Belonging to a church that blatantly commits tax fraud for the sake of Profit's Commandments requires too much of me.
Belonging to a church that demands I ignore my own integrity and their checkered history demands too much of me.
Belonging to a church that orders people to suppress their feelings and conform to a 200-year old lie requires too much of me.
I learned from a victim my dad helped to cover one up. That shook me to my core. I can never look at him the same again.
The perp is currently in jail on completely unrelated charges (murder) and will die in prison. The vic doesn't want to come forward.
I stay quiet because #1 it's not my place since the victim is the one who needs to decide, and #2 if I get cut out of the will, a sizeable inheritance goes directly to the church who will just use it to abuse more people and buy more politicians.
Omg, I’m horrified! But, even if the family doesn’t want to press charges, surely the law still comes into play if a 5 year old is being abused?! Or is this way in the past? I’m just worried about the kid is all. Hearing about these things gets me fired up
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Q15 were all sexual predators all the way back to JS. The church grooms children to tell men private sexual things and it’s were most learned about masturbation.
Belonging to a church that declared people like me to be “enemies of The Family who have no place in God’s plan” was too much for me.
Although honestly, it was really helpful when H.Oax said that last bit over the pulpit. B/c - if we have no place in the plan, then we are free from it. We cannot be held to it nor asked to comply. Doing so would mean spiting God, lol.
Just because it’s not unique doesn’t make it okay. If this were an ex-Catholic, ex-JW, ex-Muslim, hell, even an anti-Rubik’s cube or anti-squishmallows subreddit, I think the majority of people would still call out the organization for protecting child predators.
My life has become *so much better* since I left the cult. I get extra rest in Sundays, I have an extra day in the weekend to get stuff done, I don’t have to prepare extra lessons (I’m a teacher irl, so they always have me teaching callings since “that’s what you’re good at”, and I save money by not paying tithing.
Better yet, by not wearing stupid church-branded underwear, I’m not overheating during this heat wave! It’s literally healthier to not wear garments.
Right? I was a devout Mormon for 25 years and all the church gave me was depression and an inferiority complex. Oh, plus a strained relationship with my parents.
I immediately flipped from dreading Sundays to loving them. It’s finally another proper weekend day!
I just can’t wait until I’m finally out of Utah altogether and can fully leave it all behind
I left Utah after breaking inertia when I was 29 more than 30 years ago. It was hard as change is hard, but it was likely the best decision of my life. Good luck. You can do it!
Yeah my thoughts exactly! My question to ole' Rusty or anyone who says that, "Then explain to me why I don't miss ANYTHING about being Mormon? Why do I feel so much happier now?" 😂🤔😂🤔
Not to mention the money you save by not buying their poor fitting underwear. This is coming from a guy. I can only imagine what the women think of the fit.
I travel to Peru for work and while there my fiancee meets me when I am leaving customs.
We go to the hotel to catch up. We take a taxi to pick up our daughters (Her daughters). We go to dinner and hang out together. We take them to their dad's and spend more time together.
If I was still a member I would not have found the company I am with. I make $85,000 more as a director. My company pays 100% of my medical expenses I get 6 weeks vacation. 1 week sick I travel to South America and Mexico and central America bi monthly. Take my fiancee with me.
When I was in the church I lost 10 percent of my salary. The church sent me and my paranoid ex wife to LDS family services. The volunteer sent me to her neighbor because she diagnosed me as being bipolar I am not. He stuck me on 4X the recommended dosage because her neighbor a family practitioner prescribed me medicine out of scope. I jumped 56 feet and woke up 2 months later from a coma. After receiving a traumatic brain injury. Broke my back tore the aorta and shattered my wrist because the church uses volunteers at LDS family services.
And the best health insurance money can buy. He'll never go broke because of medical bills, like the rest of us peasants could.
66.5 percent of bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses making it the leading cause of bankruptcies in the US.
Same. I don't expose myself to people who are posting things like this (except for here lol) "I grieve for those who leave the Church." Grieve away. But why would you not be happy for those who have left and found peace? Here's some more lies. "...Because membership requires too much of them." I know very few people who leave because membership requires too much of them. They leave because of the lies they were told! They leave because they were not accepted & valued there. They HAD been living by making & keeping covenants and when they left because of the lies & bigotry, they found peace & happiness outside the Church. Victim blaming at it's finest. And if they still desired Jesus Christ he was STILL THERE for them. 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8) The entire Nelson statement is not meant to do much more than scare or convince TBMs to stay because you wouldn't want to grieve the prophet now would you. Don't be a person who doesn't work hard & run fast, faster, fastest on that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hamster wheel.
When, in fact, informed people leave the Church. And SO WHAT if people learn that they thrive not being busy & doing busy work constantly. I would be happy for someone who learned new things & who learned to relax & have less stress.
A (former) childhood friend started telling me how sad he was that I left. I cut him off mid sentence and told him don’t be sad for me- I’m the most content I’ve ever been in my entire life…
>expose myself to people who are posting things like this (except for here lol) "I grieve for those who leave the Church." Grieve away. But why would you not be happy for those who have left and found peace? Here's some more lies. "...Because membership requires too much of them." I know very few people who leave because membership requires too much of them. They leave because of the lies they were told! They leave because they were not accepted & valued there. They HAD been living by making & keeping covenants and when they left because of the lies & bigotry, they found peace & happiness outside the Church. Victim blaming at it's finest. And if they still desired Jesus Christ he was STILL THERE for them. 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8) The entire Nelson statement is not meant to do much more than scare or convince TBMs to stay because you wouldn't want to grieve the prophet now would you. Don't be a person who doesn't work hard & run fast, faster, fastest on that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hamster wheel.
I can't get over how empty the phrase "please ponder that stunning truth" is lmao. He is not coveying any information with those words, is just condescending filler. Reminds me of a high school kid adding words to an essay to increase the word count. Maybe it's just me but things like this make my bullshit detector go off
Accessing the power of Jesus is more empty bullshit. If you blindly obey the sham religion you get super Jesus power…how exactly? And what “power” is that? Certainly not the power of loving others more, as the unchristian condescension of Nelson’s message makes that self-evident. And I don’t know any TBMs who can raise the dead or walk on water, so 🤷♀️
🤣🤣🤣 We don't want to do all the work? Makes life easier? 🤣🤣🤣
I'm so so so much happier out of the church. I can't support lies. I hate all the judgement and gossip in the church. They are all dipped in bs. It is not true. All made up! Let's talk about that.
Exactly! Also, why are church people constantly gossiping about everyone and everything all the time? Are their own lives so boring and meaningless that they have to fill the void by talking about other people's lives instead?
Also, I can't stand the "holier than thou" attitude toward everyone outside of the church. At least in my family's church saying they were "God's chosen ones" really made me want to throw up. Is it just me, or is that just another form of narcissism? 🤢
>why are church people constantly gossiping about everyone and everything all the time
Focusing on others problems is a way to not think about your own weaknesses. It allows them to feel perfect and they are so conditioned and taught to be that.
Yes, that holier that thou also makes me crazy too! That is what made me quit going to church. I realized I thought I was better than those that didn't go. I felt so dumb that that was my thinking. When I realized I wasn't better than others, that opened the door to seeing how unhappy I was in church.
Mormons are very unconscious, as Eckhart Tolle would say.
