I would like to start by saying, hi. Hello to all. I am grateful for this place. I may likely never post here again, but I am glad to do so this time.

I was raised atheist, and could not be more glad for it. But I am not here to push my beliefs on anyone. I AM here, however, to express my gratitude for places like exmormon.org and related websites. Here's why:

Raised atheist, I had little exposure to religion growing up the first five years of my life. The fifth year of my life (very young, now, thinking about it!) I met my first bff. She was six, and a mormon. She talked about god. WHAT? What was GOD? Nothing I had ever heard of.

Here's what I remember: I was her bff from 5 to 14, before I went off to boarding school. That doesn't seem like much, due to how young we were, but it was enough to affect me. 9 years! And I have always been smart and observant...in the time I knew her before leaving for bording school, everything she said had a certain allure, but not enough to convince one like me, raised as a skeptic.

As a bff of a mormon, I learned many things. I can sing Follow the Prophets and many other mormon songs as well as those that were raised in it. I went to chuch with them A LOT but never took the sacrament. I am a non-religious prepper now, and ironically enough, keep a year's worth of food, energy, and water in mine and my non-religious boyfriends' apartment (along with weapons and munition) because hell, it's a good idea! Funny enough, I think some practical parts of the mormon religion wore off on me--all but the religious stuff.

I wanted to thank the posters of exmormon.org. I come here and lurk every two years, holding out hope for my bff. I want to think she is astute enough to escape the grasp of her church. I would never want her to forsake the belief in her god, for to do so would be to break from everything that she is. BUT I want her free. And, she is smart. She works sundays so she goes less. Maybe someday she will discover this site.

Whether or not it happens, I thank everyone here for providing peace of mind.