and it has been a wonderful ride. It has not been perfect! We are experiencing a few bumps with our children which has caused me to stop and say "what if?" a couple of times. However, I slap myself and then accept that any of this could have happened if we remained LD$. I have known many LD$ members who had similar issues with their children and they were "active".

My wife and I are so glad we exited in 2006. It was a great decision and I have no regrets. I am still very lucky that I left with my marriage intact. DW has really embraced the non-LD$ life well.

It is hard to believe that I have been coming to this board for 7 years. This was such a safehaven for me during the year of my faith crisis. Realizing there were others out there that thought the same as me made me feel sane.

A HUGE THANKS to Eric for this board.

Peace out! Adam

My wife is still drinking the kool-aid, but we are at a much better place than when we started 5 years ago.

Here's to life on your own terms.

Congrats to you Adam!! It was May 2008 when I was officially out. And two Sundays ago my wife turned in her letter! Life is good outside mormonism! I know what you mean though about thinking what if when things happen that are challenging. Because we were programmed and conditioned to believe that all good things or blessings are predicated upon our obedience to living the gospel(mormonism) and when bad things happen its because God is either testing us to make us stronger or punishing us for not being obedient enough. WHAT A MIND SCREW!!! I know alot of people dont like the cult word, but hell if it quacks like a duck and acts like a duck.... You know what I mean?? Anyway, good luck to you my friend and live well and love more!!

I escaped with my marriage and family. the extended family relationships suck but no big deal.

Glad that your wife saw the light and left also. It is a great life outside and I rarely IF EVER look back.

Adam...

im amazed at how attached we really are to the church i am certain it is a fruad but man when i hear or sing the hymns of zion they have real power over me.

especially when it seemed as though I might lose my wife/family by leaving. Fortunately we came out of it together and just celebrated anniversary #26 (we resigned together on our 20th anniversary)!

Any good music/song can bring out emotions!

Adam

Most of us had a strong attachment to the church, and breaking such a connection is hard. I, too, feel a twinge when I hear the old hymns. Finally I realized it's not tscc I'm mourning, but my idealized dream of what the church was. An ideal the real church didn't live up to. I've been out over 30 years.

To honor you and yours I shall toss-back a cold one for each year of freedom!

Congrats!

Timothy

... I am quite flexible!

Party on, mate!

Timothy