Let the Consequence Follow...
Disobedience and rebellion is not our problem, OBEDIENCE is our problem! ~ Howard Zinn
(I look at this lovely picture of me and my two amazing, beautiful daughters taken right before the oldest one's baptism in Aug of 2009, and my heart hurts for all three of us. I was doing my best at that time trying to be the perfect Mormon mother, I recognize that; but, I was also ensnared in a cult. Yes, that's right I said it, the forbidden C-word. I was bamboozled by a CULT for 42 years! I had no idea at that moment in time how deep the deception ran. I was just 1.5 years away from falling down the infamous rabbit hole of Reality. But right then, I had no idea that I was about to plunge head first into the unknown, or how much my life was going to drastically, magically, and beautifully change because of that leap of faith into the dark abyss of doubts and discovery's. In this picture, I am blissfully unaware of any problems within the Mormon Church. But, thank Goddess, I was about to find out!)
This is a long post; and, it is a very hard one to share as it is extremely open, honest, and makes me especially vulnerable as these thoughts will be painful to my loved ones; yet, I feel it is important to contribute my understanding to the dialog at this time. I know many friends and family will be offended by my words. They definitely shouldn't read this if they want to remain in their sheltering bubbles of belief; and, it's perfectly okay with me if they choose not to read this. I do understand why they would desire to remain in their 'balloons of ignorance'. I don't mean to offend anyone with that statement. It is just how I view the Mormon mindset, as a giant boil of blindness crusting over the eyes of its members. I am writing this because I can't be silent any longer. I need to say what is weighing on my chest. Because of the heartbreaking #metoo, and #churchtoo, stories making their rounds on the internet, the recent petition from Sam Young to stop the 'masturbation' interviews conducted by the Mormon Church, (There is a copy and paste link at the bottom of this post to sign that petition. Please consider signing it even if you don't read all of this post.), and the fact that I have a son who is seriously contemplating serving a mission for the Mormon Church next year, I felt it was imperative for me to speak out; no, shout out about how I feel concerning the Mormon Church at this time. This post comes from my hurting, yet also healing, heart. It is shared in Love, even though these words may sting those I Love. Truth can be painful to acknowledge...
This is a long post; and, it is a very hard one to share as it is extremely open, honest, and makes me especially vulnerable as these thoughts will be painful to my loved ones; yet, I feel it is important to contribute my understanding to the dialog at this time. I know many friends and family will be offended by my words. They definitely shouldn't read this if they want to remain in their sheltering bubbles of belief; and, it's perfectly okay with me if they choose not to read this. I do understand why they would desire to remain in their 'balloons of ignorance'. I don't mean to offend anyone with that statement. It is just how I view the Mormon mindset, as a giant boil of blindness crusting over the eyes of its members. I am writing this because I can't be silent any longer. I need to say what is weighing on my chest. Because of the heartbreaking #metoo, and #churchtoo, stories making their rounds on the internet, the recent petition from Sam Young to stop the 'masturbation' interviews conducted by the Mormon Church, (There is a copy and paste link at the bottom of this post to sign that petition. Please consider signing it even if you don't read all of this post.), and the fact that I have a son who is seriously contemplating serving a mission for the Mormon Church next year, I felt it was imperative for me to speak out; no, shout out about how I feel concerning the Mormon Church at this time. This post comes from my hurting, yet also healing, heart. It is shared in Love, even though these words may sting those I Love. Truth can be painful to acknowledge...
I believe it’s accurate to say that, “It’s
easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.” (Mark
Twain) I have learned that truth the hard way when talking with my family, and friends, about my departure from the church. In Madeleine Landau Tobias’s
book, Captive Hearts, Captive Minds:
Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Other Abusive Relationships, it says, “Describing
the process of making her decision to leave, Patricia said: ‘It is as if there
is a shelf where all your doubts and misgivings are placed while you are in
that group. Over the months or years you observe so many things that may
conflict with your original beliefs and values, or you see things done by
the group or leader that are just not right. Because of the indoctrination
and not being allowed to ask questions, you just put it on the shelf.