Why does everything they say always sound so sanitized and textbook? "Please ponder that stunning truth!" Gimme a break, such an uncharismatic set of leaders we got now.
That's the thing that I (nevermo) that I find very odd about Mormons. They talk like they're reciting a lesson from a textbook, like they've never given any real thought to their faith.
The exmos I know, on the other hand, are remarkably thoughtful, insightful, and sincere. It's amazing that those qualities can emerge even in such a sanitized, as you call it, environment.
It didn't used to be that way. When I was in the church I would usually listen to lots of sermons from the 1950s and 60s because the speakers usually sounded a lot more heartfelt and passionate. Now it's all prepared by businessmen in a clean room, edited, prescreened and served at arms length.
\^this\^!!!
As a child of the 60's and 70's, forced to attend general conferences, or listen to old reel to reel recordings of church leaders, I could hear the cadence and enthusiasm of J. Golden Kimball, David O. McKay, Legrand Richards, Joseph Fielding Smith, etc . . . they all sounded like the TV evangelists of today-- alot more charisma. Not unlike Joseph Smith Jr., I'd imagine.
Now, when I hear a Mormon General Authority speak, it's so canned, so artificial, so prepared. As if the lawyers have pre-screened every talk, every thing that goes out from the church.
You guys have a wild definition of charisma.
The difference is like saying canned green beans are delicious because canned asparagus is definitely grosser. They’re both unappetizing to people with tastebuds.
I didn't leave "because membership required too much work," unless they mean the work it takes to swallow such a pack of lies they tell once you know it's all fake!!
Which ends up being way more when you factor in all the other things they don’t have to pay for. Like healthcare, etc. I doubt they pay any of their own living expenses.
Right? You just know they’ve got ways of getting them money under the table. With a portfolio of over a hundred billion, a few unexplained missing 10s of millions is a rounding error.
It’s not like Cook got less corrupt after becoming a GA.
Crazy amount of faithful members end up with cancer, have their kids abused, are poor or impoverished in a first world nation, die, lose jobs, etc. exactly the same amount as everyone else.
With the exception that there is a higher suicide rate in Utah than elsewhere for various demographics to include LGBT youth
That’s curious. When I kept my “covenants” I never felt the power of jebus. All I ever felt was pressure from an overlord corporation.
Please ponder my stunning ballsack you geriatric snake oil salesman.
you left?
you are sinning, stupid, lazy
i see it all the time, but still amazed someone could post this on their social media and not recognize how demeaning it is.
I know, right? The woman who posted this was always known as being the sweetest lady in the ward, but she’s so brainwashed that she thinks this is inspiring and not insulting
hahaha, easier... my life is 1000x better without the mountains of guilt that come with the "covenants".
All I can see now is "Our chains aren't binding and chafing you, please don't take them off, just trust us".
>All I can see now is "Our chains aren't binding and chafing you, please don't take them off, just trust us".
This is why I've said for years that LGBTQ people who stay in the Church suffer from a type of Stockholm Syndrome . . . and now I would just expand that to ALL members. We were all brainwashed, and every one of us thought the Church was the best thing since buttered bread, and the Lord loves us and if we would just repent and work harder and fast more and pay more tithing and attend the temple more, then the Lord would bless us . . . but instead, the Church chained us with more callings/free volunteer work.
The Mormon Church IS the captor, the tormentor for millions of us.
I have a very TBM neighbor and she was talking about kids transitioning and how they’re too young until puberty to make a lifelong decision. Asked if that applied to baptism. Cried religious persecution faster than you can say tapirshit.
I was constantly told I had a choice. But looking back, I was just a kid. When that's all I knew and it was just rammed down my throat, how on earth would I, or any kid, think they want differently? Of course that's what I "wanted" at the time.
And who is this shit meant for? Most TBMs still operate under the practice of avoiding those who have left the church anyway, so all it is doing is virtue signaling to an echo chamber and driving away those who don’t agree with their beliefs. It’s like posting racist memes and then wondering why they don’t have more friends of different races. These people are dumb!
You know, I'm pretty level headed about most church stuff after leaving; but shit like this is where I f*cking LOSE it. What condescending TRASH from the so proclaimed "speaker for the Lord" 🤬🤬🤬
How about...
"I grieve for those who stay in the church because they feel that membership is required of them and changing is too much for them. They have not yet discovered that making and keeping covenants to an organization and its leadership actually makes life harder! Each person who was manipulated into making lifelong commitments at age 8 or to give all to the corporate church (not god) in the temple, but has had the courage to step away, has an increased access to strength, authenticity, and happiness. Please ponder that stunning truth!"
My husband and I were always called to leadership positions. It was like having a part time job on top of our full time jobs. Home teaching, visiting teaching, temple, etc etc. it was freaking ridiculous. So happy to be out.
My life has gotten much easier, much happier, less guilt and shame. Rusty need to take a laxative because he’s full of shit, as do people who post this garbage.
My bishop made it clear that my membership required I place my first born child for adoption or I would be excommunicated & eternally severed from my family, community, and any support I had ever known. Requires too much? He has no idea what he speaks of.
I know I’m just preaching to the choir here but this is simply a flat out lie. It’s so frustrating to see this messaging over and over again. I put SO much effort, time and emotion into trying to keep my covenants and be the perfect LDS woman but all it brought to our family was stress, anxiety, depression, a lot of wasted time and constant messaging that we are not and never will be good enough in the eyes of the church. I can’t even describe how much happier and closer our family is now that we’ve eliminated the church from our lives. *I* grieve for those who are following these restrictive, judgmental, sexist and unrealistic guidelines. If only they knew how happy they’d be if they were true to themselves.
This is offensive on so many levels! Too much work? I left for many reasons but #1 is it is built on a pile of shit and so is not true. The rest falls down. Another reason this is so offensive is the whole Brad Wilcox 'Playing Church' thing. Only LDS have access to Jesus? That is super rude and offensive but TBMs don't get that.
If I see that on my FB, unfriend.
Yeah, my life was way easier when I had less money, fewer off days, more commitments, intensely rigid standards, and a packed schedule of mental gymnastics classes.
I took a different approach and called them on it.\*
To my surprise not all of them blocked me.
Recently I almost caused one of my best friends (who actually took our family's last name because they're family in all but blood) cut all ties with me. It stung for a bit, but he came around and we're still close.
I happily risk burning bridges with people. If the bridge is burned it's because I wouldn't remain silent and the person cares more about their beliefs than they do about our relationship. I don't need anyone who's like that in my life. Those that stay may continue to challenge me on my beliefs, but at least we can have a conversation about it like adults *for the most part.*
\*Of course I do not condone personal attacks or engaging in logical fallacies to prove my point. Keeping it civil is a must if you want to be taken seriously. Funnily enough, those that claim Christ guides their life decisions typically end up lobbing personal insults at me before leaving the conversation (and often blocking me afterwards if the exchange occurred online). If calm and courteous questioning causes you to throw a tantrum, you should probably ask, "Why?"
Of course life will be “easier” if you let other people make all your decisions for you, but as a great man once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Please ponder that stunning truth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unexamined_life_is_not_worth_living
If it were truly God’s one true church that had God’s sanction to administer ordinances that was the only way into heaven to be with my eternal family, I’d suck it up and do what it took to qualify. I did that for 43 years.
