I just wanted to thank you for the very accurate and beautiful piece you've put together called Ex-mormon. It is so well put together that I felt like I had been shot into the past.
I was "mormon" too at one point. Recently I've been putting my own historical story together, not just for me, but for others like me who have had that epiphany and need an outlet and to not feel alone. I was looking through Google in hopes to see an example or something for guidance and found it in your stories.
I'm always happy to get these sorts of letters because that's basically why I wrote Exmormon: to make a connection with other people by exchanging stories and comparing experiences. And it turns out that this reader has an interesting exmo story of her own to share, and she allowed me to post what she's written so far for all of you on Main Street Plaza here: Mormonism is for the “Saints” who can afford it.
p.s. I know I've let the ol' blog here grow a little slow lately -- it's mostly because the discussion has livened up on Main Street Plaza (not to mention Rational Moms), and there's only so much of me to spread around. ;^) But you know these things go in cycles, and I have plenty more fun stuff planned for this space! :D
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I think seeing this whole work from where it was when I first read it to what it is now is quite inspiring. I am glad to have helped in whatever way I could. I really do need to send you some of my work I've been doing on some of the history of polygamy (working on what happened to families when the Manifesto came and on who inherited what and who stayed married and cohabitated) but right now it's more just my research notes. I should have it done by about the end of March.
I love that you're getting good feedback. For those reading, you are certainly not alone. There are plenty of us out there. Some just happen to be lucky enough to live in Switzerland while others are still stuck behind the Mormon Curtain in Utah.
Hey Donk!!!
True, I don't think you saw the complete, finished novel. I'm glad you like it! I really appreciate all of the information and details you gave me about missionary life.
Your research topic sounds really fascinating! I imagine you're planning to publish the final result in a scholarly research journal, but if you have any small/intermediate articles you'd like to share with Main Street Plaza, I'm sure our readers would be interested. I think you have my email, right? chanson dot exmormon at gmail dot com
psalms 63 "Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily they say, who shall see us? They search out iniquities... but God shall shoot at them with an arrow, suddenly shall they be wounded.,So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves, all that see them shall fless away.. and all men shall fear, and shall declare the Work of God, for they shall wisely consider of His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him and all the upright in heart shall glory.."
Show me ONE happy exmo, post mo, anti mo.. just One....I have yet in my 10 years on the internet met one, successful in life, happy exmo.. Kittywaymo
Hey Anonymous!!!
You want me to show you one happy, successful in life exmo? lol, you're not looking very hard if you haven't seen one 'round these parts. ;^)
Kittywaymo,
I can show you more than 1. There are 2 right here, plus many, many more. Not hard to find if you look around. It does take a fair bit of time to shake off all the programming that LDS, Inc. instill in people, but once they get past that and move on, then things are great. I can certainly understand what you say about finding 1 happy exmo, postmo, whatever if you are looking in places like Recovery from Mormonism. That place is depressing. That said, most of the happy ones are the ones who accept mormonism as part of what they were at one point and move on. I can not change the fact that I was mormon, but I can accept that even though it is a part of what makes me who I am, I don't have to let that control who I am.
Viktor Frankl, a Jewish Holocaust survivor said, "“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
I think this is very true. Not all exmormons choose to have a good attitude about things, but others do. A lot of what you will find online are people newly out, so the wounds are still fresh. Most of the ones out for a while feel much different. Chanson here, for instance, I've known for years and it's amazing the genesis. I am in much the same situation.
Oh, Chanson, I hopefully can get my article published in dialogue, but they may not touch it, we'll see. There are others who would touch it, but as you probably know, in academia, it's very much about publishing in the "right" places.
Hey Donk!!!
Thanks for a very good (and patient) explanation of the dynamics of the exmo community.
That's very true that it's important to be published in the right places. That's interesting that Dialogue would be the right place -- I didn't think it was an academic journal.
There's no hope of being published in quite a few that are more scholarly. Dialogue has made a bunch of steps lately and they probably would pick it up. A bunch of the ones I would prefer, there is 0 hope of getting it published, Dialogue at least has that sort of hope. MHA is a definate no, but maybe I need to see if JWHA will.... Got to finish the article first...
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