Eventually, the shelf gets heavier and heavier and finally just breaks and you
are ready to leave.’” As members of this church, we all have a shelf just like the one Patricia describes in this quote. Some shelves are stronger than others. Mine held up for 42 years. But when it broke, it came down hard and the jig was up. (You can read about that in my post, My Dark Night of the Soul part 1 and 2, archive October, 2017.) Once my shelf crashed to the floor, I was free to openly investigate what had been forbidden for me to research.
David R. Hawkins says this about cults, “Cults ensnare the unwary by their specialness and false promises. Members have an “insider” status and a special “lingo”. The group leader is charismatic, seductive, and courts the initiate, who is flattered by the attention. The leader is very “special” and treated with adulation, which is quickly turned into control of the members, including especially their money, sex lives, as well as lifestyles, diet, clothing, etc. Members must take allegiance and break off relationships with family, or even spouses, and often associations or groups. Another characteristic of cultism is proselytizing and insistence on following the party line of the pseudo-religious group belief system by which individuality is scorned or even threatened. Leaders are very power oriented, and control plus paranoid egoism are dominant themes.” A cult is as a cult does; by their fruits ye shall know them. “Mental slavery is the worst form of slavery. It gives you the illusion of freedom, makes you trust, love, and defend your oppressor while making an enemy of those who are trying to free you or open your eyes.” (Miss Fiyah) In Greek, 'apostate' means an escaped slave! So, when my family calls me an apostate, I couldn't agree with them more! I understand why many Mormons don’t want to see the dark, evil side of the church, and why they don’t want to listen to those of us who can see it. It causes cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can bring on tension, confusion, and anxiety. It is a mental conflict that occurs when beliefs, or assumptions, are contradicted by new information. This post could bring on cognitive dissonance in TBM’s, (true believing Mormons). When confronted with challenging new information most people seek to preserve their current perceptive of the world by rejecting the new information. They will try explaining it away, or avoiding the new information altogether. They might even try to convince themselves that no conflict exists at all. This is why people get upset when you challenge what they hold most dear, like their religion, because it is too important to them to protect their core beliefs. This is exactly why I am avoided by some family members and many ‘friends’. I get it. I really do. This is the way the Mormon Church teaches its members to live; they are encouraged to avoid any and all information which may conflict with its teachings. L. Whitney Clayton, a General Authority of the L.D.S church, gave the main commencement speech at BYU’s graduation on April 21st, 2016. In that speech he spoke of the usual Mormon messages, don’t watch porn, family comes first, money isn’t everything, etc. But, this is the comment that caught everyone’s attention, “The faithless often promote themselves as the wise who can rescue the rest of us from our naiveté. One does not need to listen to assertive apostates for long to see the parallels between them and the Corihors and Nehors and Sharoms of the Book of Mormon. (These are evil men from the Book of Mormon who supposedly lead people astray.) We should disconnect immediately and completely from listening to the proselytizing efforts of those who have lost their faith, and instead reconnect promptly with the Holy Spirit. The adversary sees spiritual apathy and half-hearted obedience as opportunities to encircle us with his chains and bind us, and he hopes to destroy us (not so subtle threats of satanic attack). We escape his chains as we voluntarily chose to bind ourselves instead to God.” Bind yourself to God by all means, however, the Mormon Church is not 'God', although that is what they want you to believe. They need their members to believe if they say something it is as if 'God' has said it. The meaning of this statement from Mr. Clayton is clear, cut yourself off from those who have a different point of view on life, don’t listen to any opposing view, and if someone challenges your deeply held beliefs, run away from them as fast as you can! Criticism of the Mormon way of life should not be tolerated. Again, the blaring point here is don’t question the faith and stay away from those who do. If you have stuck with my post for this long, I applaud you because we have finally come to the moment where I am going to tell it like it is, laying it all on the line, and calling a spade a spade. In the book, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Ron Rhodes talks about sociological characteristics of cults. Here I am sharing only six traits of cults that I feel the Mormon Church most definitely demonstrates in their teachings and traditions. There are more than just these six, but these six are enough to prove my point, and to get these crushing feelings off my chest.
