I was brought up very strict mormon as a child.

problem was even as a 5yo, I questioned things in the church and never felt "the holy spirit" I only ever bore my testimony once when I was 8 and I felt so confused about it because I didn't believe the words and sounded robotic, I was just repeating what I had been grown up around and saw what everyone else did.

growing up, I hated going to church and started skipping and hanging out at friends houses because I didn't believe in it at age 12.

My parents started disliking my non mormom friends as they thought they were influencing me to get away from the church. In reality it was the church going kids that were more of a bad influence than my atheist or other religion friends! I also wanted to make a choice of my own, not to be told what I had to do even though I didnt want to.

When I was 16 I moved out of home because I couldnt take me parents sh*t anymore, being pushy about going to church, always going on about how I need to be in church and be saved, to marry a nice returned missionary boy in a few years instead of going out and getting a career and life! you know, the normal routine.

Anyway back on track...because I questioned the mormon church when I was a kid I became more open minded to things going on in the world and with people. I don't hate gays, transgenders, drags, people of other religions, people who smoke or drink etc etc etc because some of the best people I have met are gays amongst many others. The most close minded, nosey and judgemental people I have ever known were mormons. so much for their teachings on being tolerable and accepting to others.

When I was attending church at times I was shunned, talked about and made to feel like an outcast from everyone because I hung out with muslims, hindus, jehovahs witnesses, anyone really! and also because I dont believe what they teach people. Yet I went to church for the first time in a long time last year for a baby blessing and everyone who was mean and horrible to me when I was young were so inviting and trying to be nice and giving me hugs and trying to talk to me, it was like I was a movie star, everyone was struggling to have a talk with me! hypocritical much??

Anyway, thanks to being brought up in this stupid laughable religion I am a open minded and accepting person to many things and see the world for what it really is. I will gladly learn about new things and open my mind to anything, accept people for who they are and what they do (within reason, I wont obviously accept a serial killer etc)

Have you had your mind opened because of mormonism??

Sorry if this is long, I've had a lot built up inside of me for a long, long time :)

I'm still apalled at how prejudiced I was. In my defense, I was brainwashed from birth and I have subsequently corrected my attitudes. But I wish I could go back and have a more open mind about all things.

i didn't grow up in the church -i was a "convert" - so i didn't get to experience much of the baggage many mormon kids have.

hell, i even got expelled from seminary. twice. the second time they asked me not come back. thank you jeSUS!

i was always questioning. i didn't believe in the actual organization. i believed the gospel. the one that's not judgmental blah blah blah. i served my mission for the gospel i believed. i married in the temple. 10 years later i'm here writing this to you. i couldn't take anymore. i could not longer ignore the kolob thing, the book of abraham scam, and the polyandry business.


i'm a proud apostate. leaving mormonism didn't really free my mind. it was more like a symbol of something i needed to do to keep my mind in alignment. i needed to get rid of the contradictions of my life and mormonism was the first thing to go.

Meaning that I'll consider ways of looking at things differently. I'm much more tolerant than I used to be of people who live by different rules, as long as they aren't hurting anyone.


But if something doesn't make sense, I also feel free to question or reject it.

oh yes definitely question something you don't understand.

That is one thing I have found since being "inactive" (accoding to my family) for the past 8 years, I can question things myself and not be told a forced answer, but fully understand something for what it really is.

and I went through some hellish. Ironically, that taught me to hate the church all the more. I lost all respect for my father who tried to teach me horrible superstitions like "there were never any dinosaurs," "The whole world flooded after forty days of rain," "Joseph Smith was a fine and moral boy, and later one who spoke with God."

The best way to sum up my childhood and adolescence would be to say: Wasn't that a bitch?