New Bible

I purchased a new study bible, the ESV study bible. I saw it in the bookstore a while back and it looked really interesting. I needed a good bible and wanted a fresh start for my attempt at reading the New Testament. This new bible is full of good articles and study guides with introductions to each book with the background and who wrote it. There are maps and many other great features. It is the English Standard Version so it will be fairly easy to understand. The new church we are attending uses this version quite a lot. I'm looking forward to getting into reading the bible. Something I never did in the Morg. I read the B of M a few times but never the bible. 2015 is my year to accomplish that goal. 

My Journey Continues

I have come to the realization in the past few months that leaving the influence of the LDS church is not going to be easy. I thought that I could do it on my own, and that time would make it easier but my cult programming runs deeper than I realized. 

The group we belong to at the new church, "Life Group" asked us to answer a couple of seemingly simple questions for one of our bi-weekly meetings and I found when trying to answer I was using "mormon think" answers and realized at that moment how deeply programmed I was. We've asked the group leaders to help us starting in January with deprogramming from the Morg. Answering basic questions and setting us on the right path. 

Just another step on our journey out of the influence of the insidious cult known as the LDS church. 

My Life At The Moment

I think for the most part I've been able to leave the LDS church behind. I haven't posted on here for a while (since December) and I have definitely moved on. I've been attending another church, just down the street from the LDS church in Cambridge, the Forward Church. The family started going in January and my wife and I have been through an Alpha course and are already in a Life Group. Two former members of the LDS church, a couple that we knew when we were there, have kind of taken us under their wings and introduced us to this new church. So far, it's been interesting and fun, but we're not rushing into joining this church. Slow and easy. We may never join, I don't know at this point. We're slowing deprogramming from the Morg and that might take a while. No pressure, just enjoy the ride. And if we find that this is not the right church for us, then we won't go anymore. We'll try somewhere else. I've started reading a daily devotional and making notes in a journal and the journey has been interesting. I'm learning Portuguese and Spanish and I've grown a beard for the first time in my life. Life if fun and for once I don't have guilt. I am so over the LDS church, I don't even know why I'm mentioning it anymore. I won't mention it again. It's 2014 and I've finally moved on...

My Baptism 20th Anniversary

Last week, Thursday December 12, 2013 marked the 20th annivesary of my baptism into the Cult Church of Jesus Christ of LDS. And I'm moving on. Finally. I was going to write a book about my experiences and how I left the MORG, but you want to know something? I don't care about any of it. I am so done with the church. I'm finished. It's been a year since I resigned and I am finally done with all of it. Done with the PostMormon site, done with googling the church to find out the latest scandal, done with any kind of thought or reflection about my almost 20 years in the cult. As Christmas is upon us and the celebrations that come with it, I no longer have any ties to the church at all and I have no desire to hash it out why I left, or what led me to finally resign. Frankly, I could care less about the church or the reasons why I was a member and why I left. OK, so you're saying, "give it to us straight, are you really leaving it all behind?" And the answer is a resounding "YES!" Farewell, goodbye, THE END...

First Missionary Discussion Anniversary 20 Years

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of my first discussion with the missionaries. On November 24, 1993 I opened my apartment door to two well scrubbed missionaries. I invited them in and they ended up giving me the first discussion that night. This is back in the day of the 6 discussions and you received a pamphlet after each discussion that kind of recapped everything that you were taught. I took these lessons very seriously. I read the pamphlets and studied the scripture references and "pondered and prayed" like we were asked to do. I liked what I learned. It all made sense to me. Everything seemed to fit together and was logical. I especially remember the Elders showing me the picture of Joseph Smith kneeling in the grove and seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ. It was wonderful! I believed it really happened. I was sure it happened. It was beautiful. Imagine a young farm boy seeing God and the Saviour! It was a miracle. Too bad that young boy turned into a manipulator, egomaniac and sexual predator when he got older. And started a church based on lies and deceit. Too bad he led a church that continues to lie and deceive its members with false doctrine and made up stories of it's history. I had no idea of this when the discussions were taking place. I often think back to those days and how different my life would be if I had declined the missionaries invitation to be baptized, which I was on Sunday December 12, 1993. I wouldn't have met my wife and have had a beautiful son, now 11. Basically I don't think I would have a family. I would be lonely and almost 50 years old. (I was 28 when I joined the church, I am now 48 and left the church in 2012) So being a member wasn't a complete waste of time and for that I can be thankful. J.T.

Moving On

It's been well over a year now since I left the LDS church and I am finally ready to leave it behind. I think I will still continue to post on here because if only one person reads this blog and comes to the realization that the LDS church is a fraud then I will be happy. The very nature of cults (and the LDS church is most definitely included) is that the members don't want to hear you when you try to tell them the truth. I know this because I was in that position not too many years ago. If someone wanted to sway me away from the church I would just ignore them. And convince myself that it was the adversary (Satan) who was influencing them. As that is what you are taught to do in the LDS church. They are convinced that anyone talking badly against the church is influenced by Satan and should be avoided. (I'm not making this up!) Well. I hope someone who feels lost and confused stumbles on this blog and gives it a read. I don't want to take away your faith in God or anything else. I do this truly out of love and concern. I have been freed from a dangerous religious cult and want to help others to do the same. My journey has been a long one and it continues... I posted recently that I'm waiting for the church to crumble. If it does, I will be watching from a distance. It would be too emotionally draining to be an active witness to the church's demise. Like I said, I will continue to post my thoughts on here to help people not get involved in a dangerous cult that is the LDS church. Take care, J.T.

Waiting On The Sidelines

Hey everyone who reads my blog, I feel that lately I've been waiting. Waiting for something. Something to happen. And I know something will happen, something big. I just don't know when it will happen. But it will happen. The LDS cult church will crumble. Maybe not in my lifetime. But it will happen. There is a tipping point, when more members of the church will think it's all bullshit and pack it in. And then where would the church be without all that tithing money **gnaws on knuckles** Well they have billions of $$ in investments, so they could survive for a few years. Heck, they only give general authorities $1 million when they become a general authority, so unless there's a sudden rash of deaths among the top 15 then they should be good for a while. I don't know, though, some of those old geezers must have one foot in the grave. Oh, the miracle of stage makeup. anyway, this post is getting kind of bitter so I'll end it here. But I'm waiting on the sidelines for something to happen. The church will eventually crumble. It's only a matter of when. take care, J.T.