David R. Hawkins says this about cults, “Cults ensnare the unwary by their specialness and false promises. Members have an “insider” status and a special “lingo”. The group leader is charismatic, seductive, and courts the initiate, who is flattered by the attention. The leader is very “special” and treated with adulation, which is quickly turned into control of the members, including especially their money, sex lives, as well as lifestyles, diet, clothing, etc. Members must take allegiance and break off relationships with family, or even spouses, and often associations or groups. Another characteristic of cultism is proselytizing and insistence on following the party line of the pseudo-religious group belief system by which individuality is scorned or even threatened. Leaders are very power oriented, and control plus paranoid egoism are dominant themes.” A cult is as a cult does; by their fruits ye shall know them. “Mental slavery is the worst form of slavery. It gives you the illusion of freedom, makes you trust, love, and defend your oppressor while making an enemy of those who are trying to free you or open your eyes.” (Miss Fiyah) In Greek, 'apostate' means an escaped slave! So, when my family calls me an apostate, I couldn't agree with them more! I understand why many Mormons don’t want to see the dark, evil side of the church, and why they don’t want to listen to those of us who can see it. It causes cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can bring on tension, confusion, and anxiety. It is a mental conflict that occurs when beliefs, or assumptions, are contradicted by new information. This post could bring on cognitive dissonance in TBM’s, (true believing Mormons). When confronted with challenging new information most people seek to preserve their current perceptive of the world by rejecting the new information. They will try explaining it away, or avoiding the new information altogether. They might even try to convince themselves that no conflict exists at all. This is why people get upset when you challenge what they hold most dear, like their religion, because it is too important to them to protect their core beliefs. This is exactly why I am avoided by some family members and many ‘friends’. I get it. I really do. This is the way the Mormon Church teaches its members to live; they are encouraged to avoid any and all information which may conflict with its teachings. L. Whitney Clayton, a General Authority of the L.D.S church, gave the main commencement speech at BYU’s graduation on April 21st, 2016. In that speech he spoke of the usual Mormon messages, don’t watch porn, family comes first, money isn’t everything, etc. But, this is the comment that caught everyone’s attention, “The faithless often promote themselves as the wise who can rescue the rest of us from our naiveté. One does not need to listen to assertive apostates for long to see the parallels between them and the Corihors and Nehors and Sharoms of the Book of Mormon. (These are evil men from the Book of Mormon who supposedly lead people astray.) We should disconnect immediately and completely from listening to the proselytizing efforts of those who have lost their faith, and instead reconnect promptly with the Holy Spirit. The adversary sees spiritual apathy and half-hearted obedience as opportunities to encircle us with his chains and bind us, and he hopes to destroy us (not so subtle threats of satanic attack). We escape his chains as we voluntarily chose to bind ourselves instead to God.” Bind yourself to God by all means, however, the Mormon Church is not 'God', although that is what they want you to believe. They need their members to believe if they say something it is as if 'God' has said it. The meaning of this statement from Mr. Clayton is clear, cut yourself off from those who have a different point of view on life, don’t listen to any opposing view, and if someone challenges your deeply held beliefs, run away from them as fast as you can! Criticism of the Mormon way of life should not be tolerated. Again, the blaring point here is don’t question the faith and stay away from those who do. If you have stuck with my post for this long, I applaud you because we have finally come to the moment where I am going to tell it like it is, laying it all on the line, and calling a spade a spade. In the book, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Ron Rhodes talks about sociological characteristics of cults. Here I am sharing only six traits of cults that I feel the Mormon Church most definitely demonstrates in their teachings and traditions. There are more than just these six, but these six are enough to prove my point, and to get these crushing feelings off my chest.