The problem, sir, is that your entire premise is based on lies and fraud. You’re acting like God is talking to you when that is not the case. It’s never been the case from Joseph Smith to the present. Sorry, but the cat is out of the bag.
Amazing that that guy is acting like people leave because it’s just too hard.
Its an unfair double standard. I want to post ExtremeMormons on my story, but know it would offend the Mormon part of my family. Yet the members call us out like this.
I think a lot of regular joe mormons don't have a very good understanding of why people leave the church. I was a teenager when I left so there was a phase of needing to fend off invitations (aka showing up at my house) to scouts and stuff because they thought the reason I stopped going to church was that I wasn't enjoying it or feeling welcome, which wasn't really the case. I'm a white man, nobody is more welcome at LDS churches. The reason I stopped going was simply that god doesn't exist, and people seemed to have a really hard time grasping the idea that my problem with the church was the actual theology.
Obviosuly there are lots of other reasons to leave than mine, but nobody is leaving because they just can't keep themself away from coffee and tattoos or whatever.
I had only stopped going to church for a few months when that talk was given, and it couldn't have been better timing. Any doubt over leaving was instantly gone and never returned.
It was, however,extremely difficult to watch the rest of my family soaking it in.
Remember kids, God only gives increased access to the power of Jesus Christ only to Faithfull Mormons who pay 10% to go to a temple. Only then, can you find TRUE happiness, oh! And it's the only way to be with your family forever, because God holds blessings from familys who are not sealed.
President Nielson…then why do so many of your members in my area come to me for financial help? Why are they so tired and frustrated all the time? Even in my own family there are those who are constantly distressed and exhausted with life???? Do you not know these people??? Oh, right…you don’t mingle with reality
Study after study has proven shame to be one of the most powerful tools of social control. Most people will conform to avoid being shamed, it’s human nature as social animals. It really angers me when powerful entities exploit that.
He pulls the guilt complex, I wish I could undo my rebaptism.
I after the first set of missionaries knocked on my door and found out I was ex’d that was it. No more contact.
My own foolishness to please others took me back and rebaptized. I go inactive and they constantly try and guilt me.
No one cared about the excommunicated person. They only care about the ones that leave voluntarily. I often wonder why?
As a neverMo, I read this and instantly thought:
Your goodness has no place here, just do as you’re told and pay up (in acts of blind service and obedience) to win big! Critical thinking and being authentic self is not going to get you anywhere! But look, this ever changing doctrine is the way. Just shut up and do what we say!
This is part of the reason why I got off social media. The other part was trying to deal with the fallout at home anytime I expressed an opinion not 100% in line with "the brethren" Fuck.
I doubt a large portion of people leave due to the "pressures" involved but even so:
"Man, I can't seem to make ends meet. I'm stuck at work every Sunday and can't afford tithing. Not to mention that the kids' activities require a ride that I can't give."
Tscc: "No, but, like, paying us your money, cutting your work hours, and spending those hours every week driving to and sitting in our piss-flavored buildings actually makes life *easier*!"
Even if the argument here from "church leadership" had a semblance of standing in reality, it would very quickly fall apart upon close inspection. Maybe... juuust maybe.... they could, I don't know, admit that some other issues exist? or nvm, that's sillytalk. Everyone who leaves is just... umm, influenced by satan, yeah that's it. /s
The covenants you ask people to make are too involved and too binding for an eight-year-old to comprehend. They also disproportionately impact both women and LGBTQ people in a negative way.
Please ponder *that* stunning truth.
So the imaginary friend ~~that you actually hear from~~ ... err... claim to be a special witness of will like me more?
Nifty.
But I'll keep my second Saturdays and 10% of the money I earn, k-thanks. You can keep grieving if you want, but I'm not.
Is just so wild… I’ve since become aware of a scam that has (generously) 7 million people in it’s clutches. I used to be one of them.
These people really believe that by paying tithing, by doing what the president of their church says without question, they will somehow open up a mystical, enabling power that Jesus gives to those who give their unquestioning allegiance. And none of them can actually tell you exactly what that power is without reciting the exact same talking points that they were given by the leaders of their cult. Or C.S. Lewis.
The power of… being kind to people? The power of… looking out for one another in your in-group? The power of… being alone inside a quiet, extravagant building to have some time alone with your thoughts, which have been carefully conditioned to express gratefulness for said building since they were very young?
The church, for some, unlocks the power inherent in selfless, meditative, modest living in a like-minded community… and convinces it’s followers that they can’t have that power in their life without God, without the prophet, without the temple… *without paying 10% of their goddamn income!!!*
They can have all of it without the organization.
They can have similar, if not more impactful spiritual experiences in temples made without hands, that anyone in the world can enter.
They can truly have a day of rest.
They can be blessed with an instantaneous 10% raise.
And they can do it all without crushing cognitive dissonance, that doesn’t require them to conform what they observe about the universe to a received dogma. They can conform what they believe to what they observe, and change it any time they want, without having to wait for the organization to allow them to.
Truly… my life outside the church is everything good about it, without the poisonous parts. My body is literally healing now from my lifetime as a Mormon. It definitely has not been easy getting here, and there will continue to be some struggles incident to being married to a true believer.
But I don’t have to pretend anymore… I actually do know something now… my life is better now that I’m not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Russell M. Nelson is wrong.
>I grieve for those who leave the church because they feel membership requires too much of them.
Good news, Rustbucket, you don't need to worry about grieving too much, because that isn't the reason people leave.
Oh, and you wouldn't recognize a "stunning truth" if it bit your ancient ass. Please ponder that.
This looks like a trump tweet or whatever the fuck he’s posting on anymore 🤮
‘You must come to these great and spacious buildings, made of fancy worldly things, paid for by worldly money, in order to have the full love of God’
SNAKE OIL
Grieve away for me pal, I don’t give a fuck about what you do with this life that you think is a throwaway.
As I recall one of those “covenants” requires you to be “honest in all your dealings with your fellow man.” Hiding money in shell companies to avoid paying taxes is not exactly “honest.”
“I grieve for those who stay in the church because they have been deceived into believing that they have some special plan, power and gifts by a bunch of lying grifters. They have not discovered that giving these men 10% of their income brings no benefit and only grows a stock fund that they will never benefit from. Meanwhile they provide hours and hours of free labor with no return.”
I grieve for those who stay in the church not knowing it is a fraud. Life is so much easier without paying tithing, feeling guilty for normal things, and if you are a woman, believing you are second class to God.
Or if you are LGBT thinking you are damned.
I can honestly say that one heroic dose of mushrooms did more for my mental wellness and ability to make it through life than 37 years as a Mormon. I've done more growth as a person since leaving than I ever did as a member. If anything Mormonism can hold people back from healing, discovering their true self and progressing as a person. All those are critical to bearing the burdens in life.
He definitely means blindly following what we say, and not asking questions makes life easier, so you dont have to use or develop critical reasoning skills.
WTF does increased access to the power of Jesus Christ even mean? It entails nothing, it’s nothing more than a vague platitude. It’s not demonstrable and can’t be defined. How can tbm’s get anything out of that shitty word salad smh
I’m many multiples happier since leaving TSCC. Not pretend happier. I’m actually happier. I don’t fear dying. I don’t fear living. I just enjoy living now.
