Breaking Away

[_sock puppet]

In a post in another thread, Ceeboo makes this observation:

Among an enormous list of things that you might find some value in, I have found value in the fascinating perspective that you can get while taking a glimpse into the human minds/thoughts of people who once KNEW that the LDS Church was true and now KNOW that there is no God/Creator at all. (LDS to Atheist. A very sad and far to common scenario. IMHO)

I think there is more LDS apostates that go directly to non-belief, do not pass another religion 'and do not collect $200', than those that leave many other religions.

I think this is due to how disapproving other Mormons (family, friends, neighbors) are when someone stops believing LDS teachings. They are ostracized and so that apostate starts re-evaluating from the bottom up, and takes a 'prove it to me' (evidentialist, reliabilist) approach before he or she is going to be snookered again. Before a Mormon takes that leap, he or she has pretty much been pulled and tugged for so long that he or she has clearly sorted out that this is not for him or her. Once finally extracted, he or she is emotionally spent in the belief area, he or she is downright skeptical of anything anyone else has suggested, even that there might be a god. So non-belief it is, until god's existence is proven, with evidence this time.

Many that participate in other religions, less socially rigid than Mormonism, do not frown so much on their family, friends and neighbors that stop attending. The break is easier. And so before the entire belief construct has to be decimated to leave (as usually the social net of Mormonism demands; zeezrom is case in point), members of other religions that begin to question, feel uneasy, doubt the church they attend, they might try out another church for a month or two. Their neighbors are not banishing them, telling their children not to play with your children, etc. as is so frequent the case when a Mormon household apostatizes. So the break is not as severe with all held beliefs as the schism necessary for one to stop being actively Mormon.

Now I expect some TBM poster here will say this is all silly, but the proof is, as they say, in the pudding. Of course, that poster might say Mormonism is not unique in this regard, but he certainly won't venture an alternate hypothesis. But maybe there is one: Mormonism causes one not to believe in god.

[_Rambo]

I think this is due to how disapproving other Mormons (family, friends, neighbors) are when someone stops believing LDS teachings. They are ostracized and so that apostate starts re-evaluating from the bottom up, and takes a 'prove it to me' (evidentialist, reliabilist) approach before he or she is going to be snookered again. Before a Mormon takes that leap, he or she has pretty much been pulled and tugged for so long that he or she has clearly sorted out that this is not for him or her. Once finally extracted, he or she is emotionally spent in the belief area, he or she is downright skeptical of anything anyone else has suggested, even that there might be a god. So non-belief it is, until god's existence is proven, with evidence this time.

I was thinking of making a post just like this. It is very interesting that most exmormons become agnostic or atheist. I think you hit the nail on the head. Leaving Mormonism taught me to be sceptical of everything.

[_MrStakhanovite]

It’s an interesting topic Sock, it’s like the Church has a scorched earth policy, where those who leave end up on the atheist/agnostic/humanist/secular/wtf ever side of the fence.

[_Hades]

I agree with most everything you put down here, Sock. I also think that Mormonism drums that one true church thing into your head so much that when you do find out it's all BS, you have to find another religion that is the one true one with 0% BS this time. That's impossible.

You're right, no one will snooker me again. Especially those damn Catholics.

[_just me]

I think part of it is that the LDS god is a very Old Testament god. It seems like a lot of people end up pretty disgusted with the Old Testament god after going through this process. Therefore, any religion that has Old Testament god in it in any capacity is automatically out of the question.

I don't know. I went through what I would describe as a born again experience through this process....but then I kept going. Plus, I researched so many non-christian religions and they all seem to have the same thing.

Well, then there was Joseph Campbell's writings. When you see that all myths are of the same theme it kinda just confirms that it is all man-made. Nothing wrong with man-made, just puts it in a whole different perspective.

[_sock puppet]

I agree with most everything you put down here, Sock. I also think that Mormonism drums that one true church thing into your head so much that when you do find out it's all b***s***, you have to find another religion that is the one true one with 0% b***s*** this time. That's impossible.

You're right, no one will snooker me again. Especially those damn Catholics.

Great point about the drummed into your head 'one true church' and how it affects one post-Mormonism.

[_Nightlion]

I reject the notion that God must prove himself to you. You had no right to reject all the proofs of God that just ARE. Butterflies, and Zebras and moonbeams and rainbows and on and on. Okay the Mormons are horrific about the right shunnin' they put on those who do not abide with them. I was on the opposite end of the spectrum where I was ostracized for believing too much. Same shunning. Did not wreck my faith in God one bit. Why should the same shunning wreck yours?

You wholesale dismiss all that CAN easy pass for proof and evidence like the entirety of creation and demand something super-duper ( impossible) tempting God to come out of his hiding place just for you? The Mormons are hypocrite at the core and THAT is what you rejected. Why does that translate that everything they taught was taught correctly. They are hypocrites for cryin' out loud.

Then you slide down the sides of the pit to encounter Joseph Smith haters and then God haters.
These exist only to feed themselves upon the entrails of your soul. Zombies of soul. If you let them eat you alive then you become a Zombie of soul waiting to devour whom you may. Yuck.

You were provoked and overreacted. That's what provocation is suppose to do. Why let it? Why give the hypocrites the satisfaction of turning you into a vomit bag of Zombie guts del sole.
Take back your right to believe in God with all your heart. They do not own that. They really do not own that, not even for themselves, damn hypocrites.

[Guest]

I think part of it is that the LDS god is a very Old Testament god. It seems like a lot of people end up pretty disgusted with the Old Testament god after going through this process. Therefore, any religion that has Old Testament god in it in any capacity is automatically out of the question.

I don't know. I went through what I would describe as a born again experience through this process....but then I kept going. Plus, I researched so many non-christian religions and they all seem to have the same thing.

Well, then there was Joseph Campbell's writings. When you see that all myths are of the same theme it kinda just confirms that it is all man-made. Nothing wrong with man-made, just puts it in a whole different perspective.

Very astute post, JUST ME, very astute.

EDT: Correct the manifestation of what must have been a brain aneurysm.

[_sock puppet]

I reject the notion that God must prove himself to you. You had no right to reject all the proofs of God that just ARE. Butterflies, and Zebras and moonbeams and rainbows and on and on. Okay the Mormons are horrific about the right shunnin' they put on those who do not abide with them. I was on the opposite end of the spectrum where I was ostracized for believing too much. Same shunning. Did not wreck my faith in God one bit. Why should the same shunning wreck yours?

You wholesale dismiss all that CAN easy pass for proof and evidence like the entirety of creation and demand something super-duper ( impossible) tempting God to come out of his hiding place just for you? The Mormons are hypocrite at the core and THAT is what you rejected. Why does that translate that everything they taught was taught correctly. They are hypocrites for cryin' out loud.

Then you slide down the sides of the pit to encounter Joseph Smith haters and then God haters.
These exist only to feed themselves upon the entrails of your soul. Zombies of soul. If you let them eat you alive then you become a Zombie of soul waiting to devour whom you may. Yuck.

You were provoked and overreacted. That's what provocation is suppose to do. Why let it? Why give the hypocrites the satisfaction of turning you into a vomit bag of Zombie guts del sole.
Take back your right to believe in God with all your heart. They do not own that. They really do not own that, not even for themselves, damn hypocrites.

Nightlion, you are so much more prophet-like than TSM, GBH, HWH, ETB, SWK, ... .

[_Quasimodo]

Very astute post, why me, very astute.

You must have meant "just me" (I've made that error several times myself). "why me" is never astute. Just me and why me need to sort this out (two falls out of three?).

I suggest that "just me" keep her name and "why me" change his to "Silly me".