Yesterday in the car I was driving to church with my 10 and 8 year old children to my new church. I used this time to do some anti-missionary work, but my kids are too smart already!

I was explaining how I wasn't "worthy" at Daddy's church to see them get married in the temple and that most Mormons now believe I will not be with my family in heaven (even though I am still a faithful Christian).

My daughter told me she's never getting married in the temple if I can't be there and my son said God would not be that cruel to not let families be together just because we go to different churches.

Later that night my husband tells my daughter that a friend from his church "misses her and wants her to come back". I reminded my daughter that she sees her friend every day at school and she's just saying it to reactivate her. I told my daughter it's her choice and no one else's!

Now that I actually give my children real choices (instead of artificial ones) they are easily seeing the mess of Mormonism.

Even if my children choose not to go to church when they are older, it would be so much better than being TBM.

So, your not going with the tried and true method of :

"You can go to church and like it, or you can go to church and not like it."

Those were my choices growing up.

For my children, I tell them, "your a Pagan - cool... your Buddhist - cool... you don't believe in god - cool... you believe / don't believe in _________ - cool..."

I follow along the same lines as Nick Erickson except for when my girls come home with something I feel might be harmful, or dangerous.

For example, if they were to ever utter bigoted speech I'd question them on it.
"Dad, gay people are bad"
"OH Really?! Why would you say that?" There's also nothing wrong with explaining my feelings on something
"here's why I don't have any ill will for homosexuals and would suggest you consider x,y, and z before you say mean and hurtful things about who people are."

My sister never joined the church. She was so traumatized by religion in general, when she had her kids, she was almost anti-religion. I do not know how much of this comment came from her.

But one day, when my nephew was around 10 or 12, he said to me, "Religion is B****t."

I patted him on the back and said, "Good boy." And then we went back to his Nintendo game, which he beat the crap out of me on. :>)

Funny, isn't it, when you discuss Mormonism clearly with your kids, instead of sugar coating it for fear of losing your eternal family, how kids respond. They can see through the crap faster and better than the adults because their minds are more open. I try to point stuff out like you did all the time and so far, it's working.

My kids attended church when they were younger. I was strictly ex-mo. What I would not do is give my permission for them to be either blessed or baptized. When my eldest daughter turned 8 all her friends were being baptized. She BEGGED me to allow her to be baptized. I told her when she turned 18 she could but I wouldn't give permission before then.

By the time she was 18 she wanted nothing to do with the Church.