@@thejesuschrist, hello there Jesus! Remember that time you skateboarded on the cross for the holy people? Today I prayed to the holy Jesus Christ and got a free Pop Tart!
honestly i laughed at the fact that Jimmy needed a talking to for flirting with that boy too much like i imagine him flirting with this boy, perhaps the boy is flirting back a little, and just some person pulls him aside like “you gotta calm tf down dude i can smell your gay from a mile away”
I dunno man...if someone wants to come live in my crawl space and help out with chores while I'm not home I don't think I could really bring myself to complain.
Summer Cucumber As long as they were a good person I really wouldn’t care to much. I’d invite them to stay till they got things sorted out. Any chance to get a new friend and help somebody out sounds pretty good to me.
Someone appearing when I leave and doing more chores for me then disappearing before I return honestly sounds like a dream... Just don't play with my kids, that's creepy
I honestly don’t understand why anybody wants to be a God. The hours are terrible and the responsibility is heinous. I’d rather go have a cup of coffee. Seems like way too much effort for me.
Welcome to the club. Luckily my name only starts with Christ. But even that didn't manage to make me a believer. (edited to correct for a typo... I forgot the word "didn't" when I wrote it... my goodness...)
Although I'm atheist, I believe everyone has their right to his/her beliefs and spiritual path. I've allowed my son to go to different churches with friends and different family members throughout the years. I kept quiet about being an atheist, as I didn't want to influence how he felt regarding religion. As he hot older, I told him that while I don't believe, if he was interested in trying out a church, I'd go with him for support. He just turned 16 and told me he's an atheist. I really feel for children that have to hide their beliefs if they differ from their parents. The huge amount of guilt people struggle with is too much to carry for some. I've met both wonderful and asshole people of different faiths, as well as atheists. While my pseudo mom finds it difficult to deal with the fact that I'm not Christian, we have a deep respect and love for each other! I wish more people could find that balance and lead with love; regardless of belief or lack thereof.
Im so happy you raised him like that. Im atheist but i believe that people should be allowed to be a part of whatever religion they want as long as it brings them peace, purpose, and happiness and doesn't affect anyone else in a negative way
My parents did the exact same thing to me and I am so thankful, I looked into Christianity as a child and Buddhism as a preteen but ended up being atheist as well!
Oh my gosh! Just found this - and love it! I was a devout Mormon for 37 years; left the Church four years ago. So related to all the feelings you shared! It is hard rebuilding a life at age 55, because all but three of my tribe members ditched me upon my leaving. To make matters worse, my last bishop was my husband - whom I divorced after 33 years of marriage. Ugh!!! So, so much difficulty . . . but it gets better, and now, nearly to the other side of all the anger and grief, my life is so much more peaceful and joyful. Thanks, Mr. Atheist! :) By the way, I agree with the other post about your great hair!
Hey, I was raised Mormon. I’m still Mormon. Watching this gave me chills. The church says not to watch anti Mormon media, but I’m glad I did. Thanks for sharing and God ble- I mean good luck!
@@beccasmith1276 Watched this and read the CES letter. I am still so glad I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It actually is the true church. Joseph Smith actually was a prophet and actually saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and was actually called to restore the church to the earth. I am so grateful that I have something as influential as the Book of Mormon from which to read and learn. May we all find the truth, and be content in living it.
@@tyndale25 I gotta ask how you can still believe the BoM and the mormon church are true after reading the CES letter? Joseph Smith was a great conman I'll give him that! He plagiarized most of the BoM, from different books published years before, and published in the same area. The fact that most of his jail sentences were for scamming people by claiming he could find treasure with his seer stone. Dressing as an angel during baptisms. Got caught doing so. There are to many variations of the first vision, he used a rock and and a hat to "translate". The witnesses came forward eventually to say they actually never saw the gold plates. A battle on the hill comorah would've been impossible for that many people to be fighting and yet no bodies or weapons have been found. Deciding to take on more wives and sent the husbands of said wives on 3 to 4 year missions. Most of his "brides" were teenagers. And on and on it goes. That's why the leaders discourage reading things like the CES letter, because more and more people will leave. The fact they send missionaries to impoverished countries and take 10% of their income which isn't much so they can go to the temple is sickening. They have enough money. Oh and the fact ole joe smitty was a freemason and ripped off every ritual word for word for the temple ceromonies. Handshakes, symbols, you name it. How do you feel about the FLDS, and Warren Jeff's? Because they mimic what the church was like back then, so if Warren Jeff's makes you wanna throw up, Joseph Smith was wayyyy worse. So again how did you come to figure the LDS church and BoM are true?
@@beccasmith1276 You sound like you know someone who was effected by this compilation document labeled the CES letter. I am sorry to hear that. Are those people the ones who gave you all of these strange concepts? That bothers me but there are those who fall for this.
Of course I have had people hurt by the LDS church and everything I've written is facts. Don't feel sorry for me. I don't have to pay 10% of my income. Funny you think these facts are wrong, but you've completely skirted the question about how you can still believe after everything you read in the CES letter. Just like a typical mormon apologist. Have you heard of the campaign "protect LDS children" that Sam young started? Multiple accounts of sexual abuse covered up by the church and making the victims look like they wanted it. So ya I'm hurt. Because I know to many stories. You say I fell for scientific evidence. People like you fall blindly to a religion and book that are fairy tales. You're only getting one side of the church history, when the other side of it is bat shit crazy. Whatever you do you. And I hope you make it to the celestial kingdom. But there isn't one.
0816 M3RC My parents are both the youngest of six kids. They found it hard to relate to me at times because I didn’t have other children around me a lot.
@TheRenaissanceman65 I don't really know that much about the topic, but at least in the german protestant church you can basically hand in a letter of resignment- style document and just leave. i guess it's harder in other churches, esp. in america.
@TheRenaissanceman65 hm, that is a good question... Most people do the thing I talked about to be exempt from the "Kirchensteuer", the "Churchtax". I don't intend on leaving the protestant church I am in anytime soon, simply because I know that there are a lot of Kingergardens and Hospitals and such that are financed by the church (actually, I should have a look into what the churchtax goes to exactly). Most people do not like paying the church via the state, and i totally get it. I am still in my early twenties, so i don't really see it as urgent yet, though.
I grew up non-Mormon in Salt Lake City, global HQ for the LDS Church. A family friend had been raised LDS, but figured out he was gay, and started attending a more open-minded church. He wanted to join officially, but didn’t feel comfortable knowing he was still on the LDS rolls. He sent letters to various LDS Church authorities, petitioning to be removed from the rolls. Turns out it’s not that simple: the only way is to be excommunicated...which as Jimmy/Mr. Atheist points out, involves a hearing. Our friend held off for a bit because he knew word would get around, and his mother was very involved in the Church; he didn’t want to embarrass her. Finally though, he pressed forward with the process. It was grueling, involving multiple hearings where he had to be very explicit about acts he’d done which were counter to Church teaching, and talk about how he had no remorse for them. It took over a year, but they finally took him off their rolls.
I'm on the other side of this: here you have someone with no where to go and is therefore secretly living in your home and is trying to earn his keep by doing the chores (and helping with the children? I didn't remember that part) and the best, "most godly" thing to do was to kick out someone who you believe god sent to your home? Shouldn't God then be the one to decide when he leaves and in the meantime you invite him more formerly to join your family and continue doing what he's doing just now it isn't a secret? I just always look at the perspective of the one who loses in a situation BTW. Thanks 🙄 for the mental image of the guy being like the one in Parasite! That movie is still apparently unsettled in my psyche
Kerianne Kerr I love the compassion of your comment but the thought of a stranger in my safe space of my home takes absolute priority. As far as parasite goes- I don’t think my brain will ever come to peace, or be settled with it lol
I was kinda upset that they made him leave without even hearing about his life story or making sure he'd have somewhere else to go. Like yeah, he's a stranger lurking in your house, but he keeps everything clean and seems polite. I dunno, I'm just a dumb softie.
I found a porno mag on lds church property when I was 7, it was in a wooded area on church grounds. We were there for a volunteer weekend cleanup and I went with my father and was just goofing around with the bishop's sons while the adults were working. The bishop's kids were a few yards ahead of me when I saw this magazine and wondered what it was so I picked it up. I remember there was this centerfold blonde woman (barely) dressed as a circus ringleader and had a bush. I was too young to know about pubic hair so it really confused me lol. I was also too young to know the magazine's purpose but just thought "naked people = bad" and tossed it back into the leaves. The bishop's kids saw me and asked what it was and I told them "nothing". Long story short, the kids went back when I wasn't there and their dad found out and had an interview with me accusing me of showing his kids porn. I was always super defensive during bishop interviews since then. I would never admit to anything I might have thought was wrong since I almost got pinned for something that wasn't remotely my fault. I left the church at age 19 as well. Just thought I'd share this funny fucked up story haha
I couldn't imagine them accusing a 7 year old of showing other kids porn. He probably didn't want to think that his pure and innocent own children would ever consider looking at porn.
