Hi all! I'm Stardust*, new to the site. I have been checking it out over the past couple days and finally got enough courage to join up. I have been trying to find community around my area, with a bit of success, but I wanted to ease myself into everything so I thought an online forum would be the perfect start.
Quick background, as the title states, my journey has been from a Mormon upbringing, to just now, starting to really figure things out and use this wonderful brain of mine to ask questions, instead of following blindly and accepting the drivel that has been spoon fed to me for so many years.
I haven't publically announced my new found freedom to my entire family, the only one that I have really had this discussion with is my mom, who is still a very devout member of the Mormon church. She thinks I am just going through a phase and I will, with discussions from the missionaries and continued study and prayer I will come out of it and be just fine. At least that is the feeling that I got when she had me read part of the book that I got her for mothers day this year "Biblical Roots of Mormonism". Saying that I just need to know the truth.
Well, I have been doing a lot of research, and contemplating and I have asked questions to the missionaries, I am also going to talk to the pastor at the church in which I had been attending, and as of right now still going to, to appease my family for now. The Church of the Nazarene. (Fun story there, for another time maybe) This has been a very long 29 year journey of awakening.
I look forward to being part of the group, and learning from everyone. :)
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Hmmm... a "phase" that you need to be conditioned out of... not only will that re-indoctrination most certainly fail, but such a "phase" doesn't sound like one. And I should know, I have gone through countless teenage phases. All of them have lasted no longer than 3-4 months each, and just fade away naturally without any outside influence. And what's more, seeing as you said "29 years", you are now too old to have such things.
Yeah, a "phase", I thought my mom, who taught me to think for my own growing up would understand. But I know that she is still so drawn in and even more so within the last 5 years. Doing temple work and so forth, that she is just as blind as I was when I was there. I'm glad I'm out. I am learning so many crazy things that I used to agree with and I now find myself so dumbfounded for ever once believing in it all.
Wow! 29. Welcome to Reality. What you should do is actually look into the truth behind Joseph Smith. If that does not cure you nothing will. All the other stuff, Jesus and Satan are brothers and live on Golob with god, magical panties, baptism of the dead, secret temple rituals, is just silliness once you grasp the roots of the Mormon religion.
One of the biggest problems facing any actual research into Mormonism is the fact that it is the Christians who are debunking most of the Mormon claims because the rest of us just don't give a shit. So when you get a Christian apologist debunking Mormon claims you gotta take it with a grain of salt and separate what is true from that is Christian Propaganda.
http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/pdfnewsletters/35saltlakecitymessenger.pdf
Good Luck to you....
I have been scowering the internet for debates on Mormonism and the dealings of Joseph Smith. I am going to be probably making an appointment to talk to the bishop of my mothers church because I want to hear from the horses mouth some questions that I have. I want to make sure that the information I get isn't from a second hand source. I am going to be putting together as much information as I can.
Crazy thing is, I used to be one of those people who as a teen did the baptism for the dead and the laying on of hands. I never got my magic undies but I came close to doing the "work" to be approved to go to the temple on a more regular basis.
Thanks for the welcome. :)
Please Take a video, you could post it on YouTube and get a million hits.
Ask him about the origins of the Book of Abraham: he Book of Abraham is a work produced in 1835 by Joseph Smith[1] based, he said, on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Abraham
Teachings on black people and the pre-existence: If you become Mormon your skin will get whiter. Ha ha ha ha .....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_Mormonism#Teachings_on_bl...
There is so much fun stuff in the Mormon faith that this could go on and on and on. You should record your pastors responses and post them here with the questions you ask. DAMN that would be Good,.
Apparently in Utah law, if you are a party to the conversation and that conversation is not outside of Utah, one person can legally record the other. There are strict laws governing interception of calls from others when you are not a part of the conversation.. And if you are calling outside of Utah you have to be aware of the other states recording laws. I think you are good to go but you might want to read up on it. What I read is that a bill put forth in DEC 2018 to disallow single party consent was not supported and so it was dropped. So..... RECORD THAT CONVERSATION.
