Posted by:
anon today
(
)
Date: March 05, 2012 08:15PM
I was a returned missionary serving as the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. I had put off marriage to complete my master’s degree. I somehow met a beautiful woman and we fell in love. We dated for 2 and half years and got married in Brazil.
It has been 8 years since I stumbled upon some information that was uncomfortable to read about the Mormon church. I had just celebrated my 1 year anniversary with my new wife. We had moved to South America where she was from. I was serving as 1st counselor and was enjoying my new life. I was asked by an American who worked at my place of employment about Joseph Smith and polygamy. As we started to talk I soon found out that that he knew more information than I did. I remember praying for help and asking God to help me with this potential convert. I started searching online, and what I found started to make my head spin. I got permission to not come to work for 2 days. I read everything I could, while my wife was working. I was trying to understand but the information just kept coming. I cried, I yelled, and I read. I remember turning off the computer one night and thinking, I’m done.
I stayed away from the evil internet and buried my head in the scriptures and in prayed more than I ever had. I finally could not do it any more alone. I prayed and asked for help on how to tell my wife.
I told her, and immediately wished I had not. She did not say anything, she just cried. The next morning she said “You do not want to be married to me; I have disappointed you as a wife.” Heartbreaking.
I was weak and told her I was just confused about some things. I pushed everything out and got back in line.
My wife is somewhat of a celebrity in her stake. She was found by the missionaries at age 8. She wanted to be baptized but her mother would not allow it. She attended church every week for 10 years, even had callings in young women. She was baptized at age 18 and more than 200 people came. I met her when she was 25, she had been asked to be married 6 times, all of them claimed divine inspiration. She said with me she just knew and God gave her 2 thumbs up.
When my daughter was born, I remember holding her in the hospital while my wife slept and thinking “Do I want to expose her to all of the lies, do I want to raise her in a religion that does not value her?” The answer was no, but my wife, what do I do? So I started reading this site again and others. I would bring up new information to my wife, sometimes she would respond “That is strange.” But that is it.
The beautiful members helped me. My bishop was a big temple guy. He would stand up before temple trips and tell all recommend holders that it was their duty to go to the temple, that no excuse was a good excuse before God. He would tell members to take sick days, personal days, whatever just go on the trip. Then my wife’s best friend got a job with his company. He interviewed her and told her “Do not ask me for time off to go to the temple, I will not allow it. If you take sick days to go to the temple I will fire you.” She called my wife, excited to have a new job. Then she told her what he had said. My wife talked to me about it and asked me about hypocrisy. Thank you Bishop!
Later, a different friend who was desperate to be married slipped up and fooled around with a Mormon man. She asked my wife what to do, confess to bishop or not say anything. My wife told her to confess to God but not tell the Bishop because it was none of his business and she was a woman. I agreed, could barely contain my joy. The friend told anyways and so did the man. The man was told to never speak to her again and not take the sacrament but kept his calling as Elder’s quorum president. The friend was dis-fellowshipped for 6 months and had to meet with the bishop every other week. This wonderful bishop, God bless him, would ask her about masturbation and where she did it, what she thought about, etc. She called my wife and told her, my wife was not happy. Thank you bishop #2.
My second child was born early with some complications. I wanted to bless him at home, because the churches are dirty. I asked the bishop he said no way, so I asked the SP. He said no way and said that was against the church rules. I asked him to reread the CHI, he did but said that is not the way things are done. My wife wrote to him and expressed our concerns, and said that this was allowed and it was not a bad thing. He said he would ask the regional representative. He did, and the 70 said, let him do it where ever he wants. SP told my wife, not me. My wife told him to tell me personally and he insulted me to my wife. Thank you SP!
At this time I would like to thank the church for spending at the time, 1 billion dollars to build a mall. My wife could not believe it, she is from a country where so many people have nothing. Thanks church!
What happen when the church responded with an official statement about blacks and the priesthood. My wife showed up in my office, mad. She shut the door and cried, “The church says they have no idea why, when, where the ban started.” How can a church lead by God discriminate for 140 years and say they have no idea why. Thanks prophet and apostles!
We finally spoke about that and many other things and my wife said “They lied to me!” Yes they did. This Sunday my wife and I took our family to the beach, and she got a new swimsuit. Thank you PR guy and Monson Mr no balls.
We talked about our marriage that day and she said “Why would God keep us apart in the afterlife, if we truly love each other and are good people.” My response “He would not.” She still has some way to go, but at least we started. Thanks members and leaders, you have done a work I could not!