I went to school with a Mormon girl. She was lovely, one of the nicest people I've ever met. We lost touch after I changed schools, but we were quite close for a time. Despite me being an atheist, she never tried to convert me. We did talk about her religion and beliefs in general, but it was never anything like that. She also had a great sense of humour, even about her religious beliefs. On the last day I saw her, she gave me a note and a picture of Jesus which was the closest thing she had ever done to try and convert me. I haven't seen or heard from her in 20 years, but I still think of her from time to time. I don't know if she's still in the church, I remember that she wanted to move to Salt Lake City when she was old enough but I have no idea if she ever made it. I've tried looking her up on Google and Facebook but her name is quite common (and it turns out there's a coffin race or something in Utah that shares her name so that doesn't help). Wherever she is, I hope she's happy and doing well. If she's still in the church, then she probably wouldn't approve of who I've become (I've since come out as transgender). I apologize for this comment not being all that relevant, but it made me think of her.
The Neon Chimp Channel sorry I know this is old, but I just wanted to say I’m Mormon and I can’t imagine your friend “wouldn’t approve” of you. I’m sure she would love you as much as ever. The church’s stance on a lot of things is archaic, but people are more complicated than that and largely capable of thinking for themselves. No doubt she misses you, too, you seem like a kind person.
Wherever your friend is, im pretty sure (or at least hope so) she would say something like this, God love all of his children, and you are important for Him, your doing your best and hope you keep trying to be the best person you can. Love one another and be kind. Greetings from a member of the church of Jesuschrist or mormon whatever you like, :)
Lol, I was just gonna say something along the lines of what the other two said. But also thank you. This is one of the very few comments that offer a view other than 'Yeah, the Mormon church is awful and any Mormon I knew didn't even realize how effed up they were and constantly tried to force their religion on me'. I can't say anything about other's experiences, but I know that this comment seems a lot more normal to me. So anyways, thanks!
I grew up non-Mormon in Utah, and had several Mormon friends. I lost touch with one, and a decade later was able to get back in contact through the sprawling apparatus of the Church. I wrote to some sort of “Records of Who’s Where” type department at the Church Office Building in downtown SLC, giving her full name and what I recalled about her family and where she used to live. (This was well before the Internet, so I was making things up as I went along.) I also enclosed a letter for them to forward to her. A couple months later, I got a letter from her! It was great to be back in touch. Just an idea, if you’re interested in following up with your friend. 😀
Can't wait to watch this. I'm 19 and working my way out of the church. Hoping I can get away from Utah soon! Your channel has really helped me solidify my questions with the church and focus on escaping. Thank you a million.
Hello! I was only 17 when I left the church but I wasn't as knowlegeable and confident as you are. That will make your transition smoother and I respect you. Good luck!
My sister and I are going to do this at the same time... on a Sunday... with scratch off tickets.. and coffee..and tea...and alcohol... with a rated R movie playing in the background out of spite 🤣🤣✌👋🎆
Try growing up in Salt Lake City, as a Non-Mormon. I was told by people in elementary, we can’t be friends because my family isn’t in the church. It’s crazy how much they shame anyone not involved in their establishment.
Hana Vigil yes that’s true. I grew up in Salt Lake City as a Mormon with inactive parents. Horrible culture there. I hear it’s not as bad as it used to be with the declining numbers of Mormons there. Idk though.
Gorgeous state completely ruined by a vast majority of people there. Came to salt lake for a job opportunities and am leaving ASAP...I cant imagine dealing with all that as a child I can barely do it as an adult lol
@@sarahb112 Yeah, it's changed a lot. I actually love Utah. It's beautiful. I still want to move away someday, but it is becoming more accepting over here. My in-laws are Mormon and they are lovely people. So, I don't judge everyone, but I did personally have some bad experiences here growing up.
It’s the one reason we’ve decided against living in Utah, which is a shame because the state is GORGEOUS, but the idea they shame non-Mormons in communities is so unsettling.
@@G1ngerpocalypsethe mountains really are unreal, I've very much enjoyed the nature aspect but like you said everything else is just not worth it. I mean they cant even sell beer at the same % as other states unless it's in a liquor store...I dont like a religion having so much pull on laws 🤷♀️ may work for some people just not for me
Exactly a year ago I broke up with my Mormon boyfriend after he went on mission and tried to convert me. When he left, he told me he wanted to be with me when he returned. I watched him get indoctrinated and transform into someone unrecognizable, at only 17. I had no idea that this is kinda like what life was like for him, he kept me, a kinda sorta atheist separate from his family and church so well that I couldn’t see he was in a cult until he was emailing me to convert. It breaks my heart even a year later. Feels good to get it off my chest
Rianne West he just was a totally different person. He started believing really messed up stuff, like that some people who died in a flood were being punished for ignoring his teaching. His emails started to read like some sort of pamphlet for Latter Day Saints.
Rianne West when serving a mission, your entire existence of 2 years (depending on how long your mission is) is dedicated to the gospel. you aren’t allowed to use social media and do certain things that would deter “the spirit.” you and your partner spend the entire time walking around in public places dressed in a certain modest way with missionary tags to stand out and represent the church. everything you say and do represents the church. you go around preaching to people, strangers, about the gospel and you try to convert as many people as you can. you are told you receive eternal blessings for going on a mission. missions brainwash the missionaries and cement their religious thoughts into their minds. it’s extremely difficult to get out of the church after going on a mission. that’s what i meant by missions converting the missionaries themselves.
@@heyitsamyyy They don't know (except my step-mom who wasn't born into religion), which I plan to keep, so I'm constantly making sure I don't say anything to set off any flags to them.
I was born & raised Mormon and had a very similar upbringing. I remember in the 5th grade overhearing a conversation my parents were having about gay people, how corrupt they are and the only way for them to make it to the “celestial kingdom” was if they denounced who they are and married someone of the opposite sex. I chimed in from the back seat of the car, “But if they pretend to not be gay, wouldn’t that be a lie? And don’t gay people deserve to love who they want just like anyone else?” My mom kinda nervously laughed it off but my dad, a very violent man, was furious. My punishment was reading Doctrine and Covenants from start to finish. That was the first time I openly challenged LDS teachings and it definitely was not the last. The last straw for me was going to the temple to do my endowments. That scared the shit out of me. Weird clothing, chanting, secret handshakes, etc. Suddenly I saw everything very clearly. I left. I don’t miss a single thing about that place. I’ve spent years researching Mormonism and it’s vile history. It’s a cult through and through.
AndreaPolite As an ex Mormon who left just before the time came for endowments, I don't know what exactly goes on. I've tried to find out more specifics (other than the general creepy promises and symbolism and sht) But have been unable to find much. Can you tell me more specifics or tell me where I can find out more? I want to know what I so narrowly escaped.
Wow, what an experience, Andrea. Thank you for sharing. Are you still in contact with your family? Are Mormons 'allowed' to associate with those who have left?
@@mysticmysteries8678 I am just going to chime in here as an ex mormon. It depends on the parents. My parents still talk with me but there is always that uncomfortable elephant in the room. I have seen other kids leave and there parents want nothing to do with them. This is more of an exception not the rule.
@@baileywright5232 Thank you for this! Me too!!! I was an evangelical Christian until recently becoming an atheist and swearing feels SO unnatural for me. During a conversation at work the other day my coworker was telling me a story about a very rude woman, and I commented, ''What a bitch!'' and instantly felt the need to wash my mouth out with soap or something LOL! Glad I'm not the only one! :D
so i was born and raised mormon, i'm an atheist. one time in the third grade i remember saying "Oh my god" accidentally and feeling so guilty and begging for forgiveness. indoctrination am i right
Hey there! I know this isn’t related to this specific video but I just wanted to say thank you for being such an amazing advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Your video on gender/non-gender inclusive language was amazing!
I also agree. As a non religious gay man in a loving (soon to be) marriage with another non religious man the fact that Mr. Atheist is accepting and open to the LGBTQ+ community has meant a lot for my personal recent escape from the Methodist Church.
