Leaving the LDS Church = Atheism

[RAB]

One common theme among some I have seen leaving and become Atheists, is that they are rejecting the spiritual experiences they have had.

These experiences are instead attributed to their own imagination. When you deny the spiritual experiences i guess it's "logical" to conclude that there is no god at all since everything was just a "trick" your mind played on you.

Exactly. I think this is the logical progression. If the spiritual experience didn't really happen, then it makes sense logically to conclude there is no God. It is not logical to conclude there is a God who confirmed to you that this was the true Church, but now you should go to another church. Its more logical to say it was just coming from me.
I struggled with that idea for about eight years, until the Lord showed me in a very simple way how I could answer the question whether my spiritual experiences were self-generated or came from Him through a simple process.

Recording spiritual experiences in a journal is very important for that reason, because over time, Satan can make it seem like it was less than it really was, or that you just made it up yourself.

[BackBlast]

It’s always bugged me when I see online people who have left the LDS church and ended up Atheist. How does one go from one extreme to the next? It’s not like they go from Mormonism to maybe Protestant or Methodist or even Universalist. They flat out don’t believe anything.

How and why does that happen for those who leave the LDS church specifically?

Once someone proposed the question if Mormonism no longer existed what group would you most align with… I answered either Orthodox Jew/Messianic, Amish, or like groups. I was floored at how many said they would be Agnostic or Atheist.

Most people who fall away loose their foundation for governing behavior, that's not something you can live without so it needs a replacement. They will find something they have had a lot of previous exposure to.

This is a reflection of the philosophy taught in the major educational institutions of our day, they promote an atheistic outlook on life. All religions are having similar issues with a pretty significant exodus of the younger people (it is not limited to youth, however).

[Hie'ing to Kolob]

Great question. I have heard that when "Mormonism burns, it burns hot." I think we as LDS members have grown up in the Church with our only knowledge of God being within the context of Mormonism. If/when Mormonism blows up on you (faith crises) you really have a hard time seperating out God after the fact...

My dad was an active member but definitely was open minded when it came to God being bigger than Mormonism. I've taught my kids that Mormonism is how we as a family worship, but that others who believe in Christ may choose to worship him differently and that's ok. Basically, same conversation my dad had with me.

My wife was brought up in a very orthodox way in which The Church was THE only way to God. All commandments followed, no TV on Sundays etc. In her family of 6 kids she alone is the only remaining active member. In my family, 4 kids, all are RM, married in Temple, ALL tithe paying active members. Sure my siblings can't be described as orthodox and we share beliefs with eachother that would be frowned upon by the orthodox thought police, but we are here. We are In the boat, while the TBMs are dropping like flies and turning atheist.

The moral of the story is that raising children to appreciate Christ and have a relationship with him is important to establish independent of Mormonism.

[Thinker]

There’s need to ensure what I think is right - is right... correcting any weaknesses/falsities in my faith foundations - so I’m not swept away in storms. You know the parable of the wise and foolish men building on strong or weak foundations...



What is at the very heart - I mean most basic foundation of faith?
God.
What or who is God? The Bible states over 800 attributes of God. Religions like Islam and Taoism state there are not sufficient words to fully describe God. Others suggest 3 main aspects:

• (symbols in “The Wizard of Oz” as previously mentioned):
  1) Brain/Intelligent Design
  2) Heart/Spirit “the kingdom of God within” &
  3) Courage/Agency of others to love or not to love

I want to focus on the 2nd aspect as Christ taught,

• “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” - Luke 17:20-21

What does this mean - “kingdom of God within”?
Even the foundation of belief in God will be tested - so let’s test it ourselves - let’s “wrestle it out with God”...
Does this mean God is all in my imagination?
God is both real and imagined. We can’t help but imagine - see things the unique way we see things. And imagination has real influence, as shown by placebo effect & quantum physics experiments.

So, is God just a placebo?
Placebos like people saying or doing things, pills, essential oils, crystals, bibliomancy etc may all inspire good, but they can also fail because they are not the highest GOoD you can fathom. They have limits but with imagining our highest idea of “God, all things are possible!”

But aren’t you deluding yourself? Not all things are possible. I can’t fly off a cliff.
With help of a plane you can. Once upon a time, nobody imagined being able to fly in the sky - but now people do every day. It’s true that we are subject to laws of physics etc, and to make imaginings manifest, we must take that into consideration.

But if God is all-powerful, why do bad things happen?
God also goes by laws like free agency. Imagine if God didn’t and every time you were about to do or say something even slightly bad, God would zap you. Would that encourage you to experience & learn more? No, it would likely paralyze you and everyone else and would hinder the purpose of life - to progress. So, God doesn’t stop bad - & actually hopes we use it to bring about good (like people helping one another during disasters, traumatized people healing & thereby better able to help others).

Why does God not answer some prayers?
Truth happens. God doesn’t hit you against a brick wall but God also won’t stop you from running at it. Faith must be grounded in truth. The truth is, God designed us to be God’s hands. We have the Spirit within that can prompt us to help answer our & others’ prayers. Sometimes we and others act on this, but sometimes we don’t.

If so much about prayers is up to me or others, what can I really expect from God?
You can expect that when you humbly ask for God in faith &/or feel a deep sense of gratitude for your life and blessings, you’ll experience God - through a spiritual feeling, enlightened ideas or other ways. You can also expect that as you seek, love and prioritize God, all things will work together for GOoD - in the big picture. This hope, love & sense of peace are priceless and what we all crave but are often looking for in the wrong places.

Sometimes I’ve felt God’s love but I soon forget. My belief seems fickle and fragile. How can I build a stronger faith foundation in God’s love?
It’s better that you test it and get rid of false/weak parts, than go along with nagging doubts - especially doubts about God’s love for you. This takes soul-searching - peeling back layers of false beliefs that hurt you &/or others. Pray always - imagine God by your side, guiding you. Practice active faith - do hard but good things that challenge or scare you - to bring about GOoD. Build on truth. Focus more on God and how blessed you are.

[Believing Joseph]

I really think that having bean a Mormon will spoil you for any other form of Christianity.

Mormons are taught to see all the problems with the Catholic claim to authority through Peter. They also have an easy time rejecting the opinions of most Protestants that the infallible Bible is the only authority they need.

Most Christians don't really believe in infant damnation and also damnation for everyone who, for whatever reason, died without becoming a Christian. But they're belief is more if a vague hope than something which their cannon of scripture actually supports. We on the other hand have it plainly spelled out in the Book of Mormon that not only is salvation available for everyone, but if you so much as believe otherwise, you'll go to hell.

I could go on, but I hardly need to - there are just so many things that Mormonism either has, or claims to have, an answer to, that most Christian sects don't even try to answer. So it is rare for people to convert from Mormonism to any other variety of Christianity.

As for non-Christian religions, I know that orthodox Judaism gets a few Mormon converts, because the idea of a religion that's focused on ritual practice rather than making definite doctrinal claims is appealing to some people who are fed up with the LDS church's focus on having the complete truth and knowing the plan from beginning to end.

And occaisionally a disaffected or merely idosyncratic Mormon will take up occult spirituality ajd become a mage. But there aren't very many of those, either.