Windy Sydney

March 5, 2008 at 4:34 PM

I beat you nana nana boo boo:)

j/k

We mailed ours this week and the freedom is nice. Will you be posting yours?
daisy may

March 5, 2008 at 5:28 PM

I will definitely be posting mine. I am going to take a portrait with my response! :) I am so happy to be out of there.

Congrats on sending in your letter! Good for you!!!!

March 6, 2008 at 7:53 AM

hey have you ever been to this website....

www.graceforgrace.com you should check it out.

It will ruffle your feathers...the man is so arrogant about his lds beliefs...just thought I would throw it out there.

March 6, 2008 at 8:13 AM

I will definitely check it out, thanks for the link!

Hopefully I will be able to keep myself calm while there... :)

March 6, 2008 at 9:39 PM

I'd like to say that even I've been to this guys blog (being a Mormon myself) and can say, 'whoa...slightly weird...'

Don't judge an entire church population based on one guys approach to things.

I used to run a Blog once with another guy but we ran out of time for it. It was called www.reedsmootsmates.wordpress.com

Bit of fun really, we are all guys and gals who like to discuss politics and social issues more than 'how to avoid apostasy' which made me go 'whoa...what the hell' haha.

Nick

March 6, 2008 at 9:47 PM

Sydney and others,

It occurs to me that you not only want to leave the church but you seek to tear it down to its core. But in another post you have written (or maybe it was a comment) you suggest that the Church does help people do good. I ask what is wrong with that?

I also ask why it is you don't put your mind and energy towards doing something of a greater value instead of tearing limb from limb (albeit in my opinion awkwardly) the Church and its values. For instance, being a member of Amnesty International, I'd love to see someone with as much passion as you obviously have, putting your writing to preserving and enhancing humanity. I wish I had the time to do the same (I'm still working on that blog btw).

If you want to be protruth, expose people to things that are doing 'real damage' to this world, instead of attacking a church/faith which promotes unity and selflessness, which is lacking in a world 'full of idleness and greed'.

Nick

March 7, 2008 at 8:50 AM

It occurs to me that you not only want to leave the church but you seek to tear it down to its core.

How wrong you are Nick. We are leaving because we were lied to. Sooner or later you might realize that.

But in another post you have written (or maybe it was a comment) you suggest that the Church does help people do good. I ask what is wrong with that?

Nothing. Thats why I said it. It's not all bad, we all know that. Thing is, it's not what it claims to be. That is why we are leaving.

I also ask why it is you don't put your mind and energy towards doing something of a greater value instead of tearing limb from limb (albeit in my opinion awkwardly) the Church and its values.

I am sure glad I don't care what you think Nick. This is important to me and thousands of other people who have realized the church is full of crap. I am not tearing down the values, I am telling the truth... something the church should be doing. If we were given the complete story, we wouldn't be so angry about this, would we?

For instance, being a member of Amnesty International, I'd love to see someone with as much passion as you obviously have, putting your writing to preserving and enhancing humanity. I wish I had the time to do the same (I'm still working on that blog btw).

I am enhancing humanity. You just don't agree with what I am saying.

If you want to be protruth, expose people to things that are doing 'real damage' to this world, instead of attacking a church/faith which promotes unity and selflessness, which is lacking in a world 'full of idleness and greed'.

I am protruth, I am exposing people to things that are damaging them. Do you know how many people are depressed in that church? Believing they can't be as perfect as they are supposed to? Do you realize how many people have committed suicide because of the church? Obviously not.

Lets lay it on the line Nick.

I know you don't agree with me, but claiming that I am doing this for horrible reasons is plainly wrong. You stand behind the church and that is fine. I don't, and that is fine. Comment all you want, I will always post them. I doubt we will ever agree. Although, hopefully one day we will.

