Founder of Big TBM Blog Leaves Church

[_Kishkumen]

One of the founders of the popular TBM blog "Millennial Mormons" has left the LDS Church, says many friends are leaving too.
See https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/3crsix/i_started_millennial_mormons_and_now_im_here/.

[_Kishkumen]

It seems that it was Sam who left. Here is a post on MM from March 2015 by the two about a falling out they had and apparently resolved (somewhat):

http://www.millennialmormons.com/millennial-mormons-apocalypse-part-two/

Sam is "the sampso" on the reddit thread. This is her handle over on her new blog:

http://www.whatsoeverisgood.com/category/thesamspo/

[_Kishkumen]

Here is part one of the Blake and Sam rift:

http://www.whatsoeverisgood.com/millennial-mormons-apocalypse-part-one/

[_Kishkumen]

The reddit thread is pretty interesting. Some claims are made regarding Blake trying to get some people thrown out of BYU-I, one regards his choice to live as a celibate gay man (I have no idea whether this is complete BS or not), etc.

Sam claims that she left over church history:

It's (of course) a long story, which I will eventually share, but the short version is church history. I battled as long as I could to hold on, but eventually the shelf collapsed. Thankfully my husband got on board pretty quick. (Very grateful, as we were both very TBM.) A number of my friends have also left recently. Things are accelerating, I believe!

Another person who pops into the thread is also a MM contributor, Tanner Gilliland, who wrote about "Pushing Through the Darkness of Doubt." See http://www.millennialmormons.com/pushin ... ess-doubt/.

Now here is Tanner referring to the article:

It's true. Here is an article I wrote for them a little while ago. Guess I didn't take my own advice

And Tanner claims many of his friends are leaving:

All my close friends are leaving. After I came out on Facebook, I've been getting dozens of messages from people wanting to learn more. Several are on their way out.

Another person on the post responds to Tanner thusly:

I know you're not asking me...but as a millennial Mormon that spent a significant amount of time making fun of Millenial Mormons (sorry sam...we did all think you were unjustly treated) in a relatively large group with other tbms who are now mostly inactive and/or ex now, I'd say yeah. The dam is probably already broken.

Anecdotal evidence, but wow! All of these young millennials online losing their faith in Mormonism. The prognosis for the future of the LDS Church in the developed world does not look good.

[_Kishkumen]

Some of the events involving Blake in Rexburg are reported on this blog:

http://keithrtrottier.com/2014/03/

I am getting this from a reddit covering the rift at Millennial Mormons before Sam left the LDS Church:

See http://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/2sgso3/millennial_mormons_are_crazy_owners_of_the_site/.

Proceed with caution, dude. by the way, this isn't the first time someone's blogged about him.

It's interesting that even on this earlier reddit thread someone was predicting Sam would leave the LDS Church:

She converted at 17. And just recently got engaged after like 2 weeks of dating and 2 months of knowing a guy. I don't think her shelf will crack with a wedding on the way! In due time though....

[_Kishkumen]

Apparently, Blake was compelled to leave BYU-I before his time and he landed on his feet at UVU. He blogs about it here:

http://www.millennialmormons.com/how-i-came-to-love-gods-will/

It establishes an interesting timeline that places his involvement with Sam's blog after he made the move to UVU, in other words, after he left BYU-I.

As I reflect on the new year, something significant has come to my realization: I have no idea what I’m doing with my life…but God sure does. A year ago I was enjoying the severe winds and frozen tundra-like climate that is Rexburg, Idaho. I had just been endowed a few weeks prior (another thing I didn’t think I would do for a long time). I was serving as the Director of Communication for an organization I loved. This position was an absolute dream to me. It was something I had been hoping and praying to be offered for years. I was absolutely sure Winter 2014 was gonna be MY TERM.

Then crazy struck. A blow to my physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health was dealt that left me crying in bed for hours, contemplating the various ways I could take my own life. I had never been suicidal before, but that was certainly a low point in my life. I somehow rebounded enough to dry my eyes, grab my temple bag, and do a session with a close friend of mine. It was in the celestial room that I begged and pleaded, and tried bargaining with God to let me stay at BYU-Idaho. I tried making all sorts of promises and deals in the hope that he would work in my favor. I was naïve in two ways here; I was attempting to broker a deal with God (never a wise choice), and I was under the impression that he wasn’t already working in my favor. The impression that I received in the Celestial Room of the Rexburg Temple was of peace. I knew what my prayer would need to be now. “Dear Heavenly Father, please help me feel at peace. Please help me accept what happens, and understand it to be your will.”

