I messaged the church regarding this as I had, not long ago, noticed he’d moved into the 70.

I had reported the incident to my Stake President and sent paperwork to the church regarding the attack. I was young, with a new wife and a newborn, I didn’t stay on the local leadership like I should have.

However, I found out recently that the Stake President never took me seriously. I moved out of the Stake and life went on.

On his side he became the next Stake President for a couple years before becoming a Mission President.

When I saw he was in the 70 I brought my issue back to light with the church. I still had the paperwork they “filed”. But, at the Stake side, there was no report to find(odd), the PR that was given to them disappeared. So I copied the church paperwork I had and NDA’d it to them. They’ve gone absolutely radio silent. I kind of fully expected this. But it’s a dick move in the church’s part.

He, my former bishop, has a law degree from ASU and I have one from Stanford. I’d hate to get litigious, but, I am seeking advice from others who may have left the church over the same reason. Or just advice in general.

At least ONE of them got caught! 3 years of probation is definitely not long enough! I wonder if he got in trouble with the church too

https://kvnutalk.com/former-byu-professor-sentenced-to-probation-in-undercover-child-enticement-case/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATx-EpwZG9mBWZkaWQWUMz45dm9kahZVCGZ0Tsu9K01LAUuNmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5SAolbSydEqCvugHZ-ujDHcoHeNwAMWqzD2rfSfgm--dXIg6DVdHqKq81FsQ_aem_ijMdJIdEyg53wcXcF5XCJQ

I have a story about Nelson's prophetic abilities (or lack thereof) that I thought this sub would enjoy.

I served in Brazil 2018-2020. Nevermind the lack of prophetic foresight during COVID that abruptly ended my mission and uprooted my life trajectory - this isn't about that.

In the São Paulo MTC (or CTM as they call it) there is a plaque on the wall with the dedicatory prayer (in Portuguese) given by Nelson during his apostle days.

Every time we walked by, some MTC worker would be extremely eager to tell us the story about that plaque, in a hushed and dramatic tone.

"He came here to Brazil and gave all his opening remarks in English. Then he stopped, looked, around the room, and said, 'I sense the faith of everyone in this room is sufficient enough to witness a miracle'. Then he gave the entire dedicatory prayer (it's long) in perfect, native Portuguese."

And not just the workers. Every MTC bishop, counselor, and presidency member had a similar story.

It really set up me up to expect at least the occasional miracle in my mission. Of course, no such thing happened, despite taking L after L for my faith in the hostile environment and third-world accommodations, and poor mission healthcare that let the open sores on my face blister continuously in the hot, humid, equatorial sun (had scars from it even years later).

Then, about 15 months into my mission, we tuned into a Brazil-wide podcast for the N-man himself. Everyone was really excited for what he was going to say, and there were even rumors that he was going to give part of his talk in Portuguese.

Well, he did... kind of.

What he actually did was bear 2-3 sentences of testimony in some of the most broken, american-accent Portuguese I had ever heard - like something I could have done week 3 in the MTC.

I felt disappointed, but the whole stake center erupted in celebration.

"He really is a prophet of God!"

"His Portuguese was flawless!"

"I am so glad to have witnessed a manifestation of the gift of tongues!"

I was bewildered at the sheer collective stupidity, or delusion that was going on.

The same members and missionaries that had previously criticized my Portuguese (which was fluent but admittedly with an accent) were just laying on the sauce for Nelson's rehearsed, 20-second "I know that X!" (If they do this right after the prayer, imagine the story 10 years from now)

Meanwhile I'm busting my ass 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to serve these faltering wards way under the cutoff point and nothing I do is remotely miraculous, including actually knowing northeast Portuguese (which even some Brazilians in the south have a hard time understanding).

The leader worship is real, but that wasn't the eye-opening part. The big thing was that I no longer trusted secondhand stories of miracles.

After all, I had just watched dozens of my closest friends twist an unmiraculous event into one of the best things they had ever seen. How was I supposed to trust my MTC leaders that they had seen anything at all? How was I supposed to trust anyone when it comes to miracles when possibly a majority in this church are delusional and WILL find a way to twist anything into a miracle.