#1. Authoritarianism:
“involves the acceptance of an authority figure who exercises excessive
control on cult members. As prophet or founder, this leader’s word is
considered ultimate and final. . . .Often this authoritarianism involves
legalistic submission to the rules and regulations of the group as established
by the cult leader. Cult members are fully expected to submit, even if they do
not agree with the requirements, unquestioning obedience is compulsory.” This
whole idea that someone else has authority over you is widely accepted as a given truth in the
Mormon Church. The prophet and apostles lay claim as to God’s only true authority on the Earth.
Authority is everything to a Mormon. They never question that maybe, the
concept of authority is its self the lie. There is no such thing as authority; we are free
and sovereign beings! Yet, members believe the L.D.S prophet literally speaks for
God. Therefore, he has the ultimate, all encompassing authority to set the
rules for life on Earth, and sometimes, life in the eternities, (polygamy). The Mormons are very proud
of the prophet for having this so called authority from God, and as a result, obey
their leaders blindly and unquestionably. Herein lies their biggest problem!
The Mormon Church is a pyramid scheme with fifteen men at the tippy top who are clearly making up the rules of this religion as
they go along. It is not a loving, caring ‘God’ leading the Church. I have seen the illusive ‘man behind the curtain’. I can’t
pretend he isn’t there. Understanding this fact changes everything. I agree
completely with this quote from Mark
Passio about authority. He said, “Authority is an illusion born out of
mind control. Built upon the erroneous and dogmatic belief that
some people are masters who have a moral right to issue commands and others are
slaves who have a moral obligation to obey the masters.” The truth is
‘authority’ is a delusion. No one has authority over you. Nevertheless,
obedience is the most important law in Mormonism. When you make covenants in
the temple, this is the first covenant that you make in the endowment ceremony.
You covenant to obey the church leaders who in turn are duty-bound to obey ‘God’;
however they interpret that ‘God’ is up to them. A perfect example of
this is mentality concerning authority is when Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th
prophet of the church, gave a very popular address to the youth. In this very
well-known talk, which later became recognized as ‘the Be talk’, titled A
Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth, he spoke about six qualities for
the youth to ‘be’ or embrace; they are to “be
prayerful, be grateful, be humble, be true, be clean, and be smart.” He
gave this talk to the teenagers and the young adults at the conference center
in SLC, UT on November 12, 2000. During this talk, he told the women in that
conference that it was only okay to wear one pair of earrings. He said, “As for the young women, you do not need to
drape rings up and down your ears. One modest pair of earrings is
sufficient.” (Gordon B. Hinckley 11/12/2000). Many young women at that time
had their ears pierced multiple times, me included. In that very meeting, young
women removed their extra earrings after the prophet said those words. It was
ridiculous. Does God really care about the number of earrings in our ears? Or,
was this just a way of controlling a woman’s body once more? This was something
I struggled with for years because many of my friends immediately took out
their extra earrings, never to wear them again still to this day 17 years later! I did conform for a while too,
about two years total. Then, I decided it was TRULY SILLY! And, in 2002, I put mine extra earrings back in. I
wear three earrings in one ear and two earrings in the other. I worked in a
jewelry store as a teenager and pierced ears for my job. I have always loved
wearing beautiful jewelry. It makes sense that I would have more than one pair
of earrings in my ears. I love my multiple holes for earrings; and, I enjoy
wearing many sparkly, dangley, gem stones on my ears. I find it absurd that God
would care about that versus real problems in the world. I had had my earrings
for over a decade before I gave them up. I was lucky the holes in my ears
hadn’t closed, and I was able to wear them again without re-piercing. The
point is not how many earrings a woman should wear. The point is complete and absolute obedience.
Who will be obedient when the prophet speaks to the members of the church? Who
will ‘follow the prophet’ like a good little lamb to the slaughter, and who
won’t?
