Post-Mormon Community on Campus
By: Greg Boyles
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Features
A post-Mormon group on campus is designed to provide a new community for those who have left or are currently thinking about leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said Jeff Brady, junior studying electrical engineering and current organizer of the USU post-Mormon group.
Leaving the church isn't easy, Brady said. The majority of an LDS member's social network is tied into the church, and once a member has made the decision to leave, both parties tend to feel there is no longer a common ground, Brady said.
This lack of a common ground is mostly theological, Brady said. Many post-Mormons keep their culture because it's what they grew up with and it's what they feel comfortable with, he said. But some post-Mormons feel once they had declared they no longer believed in the LDS church, they were avoided and sometimes snubbed by members of their ward, friends and families, Brady said.
Dave Wind, graduate student in journalism, said growing up in the church is very polarizing.
"You're either in or you're out," Wind said.
Wind, who served an LDS mission, was married in an LDS temple and taught five years at the missionary training school until he said a friend exposed him to "quirky Mormon history," which he eventually discovered was true.
"When it's all said and done," Wind said, "I felt duped."
This feeling is common among members of the post-Mormon community, Wind said.
Torrie Crapo, junior studying technical writing at USU, said she left the church after uncovering information she strongly disagreed with.
"There are things the church doesn't tell you, things they don't want you to know, and I just felt lied to," Crapo said, who said she had been deeply involved with the LDS Church until she was 16.
Ray Sullivan, student at USU and returned missionary from the Utah/Ogden LDS mission, said he understood these concerns and witnessed them numerous times while serving in Utah. Nonmembers struggled to join the LDS Church because they felt they'd been persecuted by LDS members in their community, Sullivan said, and some members left the LDS Church because they felt their personal lives were being judged by members in their ward, and he said that's not what the LDS Church teaches.
Leaving the church isn't easy, Brady said. The majority of an LDS member's social network is tied into the church, and once a member has made the decision to leave, both parties tend to feel there is no longer a common ground, Brady said.
This lack of a common ground is mostly theological, Brady said. Many post-Mormons keep their culture because it's what they grew up with and it's what they feel comfortable with, he said. But some post-Mormons feel once they had declared they no longer believed in the LDS church, they were avoided and sometimes snubbed by members of their ward, friends and families, Brady said.
Dave Wind, graduate student in journalism, said growing up in the church is very polarizing.
"You're either in or you're out," Wind said.
Wind, who served an LDS mission, was married in an LDS temple and taught five years at the missionary training school until he said a friend exposed him to "quirky Mormon history," which he eventually discovered was true.
"When it's all said and done," Wind said, "I felt duped."
This feeling is common among members of the post-Mormon community, Wind said.
Torrie Crapo, junior studying technical writing at USU, said she left the church after uncovering information she strongly disagreed with.
"There are things the church doesn't tell you, things they don't want you to know, and I just felt lied to," Crapo said, who said she had been deeply involved with the LDS Church until she was 16.
Ray Sullivan, student at USU and returned missionary from the Utah/Ogden LDS mission, said he understood these concerns and witnessed them numerous times while serving in Utah. Nonmembers struggled to join the LDS Church because they felt they'd been persecuted by LDS members in their community, Sullivan said, and some members left the LDS Church because they felt their personal lives were being judged by members in their ward, and he said that's not what the LDS Church teaches.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 14
Elizabeth Lund
posted 4/11/08 @ 10:44 AM MST
Way to go! I am really excited to see this article printed so that other people are aware of alternative social support in a tight community.
Traci
posted 4/11/08 @ 11:22 AM MST
I agree! I was really surprised to find this article in the paper. I was about to roll my eyes again about all the Mormon articles that were written but I give the Statesman for showing a little bit of the other side. (Continued…)
Mona
posted 4/11/08 @ 1:36 PM MST
I certainly wish they had something like this when I was attending USU between 86 - 90. I went through a lot of questions and struggles with the church during my time at USU (eventually leaving the church not long after a graduated) and it would have been nice to have a group like that for support. (Continued…)
Stephanie Jackson
posted 4/15/08 @ 5:58 PM MST
It's not a surprising that some LDS people do not live up to their religion. I can't count the number of people who claim to practice {insert religion} but who don't really. (Continued…)
Stephanie Jackson
posted 4/15/08 @ 6:09 PM MST
It's not a surprising that some LDS people do not live up to their religion. I can't count the number of people who claim to practice {insert religion} but who don't really. (Continued…)
K. Diane
K. Diane
posted 4/18/08 @ 8:33 PM MST
I'm curious- what would be a more "progressive, adult" approach? What isn't mature and forward-thinking about a quiet, unassuming group who meets once a week to have intelligent theological discussions and who reaches out to people who have reached a difficult crossroads in their lives because of their religion? And they HAVE moved on- that's the whole idea behind the Post-Mormon Community. (Continued…)
Gideon Oakes
G. Dawg
posted 4/21/08 @ 4:35 PM MST
[QUOTE]Am I correct in assuming you're one of the people the Statesman hires to spark debates on this? I really hope so. [/QUOTE]
We hire for that? Dang! I'm in the wrong position I guess. (Continued…)
John
posted 4/21/08 @ 8:55 PM MST
I was really glad to see this article personally, for the most part I just found it very interesting. Although, I will soon leave to serve a mission I do believe that the church has some major problems that it needs to correct. (Continued…)
Stephanie Jackson
posted 4/22/08 @ 11:46 AM MST
Toward K. Diane, specifically:
See, if this group operates as a support group it's not forward-thinking. "Support group" implies neediness, residual issues such as anger and hurt. (Continued…)
Mike L.
posted 4/24/08 @ 10:05 PM MST
To Stephanie:
I'm not sure how you can say that you're "not slamming" people's feelings then tell them they need to act like adults and move on. Their feelings are valid, but if they're mature they'll stop?
And I don't think that the fact that the group has a focus on "intelligent theological discussions" means it's not a support group. (Continued…)
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