My best friend left the Jehovah’s Witnesses last year. We were really close throughout high school and she ended up engaged & almost getting married & solidified in the church. I lost contact with her for a year and then I got a message (on Steam lol of all places). I ended up calling her asking if she was okay & she informed me that she was currently on her way to college (which they discourage) and that she’d left the Witnesses and she’d left her douchebag fiancé. She told me that a conversation we’d had (at a coffee shop I just genuinely looked at her and told her she was in a cult) and she told me she’d thought about it for the course of about 6 months and she was strong enough to leave. No financial independence, no degree, nothing. She left. She’s being shunned now & I moved to New York from Tennessee so I don’t see her often. But from what I’ve heard from checking on her as much as I can, she’s discovered she was asexual, panromantic, and she stopped taking antidepressants because “the problem has gone away”. She has her own apartment and supports herself at age 20! I know it’s not Mormonism, but talking to people & genuinely having a caring conversation with them HAS AN IMPACT. And when you’re in that position, you WILL make it if you leave. She told me once she left, she actually started seeing a lot more beauty in the world because people are truly at their kindest when they’re kind not because somebody told them to be, but because it’s just the right thing to do. I really appreciate your videos because at the core of it, sharing empirical knowledge with somebody is actually impactful enough to change their life if they’re strong and willing to pull themselves through. And most people are.
Good for her to leave that religion, from all the faiths that I have seen, that is one of the worst, I mean half of my family are jeovah's witnesses, half are catholic and my neighbours are cristians, from all of them the jeova's witnesses are the worst, the most retrograd, the most judgmental, its like for them reading the bibble is an excuse to be terrible people.
Sarah Stevens, I feel for your friend that left jehovah's witnesses, I used to be a jehovah's witness when I was a little kid, but, stopped believing in it and became atheists when I was 10, and what made me give up on being a jehovah's witnesses and become atheist, was that they tried to tell me that pikachu was satan and that pokémon was the devil's bible, an at that time I was very smart for a 10 year old, so, I told them that I thought that was the biggest pile of horse shit that I have ever heard, and that I was never coming back, and my mom left jehovah's witnesses when I did, but, my mom is still religious, she is just now part of some other religion.
The most perfect thing in this response - "She told me once she left, she actually started seeing a lot more beauty in the world because people are truly at their kindest when they’re kind not because somebody told them to be, but because it’s just the right thing to do." This is so weird that during this week I keep getting these all these "reveal the truth about Mormonism" videos recommended. I've watched a couple, not because I cared about Mormonism but because they looked interesting. I love anything backed up by discernment and the goal of balanced self-esteem. At the end of last year I started really seeing the truth about organized religion - it's purpose seems to always be having someone at the top usurping other people's freedoms. Unfortunately, over the years the baby boomers were brainwashed into believing that someone else always knew better. They were too lazy to ever question because they were always threatened with the consequences of not following dogma. I hope this latest generation of kids learn to be independent thinkers and discern that kindness is "just the right thing to do."
I cant leave my religion,am a Muslim and I hate how the foundation of the religion is harsh in treatment.I will be hates by my family and am supposed to be killed if I do leave according to the religion
The evil masturbation thing omg, I was raised Catholic (atheist now) and we were told the same thing, I had a guy friend who cried to me literal tears because he was so ashamed and scared he thought he was going to Hell...
@Rockin' Roll lol same here. In my catholic school we were taught that masturbation was ok if done occasionally but it becomes a problem if you become addicted to it that it takes over your life which weirdly even now, as an agnostic, I agree with.
In my LDS church masturbation is taught as sin against the law of chastity,and you need to live by the law of chastity to get your temple recommend which is needed to get into the LDS temples
I grew up Mormon and at the time, I was shamed for 'not dressing girly enough' and 'not being feminine enough'. I knew I was trans since I was little but I was so heavily shamed and humiliated for it that I fell into incredible denial. When I got a bit older, still in denial but always ready to argue, I started questioning the church about why women can't hold power in the church and I started emailing men higher and higher in position because I wanted an anwser that wasn't essentially "well god said so". I never got one. I stopped believing in the church around 16, 17 years old and once I left, I came out as trans and gay. Being mormon was the worst experience of my life and made me so suicidal and is a huge reason I developed depression. There's so many more stories from being in the church, but I'll keep it short. I just fucking hate the church. Great video!! I'm glad I found your channel. I throughly enjoy your content and you've pointed out big reasons why the mormon church is abysmal. Keep being great and keep being you!!! ✌
They already have everything that the men do so nothing you said really makes sense. The women already have all the power and priesthood they're born with it I'm sure any of them would have given you that answer if you weren't so judgemental and actually listened to them
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I HAD TO USE ALL CAPS! Just left Mormonism myself a few years ago, and this is so accurate for so many people. I can relate to so much of it. Thank you. I just shared my story on my channel to help people I care about get out of the cult too.
As an ex-Mormon I must say this is an extremely powerful - dare I say - testimony. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for speaking out for all of us who continuously struggle with the decision to leave the church.
"It took a lot of tears, a lot of time, a lot of research. It took meeting myself for the first time." Gosh this line almost made me cry. I've always been an atheist as are my parents and friends, but I do feel what religious people have to go through in order to unlearn everything that was fed to them as children. Isn't there any way to criminalize child indoctrination and ban it constitutionally...
PragerU ads on atheist videos are my fav, especially when it's with people like JP who even a lot of atheists think is some kind intellectual lwizard. Maybe seeing him collaborating with PragerU will sounds some alarm bells for them?
I lost my religion in college (while studying religion and philosophy), and went through a painful loss of identity. I can’t imagine going through everything you went through.
@@sarahnorrie6468 Atheism guts life of all real meaning, purpose, significance and hope. It's Nihilism. It's not only sad, but dangerous if taken seriously.
I lost my faith in Islam at around the age of 12. I didn't believe in lots of the traditional Muslim doctrine since before I can remember, and I always sucked in Islamic class, but I still believed. I think started actually questioning things when I really got into evolutionary biology. I remember watching so many evolutions vs creation debates, and realizing that all the evolutionists were atheists. I then set out on a journey to prove that evolution and Islam could coexist without needing any mental gymnastics, so I started reading the Quran. I was an atheist within an hour and a half. now, about a year later, the only person I pulled up enough courage to tell is a teacher of mine, and I don't think I'll be able to tell any of my family until I move out for college, and I feel like videos like these are gonna help me keep my sanity for the next few years. Edit: Wow thats a lot of likes lmao. But yeah now its two years later and my immediate family basically knows, (and thankfully they have respected me for the most part, i haven't been disowned or anything) but now I'm a closeted bisexual transgirl, so that's another thing I'll have to tell them eventually lmao.
@@flowerfields4345 eh it's not the worst religion out there but it's certainly good they're getting away from it. i dropped catholosism at about that age when i got into 6th grade and went to public school for the first time. I'd been going to a catholic elementary school and didn't realize until then that you were allowed to not believe in a god.
Jadude 37 Evolution and Logic will never ever match with religion. Ya know why? Because religion is all based on faith. Faith that something greater created you. Faith that a higher being took part in creating emotions, the complexity of the brain, the makeup of the human body, the beauty of the land. Regardless of how much logic you believe in, it will never justify the creation and how complex it is. To believe in religion may seem silly and pointless. But a God (our father) created this earth. My views & what I believe and know to be true. Bless the Lord our God!
I was mormon and l left. I believe in God just not religion. I believe that scepticism is a good thing. The reason l still believe is there are things that happened in my life no one can explain. I just know it's not mine or anyone else's place to judge someone.
I 2as born Christian and it was gell so I no longer go to church and I don't read the bible. It was clearly written by humans and not God. But I do believe there is a God for the same reason. Things I can't explain have happened that I can only conclude were works of God or jesus
Being a christian is not a religion, its life... Being a mormon is a religion.. Jesus does not have a book of everybody in a religion.. But he has a book of everybody that has life and everybody that has faith in Christ has life.
Yeah it is really weird how mainstream Mormonism sounds freakishly like Southern Baptist-ism. My advantage in getting out was having a pagan mother who was much more "choose your own path" than my dad. I think my parents are so rare in that they're together and yet literally opposite ends of the religious and political spectrums. Maybe that'd be a good topic: inter-religious relationships. I'd gladly tell you all I know (although you obviously know a lot too) about how my weird-ass parents made a witch and a Baptist work for 33+ years.
GingerGoddess89 I think it's really cool that your parents stayed together so long! I hope they're still doing well. My mom used to consider herself a witch, though she doesn't practice, and my dad was a Christian of some sort who had gone to Catholic school. They didn't push any religion on me, which is why I didn't know anything about my dad's beliefs until later. They only lasted 10 years, though, so my mom was the one with me when I tried Christianity for a few years. She was cool about the whole thing and was a big help the whole way.
In the middle of my transition out of mormonism and also trying to help my husband who I pulled down the rabbit hole and has been a little crushed by the discoveries. I feel like the hardest part for me isn’t actually leaving the church (I have had questions and doubts for the last 14 years and have been starting my transition the last 4) but the fear of telling my family, or even worse, them finding out. I have had to dodge invites to do temple dates, my grandparents constantly inviting me to come with them to their ward. I don’t know how to do this gracefully and I don’t want to damage relationships. Any advice out there? Also thank you Mr atheists for all your videos. You are so great at verbalizing things and I have found a lot of comfort and validation in your channel!
