As in, not just untrue. I've been struggling with whether or not to resign or just remain inactive. Part of me even toys with the idea of going enough so that I don't have to actually leave the church for the sake of my parents.... and I think I could do that if it was just that the church was a sham and simply uninspired.

But the church is... bad. People are hurt by it. Families are broken up by it. The church builds a mall instead of a homeless shelter to keep things pretty. Women are 2nd class members and gays are treated even worse. Bi-racial couples are discouraged. Fathers can't see their daughters get married if they don't pay up? Consensual sex is the sin next to murder? And on and on....

These things are bad! The Church is bad! How can people not see this? The deep doctrine stuff is nothing compared to this. Mormons can believe what they want about all that... but can't they see the damaged caused by Christ's "true" church? You don't have to go online and read to see that this is NOT how God would want the true Church to be.

Right, Mormonism is anything but neutral. In addition to abusive parenting, my guilt-laden, nasty Mormon upbringing ruined my childhood. Mormonism is an assualt on individual dignity and civil rights. I will fight it for the rest of my life.

If Galileo could stand against the monolithic monster of Catholicism, then I can stand against the evil Rocky Mountain Empire.

It ruined my childhood as well. My parents had married each other as agnostics, then low and behold my mother got swayed by missionaries and joined the church. My parents fought about the church my entire childhood. My mother guilted me into living a good Mormon life to make up for my Dad. I went to BYU and married in the temple to please her. I hated my life until I left the church. I hated the racism, the misogyny, the anti-gay hysteria. My second secular Jewish, (and somewhat Buddhist,) husband is a far more compassionate, good and moral person than all those GAs and Prophets put together were, are, or will ever be.

Yes the church is bad. Bad like many other cults who exist for power, money and control over other humans.

That was a big step for me when I realized the church wasn't just untrue, but was a bad institution.

I used to say growing up; "I don't think I can believe in it, but it is a force for good."

The church does some good things here and there, but overall it is far from a force of good.

archaeologymatters Wrote:
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> The church does some good things here and there,...

That's what I call the "Well, Hitler built the Autobahn" argument that I sometimes heard from old Germans when I lived a year in Germany (1960). "He put the German economy back on its feet, he got jobs for the unemployed. He promoted families. He got rid of the petty crooks and the homosexuals Yes, he made some mistakes. But hey, he was only human...."

I think we all took that step once. "I can't believe in this anymore but maybe it is a force for good." It might be a phase we all go through as we get out of the cult. I haven't cared about it for years really, but recently since 'Romney' my friends and large non-LDS family (second marriage) have been asking me about what Mormons stand for.

Thinking about it has brought up a deep realization that the LDS church is bad. Really horrible. The rape of girls in the guise of polygamy, the racism, the judgement, the delusions of grandeur, the cover up, always the cover up, bad, evil, disgusting.

We can not forget what was done to the poor Native Americans in Utah. Can we add murder to the list of rape, lies, racism, etc?

A fish rots from the head down.

You are right. And it is the bad part that should shed light on all doubters....bad for your childhodd, teen yrs. and young adult yrs. Bad that they boss you around and demand this and that and spy on you and call you in for interviews. For heavens sake...would JC approve of that? Many organizations do some good things, but when the bad outweighs the good, something is not right. I applaud anyone who faces it and makes the right choice.

"You weren't willing to live the high standards of the church," or "you are too proud to follow the words of the living prophet," or "you think too much."

Guilty as charged. No more dissonance, no more pretzel logic. (Well, except for Steely Dan.)

Their sense of lyrical irony is so subtle that Mormons would probably like the song!

An anti-pluralistic and magical worldview formed during the Second Great Awakening with the accumulation of corporate religious imperialism kept alive by central authoritarian control of information and policy is absolutely bad to be subservient to. Bad for anybody who values living in reality, exploring individuality, expressing emotional and intellectual honesty, or creative freedom.

Out with the old in with the new!

Your parents will get over it. Resigning was necessary for my parents to understand that I was being honest and sincere in my views. We had to find other things to have in common other than churchy stuff. There is very little awkwardness or resentment in our relationship at all anymore.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2012 01:14AM by Brian M.

I left the church, not because of doctrinal issues, but because of the racist, misogynistic, homophobic, hypocritical bullshit. Now if I could only get my parents and siblings off that hamster wheel.

Though Mormon doctrine is as false as Joan Rivers' eyebrows, that's not the point. The point is taking orders from a sweaty man in a Men's Wearhouse suit. It's sitting next to a side of beef in a flowery mumu singing "He Lives" in an unstable falsetto. It's in mandatory meetings in which you are exorted to obey. Isn't that redundant? You've already obeyed by showing up for the meeting!

Bartender, make the nextround a double.

