Recovery from Mormonism

I didn't expect things to turn out the way they did. After taking
the missionary discussions and with the support and
prompting of my friends and a few family members I was
baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints at the age of 14. It was a time of great happiness
but also of heartache. I radically changed my life in order to

June 2010. Like many here, I feel that the LDS church has stolen my youth, my family, my sexuality, my personality, and my sanity. I sporadically post under my real name, but for this post I want to be anonymous and have altered a few non-essential details.

I am a 58 year old woman who finally left the Mormon Church about 6 years ago. My parents joined the Mormon Church when I was 10 months old so I was raised in the church.

Hi Eric

Thank you very much for your website. It gave me a lot of useful information on my way out of the Mormon church. I´m also very glad to be able to communicate to other exmormons.

Now, this is my story. Please, only use my nickname.

This is an edited version of a Manifesto I originally wrote in 1997. It was for myself, a form of venting some frustration. What I have deleted here are mainly many quotes and so forth that I leave the reader to find elsewhere.

Thoughts on Mormonism

The beginning.

There have been some people who have asked why I have given up on the
religion that I grew up with. That’s a good question and it deserves a
thoughtful answer. Had you asked me that question a couple of years ago I
would have shrugged and said that I just didn’t feel it in my heart anymore.

I was born into a fanatically Mormon family. My father was a descendant of
the pioneers; his grandparents were polygamists. My mother's family were
more recent converts but very dedicated to the faith. I was the youngest of
several children.

As a child I loved church. I loved scripture reading and seminary. By the
time I was 18 I probably knew more about the church than most members ever

First let me say how much of a relief it is for me to have found this website. Never before had I felt truly understood in this world, but hearing these stories has made me realize that I'm not alone. Thank you so much.