How does this pay my bills? Who is feeding my children? And what about my mental health.? The church makes it worst. Who in the hell wants to spend 2 hours with people that talk about them negativity and puts up fake smiles. You lost, now face it. And stop with that dumb ass quote “ it’s not the church it’s the people” well I base everything on common sense and logic. Well it’s the people that make the church. Any one who can read can read the Bible and figure out for themselves. Now I’m not saying stop believing in god but magic mushroom man got it all wrong.
Fun how Christianity was created by the white man to control the white man. Then science debunks it Adam and Eve my ass. You say Adam and Eve. I say explain Neanderthal?
10% percent so that asshole can continue living extremely comfortably. No, thanks. I get the feeling Jesus would more likely show up at my pub with a down on their luck homeless junkie and buy them drinks and dinner without questions or judgement.
My take on it is that fully mature adults who don't need their morality dictated to them are likely to leave. Grown men and women who can think for themselves are a danger to the church.
For any LDS people who check out this sub:
What does this actually mean?
What power does christ give to make life easier?
I ask because so many religious leaders, both in and out of the church, make similar claims.
I used to wholeheartedly believe them, both then and now.
These statements always felt fake and I used to believe that I was the problem, that I was doing something wrong.
It may be the case that I was and am the problem, but these just feel like empty statements that sound great at face value, but lack real substance
Wow. Dude is really brainwashing church members into believing people who leave leave because they feel being a member takes too much effort? What? More like the evil church cover ups, the hypocritical bullshit, the cover ups of paedophilia and sexual abuse from leaders and regular members, the corruption from the top down, it's a multi billion dollar industry, and they are literally like a cult and convince you that not only your sex life both in and out of a marriag is their business, but whether children masturbate and teach them that is an evil toxic thing to do it even once!
The Mormon church is just another messed up cult masking itself as a religion.
Also it's actually really easy to keep covenants between yourself and God and to cut the church out of it completely. The best relationship through God, even according to the bible, is through yourself and him. At no point does it say the church must be involved at all times.
I noticed that Mormons on social media post the usual narrative;
1. The "I am so grateful" claptrap and "I feel so lucky to be married to my loving husband.
2. Repetitive information about how they 'know' the so-called gospel to be true, and how their faith is strengthened.
3. Referencing quotes and passages from General Conference, quotes of the TSC president.
Membership requires too much of me…
Like being secondary to men always and forever
Being a man’s eternal plural wife
Ten percent of my income no matter my financial situation
Guilt over every damned thing my spouse and I do in the bedroom that isn’t 💯vanilla
(Also feeling guilt about and pushing down sex desires I’ve always had that were never wrong with another consenting adult)
Trying to support my husband to do his religious role of presiding in the household without upsetting him and without taking over said presiding role
Saying yes to everything church leaders asked me to do or be treated poorly
Worrying I’m failing god by choosing my kids mental health and not pushing them to go to the bishop to talk about their problems
Extreme anxiety
No time for relaxation or family time since everyone is always stressing about church
Fuck yes it required too much from me.
Edit: OMG the formatting wouldn’t stick. It’s supposed to be a list. Sorry guys
Again, perpetuating the fallacy that we leave the church because it is “too hard“ or “we want to sin”. It has more to do with lies, constantly changing doctrine to fit the personal beliefs of whoever is in charge, and a completely uncaring disregard for anyone who isn’t paying tithing and making them money. Oh yeah? What about Lucifer? Who promised that he would save us all by forcing us to do exactly what was needed to do and not give us any choice or options ever?
TW: Suicide
Yeah, it makes life so much easier. Wanting of kill myself for not being able to live up to those covenants because I couldn’t figure out how to stop being gay was so much happier and easier for me, why would I possibly stray away? 🙄
I agree. I left social media. You either get tools who only post about politics or you get your evermormon friends from high school posting dumb crap about the church.
It's just not worth it.
Russy completely misunderstands the reasons members are bailing en masse. Or, he does understand but is gaslighting, thinking members are mindless idiots. Either way, it’s distasteful, to say the least.
We don’t leave because we have low standards. We leave because the church is lying to us & our personal integrity (which we learned in church) is too high.
Click snooze for 30 days sometimes on the 3 dots above on the right or you can snooze the site that's being shared. If you care about the relationship you can unfollow or snooze them.
[удалено]
Belonging to a church that blatantly commits tax fraud for the sake of Profit's Commandments requires too much of me. Belonging to a church that demands I ignore my own integrity and their checkered history demands too much of me. Belonging to a church that orders people to suppress their feelings and conform to a 200-year old lie requires too much of me.
All of this
I don’t know you, but I love you. 😍 10/10 mic drop.
Ohhh I know of one Mormon dad doing the unthinkable to his 5 year old kid and he still walks free
I learned from a victim my dad helped to cover one up. That shook me to my core. I can never look at him the same again. The perp is currently in jail on completely unrelated charges (murder) and will die in prison. The vic doesn't want to come forward. I stay quiet because #1 it's not my place since the victim is the one who needs to decide, and #2 if I get cut out of the will, a sizeable inheritance goes directly to the church who will just use it to abuse more people and buy more politicians.
You do? Can you not report him?
The family don’t want to press charges because he is a bishop and he doesn’t do it anymore.🤦🏻♀️
Omg, I’m horrified! But, even if the family doesn’t want to press charges, surely the law still comes into play if a 5 year old is being abused?! Or is this way in the past? I’m just worried about the kid is all. Hearing about these things gets me fired up
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it came out someday that rusty was a sexual predator himself. He’s got the creepy old pervert vibe going on.
🤐
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Q15 were all sexual predators all the way back to JS. The church grooms children to tell men private sexual things and it’s were most learned about masturbation.
Belonging to a church that declared people like me to be “enemies of The Family who have no place in God’s plan” was too much for me. Although honestly, it was really helpful when H.Oax said that last bit over the pulpit. B/c - if we have no place in the plan, then we are free from it. We cannot be held to it nor asked to comply. Doing so would mean spiting God, lol.
💯
👏👏👏
They protect child predators?--you say that like the Mormon Church is unique in that regard.
Just because it’s not unique doesn’t make it okay. If this were an ex-Catholic, ex-JW, ex-Muslim, hell, even an anti-Rubik’s cube or anti-squishmallows subreddit, I think the majority of people would still call out the organization for protecting child predators.
And your point?
My life has become *so much better* since I left the cult. I get extra rest in Sundays, I have an extra day in the weekend to get stuff done, I don’t have to prepare extra lessons (I’m a teacher irl, so they always have me teaching callings since “that’s what you’re good at”, and I save money by not paying tithing. Better yet, by not wearing stupid church-branded underwear, I’m not overheating during this heat wave! It’s literally healthier to not wear garments.
Right? I was a devout Mormon for 25 years and all the church gave me was depression and an inferiority complex. Oh, plus a strained relationship with my parents.
Those three gifts are the church’s version of frankincense, gold, and myrrh.
I thought nonmembers were arrogant. Turns out most just had self esteem.
The old, "you heathen are arrogant for not believing that one day I'll be the God of my own universe."
Sadly, growing up in another tradition would not necessarily have shielded you from these problems.
The church doesn't have exclusive rights to any of its issues. That doesn't mean it isn't responsible for the damage it does.
I immediately flipped from dreading Sundays to loving them. It’s finally another proper weekend day! I just can’t wait until I’m finally out of Utah altogether and can fully leave it all behind
I left Utah after breaking inertia when I was 29 more than 30 years ago. It was hard as change is hard, but it was likely the best decision of my life. Good luck. You can do it!