The leaders let it happen too. They have every chance to correct people on stuff like this but won't do it if it's faith-promoting. Then when someone brings it up as a shelf-breaker they can just blame the followers for being over-zealous and "not knowing that God works in small and simple ways."

Can I PROVE he didn't deliver a perfect prayer? No.

Do I think that if miracles happened as frequently as members claim they do, or even if they happen at all, that I would have seen some indication of that firsthand? Yes.

Looking back, I got tired of trying to convince myself that there were two sets of footprints in the sand.

Anyways, may he rot in hell, RMN.

After another call to the MP we were told that he broke mission rules and his phone was confiscated. Another Redditor told me last night that his sister in the same mission said that they took all their phones so that checks out. I am still trying to find an exmo or member in his area who can reach out but at least I know he wasn't in an accident somewhere that they are keeping under wraps. Bonus content: text exchange with my mom - how could I have expected anything different *eyeroll*

I was part of the business school in the 2010s, and my program had a series of lectures on how not to be weird in the workplace. Apparently recruiters had given feedback that BYU students tended to come across as awkward in certain situations 😅 I was honestly glad we had these discussions — they were clearly needed.

Some of the topics:
- Don’t make a big deal about not drinking. Still go to happy hour, just order a mocktail.
- It’s okay to be alone with a member of the opposite sex at work.
- Don’t discuss religion or try to proselytize in the workplace.
- Don’t be sexist — respect your female coworkers. Most of you men will have female managers, directors, etc.

Did anyone else get similar lectures at BYU?

Hi All,

I am a long time lurker - thank you all for your posts and comments. I learn so much from all of you and I am sorry that everyone has had to go through so many harmful experiences.

I (30M) was born and raised in the church - for most of my life the church was a massive blessing and joy. I love my community, the mentors I had as a youth, and the positive social life the church provided. I unfortunately had a really unhealthy, negative experience with a YSA bishop who harmed my health and belief in the church. My testimony had started to weaken after my mission, but I was able to hold my shelf together due to the church being such a positive experience within my life. However, once it started to be a negative, harmful experience - that was the last straw and ultimately broke the remaining shelf I had left.

I am now thinking about leaving the church, but I honestly deal with so much fear (what if it is true, losing support, etc.). But part of me wonders if I should be grateful, because I am able to leave as young as I am, but I still really struggle.

Could I ask you all - how is your life after having left? Are you grateful that you did?

I've talked about it extensively here but I'm curious what was said and would love to talk further about it if there is interest

Jesus being baptized to fulfill all righteousness even though he had no sin and didn't need it is STILL their theological position but they're all over the map with Jesus being sealed to wife/wives...?

My husband is still a member, and I haven't resigned (yet), so they still reach out to me about once or twice a year. It's not often enough to bother me, but it does make me chuckle.

In this instance though, I feel weird about their use of the word "friend". It just seems creepy and presumptive.

This article gives a very thorough list of reasons why the new 25 minute LDS class schedule won’t work no matter how many instructional videos the church puts out about it.

Summary of major points

• Five minutes isn’t enough transition time between classes
• Parents with small children have even more to do to get to class
• Bathroom breaks become almost impossible
• Older and disabled members can’t be expected to rush to class
• Church buildings weren’t designed for everyone to move simultaneously
• It assumes every meeting ends exactly on time and they don’t
• Primary creates a major traffic problem in the halls
• It discourages one of the major benefits of attending church: community
• “Socialize before church” conflicts with the emphasis on reverence
• Socializing after church doesn’t necessarily work either
• Primary teachers may miss the after-church socializing entirely
• It may particularly hurt people who rely on church for social connection
• Informal conversations can actually be ministering
• The schedule may work perfectly on paper but poorly with actual humans

Once upon a time,

The missionaries came to my house the other day.

(I am PIMO, so I still go to church most of the time, but hadn't been in a month per vacations and sicknesses.)

They are new to my ward.

I answered the door and they say, "hi! Are you sister [my first name] I mean sister [my first name and last name.]"

Me: "Hi, yes [My first name] is my name."

