...that I went to the mission home for my final meeting before going home the next day. We had a testimony meeting where I bore my testimony. Today my testimony is that I know the Mormon Church is false...a scam...a hoax. I known Joseph Smith was a conman and sexual predator. The Book of Mormon is a 19th century plagiarism. Jesus is dead. Gods are man made. I've been out of the cult 20 years now. Life isn't always easy but life is at least honest. Thanks for reading.

Amen, brother James!
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks.

It's a relief not having that nonsense in my life anymore. Like you, it's nice to just be honest about it instead of having to make the world fit a religion.

For that reason alone, it was better to be a girl in mormonism I think than to be a man.

There are negatives on both sides.

I'm sorry you had to serve a mission.

I joined the church well into adulthood, and should have known better, but I was going through a turbulent, unhappy time. Following a horrific divorce from an abuser, who threatened me with unspeakable things if I consulted an attorney "even once," and the loss of custody of my son, to whom I had been essentially a single parent for the first 11 or 12 years of his life, I was stuck in a job that I hated. Severe depression was a constant companion, despite counseling and medication.

I had just gotten home from work on a cold, rainy day, and put the teakettle on to boil water for tea. Nothing like a good cuppa to take the edge off a cold day, right?

And somebody knocked on my door. It was an adorable pair of mishies. Their presence was like sunshine. I was so vulnerable, emotionally - and here they were, a couple of friendly, likeable kids not much older than my own son.

I didn't care much about their religion, but their friendship was priceless. I left food in the fridge for them, and gave them the key to my house (they didn't have a phone, which I thought was incredibly stupid.)

They would call me at work to ask if they could bring some other elders from their zone over to my house, and I always told them, "If you trust these guys, I trust your opinion."

I never knew how many kids I would come home to, and they were always welcome. We would pool our resources to buy pizza and soda, and we rented movies. One of the kids from the extended group (a Maori) commented, while watching a movie (always "legal" ones) "Wow. This doesn't even feel like being on a mission. It's like being at home." That almost made me cry.

I became an unofficial foster mom to the mishies, until my job took me to another State. I am still in contact with one of those first two. (He is a bishop, and one of his sons was recently married in the SLC temple. I've never been brave enough to tell him that I left the church more than a decade ago.)

The heartstring connections I had with those kids helped me get through a very bad time in my life. And knowing what I know now about mission life, I think I helped them, too. We were co-conspirators, really. Their MP was a rule-bound prick, and I enjoyed knowingly ignoring their bedtime if we happened to be watching a good movie and enjoying popcorn. They knew I wouldn't snitch, and as far as I know, we all got away with it.

So glad you you're out of there!

Thanks for the testimony...id love to hear what you replaced that vast chasm of belief with...it was bad enough finding out id been had...now wtf do I believe...for me it's a durn long process of rediscovery...most days I'm content to just not know anything for sure..I finally stopped trying to strain everything through that dam Mormon filter my mom made...that was a good decision

Trails end Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the testimony...id love to hear what
> you replaced that vast chasm of belief with...it
> was bad enough finding out id been had...now wtf
> do I believe...for me it's a durn long process of
> rediscovery...most days I'm content to just not
> know anything for sure..I finally stopped trying
> to strain everything through that dam Mormon
> filter my mom made...that was a good decision
-----------------------------
You are correct in that the replacement process can be a long one. In 20 years I've gone from agnostic to atheist with bits of Deism and Buddhist philosophy mixed in. I've read things from the Dali Lama and Albert Camus to Hunter S. Thompson and Lemmy Kilmister. I've gleaned the following: 1. Don't be an asshole to others. 2. We are all in this together and there is no reason we can't help each other through it. 3. Reason and logic are more valuable than faith and obedience. 4. If your god cares more about masturbation than sick and starving children then you need to abandon him. 5. In the final analysis, life is, as Bill Hicks said "just a ride". Enjoy the ride.

I'd like to frame that. Thanks, wise traveler.

Life is so big and grand once you get shut of crap. Thank you for reminding me. Refreshing way to start the day. :)

Sargent Pepper taught the band to play.

ha ha ha...