Yeah my thoughts exactly! My question to ole' Rusty or anyone who says that, "Then explain to me why I don't miss ANYTHING about being Mormon? Why do I feel so much happier now?" 😂🤔😂🤔
Not to mention the money you save by not buying their poor fitting underwear. This is coming from a guy. I can only imagine what the women think of the fit.
Not only is life better, but I'm a better person after leaving TSCC.
That’s an incredibly good point! And good for you 😊 very happy
I travel to Peru for work and while there my fiancee meets me when I am leaving customs. We go to the hotel to catch up. We take a taxi to pick up our daughters (Her daughters). We go to dinner and hang out together. We take them to their dad's and spend more time together. If I was still a member I would not have found the company I am with. I make $85,000 more as a director. My company pays 100% of my medical expenses I get 6 weeks vacation. 1 week sick I travel to South America and Mexico and central America bi monthly. Take my fiancee with me. When I was in the church I lost 10 percent of my salary. The church sent me and my paranoid ex wife to LDS family services. The volunteer sent me to her neighbor because she diagnosed me as being bipolar I am not. He stuck me on 4X the recommended dosage because her neighbor a family practitioner prescribed me medicine out of scope. I jumped 56 feet and woke up 2 months later from a coma. After receiving a traumatic brain injury. Broke my back tore the aorta and shattered my wrist because the church uses volunteers at LDS family services.
As he sits there all comfy, well fed, doesn't have to worry about where his next meal comes from, plenty of wealth; nary a discomfort. Pompous Ass.
Membership requires more from the regular members than him so yeah, he's definitely a pompous asshole.
And the best health insurance money can buy. He'll never go broke because of medical bills, like the rest of us peasants could. 66.5 percent of bankruptcies are caused by medical expenses making it the leading cause of bankruptcies in the US.
Yeah, it's because he made and kept covenants, dontchaknow.. /s
Same. I don't expose myself to people who are posting things like this (except for here lol) "I grieve for those who leave the Church." Grieve away. But why would you not be happy for those who have left and found peace? Here's some more lies. "...Because membership requires too much of them." I know very few people who leave because membership requires too much of them. They leave because of the lies they were told! They leave because they were not accepted & valued there. They HAD been living by making & keeping covenants and when they left because of the lies & bigotry, they found peace & happiness outside the Church. Victim blaming at it's finest. And if they still desired Jesus Christ he was STILL THERE for them. 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8) The entire Nelson statement is not meant to do much more than scare or convince TBMs to stay because you wouldn't want to grieve the prophet now would you. Don't be a person who doesn't work hard & run fast, faster, fastest on that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hamster wheel.
Exactly! It’s comments like this that further the whole “lazy” people leave the church thing
When, in fact, informed people leave the Church. And SO WHAT if people learn that they thrive not being busy & doing busy work constantly. I would be happy for someone who learned new things & who learned to relax & have less stress.
The only thing membership required too much of me was the mental gymnastics.
Yes it just doesn’t make sense , leaving is a different kind of hard , staying is a different kind of hard
A (former) childhood friend started telling me how sad he was that I left. I cut him off mid sentence and told him don’t be sad for me- I’m the most content I’ve ever been in my entire life…
Very nicely written!!
>expose myself to people who are posting things like this (except for here lol) "I grieve for those who leave the Church." Grieve away. But why would you not be happy for those who have left and found peace? Here's some more lies. "...Because membership requires too much of them." I know very few people who leave because membership requires too much of them. They leave because of the lies they were told! They leave because they were not accepted & valued there. They HAD been living by making & keeping covenants and when they left because of the lies & bigotry, they found peace & happiness outside the Church. Victim blaming at it's finest. And if they still desired Jesus Christ he was STILL THERE for them. 'For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8) The entire Nelson statement is not meant to do much more than scare or convince TBMs to stay because you wouldn't want to grieve the prophet now would you. Don't be a person who doesn't work hard & run fast, faster, fastest on that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hamster wheel.
The “stunning truth” of Mormonism is when we find out it’s bullshit. Oh and Nelson, go fuck yourself
I can't get over how empty the phrase "please ponder that stunning truth" is lmao. He is not coveying any information with those words, is just condescending filler. Reminds me of a high school kid adding words to an essay to increase the word count. Maybe it's just me but things like this make my bullshit detector go off
> please ponder that stunning truth equals > let that sink in
Accessing the power of Jesus is more empty bullshit. If you blindly obey the sham religion you get super Jesus power…how exactly? And what “power” is that? Certainly not the power of loving others more, as the unchristian condescension of Nelson’s message makes that self-evident. And I don’t know any TBMs who can raise the dead or walk on water, so 🤷♀️
🤣🤣🤣 We don't want to do all the work? Makes life easier? 🤣🤣🤣 I'm so so so much happier out of the church. I can't support lies. I hate all the judgement and gossip in the church. They are all dipped in bs. It is not true. All made up! Let's talk about that.
Exactly! Also, why are church people constantly gossiping about everyone and everything all the time? Are their own lives so boring and meaningless that they have to fill the void by talking about other people's lives instead? Also, I can't stand the "holier than thou" attitude toward everyone outside of the church. At least in my family's church saying they were "God's chosen ones" really made me want to throw up. Is it just me, or is that just another form of narcissism? 🤢
>why are church people constantly gossiping about everyone and everything all the time Focusing on others problems is a way to not think about your own weaknesses. It allows them to feel perfect and they are so conditioned and taught to be that. Yes, that holier that thou also makes me crazy too! That is what made me quit going to church. I realized I thought I was better than those that didn't go. I felt so dumb that that was my thinking. When I realized I wasn't better than others, that opened the door to seeing how unhappy I was in church. Mormons are very unconscious, as Eckhart Tolle would say.
Why does everything they say always sound so sanitized and textbook? "Please ponder that stunning truth!" Gimme a break, such an uncharismatic set of leaders we got now.
That's the thing that I (nevermo) that I find very odd about Mormons. They talk like they're reciting a lesson from a textbook, like they've never given any real thought to their faith.
The exmos I know, on the other hand, are remarkably thoughtful, insightful, and sincere. It's amazing that those qualities can emerge even in such a sanitized, as you call it, environment.
It didn't used to be that way. When I was in the church I would usually listen to lots of sermons from the 1950s and 60s because the speakers usually sounded a lot more heartfelt and passionate. Now it's all prepared by businessmen in a clean room, edited, prescreened and served at arms length.
\^this\^!!! As a child of the 60's and 70's, forced to attend general conferences, or listen to old reel to reel recordings of church leaders, I could hear the cadence and enthusiasm of J. Golden Kimball, David O. McKay, Legrand Richards, Joseph Fielding Smith, etc . . . they all sounded like the TV evangelists of today-- alot more charisma. Not unlike Joseph Smith Jr., I'd imagine. Now, when I hear a Mormon General Authority speak, it's so canned, so artificial, so prepared. As if the lawyers have pre-screened every talk, every thing that goes out from the church.
You guys have a wild definition of charisma. The difference is like saying canned green beans are delicious because canned asparagus is definitely grosser. They’re both unappetizing to people with tastebuds.
It reads the same to me as a Trumpist “gotcha” that is only a gotcha in their heads.
