Over the past decade-plus, my family has gradually faded out of the church. I resigned, along with my youngest daughter, shortly after she turned 18. Several of the other kids stopped attending, once they were grown up and out on their own.

The last holdout - our temple-married, RM son - became disillusioned over the bit where the children of gay parents can't receive ordinances until they are 18 (and must denounce the lifestyle of their parents.) That was the last straw for him and his wife.

We had a family get-together yesterday for Father's Day and an early celebration of my 70th birthday. It was so great, to have all the kids and grandkids together! And to see my RM son and his wife, swigging down cold beer with the rest of us (well, I didn't, nor did DH, simply because we don't like beer) but it just seemed so NORMAL. People ate and drank what they wanted, and didn't give two hoots what any church had to say about it.

It was absolutely wonderful!!

So glad that they have all followed your excellent example, Catnip.

Congratulations!

Wishing you all the best

Tom in Paris

Outstanding accomplishment! Ahhh... the sweetness of freedom and growth and expansion. Well Done Catnip

Wonderful for all of you!!

I am so happy for all of your family!

That's awesome Catnip.

Your children have followed your lead on the road to sanity and freedom of conscience.

Wishing you a beary Happy Birthday too! :)

I am a proud UCLA Bruin??

Inquiring minds, you know!

Congratulations! What a nice way to start the morning by reading this!

Wonderful!

Make sure you gather the family outside some cracker-box temple, and do your un-temple work for the whole family...it involves no oaths or secret handshakes, only extensions of middle fingers :)

Best Father's/birthday gift ever! :) How lovely to be surrounded by family to celebrate. I have to say that nothing beats an ice-cold beer on a hot day. It is one of life's simple pleasures.

CONGRATS. I know how good that feels because I celebrated that at one time.

We weren't all officially out, only one daughter and I had sent in our resignation. But me and all my kids were completely out and I thought that meant I had broken the chain for my posterity.

But NOT SO FAST. I've had close calls with my grandkids that still scare me, mostly having to do with the fact that they have divorced parents and the other parent, who in both cases were completely inactive before the divorces, but are now either TBM or allow their kids to go to church with their TBM other grandparent.

One of them is 18 now and had missionary lessons and pleas to join from his other parent. But his mother told him that it was fine for him to go to church with his dad and stepmom, but he couldn't join until he was 18 and was sure he was making his own decision. Luckily, he's very smart and by 18 had done some studying on his own and realized it wasn't what he wanted. Also by that time he had a girlfriend (non-LDS) and that helped a lot.

I just have to hope my other grandchild who was just baptized will get enough of influence from non-LDS family who will encourage her to learn how to think for herself and make her own decisions when she's older. If she chooses to stay LDS we will need to support that, as we are trying to now when it isn't her choice.

But trust me, I do hope there will be a time when I can breathe a sigh of relief and know that I really did break the chain and there has been enough time that I can be pretty sure.

I still have a few, very few, holdouts in my extended family. My sister and her husband (all her kids and grandkids are not mormons), a disabled brother who won't be leaving the church and that is okay, and my DAUGHTER. One of these days, I know my daughter will be out.

woo! A whole family liberated. Good for you.

That would be something to be alive for! Sweet that it happens to others and hoping the same for me someday.

Congratulations, catnip! You deserve to be proud and happy!

I don't know how many generations back the Mormon plague extends, but you have been the generation to "break the cycle of abuse."

I think of it as "setting things right." My ancestors apostatized from Christianity (Church of England) to join their neighbor JS's sick cult. They were apostates, not me. They were also polygamists. We certainly don't "owe" our Mormon family anything.

Good for you, great post!