‘Sheople’ that is what cult’s make, and church’s in general do too. They want people to act like sheep. The definition of ‘Sheople’ that I like best is 'a person who accepts what they are told without question or thought, according to their ideological perspective. Their need to be in the right, based on egotistical necessity, warps their mentality in such a way that even when presented with irrefutable facts, logic, and intelligence to the contrary, their way of thinking is the only one that counts'. Sheople are people that follow blindly, and never question their leaders. Their simple motto seems to be: ‘follow the asshole in front of you and just keep going’. ‘Sheople’ are people who are unaware of their own ignorance regarding the obvious. That is the kind of ‘sheople’ churches, and cults, want as memebers. Even the scriptures compare the faithful followers to sheep, because sheep are easily controlled. I admit I have been a sheople for most of my life, but I am never going back to that way of thinking again! As you have learned, I would rather be the crazy, lost, black sheep of my family than the white, obedient, submissive one. And, in the parable of the Lost Sheep given in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said that he loved the lamb that wondered the most. Jesus and God don’t want us to be like a herd of sheep. They want us to be free and to think for ourselves! Anthon St. Maarten in Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny said, “We are not supposed to all be the same, feel the same, think the same, and believe the same. The key to continued expansion of our Universe lies in diversity, not in conformity and coercion. Conventionality is the death of creation.” The leaders of religions need us to be good, obedient sheep in order to keep order, and to keep us from realizing our true identity and power.
‘Sheople’ that is what cult’s make, and church’s in general do too. They want people to act like sheep. The definition of ‘Sheople’ that I like best is 'a person who accepts what they are told without question or thought, according to their ideological perspective. Their need to be in the right, based on egotistical necessity, warps their mentality in such a way that even when presented with irrefutable facts, logic, and intelligence to the contrary, their way of thinking is the only one that counts'. Sheople are people that follow blindly, and never question their leaders. Their simple motto seems to be: ‘follow the asshole in front of you and just keep going’. ‘Sheople’ are people who are unaware of their own ignorance regarding the obvious. That is the kind of ‘sheople’ churches, and cults, want as memebers. Even the scriptures compare the faithful followers to sheep, because sheep are easily controlled. I admit I have been a sheople for most of my life, but I am never going back to that way of thinking again! As you have learned, I would rather be the crazy, lost, black sheep of my family than the white, obedient, submissive one. And, in the parable of the Lost Sheep given in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said that he loved the lamb that wondered the most. Jesus and God don’t want us to be like a herd of sheep. They want us to be free and to think for ourselves! Anthon St. Maarten in Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny said, “We are not supposed to all be the same, feel the same, think the same, and believe the same. The key to continued expansion of our Universe lies in diversity, not in conformity and coercion. Conventionality is the death of creation.” The leaders of religions need us to be good, obedient sheep in order to keep order, and to keep us from realizing our true identity and power.
Resigning
your membership in the church is a difficult process. It moves along quicker
and easier if you have a lawyer to help you. If you send in a letter to the
church asking to resign on your own, you may, or may not, be granted your
release. Sometimes you will be contacted by the local Bishop and given a 30 day
waiting period to ‘encourage you’ to reflect about your decision, and
hopefully, change your mind about it. Who needs a lawyer to leave a religion?
Mormons do, and possibly Scientologists do too. Clearly, the church has this
sociological characteristic in common with cults. The church is ruled by a few
elite men at the top of the pyramid with ‘authority’ given to them by ‘God’,
and the base of the pyramid is made up of the millions of masses who are
conditioned to be obedient to them at all costs like good little sheep. The member’s
eternal salvation is at stake if they don’t obey those in authority, which
leads us to the next characteristic of a cult.
#2, Exclusivism: “Cults
often believe that they alone have the truth. The cult views itself as the
single means of salvation on earth; to leave the group is to endanger
one’s soul. . . .” This obviously speaks for itself. The church teaches it is the one and only way
to get back to God. The Mormon Church is the sole means of salvation for the
entire world, period! Plus, when you resign from the church they issue you
another warning in a letter about the dire consequences of your actions making
one last attempt to scare you back into submission. They caution you that you
are eternally cutting yourself off from God and your Mormon family. They make
sure you know your Soul is in deep jeopardy for leaving the church. The whole
religion is based upon its exclusiveness. This church claims to have that which
no other church has, God’s only true authority on Earth through a latter day
prophet. It also has exclusive scriptures. Does the Mormon Church practice
exclusivism? Yes, yes it does, absolutely!
