LDS "friends" of mine never asked about why I came home from my mission 18 months early. They seemed so excited for me when I left, but when I returned, they didn't ask me at all. The silence bothers me. I don't know what to think of it.

effed up somehow and that it is some form of sin. This calculates only within their Mo bubble, there is no active investigation, no truth seeking, no empathy. They just 'know' you've done something wrong, the same way they 'know' Joseph's Myth was a prophet of god. The question to ask is why do you give a flying rat's behind about what they think?

Why did you come home early???

Maybe the gossip mill already knows why you came home early...either that or they just made up their own narrative as to why

...guy who started a church. However, my aunt was under the impression I was in a low-baptising area. FALSE. I have a knee problem that started in the mission. It's NOT the reason I came home. I figure the grapevine takes things and twists them. I figure that my parents also probably gave quite optimistic explanations of my "trials", that I just needed some time to gain a testimony.

My wife got hit in the eye with a softball one weekend, gave her a black eye. Everyone at work pretended they didn't notice and assumed I had hit her.

Same kind of deal.

It's in their programming to think that it must have been something bad and if it is something bad it is like cooties and can be contagious and spread unless it is avoided.

Maybe it's because there's so much expectation that your faith would heal you of any physical, emotional or mental infirmity that the only reason you'd ever actually go home is because either you've screwed up or your faith is weak. Why would you go home because of a health issue? Wouldn't heavenly father heal you so you could stay?
(Eyeroll)
I think it bothers you because you expect people to care and ask why because they're supposed to be the people who love you and care about you. The problem is that within the LDS mindset, there's just no room for true empathy and compassion. If bad things happen to you, it's because you made god mad and helping you would subvert God's effort to fix you. While having to suffer the consequences of your decisions is a natural reality (when it's actually a consequence), kicking a guy when he's down is conscientious effort.

Well, as my great grandma used to say, 'shit happens. Are you going to just sit there in it?' It's better you know the fullness of what you're dealing with now than to have to go one at a time with each person, explaining why over and over again. And good for you for making your views public. I'm not an atheist myself, but laying claims to your personal beliefs publicly will cut through a lot of the awkwardness. It has a nice way of forcing people to either love you as you are, or get out of your face entirely.
Don't worry about it too much, snugglebunny still loves you. ;P

Almost nobody in our ward asked either, just gossiped about the "bad" stuff we must have done. As for you, the silence is deafening.

Either they gossip where I can't see them, they gossiped before I even arrived home (they had about 3 weeks head-up before I got back home), or they just don't feel the need to gossip.

Yesterday, my aunt was surprised when I told her I'm an atheist. I put up a big facebook status today saying that I'm an atheist, because I don't want to keep worrying about who knows and doesn't know.

You are a member of a club, repeat after me- member of a club

Don't get me started with repetition. Raise your hand, bow your head and repeat these words.... I'm never doing THAT again!

Why should anyone ask why you came home early? It's none of their business!

...was that I kept worrying about whether this TBM friend knows already, or this TBM friend doesn't know... Anyway, posting on FB that I'm an atheist really brought peace to my mind about this, because EVERYBODY knows, now. I'd be a bad politician, though...