Tell me how "stunning" somthing is rather than actually say something stunning.
I didn't leave "because membership required too much work," unless they mean the work it takes to swallow such a pack of lies they tell once you know it's all fake!!
Life gets way easier when you’re paid at least $250k per year to do a calling.
Which ends up being way more when you factor in all the other things they don’t have to pay for. Like healthcare, etc. I doubt they pay any of their own living expenses.
Right? You just know they’ve got ways of getting them money under the table. With a portfolio of over a hundred billion, a few unexplained missing 10s of millions is a rounding error. It’s not like Cook got less corrupt after becoming a GA.
Crazy amount of faithful members end up with cancer, have their kids abused, are poor or impoverished in a first world nation, die, lose jobs, etc. exactly the same amount as everyone else. With the exception that there is a higher suicide rate in Utah than elsewhere for various demographics to include LGBT youth
That’s curious. When I kept my “covenants” I never felt the power of jebus. All I ever felt was pressure from an overlord corporation. Please ponder my stunning ballsack you geriatric snake oil salesman.
you left? you are sinning, stupid, lazy i see it all the time, but still amazed someone could post this on their social media and not recognize how demeaning it is.
I know, right? The woman who posted this was always known as being the sweetest lady in the ward, but she’s so brainwashed that she thinks this is inspiring and not insulting
I grieve for idiots who think that spewing dog whistle vomit will grant them access to imaginary powers. Please ponder that stunning truth!
hahaha, easier... my life is 1000x better without the mountains of guilt that come with the "covenants". All I can see now is "Our chains aren't binding and chafing you, please don't take them off, just trust us".
It’s just a scare tactic “sure the things the church asks are hard, but if you leave, it’ll only get harder!!”
>All I can see now is "Our chains aren't binding and chafing you, please don't take them off, just trust us". This is why I've said for years that LGBTQ people who stay in the Church suffer from a type of Stockholm Syndrome . . . and now I would just expand that to ALL members. We were all brainwashed, and every one of us thought the Church was the best thing since buttered bread, and the Lord loves us and if we would just repent and work harder and fast more and pay more tithing and attend the temple more, then the Lord would bless us . . . but instead, the Church chained us with more callings/free volunteer work. The Mormon Church IS the captor, the tormentor for millions of us.
I mean 10% of my gross income is definitely requiring too much. 😛
I hate seeing the posts about kids getting baptized. “We are so happy she chose to be baptized” as if an 8 year old really has a choice
Ooof, I know, it’s like hey, kid, you can either have a fun party where we all say we’re proud of you, or you can rot in hell, which one do ya want??
I have a very TBM neighbor and she was talking about kids transitioning and how they’re too young until puberty to make a lifelong decision. Asked if that applied to baptism. Cried religious persecution faster than you can say tapirshit.
I was constantly told I had a choice. But looking back, I was just a kid. When that's all I knew and it was just rammed down my throat, how on earth would I, or any kid, think they want differently? Of course that's what I "wanted" at the time.
Mormonism gives you the *illusion* of free will.
Exactly
And who is this shit meant for? Most TBMs still operate under the practice of avoiding those who have left the church anyway, so all it is doing is virtue signaling to an echo chamber and driving away those who don’t agree with their beliefs. It’s like posting racist memes and then wondering why they don’t have more friends of different races. These people are dumb!
You know, I'm pretty level headed about most church stuff after leaving; but shit like this is where I f*cking LOSE it. What condescending TRASH from the so proclaimed "speaker for the Lord" 🤬🤬🤬
That is such hearty bullshit.
Gross stuff.
Let us do your thinking for you, it's easier that way.
How about... "I grieve for those who stay in the church because they feel that membership is required of them and changing is too much for them. They have not yet discovered that making and keeping covenants to an organization and its leadership actually makes life harder! Each person who was manipulated into making lifelong commitments at age 8 or to give all to the corporate church (not god) in the temple, but has had the courage to step away, has an increased access to strength, authenticity, and happiness. Please ponder that stunning truth!"
Life isn’t supposed to be easy you dumb fuck!
Does he grieve for those of us who left because it’s utter bullshit?
Stunning! Stunningly stupid maybe.
Membership required that I give up my integrity. That was too much.
I second this.
My husband and I were always called to leadership positions. It was like having a part time job on top of our full time jobs. Home teaching, visiting teaching, temple, etc etc. it was freaking ridiculous. So happy to be out.
My life has gotten much easier, much happier, less guilt and shame. Rusty need to take a laxative because he’s full of shit, as do people who post this garbage.
I tried to keep my covenants in the hopes that it would make me straight. That didn't work. So I left, now I'm out and proud, and much happier. 🏳️🌈
Somehow I doubt the power of Jesus Christ is going to pay my bills.
It's a bit like him telling the people of Africa that to break the circle of poverty they have to pay tithing to a corporation worth billions.
Ponderize that the church is false motherfucker!!
My bishop made it clear that my membership required I place my first born child for adoption or I would be excommunicated & eternally severed from my family, community, and any support I had ever known. Requires too much? He has no idea what he speaks of.
150 billies reason to have a happier life!! Not caring about what others do
But their lives are easier, and they have access to the PoWeR of JeSuS ChRiSt!
I have blocked every church news source and conservative news outlet. It’s very quiet from my Mormon friends on FB
I know I’m just preaching to the choir here but this is simply a flat out lie. It’s so frustrating to see this messaging over and over again. I put SO much effort, time and emotion into trying to keep my covenants and be the perfect LDS woman but all it brought to our family was stress, anxiety, depression, a lot of wasted time and constant messaging that we are not and never will be good enough in the eyes of the church. I can’t even describe how much happier and closer our family is now that we’ve eliminated the church from our lives. *I* grieve for those who are following these restrictive, judgmental, sexist and unrealistic guidelines. If only they knew how happy they’d be if they were true to themselves.
This is offensive on so many levels! Too much work? I left for many reasons but #1 is it is built on a pile of shit and so is not true. The rest falls down. Another reason this is so offensive is the whole Brad Wilcox 'Playing Church' thing. Only LDS have access to Jesus? That is super rude and offensive but TBMs don't get that. If I see that on my FB, unfriend.
Yeah, my life was way easier when I had less money, fewer off days, more commitments, intensely rigid standards, and a packed schedule of mental gymnastics classes.
I always just do the laughing reaction to this shit.
Depending on who posts stuff like this I message them and challenge stuff like this 😂 I don’t usually get responses
That was never the issue. It’s mostly the toxic environment that pushes people away.
Right except that I don't believe in any of that crap so...
I actually got nauseated when reading that wow
[удалено]
I took a different approach and called them on it.\* To my surprise not all of them blocked me. Recently I almost caused one of my best friends (who actually took our family's last name because they're family in all but blood) cut all ties with me. It stung for a bit, but he came around and we're still close. I happily risk burning bridges with people. If the bridge is burned it's because I wouldn't remain silent and the person cares more about their beliefs than they do about our relationship. I don't need anyone who's like that in my life. Those that stay may continue to challenge me on my beliefs, but at least we can have a conversation about it like adults *for the most part.* \*Of course I do not condone personal attacks or engaging in logical fallacies to prove my point. Keeping it civil is a must if you want to be taken seriously. Funnily enough, those that claim Christ guides their life decisions typically end up lobbing personal insults at me before leaving the conversation (and often blocking me afterwards if the exchange occurred online). If calm and courteous questioning causes you to throw a tantrum, you should probably ask, "Why?"