I have put some serious thought into recording the conversations. At the minimum, writing as fast as I can or even taking my laptop and typing all of the responses. But I think just doing a basic recording would be amazing. I will more than likely end up going into the office of each of them, so I can just get their permission.
Now just comes for the time to make sure that all my questions will be good ones. I will write yours down and see what kind of answers they have for those. I may just post the list that I have and take suggestions from others who may have questions that they want answers to. :)
Welcome!
Thank you! :)
Hi Stardust...keep asking questions of everybody, listen closely, then think critically about the answers. I've been doing that for over 50 years and what I am still learning excites me all the time.
Religion can be a comfort but at the expense of binding you to falsehoods and blinding you to reality.
Good luck.
Thanks for the welcome! :)
I am planning on asking so many questions. Trying to find local debates, and continue to watch debates online. I am looking forward from learning from everyone here also.
@Stardust
Welcome, young lady. Pleasure having you with us. Always room for another critical and rational mind around here. Very happy for you that you were able to start breaking free so "soon". Took me over 47 years of my life to finally pull away from my religious indoctrination and put all that nonsense completely behind me. It has been an incredible feeling of liberation and peace of mind, and I haven't looked back since. Also, you made a fantastic decision joining this site, because the AR has been one of the MAIN sources that allowed me to get over the worst of the few little "speed bumps" I encountered shortly after breaking free. Many, many great people on here from all around the world and from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. You have definitely chosen the right location to ask questions and get support. So jump on in and don't be shy. Ask questions. State your opinions for direct feedback. Do your research. LEARN.... That's why we are all here. Best of wishes on your journey to freedom. Once you get past a few little rough spots, the rest is smooooooooth sailing.... *grin*...
Thank you for the warm welcome Tin-Man. :]
I'm glad I picked this site too, I have been browsing around and have already learned quite a bit. I'm excited to become more of an active poster and really break out of my shell.
I had figured there would be speed bumps along the way, some I fear are just right up ahead, trying to let my family in, and also trying to figure out how to best raise my children without just ripping them away, or pushing too hard from the opposite side of the spectrum.
Thanks again for the welcome! :]
Hello Stardust
Welcome to you... I hope you find what you're looking for here :)
ALWAYS REMEMBER - You do not have to prove anything. They need to provide facts and evidence for their position and for anything they say. The Bible is not magic, it is a book written by men over a period of six thousand years and indeed is still being rewritten today. The book of Mormon was written by one man who professed to have golden tablets which he read from behind a screen and which no one ever saw. Those who professed they had seen them later recanted their confessions. Joseph's own wife didn't even believe his bullshit and threw away the first copy of the book of Mormon. The religion is as legitimate as L Ron Hubbards Scientology.
Hi and welcome...
I must admit that when I first heard of the Mormon's "magic underwear" (and this was from an in law relative who was a missionary) I nearly had an apoplectic fit I was laughing so hard.
As we were at the family home of that relative I did put up a very black mark...that and drinking a whole bottle of red at dinner (everyone else was just to polite to ask for some) ah such memories.
Anyhoo, you ask the questions, like the poor young kid who asked the wrong questions at a church service I can guarantee you will be shut down pretty rapidly. But I would love to be a fly on the wall.
As Cog has said, Mormon is a made up nonsense, as all religions are, but Mormonism is particularly silly in its claims.
What not one archaeological relic of these awesome battles fought over the US? Not one? Sheesh almost as if ...wait...as if it never happened, right?
delete
The Mormons have raided Diotrephes's home and are holding him at gunpoint, along with the Internet Morality Police, and forcing him to remove his posts. It's really crowded in his house right now and if someone sneezes something bad is about to happen.
@ Cog
I heard it was the the descendants of the secret committee that wrote the bible in 692....they were furious that Dio had discovered their secret and the silly way they had tried to disguise all those fake earlier codex in fake greek....but maybe they hired the Mormons?
All I can say is I hope they don't harm Dio's dog.....Dio is the model for the JW films ...and I don't mean the Witnesses.....blood will follow.....
Dio has a dog. Now there is no one to take care of the dog..... Damn...... I wish I had a pig nose.