Ironically, the Church proclaims itself to embrace all truth. The believers may sing “Oh, say what is truth”” but truth for them is whatever fits their belief. What does not fit is spun or ignored. Belief trumps evidence. Obviously, “truth” is LDS new-speak. To my mind, Mormon preoccupation with its truthfulness belies an underlying insecurity with its truthfulness.
There is the odd perception in the Church that if you leave it, you will lose your moral compass. My actual experience has been nothing of the kind. Not only have my ethics remained intact, they are now more secure because they derive from my connection to Source instead of institutional or behavioral norms. The perception too is that leaving the Church amounts to a major failure of faith. My experience is that it has been one of my finest spiritual accomplishments.
My departure from the Church has been a major life change–as a friend put it, like a sex-change operation. But my sense is that I have managed an astounding feat: I have escaped the grip of an all-pervasive mind set as if I had escaped from a high-security prison. And I seemingly did it on my own: There was no one leading me–no one cheering from the sidelines, and at the risk of alienation from those close to me. Though there is little external validation of the break-through, there is the clear sense that I have done something of remarkable significance. I have set out into a brave, new world, leaving behind the comfort of the supporting beliefs of the imposing institution and community of the Church–of my many dear friends and family. It is at once intimidating and exhilarating. While I wish my many Mormon friends the very best on their path, I am firmly on my own spiritual path now, no longer as a co-dependent child, but responsible for my own beliefs. Even in the vulnerability of that independence, I sense an empowerment of spirit–the overwhelming support of what I now recognize and gratefully appreciate as a benevolent universe.
I eagerly anticipate much learning and change ahead: to take full responsibility for my experience, to not confuse religion for spirituality, to not substitute belief for being, to claim the validity of my own interests, to find security in my underlying wholeness, to be congruent with the highest in me, to express from my authenticity, to allow others even in their disallowance of me, to savor the enrichment of diversity, to open to expansion, and not least, to fully enjoy the exquisite adventure of life.
–Robert Bushman
Read his full story here.
For more information, see The Mormon Mirage 3rd Edition: A Former Member Looks at the Mormon Church Today (Zondervan, 2009). Also available as an audiobook and as an expanded-text E-book for Nook, Kindle and other reading devices.