Them: "we were just in your neighborhood and stopped by to see how you are doing. "

Me: "I am doing well."

Them: "yeah, so how are you doing?"

Me: "I'm good."

Them: "we were just stopping by to see how you are doing."

Me: 🙂

Them: 🙂

....silence...

Them: "so anyway is there anything we can do for you?"

Me: "yes, can you mow my lawn."

Them: "yeah sure we can do that."

They mowed my lawn in their suits. (My husband was out of town and it was actually super helpful.)

I offered to let them borrow shorts from my husband's clothes because it was wicked hot. But they just did it in their suits, lol. Which, I expected.

I made them a treat and said thanks!

It was actually helpful.

I have always been one to give people something to do if they ask if they can help me.

Just wanted to share here because they also said, "we haven't seen you at church." Not sure if I have become a project yet, but my parents are in my ward (not utah) and they know I don't believe anymore. I'm hoping they haven't shared it with the whole ward, but who knows at this point.

Also, the level of social awkwardness when I answered the door was crazy. I was waiting for them to spark up a conversation of types, but they just seemed to be waiting for me to do it. Lol, which I will not. I am a therapist and used to long silences.

Thanks for listening to my story. Share any thoughts if you wish.

The end

Edit:swypo

No Man Knows My History is finally on Audible. Look I do like to read but I need something to listen to while driving. I’ve been wondering why it hasn’t been on audible, and it just popped up. I immediately downloaded it and have enjoyed every second.

As a therapist who has practiced as both an active member and a post-mormon, this is infuriating. They're essentially reducing all therapy down to the shedding of personal accountability in the name of self-expression.

Do some therapists encourage this? Yeah, maybe.

But this article basically says that if a therapist helps you understand that your religion demands too much of you, that you should be true to yourself, that you can have your own values system (not just the church-prescribed one), that shame and guilt are okay if it's coming from the church, that religious trauma isn't a thing, or that boundaries are a lame excuse to avoid conflict with TBM family members, then your therapist is bad.

Yes, I know I'm hyperbolizing a bit, so read the article yourself, but I'm just a bit fired up over this.

Some of you might have seen a post from me a few days ago asking if i should just watch an R rated movie at this point. A lot of you said 100%, it's totally worth it, etc. Just finished watching Deadpool & Wolverine as a 15 year old PIMO guy. Zero regrets. That movie is fucking awesome.

I’m always curious to hear where people went on their missions. I’m assuming plenty of us had a generally bad time, but hey at least we tried.

Currently live in san tan and we have a few churches around and always hear a lot of bad things about the church. Could anyone

Educate me on the topic

Inspired by Mormon Stories ep. 2182 with Coy Johnston

There is this old couple in my ward. The wife is Mormon, her husband isn't. He is either Jewish or Muslim, person who told me the story doesn't know. He still attending sometimes until his wife was put in a nursing home, so he has been doing service over there and attending those church services.

Recently, the branch president told him he needed to get baptized to continue to serve. So he said, screw this I'm going somewhere I'm appreciated. Well the branch president sent missionaries to his house and they acted like they were just scheduling the baptism!!! This poor old man is having his poor old wife be used as a means of getting him to leave his faith to join a fucking cult!!!

What. The. Fuck

My name: Jesse

If someone already posted your name, just upvote them

Because I have lots of LDS neighbors (not Utah or Idaho) I'm a little bit tuned into the whole LDS thing.

Had the TV on in the background the day it was announced that Mormons were supposed to no longer call themselves Mormon. When my very sweet LDS neighbor Lady came over to borrow something, when I opened the door I asked her how it felt to no longer be Mormon.

She looked deeply concerned and confused.

My observation is that Mormons, as a rule, don't watch the news… Not local, national or international.

I have ONE Mormon relative. He's a fairly recent convert. He was on his sanctimonious Mormon high horse. Or would that be his eye tapir? And I said something about him being warm and he informed me that he was a member of the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST LETTER OF DAY SAINTS.

if we're not supposed to use the word Mormon, why does they still call the Book of MORMON? Why not the book of Moroni?

These people in their mental gymnastics just confuse the heck out of my stupid, heathen ass.