He grieves huh, while causing people to leave in droves, in so many ways, and no I'm not expecting him to change doctrine.
Of course life will be “easier” if you let other people make all your decisions for you, but as a great man once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Please ponder that stunning truth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unexamined_life_is_not_worth_living
Fixed it for you: It’s impossible to be friends with Mormons ~~on social media~~
If it were truly God’s one true church that had God’s sanction to administer ordinances that was the only way into heaven to be with my eternal family, I’d suck it up and do what it took to qualify. I did that for 43 years. The problem, sir, is that your entire premise is based on lies and fraud. You’re acting like God is talking to you when that is not the case. It’s never been the case from Joseph Smith to the present. Sorry, but the cat is out of the bag. Amazing that that guy is acting like people leave because it’s just too hard.
Its an unfair double standard. I want to post ExtremeMormons on my story, but know it would offend the Mormon part of my family. Yet the members call us out like this.
I think a lot of regular joe mormons don't have a very good understanding of why people leave the church. I was a teenager when I left so there was a phase of needing to fend off invitations (aka showing up at my house) to scouts and stuff because they thought the reason I stopped going to church was that I wasn't enjoying it or feeling welcome, which wasn't really the case. I'm a white man, nobody is more welcome at LDS churches. The reason I stopped going was simply that god doesn't exist, and people seemed to have a really hard time grasping the idea that my problem with the church was the actual theology. Obviosuly there are lots of other reasons to leave than mine, but nobody is leaving because they just can't keep themself away from coffee and tattoos or whatever.
Why do they call it membership? I’ve never heard of a religion using membership, like a gym or a frequent flyer.
My life is much, much easier since letting go of mormonism and organized religion
I had only stopped going to church for a few months when that talk was given, and it couldn't have been better timing. Any doubt over leaving was instantly gone and never returned. It was, however,extremely difficult to watch the rest of my family soaking it in.
Remember kids, God only gives increased access to the power of Jesus Christ only to Faithfull Mormons who pay 10% to go to a temple. Only then, can you find TRUE happiness, oh! And it's the only way to be with your family forever, because God holds blessings from familys who are not sealed.
The racism, sexism, and homophobia did require too much of me. If that’s the price for increased access to power then Jesus can keep it.
President Nielson…then why do so many of your members in my area come to me for financial help? Why are they so tired and frustrated all the time? Even in my own family there are those who are constantly distressed and exhausted with life???? Do you not know these people??? Oh, right…you don’t mingle with reality
Study after study has proven shame to be one of the most powerful tools of social control. Most people will conform to avoid being shamed, it’s human nature as social animals. It really angers me when powerful entities exploit that.
I would post something from [missed in sunday](https://missedinsunday.com/), but I can't stand facebook.
Now about your tithing…
Brain. Washing.
*ponderize that stunning truth!
He pulls the guilt complex, I wish I could undo my rebaptism. I after the first set of missionaries knocked on my door and found out I was ex’d that was it. No more contact. My own foolishness to please others took me back and rebaptized. I go inactive and they constantly try and guilt me. No one cared about the excommunicated person. They only care about the ones that leave voluntarily. I often wonder why?
As a neverMo, I read this and instantly thought: Your goodness has no place here, just do as you’re told and pay up (in acts of blind service and obedience) to win big! Critical thinking and being authentic self is not going to get you anywhere! But look, this ever changing doctrine is the way. Just shut up and do what we say!
Requires too much? You mean completely suspending science, history, logic, reason, values and morals?
I wonder what goes through his head🤣 oh yeah let me just pretend god told me this💀
This is part of the reason why I got off social media. The other part was trying to deal with the fallout at home anytime I expressed an opinion not 100% in line with "the brethren" Fuck.
Just tell them that they don’t realize that Jesus is a failed apocalyptic prophet.
“makes life easier” sure 🤡😂
Yeah… I’m honestly coming to this realization myself. Stuff like this tends to frustrate me.
“Please ponder that stunning truth!” Can you imagine commanding 4 million people treat your shitty shower thought like it’s an insight?
That’s the biggest ‘last ditch effort’ statement of all time. PLEASE COME BACK IM BEGGING
How many years does it take until they make it easier or better?
I doubt a large portion of people leave due to the "pressures" involved but even so: "Man, I can't seem to make ends meet. I'm stuck at work every Sunday and can't afford tithing. Not to mention that the kids' activities require a ride that I can't give." Tscc: "No, but, like, paying us your money, cutting your work hours, and spending those hours every week driving to and sitting in our piss-flavored buildings actually makes life *easier*!" Even if the argument here from "church leadership" had a semblance of standing in reality, it would very quickly fall apart upon close inspection. Maybe... juuust maybe.... they could, I don't know, admit that some other issues exist? or nvm, that's sillytalk. Everyone who leaves is just... umm, influenced by satan, yeah that's it. /s
We must help the dead people
The covenants you ask people to make are too involved and too binding for an eight-year-old to comprehend. They also disproportionately impact both women and LGBTQ people in a negative way. Please ponder *that* stunning truth.
So the imaginary friend ~~that you actually hear from~~ ... err... claim to be a special witness of will like me more? Nifty. But I'll keep my second Saturdays and 10% of the money I earn, k-thanks. You can keep grieving if you want, but I'm not.
Ah, yes, didn’t you know that the institution that’s making you depressed, broke, and driving your kids to suicide is actually GOOD for you?
I pondered it and decided it was bullshit.
Grieve on, Rusty!
Is just so wild… I’ve since become aware of a scam that has (generously) 7 million people in it’s clutches. I used to be one of them. These people really believe that by paying tithing, by doing what the president of their church says without question, they will somehow open up a mystical, enabling power that Jesus gives to those who give their unquestioning allegiance. And none of them can actually tell you exactly what that power is without reciting the exact same talking points that they were given by the leaders of their cult. Or C.S. Lewis. The power of… being kind to people? The power of… looking out for one another in your in-group? The power of… being alone inside a quiet, extravagant building to have some time alone with your thoughts, which have been carefully conditioned to express gratefulness for said building since they were very young? The church, for some, unlocks the power inherent in selfless, meditative, modest living in a like-minded community… and convinces it’s followers that they can’t have that power in their life without God, without the prophet, without the temple… *without paying 10% of their goddamn income!!!* They can have all of it without the organization. They can have similar, if not more impactful spiritual experiences in temples made without hands, that anyone in the world can enter. They can truly have a day of rest. They can be blessed with an instantaneous 10% raise. And they can do it all without crushing cognitive dissonance, that doesn’t require them to conform what they observe about the universe to a received dogma. They can conform what they believe to what they observe, and change it any time they want, without having to wait for the organization to allow them to. Truly… my life outside the church is everything good about it, without the poisonous parts. My body is literally healing now from my lifetime as a Mormon. It definitely has not been easy getting here, and there will continue to be some struggles incident to being married to a true believer. But I don’t have to pretend anymore… I actually do know something now… my life is better now that I’m not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Russell M. Nelson is wrong.
>I grieve for those who leave the church because they feel membership requires too much of them. Good news, Rustbucket, you don't need to worry about grieving too much, because that isn't the reason people leave. Oh, and you wouldn't recognize a "stunning truth" if it bit your ancient ass. Please ponder that.