Well let me tell you, God answers prayers. He didn’t work his will to keep me at BYU-Idaho, but he did give me peace. He gave me more than that too. I had the strength to tell the directors of my program that I had to leave, I had the sheer force of will to keep my tears back while I told the council I was given stewardship over to direct. He gave me, for a fleeting moment, the ability to love the people who wronged me (I say fleeting because it was probably for their own safety that I was “heavenly sedated” from verbally lashing out and destroying then with my words). He even blessed me with safety as I drove back to Nebraska through chokingly thick fog at ridiculous hours of the morning. Through all this, Heavenly Father has had the best intentions at heart.

I got accepted to Utah Valley University, though I had no idea what my move to Provo, and then Orem, would bring. Since I had literally never even stepped foot on UVU’s campus, I thought it wise to aid my anxiety with a tour of the campus. I mentioned my history of involvement to my tour guide who introduced me to the right people. Within 10 minutes of leaving campus to get food, I had been called back to have an interview with the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center. I was subsequently given the position of Vice President of Communication. I don’t think I shed a physical tear (I mean, I am now as I think back on this experience), but inside I was in awe. This position was nearly identical to the one I had been forced to leave in Idaho. Heavenly Father showed his hand again in this instance. I saw that He was blessing me with the same thing that had been taken from me. I felt like Job, to lose everything, only to be given it back with more. I was amazed, and humbled.

Subsequently, because I can’t seem to devote my time to just one activity, I became involved in other programs at UVU. I applied, was interviewed, and was accepted into the LEAD program of the Center for the Advancement of Leadership. Another blessing He plopped on my plate.

When I moved to Provo, I chose a complex that was occupied by my then-only-twitter-friend, Samantha. With her help and obvious talent a website was born. One that has and continues to bless my life. Millennial Mormons was born after and only due to our convergence in Provo. Again, I was blessed in a way that I would have never imagined.

On top of this, my friendships have been blessed. One best friend was at BYU, which meant I would get to see and spend more time with him. Another began graduate school at BYU shortly after I moved here. One more best friend finally made the choice to transfer to BYU, where I get to spend more time with him than ever before in our friendship. If all of this wasn’t enough, I moved in with an amazing guy who has been a true best friend. I didn’t think any of this was luck, regardless of how crazy it all seemed to be. Blessings. I was guided to this place. A place where so many people I love were either already guided to, or were eventually guided to.

[_Kishkumen]

Here is a web archive of Sam's post "What Actually Happened With Millennial Mormons":

http://web.archive.org/web/20150115065813/http://www.thesamspo.com/actually-happened-millennial-mormons/

[_Res Ipsa]

Interesting stuff, Reverend. I can't imagine what it must be like to attend BYU-I as a gay person.

[_Kishkumen]

Interesting stuff, Reverend. I can't imagine what it must be like to attend BYU-I as a gay person.

Nor can I. Must be rough. Having said that, it is not established that the Blake of Millennial Mormons is gay. Some anonymous reddit folk are alleging this, but we do not know for a fact that this is true. And, it is not directly relevant to Sam's departure, really. What interested me about all of these byways was the complexity beneath the shiny TBM surface of MM. That complexity is everywhere, in my opinion.

[_Res Ipsa]

Interesting stuff, Reverend. I can't imagine what it must be like to attend BYU-I as a gay person.

Nor can I. Must be rough. Having said that, it is not established that the Blake of Millennial Mormons is gay. Some anonymous reddit folk are alleging this, but we do not know for a fact that this is true. And, it is not directly relevant to Sam's departure, really. What interested me about all of these byways was the complexity beneath the shiny TBM surface of MM. That complexity is everywhere, in my opinion.

Yes, I got distracted from the point of your posts by the blog of the gay BYU-I student. It was shiny and I chased it.

I have some nieces and nephews who I think are millennias and were raised LDS. None of them appearing to be staying LDS. I think you're right about the underlying complexity being everywhere.

Thanks for posting the story.