March 7, 2008 at 6:22 PM

Sydney,

I'm not sure where I ever said that what you are doing is horrible, you're just jumping on the defensive. What I did say is that there are much greater problems facing this world which require our needed attention. The destruction of peoples lives in Sudan which I doubt many have ever even heard of. The continued oppression and slaughter of an entire indigenous race of people in Burma. These are incredibly wrong issues for a people living in an age of advanced reason to be facing. These are the issues I'd like to see society dealing with.

Regarding your reasons for your stance, let me just say a few things.

First you quote 'so many people commit suicide in the church'. So many people commit suicide out of the church too Sydney. Do you have some sort of statistical reasoning for this statement? In fact the journal of Epidemiology reported in 2002 that young men (who are amongst the highest suicide victims in Utah) were more likely to self inflict death if outside of the church (less active) than within (active).

But I'm not going to draw the conclusions these authors did. If you look nationally, Utah is not as bad as other states with suicide rates, but on average, around the same. To blame that on the Church is to ignore some external issues like debt which contribute to the national suicide rates. I will agree however, that suicide is a real indicator of a society going wrong. Perhaps we should be looking at the US society, rather than the church's.

You say as a protruther, you are advancing humanity. But to me, humanity is enhancing qualities in society of kindness and benevolence. Targetting a Church which does make people happy and does provoke individuals to serve their community either financially or physically does not in my eyes imbue a society of kindness.

Lay it on the line? You won't agree with me so be it. We won't ever agree unless you change, sorry. The only way I will leave the place which brings me so much joy, is if I completely stuff up sin wise.

I pray that day never comes.

Nick

March 7, 2008 at 6:31 PM

I am sorry that you don't think my blog and truth-telling are not helpful. You won't get that. There are so many people out there just like me who want to leave but are scared. There are so many people living a lie and beating themselves up because they can't be what the church tells them to be.

It's not trivial, it might not be important to you, but it's important to me and lots of other people.

March 7, 2008 at 6:39 PM

Sydney,

Im sure that you will never regret your decesion in this life, but there will come a time that you wish you had not left the church. It will be interesting to take a look at your life in 10 years and see if things are really better.
Only time will tell.
Best of luck to you

March 7, 2008 at 6:51 PM

Im sure that you will never regret your decesion in this life, but there will come a time that you wish you had not left the church. It will be interesting to take a look at your life in 10 years and see if things are really better.

Only time will tell.

Best of luck to you

Thanks, I guess.

March 7, 2008 at 6:55 PM

Your family does not want to talk to you because you are bitter and mean. Im sure your family still loves you very much and would do anything to have you back in their lives. How do you think it makes them feel reading the things that you put on this blog. The church is still true to them. Nothing you say is going to take them from the church, it is just going to make them unhappy. Do us all a favor and stop posting about your religious life. If you dont want to be a member, fine. All of your religious posts are so full or hate and anger. The world has enough of that.

March 7, 2008 at 7:01 PM

Anonymous,

This is the second time *you* have come to *my* blog and told me what I should and shouldn't feel and believe.

If you don't like my posts, don't read 'em.

March 7, 2008 at 7:07 PM

Sydney,

I happened upon your blog by total chance. I just left my comments so that my thoughts could be heard. Not that you really care, but I will never be back again.

Best of luck in life
You will be happier, if you focus on improving yourself and not breaking down others.

March 8, 2008 at 9:03 AM

Poor sydney...I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. These people are rude. You HAVE come upon a lie and part of the grieving is letting people know. You just keep writing...you have helped me a ton. Love your page. Your passion is contaigious. 10 yrs when you look back you will see that you didn't waste another decade believing a lie and passing it on to another generation...well done my good and faithful sydney:)

the only reason I dont sign in is cause you know who I am now. have a great day
Daisy may

March 8, 2008 at 9:45 AM

Thank you Daisy May, that means a lot after reading some of the comments people leave here. It's hateful. I don't get how they can stand behind the church and then say such horrible things to another person. They are doing nothing but showing their ugly insides, and making the church look bad.

March 8, 2008 at 2:54 PM

I guess by now you know that I sometimes login under my dh name oops!

dm