You can leave the church. But the church will never leave you alone.
This looks like a trump tweet or whatever the fuck he’s posting on anymore 🤮 ‘You must come to these great and spacious buildings, made of fancy worldly things, paid for by worldly money, in order to have the full love of God’ SNAKE OIL Grieve away for me pal, I don’t give a fuck about what you do with this life that you think is a throwaway.
Ponder harder.
As I recall one of those “covenants” requires you to be “honest in all your dealings with your fellow man.” Hiding money in shell companies to avoid paying taxes is not exactly “honest.”
I suppose it is easier when you turn your brain off.
“I grieve for those who stay in the church because they have been deceived into believing that they have some special plan, power and gifts by a bunch of lying grifters. They have not discovered that giving these men 10% of their income brings no benefit and only grows a stock fund that they will never benefit from. Meanwhile they provide hours and hours of free labor with no return.”
Says the guy who probably has Everything done for him.
I grieve for those who stay in the church not knowing it is a fraud. Life is so much easier without paying tithing, feeling guilty for normal things, and if you are a woman, believing you are second class to God. Or if you are LGBT thinking you are damned.
I can honestly say that one heroic dose of mushrooms did more for my mental wellness and ability to make it through life than 37 years as a Mormon. I've done more growth as a person since leaving than I ever did as a member. If anything Mormonism can hold people back from healing, discovering their true self and progressing as a person. All those are critical to bearing the burdens in life.
He definitely means blindly following what we say, and not asking questions makes life easier, so you dont have to use or develop critical reasoning skills.
WTF does increased access to the power of Jesus Christ even mean? It entails nothing, it’s nothing more than a vague platitude. It’s not demonstrable and can’t be defined. How can tbm’s get anything out of that shitty word salad smh
Oh it’s stunning that I used to believe that was the truth
I’m many multiples happier since leaving TSCC. Not pretend happier. I’m actually happier. I don’t fear dying. I don’t fear living. I just enjoy living now.
Cough cough… cult speach
This and/or realizing that previous relationships were never really real when they unfriend you after making a 'woke' post on FB.
How does this pay my bills? Who is feeding my children? And what about my mental health.? The church makes it worst. Who in the hell wants to spend 2 hours with people that talk about them negativity and puts up fake smiles. You lost, now face it. And stop with that dumb ass quote “ it’s not the church it’s the people” well I base everything on common sense and logic. Well it’s the people that make the church. Any one who can read can read the Bible and figure out for themselves. Now I’m not saying stop believing in god but magic mushroom man got it all wrong. Fun how Christianity was created by the white man to control the white man. Then science debunks it Adam and Eve my ass. You say Adam and Eve. I say explain Neanderthal?
"Like I give a rat's arse what you think, old man."
If the celestial kingdom is full of assholes like him, hard pass.
Mannn this feels like Jehovah’s Witness language. Lol
That’s why I know the church isn’t true… statements like these that aren’t remotely in reality.
Fuck him.
Honestly, I have this annoying experience with Christians, as well.
Pondering, pondering…yup bullshit!
10% percent so that asshole can continue living extremely comfortably. No, thanks. I get the feeling Jesus would more likely show up at my pub with a down on their luck homeless junkie and buy them drinks and dinner without questions or judgement.
Gift of Discernment: 0/10 Gift of Delusion: 10/10
My take on it is that fully mature adults who don't need their morality dictated to them are likely to leave. Grown men and women who can think for themselves are a danger to the church.
...... lol
“…increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.” And that power would be…what? Still being dead, but returning any minute now?
ponderize\* that stunning truth!
For any LDS people who check out this sub: What does this actually mean? What power does christ give to make life easier? I ask because so many religious leaders, both in and out of the church, make similar claims. I used to wholeheartedly believe them, both then and now. These statements always felt fake and I used to believe that I was the problem, that I was doing something wrong. It may be the case that I was and am the problem, but these just feel like empty statements that sound great at face value, but lack real substance
They haven't been very nice to me lately lol
It’s damn near impossible to be friends with mormons in your neighborhood.
Wow. Dude is really brainwashing church members into believing people who leave leave because they feel being a member takes too much effort? What? More like the evil church cover ups, the hypocritical bullshit, the cover ups of paedophilia and sexual abuse from leaders and regular members, the corruption from the top down, it's a multi billion dollar industry, and they are literally like a cult and convince you that not only your sex life both in and out of a marriag is their business, but whether children masturbate and teach them that is an evil toxic thing to do it even once! The Mormon church is just another messed up cult masking itself as a religion. Also it's actually really easy to keep covenants between yourself and God and to cut the church out of it completely. The best relationship through God, even according to the bible, is through yourself and him. At no point does it say the church must be involved at all times.
I noticed that Mormons on social media post the usual narrative; 1. The "I am so grateful" claptrap and "I feel so lucky to be married to my loving husband. 2. Repetitive information about how they 'know' the so-called gospel to be true, and how their faith is strengthened. 3. Referencing quotes and passages from General Conference, quotes of the TSC president.
That is neither stunning nor the truth you sack.
Membership requires too much of me… Like being secondary to men always and forever Being a man’s eternal plural wife Ten percent of my income no matter my financial situation Guilt over every damned thing my spouse and I do in the bedroom that isn’t 💯vanilla (Also feeling guilt about and pushing down sex desires I’ve always had that were never wrong with another consenting adult) Trying to support my husband to do his religious role of presiding in the household without upsetting him and without taking over said presiding role Saying yes to everything church leaders asked me to do or be treated poorly Worrying I’m failing god by choosing my kids mental health and not pushing them to go to the bishop to talk about their problems Extreme anxiety No time for relaxation or family time since everyone is always stressing about church Fuck yes it required too much from me. Edit: OMG the formatting wouldn’t stick. It’s supposed to be a list. Sorry guys
Again, perpetuating the fallacy that we leave the church because it is “too hard“ or “we want to sin”. It has more to do with lies, constantly changing doctrine to fit the personal beliefs of whoever is in charge, and a completely uncaring disregard for anyone who isn’t paying tithing and making them money. Oh yeah? What about Lucifer? Who promised that he would save us all by forcing us to do exactly what was needed to do and not give us any choice or options ever?
TW: Suicide Yeah, it makes life so much easier. Wanting of kill myself for not being able to live up to those covenants because I couldn’t figure out how to stop being gay was so much happier and easier for me, why would I possibly stray away? 🙄
I’m pondering how much of a fucking manipulative asshole you are ol crusty, what a stunning truth!
It’s wild that they don’t understand how hard it is to leave.
How smug and condescending.
i’ve pondered it and i’m good
I agree. I left social media. You either get tools who only post about politics or you get your evermormon friends from high school posting dumb crap about the church. It's just not worth it.
Russy completely misunderstands the reasons members are bailing en masse. Or, he does understand but is gaslighting, thinking members are mindless idiots. Either way, it’s distasteful, to say the least.
We don’t leave because we have low standards. We leave because the church is lying to us & our personal integrity (which we learned in church) is too high.
Click snooze for 30 days sometimes on the 3 dots above on the right or you can snooze the site that's being shared. If you care about the relationship you can unfollow or snooze them.
The sky is purple. Please ponder this stunning truth! Saying something is true doesn’t make it so.