I agree with this and I am in a similar position! I also fear telling my family, not sure I ever will. I wish someday that we will have the courage to.
Elizabeth- I’m not sure the road can be smooth. As Mr. Atheist said, being yourself can be very difficult. That being said, I don’t know your family. They may be more open minded. The hardest thing I had to tell my family was that I had failed out of college and needed to come home. My parents were...upset, to say the least. But in the end it was better to be honest than to hide the truth. If you decide to do this, do it safely. If you think your family would do anything drastic (kicking you out, cutting you off), have safety nets in place first (friends, some money, etc). And I certainly wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide. You are very strong!
noel090909 thank you! I have expressed questions and failing faith before and have mostly been gaslighted by my loved ones, this isn’t how you really feel, I’ve seen you have these experiences you can’t let satan get hold etc. luckily for me I am not the first one in my family to leave, but I am the hardest one to blow off as just a “wayward child” who is a bit confused because I’ve done all the things the way they were “supposed” to be done from 18 onward with the exception of serving a mission. I think the hardest thing for me will be to face my grandparents if my leaving comes out
@@lizzyb4281 My advice is to not try to explain all the reasons why you left, as they will automatically take a defensive position and this will lead to arguments. Better to just let them know that you have doctrinal concerns, but you don't want to attack their beliefs so you're leaving it at that. Make sure they know that you aren't rejecting them, just because you are rejecting the church. This can't be stressed enough, because as you know, Mormons identify the church with themselves. It is at the core of their identity, so a rejection of the church feels like a rejection of them personally. Then just be patient and kind and a great example of a happy loving person living authentically. After some time has blown over, if you want to discuss the points of your deconversion, it may be possible, but it will have to be done delicately or they may revert to a defensive position, trying to bring you back to the fold.
Not sure, I’m in a similar position. Don’t want to publicly leave because when my brother left we weren’t allowed to talk to him as kids at all, and my parents didn’t talk to him for years. I think I’ll just try to stay quiet, but yeah, it’s tough to do when they’re always inviting you to the temple because mine expired a few months ago and i don’t pay tithing anymore. Wish I could get all it back ;)
Thank you for this so much. I was a Christian from birth until I was 52. After the death of my adult daughter, I had a massive crisis of faith, so I went on RU-vid looking for answers and found Hitchen's debates. From that point on for a couple years watching atheist shows and debates. I had learned that atheists were trying to separate you from God and by Christian definition, 'satanic'. I'm now 65 and even still I will find this urge to pray when things are going bad. Fear of hell rears it's ugly head on occasion, but I push it down with logic. What I know without a second thought, I feel LIBERATED once I realized I could find truth on my own and didn't have to be told what I was supposed to believe. Loved this video
I’m so sorry. You’ve had a hard life. For me, my faith is everything. When I was a teenager, I went to adoration (I’m Catholic) and I went into it thinking “this isn’t Jesus”. I kept telling myself over and over again that I wouldn’t feel anything. But then, I felt Jesus’ presence within me. It’s hard to explain and I really only feel it that strong when I’m in adoration, but I felt His love for me and I was so overcome with joy that I started crying and crying, just so happy. And now, I dig into catholic teachings. I find Catholicism to be the denomination that backs up beliefs with the most facts and research. I know sometimes people and religion can push you away, but just remember that Jesus loves you no matter what. If you don’t believe, thats okay, but don’t let the way people treated you push you away from God. If people told you what to do, and you don’t like that I get that (once had an evangelical Christian tell me to wait 6 months into dating to hold hands Haha) but if you believe, that’s all that matters. Don’t let people or religion affect your decision. I’m sorry if I overstepped. I hope you have a wonderful day!
Just try to think about it this way. Believing in god or praying to god just because you are afraid of hell is a selfish and cowardly thing to do. I'm not criticising you as a person, only the action. I think that if there was a god worth worshiping, he wouldn't want you to do it out of fear.
There is a lot of sexism in Christianity, a lot of which I don‘t agree with, but it‘s not the primary reason I reject Christianity (or any religion regarding monotheism), but more so that it doesn‘t make sense to me. Plus my parents being forceful and clearly getting intensely upset when I say something provocative was a big motovator, because the reasoning was always very bad. I did try to think through astheism (tried buddhism, didn‘t work out for me), but I didn‘t feel comfortable, but found out that beimg agnostic was a thing and one I felt truly comfortable with. I‘m definatly happier for it😄
So are we! Tired of being a Mormon? You can land softly in one of those little born again/evangelical/pentecostal/praise the Lord churches where nothing is expected of you and you have no accountability. Sound good? I'll thank you for leaving before we have to throw you out.
I got mine taken off last year and it came through/made official last July. Best decision I ever made and I hope your resignation comes through soon. I know they're trying to make it harder to remove your name, I got mine off before it was made more difficult.
I wasn't raised Mormon, but grew up Christian. I was about 11 when I really started questioning. I would fight with my mother to let me wear pants to church, and I vividly remember being verbally attacked by my family because I said "Heaven" didn't sound like a good place because we lost free will. I was thinking, "I am not very old and my entire life will be spent not truly living so that I can not truly live forever."
“I don’t believe in an afterlife, so I don’t have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse.” - Isaac Asimov
The heaven the catholic teacher teaches doesn’t sound like something I want to be forever in lol I don’t believe that happens after we die. There’s just too much out there to just go to one place and that’s it
I know it's not Mormon, but I had to help my friend escape her very abusive Mennonite community. I've also had to help two of my best friends leave Islam, one of whose father actually came to my house and threatened me, saying I was corrupting his daughter. I was letting her live with me until we could find her her own accommodations, so he tried to physically force his way inside to kidnap her. Those are all long stories, but I'm happy to say they worked out. I also had a girl reach out to me who lived in a weird Christian cult community. They weren't Mormon but they were polygamous and expected her to marry a man twice her age. She was only 14 at the time and she hated him. She wasn't even aware it was illegal. She thought that because her parents consented, there was nothing she could do. Luckily my friends and I got her help and she's now living safely with a foster family. Religion is a truly scary thing, especially for women.
@@jbrawley4749 They don't consider themselves a cult, so to my knowledge they don't have a specific name. They're just a weird group of Christians who think they're better than every other Christian. Kind of like the Westboro Baptist Church. They have their own church but I can't remember the name of it. The Mennonites my friend belonged to live in a little town called Aylmer, and her particular group is Mexican-Canadian. I don't know much about it, but she's told me many horror stories. I remember going with her to visit her family once when I was in high school, and I got screamed at for wearing headphones. The group is rife with hard sexism and dark age views. I was happy to help her get away.
I have so much respect for you as a person. And I can’t thank my family enough that they’ve always let me decide who I am and what I believe in. Plus during my childhood I’ve never heard a single word degrading certain sexualities, races or genders. In fact when I first learned about racism it seemed so bizarre to me. I’ve never thought anyone could make a difference between people just because of their race. I’m so thankful for that. I loved listening to your story Mr. Atheist
I needed this so much. Im trying so hard to stop this toxic religion even inside myself, and I'm just coming out of that terrible person phase. I thought I was the only one. Thank you so damn much.
The indoctrination IS strong, especially from birth. Just stay true to YOU, do good to yourself and others , hold to integrity, be the best You that you can be. There's a good site about reasons why a God doesn't exist and it's what helped me. I also get worried sometines about dying and yanno, never seeing my loved ones again, it's hard to believe that there is nothing after death, etc. I know gods don't exist but the indoctrination is hard to get away from 100% but it does happen. It does.
