubt my doubts and associate my skepticism and questioning with Satan-influenced pride and arrogance. I AM offended and I have a right to be upset by this treatment.

Or how about "You were too lazy to live the gospel standards". Yes, that is true. You can't twist my arm and make me value what wasn't working for me. Sorry if the plan of happiness never once made me feel the promised enlightenment or confidence that I should have but it wasn't from lack of trying. My abandoning of it though is an acknowledgment that if happiness is that hard to achieve, it's not freaking worth it. So, yes, I am lazy. Because I found happiness in NOT thinking about the church constantly, in NOT reading boring scriptures all the bloody time, in NOT feeling like a constant failure for making minor mistakes. I found happiness is actually much simpler to achieve and it doesn't even require doing anything on their precious list of sins. All that is required to achieve a bare minimum of happiness is simply not doing what the church wants and not thinking about god all the time.

So, I actually agree with the reasons Mormons state for us leaving. There's some additional things like how truth is important to me and the church/theism itself is full of inconsistencies, lies, and illogical assumptions. But for the most part, my human reasons for leaving was I didn't want to stick around in an environment that was causing me pain.

I left when I discovered the root cause of so much of my pain in life - Joseph Smith was a sexual predator.

I started being molested as a toddler, I was the whipping boy for a large family, I ended up seeking acceptance from a child molester. Through it all I thought Mormonism was untouchable. It was above these pains. Then I saw under the skirts of Joseph's wives and him touching a teenage girl and my ancestor Zina only 6 months married.

It all came tumbling down. Families are forever because in Mormonism from the root families have secrets that must never come to light. They lose their Celestial light if they do so keep secrets safe forever and keep sacred trusts, promises, covenants you gave without knowing what would be required first.

And we all we be reunited in The Celestial Kingdom having keep our secrets forever and our sacred covenants. We will be like gods knowing our good and evil and seeding untold generations of sacred families full of secrets.

I left because I actually believed we were being led by a Prophet of God, right up until 9-11, when it became glaringly obvious that Gordo the Clown PRofit had no more of a clue about Gods intentions on 9-11 than the dog laying on my back porch.

Nothing new about this article as even she states.

For me the real question is, "Why do Mormons refuse to accept the reasons people give for leaving?"

There is nothing more insulting than stating you know someone better than they know themselves. Perhaps a skilled psychiatrist may in some cases, but the average Mormon? NO.

50 ways to leave your lover. Even more to leave your church.

For a big problem I see is that they don't respect liberal points of view, I'm a proponent of enlightenment ideas such as priesthood of all believers, democracy, the worth of the individual and to have a voice, American values, but mormons leaders dont believe in any of that,

I reimagine a Christian church that would cater to different ideas. Maybe conservatives in the morning liberals in the afternoon?

Maca not logged in Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe conservatives in the
> morning liberals in the afternoon?


Cause conservatives get up earlier on Sunday. ;)

I live in one of the most liberal cities in one of the most liberal states in the country, 90minutes from 2/3 cities declared 'Anarchist Zones' by the US Department of Justice.

It was bleak here before the pandemic. We have two extremes we're dealing with, like other cities on the I-5 Corridor of the West Coast and elsewhere in this country. We have the liberals who are in power, running the government, on one side and the extreme conservatives on the other side (See Borat's latest movie where he almost got killed by an armed militia on our State Capitol Campus for singing a song about Wuhan Flu.)

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

This was the same heavily armed militia at our Governor's Mansion on 1/6 demanding the State Troopers arrest our Governor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uypwwz3DKGY

As the old adage goes,

"A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged one too many times." and

"Show me a young man who's a conservative and I'll show you a man without a heart.
Show me an old man who's a liberal and I'll show you a man without a brain."

I'm neither a liberal or a conservative.

I'm a pragmatist.

Do what works best.

Toss the rest.

Having growing tent cities full of people on the shoulder of the freeway, under bridges, in the doorways, swamps and greenbelts around town, while high priced out of reach, condo's are being built all around town, like we do, clearly isn't working.

Having waring groups of anarchists and heavily armed militias going around town, intimidating elected officials and shooting people in the street, like we do, clearly isn't working.

What does work, like it did in Finland which reduced homelessness to 0.1% of the population, is housing first, getting people off the streets and out of the tent cities and housing them is the first step. Then getting them drug/alcohol/mental health treatment is the next step. Vocational rehabilitation and training is the next step.

What does work is looking around at what other countries are doing to resolve their most pressing problems facing them. Find local solutions.

What does work is finding common ground with 'others', who might not look like us and working together for the well being of 'others'.

But that's not capitalism. It's dog eat dog, survival of the fittest or the ones with the most weapons, I guess.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2021 04:18PM by schrodingerscat.

Person 1:  "Oooh, I think I just broke my arm!"

Person 2:  "Let me take a look at it; if it's broken, I can set the bone and I'll find something to use as a splint."

Person 1: "Wow, it's lucky this happened with a doctor so close!"

Person 2:  "Oh, I'm a baker, but I grew up in Rochester, MN., so . . ."





Your notion the phrase "Do what works best" is the panacea for what you believe ails the world is cute.  

But why not just push for us "Do what Einstein would do"?

"Live harmoniously!"

"Do what is right, let the consequence follow!"

There's a chance that eventually peace could spontaneously break out, the world over. And then . . .

"All's well that ends well."

Just being practical.
I don’t care about labels, I care about results.

schrodingerscat Wrote:
---------------------------
> Just being practical.
>
> I don’t care about labels,
> I care about {appearances}.



...fixed it for you!

elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> schrodingerscat Wrote:
> ---------------------------
> > Just being practical.
> >
> > I don’t care about labels,
> > I care about {appearances}.
>
>
>
> ...fixed it for you!

I don’t know why you feel the need to personally attack me for expressing my honest opinion.

Inferiority complex much?