At the age of 47, I decided that I would be leaving Mormonism after 35 years as a member of the Church.

My decision to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not come easy. For a long time, despite being inactive for most of it, I still believed in what the church taught. I just didn’t want to actually go to church. This was mostly due to the obnoxiously judgmental people I found there. So let me give you a few reasons why I chose to leave the church.

Hold on to your hats, because these should be some fairly interesting reasons…or not. Who knows?

Leaving Mormonism – Prophet Worship

One of the reasons I want to leave is that there is almost a worship of Joseph Smith and whoever the current president/prophet of the church at the time is¹As of this writing, Russell M. Nelson is the president/prophet of the church..

Joseph Smith, in particular, is treated as though he is some kind of infallible deity. If you don’t believe me, consider the fact that the church still insists that God told Joseph Smith that the members of the church were to practice polygyny²The practice of one man marrying many wives at the same time. This is what the church actually practiced.. Speaking of…

Plural Marriage

Now, I know this happened in the past and that the Church doesn’t currently practice it. However, they still teach that this was directed by God and state that He could again call members of the Church to practice this.

Some members use Jacob 2:29-30 from the Book of Mormon to justify this:

²⁹Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. ³⁰For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.

Jacob 2:29-30, Book of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Some members of the Church take these verses to mean that when God tells us to raise up seed unto Him, it means He is commanding His people to marry multiple wives. Otherwise, they are not to take multiple wives.

Some members of the Church choose to misinterpret what they consider to be scripture and ignore completely that Jesus Himself defined marriage in Matthew 19:9, stating that it was between a man and a woman, not a man and many women, or women plural. A man and a woman. Singular.

Leaving Mormonism – Your Testimony is Not of God and Christ

Go to a Mormon church on the first Sunday of the month and you’ll be right in the middle of what they call fast and testimony Sunday. Now at first glance, you might think this is awesome – all these people baring their testimonies. And it is, until you start really listening.

Pretty much everyone’s testimony says something along the lines of the following, whether at the beginning, middle, or end… “I’d like to bear my testimony that I know this church is true, I know the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that [current prophet name here] is a prophet.“

Note what is not present – a single mention of Jesus dying on the cross for us. Not a single mention of God being our supreme Father. Nothing. Because your testimony isn’t about God or Christ. It is about the church itself.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints positions itself as the “one true church”. The Church claims Jesus Himself told Joseph Smith that none of the other churches were true and that all were abominations in His sight. And they feel the need to state in their testimonies that Joseph Smith and whoever the current prophet is³Again, I know it is Russell M. Nelson, but if you read this in the future after he has passed away, it won’t be. are prophets. No one does that for any of the Biblical prophets… no one speaks of them as prophets. But they have to cement their claims in their members’ minds.

Once in a while someone will tell a story with their testimony that will include God and Christ, but for the most part, it’s the same old story about knowing the church is true, etc.. They even coach small children who want to bare their testimonies – standing behind little Johnny or Jane and telling them what to say. Basically training them what they’re supposed to say. It is unsettling to say the least.

Tithing

Now I’m not saying it isn’t Biblical to pay tithing because it is. But the Church’s coercive methods to get people to pay their tithing – literal fear-mongering – just gave me the ick.

Church officials teach and have taught from the pulpit at General Conference that those who do not pay a full tithe to the Church once they become a member will die a violent, fiery death at Christ’s Second Coming. That’s right – they teach that Jesus is going to set anyone who did not pay their full tithe on fire at His Second Coming. Some officials have gone as far as to call tithing “fire insurance”.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why I decided that leaving Mormonism was best for me, but these are the main ones. These are the ones I cannot justify and cannot wrap my head around. How can you justify having your members bear testimonies that are of the Church first and foremost and not God and Christ? How can you justify what amounts to the worship of Joseph Smith and the current prophet? How can you justify telling people that King David having many wives/concubines is wrong but that Mormons should? You can’t. You just can’t. Not in any way that will ever make sense to me. So that is why I left the Church and it is highly unlikely that I will ever go back.