I'm impressed at how early you started questioning your faith. I was never in a cult or anything but I did grow up in a pretty strongly catholic family. Like, they aren't tyranncally strict, but they do really believe almost everything about catholicism and they believe it really strongly. I'm an atheist now and have been for years, but that realisation happened withing a short amount of time for me - up until I was 11 or 12 I was basically 100% sure God existed, he was there, he was talking to me when I talked to him in my head. I remember being on a playground age 7 and my one friend said she was a christian but she didn't really think anything in the bible was true, and our teacher said he thought she was right. I was LIVID. How dare they think HE wasn't THERE? I started crying and throwing small pebbles at them, basically throwing the biggest tantrum I've ever had. (Not my proudest moment :D). So yeah, aged 9 I had my first communion and everything and up until two years later I was really convinced that everything I believed was right. Then I changed schools; the middle school I went to taught everything in English (I live in Germany so that's not really standard procedure here) and, determined to being an internationally minded school, didn't teach about any specific religion. I was 11 now and our teacher had us watch the first two episodes of Carl Sagan's series "Cosmos" in science class. It completely amazed me how there could be so much out there that we don't even usually know about. Around the same time, Nicki Minaj's music video to Anaconda came out and my friend showed it to me (yes, this seems silly, but that was legitimately a turning point in my life). Nobody had really talked to me about gay people until then, so I didn't think they'd find it wrong. I hadn't figured out how to properly jack off yet (lmao I was 11) but around then I got my first smartphone and spent nights googling her. Didn't really tlhink about what that meant for me though, until one day on the train (I'm probably already 12 now) when I thought about which boys in my grade I find cute while scrolling through Instagram Explore. Whoop, there's an image of a sPiCy instagram model and suddenly I'm all like, wait a sec, why wouldn't I like girls too/instead/whatever? I decided to try out that hypothesis by exploring her profile and found that yeah, I'm probably gay. A while later our priest says that's disgusting and wrong and that's the first time I really kinda start to doubt my religion. Oh, and I found an atheist meme page on instagram, too. The memes were funny but I was annoyeed at how they were attacking supposedly true things - I remember the very first atheist meme I ever saw in my entire life being an Image of Arya from Game of Thrones, captioned "if you ever feel stupid, remember people out there actually believe that penguins went to the middle east to go on a cruise" or something like that, posted by GodWorksOut. At first I didn't know what it was about, and when it clicked I was pretty annoyed and tried to "debunk" them. A week or so later I found Carl Sagan's pale blue dot speech online. I'd pretty much forgotten about him since we watched Cosmos in class, but now it kinda clicked and I went, oh, that guy was awesome. His speech was really critical of religion, but I ignored that for now. I researched him more, and ended up wanting the book "contact" for christmas. Ironically, my very christian parents got me the book. I read it within a week or so and realised he was basically shit talking christianity, but at this point I'd read and thought enough about the whole matter to at least give him a chance. He's a brilliant scientist, i thought, and if he's so sure about this, maybe there's something to it. There wasn't really any proof, after all. So I started watching more and more atheist youtube channels, reading The God Delusion, trying to look at our weekly service from a different point of view. It made more sense than anything ever had. As soon as they present me proof for the bible, I'll be back, once it's actually established proof I won't refuse it, but there isn't any. That's when I started my own atheist meme account and that's basically the entire story of how I stopped being a crhistian. I'm currently 16 and happier than I ever was. In summer I'll have my confirmation where I have to swear an oath that I believe in god and jesus christ and everything and pick a saint's name to go with mine, but I think I'll just run with it. There's no real point in upsetting my entire family by telling them I think it's BS, and all my friends know what I really think about it anyways. After all, what does that oath really mean if i'm swearing it on thin air? At this point, there's less harm in keeping a low profile for a while, and when I move out, I'm done with the religion thing anyways. I'll move to an english speaking country, live life the way I want to and never see the inside of a church again (except maybe for concerts). Thanks for not reading the entirely useless autobiography I just typed in the RU-vid comments :D *tl;dr: I was an enthusiastic catholic until I read/watched carl sagan, found out i was gay and started to follow atheist meme accounts on instagram. Have been an atheist for 4 years now but will keep a low profile as long as i'm a minor.*
Never in a cult, yet you say you grew up in a Catholic family. Pro tip; Catholicism is a cult, just has more believers than a smaller, lesser known cults. A cult is a cult is a cult no matter it's size or breadth.
puke toucher I mean, doesn’t a cult control a lot of your life? I’m allowed pretty much freedom, I can do whatever I want on the internet no questions asked, I have lots free time where I do non church related things and if it was a cult, my parents wouldn’t have voluntarily sent me to a pretty religion-less school, would they? Not sure how far they knew about that but about 70% of our teachers are atheists and not afraid to say so. Our philosophy teacher regularly throws burns at all religions in class. Doesn’t seem like the type of school cult members would’ve chosen for their children 😅
Oh, the confirmation... Doesn't every non-Catholic Catholic-raised kid do it out of pressure?? I remember being your age and feeling awful with myself because I felt I was lying to so many people (my parents, my godmother, my teachers). I felt like I was somehow disrespecting my Catholic friends. But I also felt obliged: I studied at a Catholic school and all the girls were doing it. The nuns would tell us constantly that we didn't have to do it if we were not sure but they would also angrily ask what we were doing there if we weren't Catholic. My mom literally told me she didn't want me to go to Hell for not doing my confirmation... It was so stressful... And now I couldn't care less lol I wanted to live peacefully and no Catholic can judge me for that. I hope you get to do everything you want to accomplish. Hugs :)
@@natm2443 Thank you! Good for you for just dodging all the trouble and going along with it I guess, even though I feel bad for you for even being put under that stress in the first place. I probably would've done (and am planning on doing) the same. I guess I'm still a catholic because I'm active in the community even though I don't believe in any of that - I mean, I participate int he christian music weekend camps kind of voluntarily, just because i like the music and lots of my friends are doing it. But not in terms of faith. Thanks for your good wishes and I'm sure it'll work out fine.
So excited for another video! Really respect your view point and how you are sharing it with the world. Found your Channel last week and have binged all your videos. I really appreciate your opinions/activism on Feminism. Also your total acceptance of LGBT 🏳️🌈. Keep up the great work, you seem like a great person.
I was born and raised in Utah (still live here). However, my parents are atheists hippie snowboarders/skiers. Lol this is a great place to live if you love the mountains btw. That said. Growing up in a very very Mormon area, being an atheist, with parents who smoke weed and encourage my rainbow hair and goth makeup when I was younger...... was surreal. Was a little like being in an asylum. Knowing everyone around you is batshit crazy, yet sometimes having to wonder if YOU'RE the crazy one. Weird for sure. It was also heartbreaking to watch people I considered friends being abused, with the religious BS being used as an excuse for it. Hurt even more when they would push me out of their lives because I "was a bad influence." Because I had the audacity to say that it wasn't ok to beat the crap out of your kids because some book talked about not "sparing a rod". Or watching far to many teen children kicked out of their homes onto the streets because they wanted to pursue a degree instead of get married out of high school and pump out babies. It's a bit like watching someone drowning, but you can't even begin to help them because everyone on the beach is holding you down. Telling you that your friend obviously deserves to drown. And after the flock turns it's back and you can finally be there for your friend, you don't even know how to talk to them about it. Because wtf do I know about disillusionment? I was never raised in the illusion. All I know is to ask questions. And as far as they know asking questions is what ruined their life in the first place.
You're a purveyor of bitter fake news...give one example of Mormon teens "kicked out of their homes and onto the streets" for pursuing a degree. Just one. C'mon...I dare you. If you can't, shut up.
John Lee John Lee, You shut up. Your the believer in fairytales. Go marry a 14 year old like your master Joseph Smith. Or steal someone’s wife. Or make up some phony religion. Dickhead.
That not "pursuing a degree" part of your comment seems weird to me. I was raised Mormon in Idaho and most Mormons I know put high emphasis on higher education. Especially if the university is BYU. In retrospect, I'm glad I went somewhere besides BYU. The pressure to get married is a bunch of crap, though. I agree.
I started doubting the church when I was a teenager but I remember the first time I was ever flabbergasted by a talk was when I was listening to a talk in relief society by the girl who was talking about her experience with a physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend and she said in her talk that she didn’t leave right away because the spirit told her not to. My mouth literally fell open, I couldn’t believe she was telling other women it was okay to stay with an abuser until it was “the right time” to leave. The thing that was my last straw though was when I was talking to my bishop about my depression and self-harm and he straight out told me it was my own fault for not praying and reading the scriptures on a regular basis and I had brought that upon myself. I left and never went back ✌🏽
Catholics weren't encouraged to have scriptures nor talked to in their own language for centuries in attempt to keep them in the dark and never question. In fact, questioning the church was punishable by death and there were martyrs (protestants, ie protesters). People left England for the cause of freedom of religion and to worship how they pleased. Read the story of Martin Luther or William Tyndale.
I’m catholic and I’m dating a Mormon and none of this shame for questioning happened within his family or with church friends either. Maybe this guy’s experience shows that some members decide to believe and act different ways about their religion that are not taught and believed by the church itself.
@@amandasimon1997 idk if I was taught was true. But in school people would say anyone who is Mormon and is with someone who is any other religion has to convert that person to Mormonism. Idk that's what people would say.
lesbi honest yeah, that’s not the case. You can legally marry a non-Mormon and for the Mormon within the relationship the marriage is not “sinful” or anything. Mormon marriages take place in the temple and they do not marry you in life, like the civil marriage does. The temple marriage is to seal you to that person after death. So it’s not necessary to marry a Mormon when you’re in the church, but if you want a temple wedding, then both individuals have to be Mormon, simply because non-Mormons cannot enter the temple.