#3. Isolationism:
“Some cults require members to
renounce and break off associations with parents and siblings…” Up until two years ago, this trait
would have been harder to claim about the church. But since the Mormon Church put it into their official handbook that if a young adult from a ‘same
sex’ family wants to join the church they must disavow their parent’s lifestyle, nowadays, they clearly demonstrate this cult trait. Children from polygamist
families must do this too, if they want to be baptized. To disavow means to
deny knowledge of, connection with, or responsibility for. The church says they
don’t have to disavow their parents just the practice of their parents. How
does one actually disavow, deny knowledge of or connection with, their parents
life style, but not their parents? What would that look like? I wonder, is that
even possible? I think that would be extremely difficult to do without causing
incredible pain to all involved. Isolationism? I believe so!
#4. A cult opposes independent thinking: “Some
cultic groups discourage members from thinking independently. The “thinking,”
as it were, has already been done for them by the cult leadership; the
proper response is merely to submit.” Mormons truly believe that
once their leaders have spoken, particularly the prophet, or an apostle, then
the thinking is done as in the simple, but stupid, example of the earrings I
just shared. This point was made several times over the course of the week
following the policy change, in November 2015, in many different posts on FB by many TBM’s. This is why
Mormons are so blessed. They have the ‘mouthpiece of God’, their prophet. If he
says it is so, it is so. They don’t have to think for themselves on these big important
issues. Simply, follow the prophet! There is even a children's song that is taught in
primary called, ‘Follow the Prophet’; again, not very
subtle indoctrination and programming is it? Of
course, when you point out where the ‘prophets’ have made mistakes in the past, or have been obviously wrong in the past, that is when Mormons will say, “well, they were just speaking as a man at that time, not a prophet.” That
is a very convenient way to handle the prophets fallacies, even though we can
prove in most cases the ‘prophet’ clearly spoke in ‘the name of the Lord’ at
the time they had their ‘revelation’. The church kept plenty of accurate records in the
early days of its formation. Brigham Young is a perfect example of this. He said many ghastly
racist, and sexist, things while speaking as a 'prophet', which the church passionately disavows now. If
God could make a gross mistake with his spokesman then, could he be doing it again?
Mormons don’t want to believe that could be true. Mormons are taught that the
prophet is fail proof. He will never lead them, or the church, astray. They
must hold on to that claim of a ‘faultless’ prophet, or their ‘shelf’ will definitely start to crack. This hurtful policy change on homosexuals and their
children has been declared a direct revelation from God, and it has been affirmed to be the will of the Lord, therefore, there can be no more debate
about it in the eyes of the Church. It is God’s official word on the matter, the thinking has been
done. Agree with it, or go pray about it until you do, that is the advice
you will get from a bishop if you go to them with doubts about this, or any other ‘revelation’.
Is free thinking allowed in the church? I don’t think so. Follow the prophet
like good little sheople!
#5. Fear
of being disfellowshipped is the next sociological characteristic that
I believe the church plainly exhibits. “It
is not uncommon in cults that people are urged to remain faithful to avoid
being “disfellowshiped,” or disbarred, from the group…” Disfellowshipping is actually not the worst thing that
can happen to the members of the Mormon Church. Excommunication is the most horrible punishment that the church
bestows. In the church, there is a disgrace, and humiliation, that sticks with
those who have been through this barbaric practice. It is primitive for the
time we are living in, that the church still deals with its members in this
way. Because the church knows, this is a great way to handle difficult,
non-conforming people within the membership. They are right in that it is
effective to the weak who are afraid to rock the boat. It is shameful, and no one wants to go through that process. Fear is
a great incentive, or tool, for gaining conformity and compliance in the members. The church believes it has the
all encompassing authority from God, therefore it is always right. As a member,
if you do what 'it' says you will be fine. As a member, if you go against the
church in any way, the consequences will undoubtedly follow you. That is
made clear! Fear is their ultimate, and favorite, weapon to yeild. They raise the sword
of trepidation often towards the faithful, keeping them in line, which brings
us to the last trait of a cult that we are considering.