+10

I have trouble getting DH to see that. One more thing I have to thank Bishop Jackwagon for. I thought the church was a lie but still was a good social organization that attracted nice people and taught good values back in the day when I first was researching the "true" church. Watching how fast the lying, bearing false witness, slander, lack of compassion, lack of concern ... and 100 other bad behaviors from ward members, led by Bishop Jackwagon, taught me pretty fast that most of them are NOT what they seem on the surface. Mormonism is not turning out millions of good people. It's driving away good people and corrupting the good people that it's keeping. Making them paranoid, stressed, gossipy, uncharitable and in many ways the epitome of a modern Pharisee. Making them the sort of people the Savior they claim to worship hated. And getting them to completely close their minds to anyone or anything that tried to get through to them. The church may teach a few good things but mostly it teaches members to sin differently than the world while patting them on the back and calling their sinning righteousness.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2012 02:36AM by CA girl.

" . . . corrupting the good people that it's keeping. Making them paranoid, stressed, gossipy . . . "

Hit the nail on the head.

Mormonism feels more like an illness than a religion.

Suzanne - I agree that it is BAD, very bad. In fact down right evil. But I believe that the "deep doctrinal" stuff started the "Badness," because it is bad and evil too, concocted by bad and evil profits. Great post.

It is a force for EVIL. I know I say this and say this ad nauseum but it bears repeating until everyone everywhere sees TSCC for what it is, just like Hitler's Third Reich right down to the brainwashing of the very young and impressionable. The Hitler Youth were trained to spy on their parents and report any anti-Nazi behavior immediately, (even anti-Nazi thoughts)! I have met many Mos who have that exact set-up. Tell on each other (I'm telling the bishop na na na na na!) How hopelessly childish and evil at the same time. JS was a bad seed and the entire church has followed suit ever since.
That tattling crap is so unlike the hymn "There is Beauty All Around." I have always found that hymn to be such a farce; it is creepy.

Yep, that's why I decided to resign. I wanted to tell them that I refused to have my name be associated with them.

I held out for a long time. I kept saying that it didn't matter. I was inactive and they were leaving me alone. There was no love-bombing and I wasn't being contacted in any way. Why rock the boat?

But once I realized that they were out there actively fighting the rights of other people, when they claim the right of agency for themselves, that was it. I was done.

There was also the fact that I kept thinking that if they found out who I was, I'd be hauled into church court for participating on these boards. I wanted to be free of even having to think about that and just be myself.

So, I was outta there.

Same here! I quit the cult in the mid 1990's mainly because of all their sexist BS.

Then came along California's Prop H8, more than a decade later, and the Mormons' involvement in ensuring its passage. That's when I finally said "That's it! I am through with that hateful cult!"

...that a lot of what the Mormons practice as a society and a religion fall just inside the outermost boundaries of good manners, prorpiety, decency and law.

You will also come to acutely notice that they frquently cross those boundaries whenever they see fit and whenever they think they can get away with it.

Great topic, I've only recently gotten to evil conclusion. I've known for quite a while that the doctrine wasn't true, but now I'm angry about the church's deceit. Now I rage against it.

My dad doesn't believe either, but feels a natural inclination to "protect" the church and soft-peddle its misdeeds. In my opinion it's out of some sense of "loyalty" because he married my mother in the temple and she is now deceased.

He recently made a comment about discovering the truth of the church and said , "It's not fun when you learn there's no Santa Claus".

I replied. "Actually, it's like finding out Santa is a sexual predator in a red suit who comes to your house, cons you out of your money, and has sex with your wife and daughter".

It's not just a disappointment, It's the discovery of something evil.

I am so glad you have reached this stage of your journey out. The church damages. Their is no conscience at all. Lives are ruined and families are ripped apart. For what? For the ego of the 'brethren'.

There is nothing more frightening than to hear someone saying they are staying in because it is a good way to instill values in your children.

The values are twisted. They are not healthy. No child should have to sort through that mess.

TSCC was based upon the lies of a greedy, horny and power-hungry con man.

It could not possibly be good, and anyone who thinks so either has not studied its' history very well or is fooling themself. [Or maybe they are so damn brainwashed that they can't think about it]

I used to not believe but guilt mnade me go and I would defend it to my nevermo friends by saying that church is aplace to go to improve ourselves and whats wrong with that? But it didn't "improve" anything about me. Any church that makes dread sundays and when you do go you go home and cry can't be good.Glad you have seen the light. It took me half my life.

I've said this before but it bears repeating: I love this board and the discussions we have and all of the well thought out posts that get put up. Totally agree on this one. It isn't just that the doctrines and history of the church are false and untrue in many cases, but the inherent evil of what the church does to its members. That they built the jesus mall is bad enough but that the TBM's I know see nothing wrong with that sort of conduct nicely highlights what I am talking about. The church process has brainwashed them so badly they don't see anything wrong with an institution that builds a 3 billion dollar mall that now has homeless people at every entrance some days with no visible outreach program to deal with the homeless. And that's just one example. The list is lengthy of the evil that tscc creates. Thanks everyone for your thoughtful posts.

Like you I didn't realize until much later how bad it was for almost anyone it touches.

We've had posters on RfM who needed recovery help after mormon interactions in the workplace, in the neighborhood, or on the street. That's how toxic the morg can be!