I'm 25 but I've known I was bisexual since I was 12 (willing to admit it to myself by the time I was 13) but as for how long it took me to stop believing in god? I was probably 17-18 I think. I came out to my best friend when I was 13....literally realized it as I was talking to him like "yeah I do like girls too" he was also accepting of me, even as one of my only Christian friends :P
I’m twelve and don’t really believe in god at all (I’m Christian and still go to church and act like I believe because of tradition) also I think I’m bi but I’ve never had a crush on a girl so I’m not really sure
@@marianal.6694 Why would you think you are bi if you have never felt attracted to a girl? There's nothing wrong with being bisexual but it's not a requirement for being atheist.
Be sensible Mariana claims to be 12, which would mean her sexual development is still going on, but taking into account that she is female, she may simply confused by women's greater ability to "share" sexual arrousal feelings with other people. So if you share the feelings of the protagonist in a same-sex-love story, it might just indicate that you are a bit empathic (in the non-superhero sense), rather than that you have same-sex love interests, especially, though not exclusively when you are a girl. Sorting that kind of emotional stuff out as a young teen can be a bit problematic.
@@ThW5 I dunno why you're calling me insensible. I only said two things and asked an open question: "There's nothing wrong with being bisexual if you are", "You don't have to be bisexual to not believe in God." and the question was "Why do you think you are bi, regardless of the fact you've never felt attracted to(/had a crush on) a girl?". I was asking *her* what causes her to think/feel that way. Supportive and inquisitive. Not insensible at all.
I’m almost 24 and left the church at 18 (resigned my membership at 20). I was angry at the church for a few years, and couldn’t understand why I was the only one in my family who had a problem with the church. I hated the fact that I was raised Mormon and tried to hide it from everyone I met. I have since learned to embrace my past because I realize that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t been raised in the church. Leaving Utah was one of the best moves I’ve made, and most of my current friends have no history with the church. Having that distance has helped me get past the anger, and deal with the religious nonsense whenever I’m around my family.
“It took meeting myself and it took being myself” I just about cried. I’m exactly there in my journey right now. Leaving the church is an extremely hard thing to do and for so long I’ve felt alone but I just discovered your channel and binged so many videos but this one really hit me hard to see the parallels from my journey to yours. At so many times I feel like letting go and I mean truly letting go of the church feels like an impossible task but this video and your genuinely happy persona (I’m still in the asshole stage) has got me fighting for a time when I’ll just be ok. Thank you so much. Seriously thank you.
You are so right. One thing I thought was strange is that that Happy Death Day girl is a lead in one of those crappy shows. I thought that they would think she is to sinful after showing so much in HDD.
I grew up Mormon... I stopped believing in it when i was 14ish and now im 17. The main reason im not involved in it now is because of the people and the hypocracy of the church. Theyre judgemental and arent open minded are accepting at all. My mom is hardcore Mormon and her stubborn beliefs are straining our relationship. It made me hate my dad... My seminary teacher told my younger brother to not end up like me because i had to leave seminary early for sports practices. Its crazy. I also just believe its really closed minded to think that one church out of all of the churches in the world is the one and only. But i literally agree with you and everything youve said. Bravo 👋
What do other Christians in the US think about Mormons? From across the pond here in the UK, they seem to be on the fringe even amongst evangelicals. Do Mormons get defensive about this, I often wondered.
@@TheCaptaineustass You have to realise over here that the Anglican Church has been so neutered and watered down over the years that politicians are embarrassed about even admitting belief in God. One party leader in particular (born-again variety, yes we do have them) in an interview foolishly mentioned that homosexuality is a sin. As his centre party was pro-lgbt, needless to say he was mercilessly mocked for it and is now an ex-leader (and MP). I was a fan of Jon Stewart's The Daily Show in the day, so knew alot about the US political scene - did the republican far right hold their noses when Mitt Romney was chosen to go up against Obama? Makes you wonder about their hypocritical support for Trump.
One of my memories from high school was when a friend told me that the book of Abraham “translated” from a funerary text and I told them they were wrong and that whoever told them that was a liar. Oh, if I had only spent ten minutes actually considering that I would have started my faith transition 20 years ago instead of five.
I remember when my dad first introduced to my brother and I the facsimile pages that was supposed to be the Egyptian picture glyphs that the book of Abraham was supposedly translated from and we instantly recognized things we learned from some Egyptolygy documentaries and books that it was a funerary text depicting the Egyptian priest being taken by the Egyptian God Anubis to the underworld and pointed out thoes four jars under the table contained in dead man's internal organs since the Egyptians believed the body upon resurrection would still need it's vital organs (except for the brain, they thought that was pretty useless) 😉😆
I hope you understand that there were a multitude of papayri that Joseph Smith uncovered. The one with the book of Abraham was destroyed in a fire in a Chicago museum where it was held. The other (the smaller one) was the one that was uncovered. People who claim that was the papyri that Smith translated are deceivers, I would hope that before leaving the church people would genuinely do thorough research instead of listening to liars on the internet. But yeah let's believe everything we see, nonsense.
@@elijahclendening861 So, your need to believe is first in your life, fine then. Mine always was whether something is true. I foremost care for the truth.
@@elijahclendening861 I found the truth about the lies of mormonism two decades before the Internet. Through reading the old histories and a lot of them.
I was Apostolic Pentecostal for most of high school. They have the strong sexism in their belief as well as a "dress code" for women. Women have to wear skirts, NO pants, NO jewelry, NO cutting your hair, NO makeup (colored or glossy Chapstick will get you looks) I was searching for a relief from my mental health. I felt the holy ghost, spoken in tongues, danced, ran around the church like an idiot. I worshiped my heart out and BEGGED him to help with my depression and suicidal thoughts. It took an attempted suicide and time in a mental ward for me to accept that God is a load of shit. I couldn't imagine how hard it is being raised with that mindset. It's a scary thing. Cults are harmful to society. God is a harmful concept to society. So glad to find your channel! Stay skeptical, friend.
I'm sorry that you had such a horrible experience with religion. Truly, that's messed up. I would hate being forced to adhere to a dress code like that, and depression is never easy to deal with. However, I disagree that God is inherently a harmful concept. I'm a Christian and my church is very laid back and friendly. My parents taught me about God and His commands, but they would also explain things to me when I had questions, explain why the rules were good, rather than telling me to just shut up. I think that if all churches were more open to questions and critical thinking, there would be a lot less toxicity in the world. Aside from that, faith helps a lot of people to cope with hard situations, and some people do claim to see God working in their lives. I'm not denying that you had a horrible experience and again I'm sorry; but I think it's unfair to make a blanket statement that the concept of God is in itself a harmful thing, based on one experience.
@@TeeklGrey just because I left for emotional reasons doesn't mean everyone does. The absolute truth does not need a god to make sense. I don't believe and i never will again, I couldn't stomach the same scripture that gives so many people a reason to spread such hate and bigotry. I hope you see where you're flawed. Just because every form of religion or Christianity isn't bad doesn't mean it's true. If so many others are sure of their absolute truths about god, why would you think your specific clarification of the Bible is the right one?
@@Eleanore.Rigbyy To be honest, everyone has different interpretations of the Bible, that doesn't shake my faith, because everyone has different interpretations of everything. The main thing I believe is that God exists, because statistically, the chances of this universe existing as it is by random chance are just so astronomically small. I truly don't understand the view that all of this exists because of random happenstance. Why is it that Earth is so perfectly designed to support not only life, but advanced, intelligent life? That's obviously a pretty rare occurrence, if not the only occurrence, from what we've observed of the universe. Is that definite proof? No, of course not, you could always argue that yes, we were just THAT lucky, to even have a universe in the first place much less have a planet that supports human civilization, and all of this exists for no reason other than random chance. But that makes no sense to me. By Occam's Razer, God is the simpler answer to that question and makes more sense. Anyway, that's my take on it.
@@TeeklGrey I think you're looking at it from a very small view point. We don't know how random it is, how astronomical. There is so much out there billions of light years away that we will never know about in our life time. The chance of life blossoming in other universes is in my humble opinion, very likely. It makes complete sense if you go back and study the advancement of life. I read and watch a lot of videos breaking down different eon's and how life slowly progressed. It's super interesting. I hardly think that is proof that their is a God, I just think people WANT to find bigger meaning and purpose to life so you fill in the gaps. I get that religion can be a comfort and I think some people want religion and that's perfectly fine. Looking at it from wether or not it is absolutely true, based on the things in the KNOWN universe, I don't believe there is any creator. There are 2000 different gods to choose from, what makes yours the most likely? Even if I did WANT to believe in god I absolutely HATE the way the Bible is written, I hate the thoughts and concepts it spews. I've actually read the Bible (KJV) and I would never want to hang out with that god, new or old testament. Stay skeptical, stay questioning. You don't seem unreasonable or unintelligent. Just keep having YOUR reason to believe and not a forced one by your church. Always question why, keep reading. Wether your truth is the truth I hope you find a definitive answer someday. I hope you can share it with the rest of us.
