Posted by:
exmollymo
(
)
Date: December 10, 2011 10:36AM
Received the first discussion when I was 15 and went to F&T meeting with my friend's family. That freaked me out, so i stopped going.
A year later my boyfriend was Mormon, so I tried again and took all of the discussions. My mom wouldn't let me get baptized at age 16, so I had to wait until my 18th b-day. I think rebelling against my mom by becoming a zealous mormon was what did it for me. Her restriction on not getting baptized made me want it more. Too bad she never gave me a good reason why the Mormon church was bad. She let me go to church on Sunday's, mutual, and seminary.
Also, my parents were divorced, we watch tv while we ate dinner that we made for ourselves, and overall The Simpsons looked like a good model family from what I grew up in. We didn't have any abuse, buyer lack of quality time and relationships. The Mormon church and my boyfriends family provided all those things for me that I didn't have - dinner on real plate at the table, home cooked food, cultural entertainment, etc.
My boyfriend broke up with me, but I was so involved with the ward as the "golden contact" that I kept going. I had a lot of pride that I was so "righteous" and I wasn't even baptized yet!
I went to BYU in January 2000 and was married by June. According to Mormon standards, I've had the perfect life - homemaker, children, homemade dinners, etc. I became a Stepford wife.
Now that I have seen the truth for what it is, I am now in school and volunteer in the local community (homeless work). My life is so much more fulfilling, but it causes my husband great concern since he's TBM. He thinks I'm spending too much time away from home. I still take care of the kids, cook, and clean - so he's the one with the problem. I involve the kids with me when I do what I do, so I know it's not taking away from them.
I left the church because I learned history that I had never been taught - polyandry, 14 year old brides, Joseph Smith's criminal record was real and not fake. Also, the Book of Abraham and the First Vision accounts were a HUGE factor!