#6. Threats
of Satanic attack: “Members may be told that something awful
will happen to them should they choose to leave the group. Others may be told
that Satan will attack them…for they will have committed the unpardonable
sin. Such fear tactics are designed to induce submission. Even when
people do muster enough courage to leave the group, they may endure
psychological consequences and emotional baggage for years to come.” “Emotional baggage for years to come”
is excruciatingly accurate! This is exactly what you are told will happen to
you if you leave the Mormon church, especially if you have been through the
temple. You are threatened with being in Satan’s power and control. (Religious
trauma syndrome is a real thing and can lead to mental health issues if not
treated and healed.) Once you leave the church, you are considered a ‘servant
of Satan’. This has to be the ultimate fear tactic and intimidation technique.
It certainly made me think twice before shedding my garments for good. I was
definitely waiting for something truly awful to happen to me once I completely
left the church. But, that was when I discovered true joy. Exactly the opposite
of what I was told would happen, happened. Fear kept me from examining the
church. Fear kept me from actually leaving it for a few weeks until I found the
courage to test the waters of faith in myself. The water was warm, beautiful,
healing, and crystal clear. That was all the proof I needed to burn away my
Mormon identity forever.
George Carlin said
“The only good thing to ever come out of
religion was the music.” I find I must agree with that, the music is the
only thing I miss about church. I always enjoyed playing our church hymns on my
family’s antique piano. Do What Is Right is a L.D.S hymn I loved to play
on the piano, or on the flute, in my youth. “Do
what is right; let the consequence follow” is a part of the lyrics of that
hymn. It is sung often in sacrament meetings. It was one of my favorite songs
growing up. That sentence explains why I can’t leave the church alone even
though I have left it. “Morality is
doing what is right regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you
are told, regardless of what is right. Spiritual people are not godless. We
just happen to honor the God in all of us. Divinity is in you as it is in me.”(Author
Unknown) I believe in doing what
is right. Because I am a spiritual person, I have a moral obligation to stand
up, and to speak out, when I see harm being done to another. That is why I
cannot leave the church alone when I see things like this happen, (the hurtful
policy change, and the damn masturbation interviews). I cannot be silent. The church is acting immorally and throwing the children under the bus by holding these interviews with them twice a year. I am grateful to Sam Young for bringing this to the light so it can be changed. I will do what is right; let
the consequences follow! And, I hope you will too by signing the petition by copying and pasting the link at the bottom of this post!
After
I left the church, I quickly came to believe that the Mormon Church is definitely a cult. Maybe it doesn’t fit the standard mold when you hear about horrific cults killing its members. However, I
would argue that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other early leaders of the church certainly had bright, red, bountiful blood on their hands, the blood of the Mormon pioneers who died along the way to ‘Zion’,
the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and others who were taken out by Porter Rockwell.
He was a ‘hit man’ for the church and Brigham Young. The Mormon Church was built with bloody hands
in my opinion. Hundreds of lives were lost because of Brigham’s greed. The
church unquestionably has shared traits that are in common with horrible cults. And, the Church still has blood on its hands today. Utah has an alarming rate of youth suicide, many of which come from active LDS families. These masturbation interviews and the church's stance on sexuality in general is detrimental to our children's mental health, and it shows in our statistics! Calling the church a cult is not something I do lightly, or very often, because it is exceptionally
upsetting to many TBM’s, and to many of my loved ones. Of course, to be told they are a part
of a cult is hurtful; but, I am certainly saying it clearly now. No more downplaying
the truth of it, as I see it; the church has every single one of these 'cultish' traits
that I shared. I cult is as a cult does.