I left the Mormon church too. When I wanted to take my name off of the list, it took a few months to load. But just a few weeks ago it finally said I was officially not a member!
Regarding being told about Noah at age 5: I have a relative who grew up non-religious and who raises her children non-religious. And when I say "non-religious" I mean that religion was/is almost exclusively just a thing that existed in those families, just like vintage cars or brown rice or the ISS are things that exist and are maybe occasionally talked about when they come up in conversation. Since there is also no taboo or anything around religion I only found it mildly strange to see the then about 8-year-old son of my relative play with a wooden Noah's Arch and some wooden animals on their living room floor. (A Noah's Arch toy? Okay, whatever.) Seeing him play with these toys inspired me to ask the boy about what he knew about Adam and Eve. I wanted to hear what he had picked up on this story. He then recounted the story of Adam and Eve for me: "Adam and Eve lived in a garden. In the garden was a tree with an apple growing from it. There was also a snake living in the garden who told Adam and Eve that they had to eat the apple. And that - if they didn't eat the apple - they would have to go to Paris."
@@captainChernihiv Yes, that a trip to Paris is considered way more of a great thing than a punishment by most people was what I told him as part of my explanation as to why I found the things he had said so extremely funny. Edit: Deleted superflous word.
@@AnnafromHungarylvNW Okay, so I just duckduckwent (duckduckgo-searched?) "troyan war apple" because I didn't know what you were talking about (but was eager to find out) and it took me a couple of lines into reading the wikipedia article on the Troyan War to actually realise that "Right. Troyan war. That's Greek Mythology. Noah's Ark is a from the bible. Those are two different things." So much for my own versedness in the bible. I know you were at least partially joking, but to explain you part of the reason for his confusion: In our native language the words "paradise" and "Paris" sound more alike than in English. "Pa-ra-dees" and "Pa-rees" are the respective pronunciations. So the difference is hardly more than one short syllable.
@@camelopardalis84 I got the point rightaway, too. In my 1st tongue (Finnish) they are [Pa ra tee sih] and [Pa ree sih] so the wee boy in the story could have been a Fin kid with understandable confusion between Paradise and Paris 😂
I was raised Mormon too, and on the same day I got baptized I ran over my own foot on a four wheeler and almost lost it. I’m pretty sure that that was the universe goin “yeah uhh this ain’t it.”.... and now I’m gay.
Im an ex mormon and have been really exploring cults and how they effect lives after you leave, especially the mormon church. Mainly because my husband is having such a hard time with his family and the church (we live in utah and are trying to leave). Could you please do a video about mormonism and the BITE model? Telltale recently did this but because he isnt personally connected to the church i feel he got some things wrong and would love to see your opinion and the outcome of the test.
All love for Telltale, there were a few things that had me yelling at the screen like "NO! DUDE! THEY DO WAY MORE THAN THAT!" I mean I think he was relatively fair but there are some things (I rambled endlessly in his comments section about it xD) that I think he missed. I would love to see Jimmy's insight since he's ExMo too.
I was thinking the same thing. I saw that video and was thinking that mr athiest would get it so much more accurate. Telltale did a good job as a never mormon but missed that mark on many things
My mom is trying to move there....she and her husband (you could call him my stepdad) want to live there just to ski 🎿 they’re not religious at all and are definitely more liberal than conservative.
@@phant0m0th_ good luck to them, i love utah because of the environment (besides the terible pollution) but the culture is so deeply rooted in mormonism it makes it hard to want to stay.
So as a baby Mormon, I HARD CORE believed in Santa and in Fairy’s (and Harry Potter now that I’m thinking about it), and would get the same feelings of “rightness” and “fuzzy” that I would get from God. I believed in them so much that I was devastated when my mom shut it down at age 11. I honestly thought that Santa was like an apostle or something, and it all fit so perfectly in my head. Now, as I’m older, it’s kinda confirmation that the whole thing was bullshit anyways. I got the same feelings for my “fairy friends” as I did at church. One can’t be true over the other, so neither must be true, according to the measurements of my feelings. Even then, with my fairies, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind, that I was faking it, pushing a narrative that wasn’t correct, simply to escape my reality. The next thing I’d like to talk about it the idea of suicide and mormonism. At 10, i was suicidal, but I had NO idea. I just prayed every night for God to kill me, and I would draw pictures of myself after my resurrection where I was pretty and had wings because, you know, I was 10 and more than a little dysphoric. The idea of an afterlife was so harmful, and continued to be harmful for me because for the longest time, death seemed like sweet relief from everything. I felt like a God would take care of me and I would FINALLY be happy and, why wouldn’t I want to go? I was already hating myself (this was now at 17) because I was so so horny all the time. The idea that there was a place where I could just “be perfect” right away made living hard because “why put in the effort” became my motto for everything. It made my depression WORSE. Oh? I’m failing at school? Well there’s probably a school in heaven so I don’t have to worry about that now. On and on. I’m still struggling with all of this, but now, living my life is easier because I feel like made my fate clear. I don’t have more time, this is my only life, and now I actually want to do something with it. Note: I also am taking medicine and talking to a doctor, please, if you also have mental issues, please make sure you are using medication and updating your doctor. It has saved my life so many times.
I still think it's hilarious that religious parents say "sorry but santa isn't real, the easter bunny isn't real, the tooth fairy isn't real, but GOD IS STILL TOTALLY REAL OKAY?"
Shaun Dreclin yeah I’m going to tell my children that Santa and god are just made up by people who want you to behave better. It’s more honest than what my parents taught me
@@salemsmith7085 Why would you even have children if you know that they are likely to inherent your mental disorders. Speaking from having depression that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Isn't a little selfish to "gift" your mental illness to a newborn child?
Sounds just like overactive imagination and you were delusional as a child has nothing to do with belief system or anything like that that's just growing up
The stupid is strong among all sorts of religious wackos. Sounds like child abuse. My parents were Mormon for a few years. They quit. They were never believers like some of them. They were social church-y types, and that was it. I had a lot of fun going to church. It was a big place that I would roam around while everyone else was listening to sermons or whatever. I would go flip the lights on/off in the gymnasium/stage room, or play basketball. I'd go play in the baptism pool, or search through the kitchen for snacks. I was a naughty child wasn't I? The amusing thing is that I keep an open mind about this spirituality stuff and I like going into centuries-old churches. They're peaceful places for their own sake. I suggest a trip to Mont St. Michel in France.
What’s your relationship with your family now? I’m constantly arguing with my mom about the Catholic Church but I never bring up any of my honest arguments because I don’t want to deal with the fallout. I can’t afford my own place yet.
So I'm pretty young (14) I come from a pretty religious family (Muslims) and I had always been taught, even brainwashed in my opinion, into thinking a certain way. When I was about 11 or so, I started to consider possiblities outside of my religion and went through a similar process like you mentioned. At first it was just "maybe God isn't as fair as I was taught" and even the idea made me feel so guilty. Slowly as I learned that I wasn't straight and was part of the LGBT community, I started to develop a sort of repulsion from God. Now, at that point I still believed in a God but I refused to think you was just, in fact, I remember hours and hours of just having a one sided argument with him and hoping that he was listening while I insulted him and his "plan". Over time, the idea of a God just kinda bounced back and forth, I'd believe one day but refuse it another. Later on, when I got my first girlfriend at 13, I have no idea if it was related or not but I found myself looking into a ton of philosophy related things, books videos and all that. Like any teenage relationship, it wasn't the best and it's clear that we both had a lot to learn but in the ups and downs I found my self pushing more into this channel I had found "Cosmic Skeptic" (amazing channel) and before I knew it, my belief in a God became weaker and weaker. Today, although I'm a full fledged athirst, I still struggle with the feelings of guilt that were imprinted on me from a young age but I'm glad I got out of those chains as early as I did. Anyways, sorry this is very long and thanks to anyone who read the whole thing.
I hope you can shake the feeling of guilt! If you haven't checked out the channel Holy koolaid, he has some great videos! I know for sure he has one regarding that feeling of guilt. Maybe it'll help you! Best of luck, and I'm very happy that you're being true to yourself! I know it can be difficult at times.