In closing this post, I want to share this quote from Cal Sarwar. “Religion is the most powerful entity on earth. A phenomenon that has conscripted millions to give or sacrifice their lives without so much as a minuscule query about their chosen beliefs or particular ideology. And today thousands of years on despite the huge advent, discovery and the advance of science forensic or otherwise, millions are still prepared and equipped to fall or kill in the name of their God, their Holy Scriptures, their messengers, their prophets and their faith’.” If anything, I hope that these words in this post will help inspire you to question your own deeply held beliefs. Nothing should be off limits to inquiry! Jesus brilliantly said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7: 20) The fruit I have discovered since leaving the church is pure deliciousness, and it is a sweetness beyond my greatest desires. Apostasy definitely was the best choice for me. I do feel like an escaped slave who has finally found freedom! I was owned by the Mormon religion; but now I understand, I am a free and sovereign being; and, I always have been.
In closing this post, I want to share this quote from Cal Sarwar. “Religion is the most powerful entity on earth. A phenomenon that has conscripted millions to give or sacrifice their lives without so much as a minuscule query about their chosen beliefs or particular ideology. And today thousands of years on despite the huge advent, discovery and the advance of science forensic or otherwise, millions are still prepared and equipped to fall or kill in the name of their God, their Holy Scriptures, their messengers, their prophets and their faith’.” If anything, I hope that these words in this post will help inspire you to question your own deeply held beliefs. Nothing should be off limits to inquiry! Jesus brilliantly said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7: 20) The fruit I have discovered since leaving the church is pure deliciousness, and it is a sweetness beyond my greatest desires. Apostasy definitely was the best choice for me. I do feel like an escaped slave who has finally found freedom! I was owned by the Mormon religion; but now I understand, I am a free and sovereign being; and, I always have been.
I guess it’s very true that “One person’s religion is another person’s cult.” (Philip Seymour Hoffman) There is no other way for me to view Mormonism than as a cunning cult. It has captured the hearts and the minds of many of my loved ones. I feel sad that they refuse to investigate why I left, yet I totally understand why they don't. I also know that they are always on their right path for learning and growing, just like I am. Maybe someday soon our paths will join once again, but if not, that is all right too. It isn’t up to me to judge their life. If the day ever comes where they want to learn more about why I left, I will gladly be here for them. Until then, I will love them wholeheartedly as we journey down different roads, together. I will be patient and kind with my fellow Mormons. My shoulder will always be available for them to lean on, for those who are questioning, doubting, or experiencing a crisis of 'faith'. I’ve been in those sad shoes, walking that lonely road, and I have made it safely to the other side. I am here to proclaim that the grass is radiantly greener over here only because there is precious freedom; freedom to roam. I appreciate that not everyone wants to go down the bumpy, dusty, deserted road of apostasy. It is a twisting, turning, frighteningly dark, companionless, and dauntingly lonesome road at times. However, the path to 'Selfhood' is a twisted, narrow, dark, daunting, and lonely road. There is no other way to get there. Yet, it is a path we are required to go down if we want to grow our Soul and truly know our Sacred Self. “True knowing of the self doesn’t occur in the denial of feelings and emotions, but in the full immersion of them. Denial is a prison cage, embracing is freedoms wings.” (Ara) I am forever thankful I did scrutinize the church. I could have stayed in denial. But, being conscious of the problems, I was at last able to make the changes my Soul was longing to experience in order to grow, and to embrace the gorgeous wings of fantastic freedom! Freedom makes everything in life brighter and better! Freedom is the legacy I want to leave my children. Freedom to make mistakes; freedom to think for themselves, freedom to live as their conscience dictates; and, freedom to spread their precious wings to fly!
God Bless!
Namaste!
(copy and paste links)
This post was taken from chapter 25 of my book, Sacred Light.
Sam's petition:
https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protect-the-children-stop-mormon-masturbation-interviews.html
www.iamsacredlight.com
www.sacredlights.net
www.secretsfromtheuniverse.blogspot.com
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