I don't agree with your statement. During puberty, whether your a boy, or girl, you start to form a sexual identity, and especially when you hit 14 -16 is when you fully form your sexual identity. The source for some of this information is from medlineplus.gov
This video has inspired me. I'm not going to only focus on my atheism or my exMormonism, but I think I'm going to finally start a RU-vid channel and I'm going to talk about my own deconversion story. Thank you
I hate that I always get lectured by religious crazies for things like MissionHub when I start your videos. Read the room, RU-vid. :/ Glad you're monetized, though.
Aislygn Covante I dunno man, when you think about it, it’s kinda clever. Because of all the kinds of ads on an atheist channel they know we wouldn’t tap into that kind of stuff. You get me?
I personally feel like by making sexual feelings and actions a taboo all together, the notion of rape isn't as bad. Like your not supposed to act out on these feelings, so its bad regardless of consent, so the line is blurred in a way that makes rape more tolerable. Gives me a sick feeling in my stomach
I was raised in a super catholic bubble, to the point where I knew next to nothing about any different religions, including other christian denominations, and learning about Mormonism actually helped me ease my mind on my disbelief, cause having something I saw as supremely idiotic having so many devoted followers made me really look at the probability that the faith I was raised in was the "right" one.
When I was five years old, my mom had me “accept Jesus into my heart” by reciting a prayer. She’s actually pretty open minded about religion and spirituality and beliefs more in faith over the concept of religion as a whole, so she’s pretty chill nowadays, but that always stuck with me as weird once I was older. I’m a witch now, and I asked her about it, and she didn’t really have a straight answer. It was almost like she herself didn’t really know why she had me do that so young. Idk religion is weird.
The same thing happened to me when I was 11! My mom was out of town and my gramma took me to church instead, and when that portion of the sermon came up my gramma asked me “do you want to accept Jesus into your heart?” And I said “yeah” in like a “yeah eventually I’ll probably get there” way not a “yeah right now” way and I think that moment of suddenly being put on the spot and having my intentions so wildly misinterpreted by someone closest to me is what really started my religious trauma ✌️😗
Yes, ex mormoms hold onto some of their societal beliefs. I considered dating ex mormom men because we would have something in common. I joined a couple of exmormon groups and learned pretty quickly that the men held on to the same misogyny and superiority complex. Also, they were so bizarre about sex. It's like they reverted back to being in junior high. Forget it! Now I try to stick to non religious men, mostly Europeans. They've had much more time to get over it.
Vegi Jen sorry you have had that experience. Sort of still Mormon, but I’m about to get married and let my future wife that in my heart the whole head of house, obedience temple covenant, and all that crap means nothing to me. Shock horror I even think women should be able to wear and do as they please...and that they should equally hold leadership positions over men. Sad to hear many hold on to the worst parts of the church I belong to when they leave.
@@imphie idk, it was the largest, most well know wxmormon group on FB. I left it a couple of years ago because it depressed me. Same with the women's group. It's like they're out but not out. Acting giddy about alcohol and sex but still white as fuck and sheltered. I do miss having people understand what it's like to grow up in that cult.
So glad you shared this. I was raised Pentecostal from birth to 16 when I rebelled hard against it. Stayed away from religion until I met my husband at 19. He was raised Mormon, went to church once and a great while and I eventually converted. Coming from an apostolic faith, Mormonism didn't seem as extreme to me. I felt like it wasn't as restrictive- I could cut my hair, wear pants and some jewelry and make up without "going to hell." I went through many phases (go every Sunday, go some Sundays, not go for awhile, and near the end I was reading my scriptures everyday, "talking" to god all day, pray morning noon and night, got my patriarchal blessing and was working on my temple recommend, family prayer, FHE) in the 8 years I was an active member. The first time I really remember having some serious doubt was when I decided to really start doing family home evening with my kids and decided we should learn more about the prophets. Brigham Young is what made me start to think the whole thing was a scam. I ignored that for years until my oldest was about to turn 8. I decided it was going to be my daughters decision alone- no pressure, no urging, no threats from anyone. She was scared, she really didn't want to do it. I was fine with that- but the church was not. I had members tell me that I basically had to force her. I even had one primary teacher tell me, "Well the way I see it is, have her do it now, if she changes her mind- its already done." After that it just snowballed.I did not want my kids being raised to feel insecure about themselves because they said a "bad word" they'd make "heavenly father" sad. I commented this on another video but ever since I was outed to my mother-in-law she often brings up forgiveness and thinks that I'm an atheist because of a disagreement with another member. I never had friends in that church to have a disagreement with anyways lol. So I just don't bother. I don't have time to debate with her. But yet that seems to be something that I remember coming up quite a bit in lessons.
MR. Atheist could you do a video about religious lockdown places like 'Sun Hawk Academy' and 'Red Rock'? Raised in a uber religious home now I am Pagan. Luv your videos. Keep it up. ✌💓🤘
As someone who identifies as queer, and growing up was atheist, who (while my family was conservative and homophobic but not heavily religious) grew up in a rural Mormon town where I was simultaneously shunned because I wasn’t and at the same time everyone always tried to indoctrinate me. Your story feels so foreign and familiar all at once. Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing
Mx Bones dang it! I'm Mormon and love queer people (mainly because they're still people) but I can't stand Mormons that will feed people to wolves for not following the religion exactly to the wire. Uuuuhhhh! Why are people so! Uhh! I don't know! I just! Hmmm. Sorry. Like I said I am a Mormon but, like, some of us are jerks. I hope you having a better time in your current community.
Edward Not the vampire I am, I still have some really great friends who are mormon (in fact we play dnd every Sunday night), its really the culture and indoctrination that isn’t great, but there are a lot of good people. Thank you! And I wish you well💜
Mx Bones it's nice to know that you are currently living with the less extreme version of the Mormons. What I think is worse about the cut throat Mormons is that is not even what the church teaches. People who aren't part of our church are not supposed too separated out from those who are because one of the main points of our church is agency! If being queer or atheist or other is the right choice for you so be it! As long as you're a good person it won't matter much in the end! Sorry for all the ranting it's just I have ADHD and if I get on a topic I don't tend to stop until I've said everything I want to. Anyway glad you're living in a better community and have a fun session in dnd
One thing that has been taught in my (very Mormon) house since I was young is that we need to think for ourselves, and question our faith because that helps our faith grow stronger. My parents never got mad at me for questioning things, but instead they encourage it. I’m still a teenager, so I live with them and I’m pretending to be active. But I have thought it through for myself and I’ve decided that I don’t wanna label my religion. I will live my life the way I want regardless of whether there is a God or not. I don’t think that we can know for sure if there is a God or higher power, and I think there is something out there, but I’m done living the way people tell me to. I will make decisions based on what I feel is right and wrong.
Remember there is a difference between organised religion and spirituality (and even that is a loaded term). The truth is when it comes to the big questions of life, nobody knows anything (especially adults). The only intellectually honest position is: we do not know and that is all an atheist is. But that does not mean that *anything* is possible. The religious complain that science robs everything of wonder - but that is not true. Understanding enriches our appreciation of the beauty (and horror) of Nature, rather than diminishes it. To know what things are *not* is just as important as what they actually are - and there will always be a mystery at the heart of our existence.
@@tma2001 Actually, not knowing is being agnostic. Not believing is being atheist. Someone can be an agnostic atheist or an agnostic theist, meaning that while they do or don't believe in the existence of a god, they have no way of knowing whether or not a god exists.
Like you, I've also formed my own beliefs despite growing up in a Mormon household, and will stop attending when I turn eighteen and can sort of start living me own life, separate from my parents'. The Mormon community is made up of a lot of great people. They are super supportive of each other and do a lot of relief work during natural disasters. They own huge, huge reserves of food and offer help to their members who are struggling. Of all the religions out there (and this is my opinion, people are free to believe in what they want and I fully respect that, and who knows, they could totally be right), I think Mormonism is one of the best. The Book of Mormon and Bible have been translated so many times. Ten times, I believe, that can be recounted. Just going back one translation drastically changes the meaning of the books in some parts, so there's no telling what it said originally. So while I plan to branch away from it, it's one of the least vile religions I've ever researched heavily, even if it does have its low points. (Their view on the LGBTQ community for one thing) They are getting better and improving in that category too, so I guess there's hope? Wow I rambled sorry
That bit at the end about praying but acknowledging that it was to yourself and just stating things you wanted out of life and goals... that was profound to me 💜
I was raised in a secular household. My parents are (were, in my Dads case) atheists. I love listening to these types of stories, taking a peek into the childhoods of former believers. Thank you for sharing, Jimmy.
Erato IsYourMuse sane I was raised Christian but not hardcore...just a little bit up until I was 5 and my mom still tried to instill Christian beliefs in my sister and I until middle school. So it’s interesting that most ex-believers are people who grew up in those hardcore religious families.
