"I try to be a better person every day. My name is Mike and I'm an Ex Mormon."

http://www.i-am-an-exmormon.com/ http://www.postmormon.org/ http://www.exmormon.reddit.com Growing up in the church I believed most everything I was taught, from time to time something wouldn't make sense and I would think about it for a moment then discard my concern to keep my mind pure. I remember wondering at a young age why we didn't kill adulterers or blasphemers; the same person that god would have stoned ages back can now with a little time get a temple recommend and pursue an eternal partnership. I didn't understand so I pushed it aside because I had a feeling that it was all true and I wasn't going to let a little concern sideswipe my deep feelings. I served an honorable full time mission and sometimes people would talk to us missionaries about this fact or that fact that contradicted church teachings and I briskly ignored evidences levied at the church. I remember one fellow told me that the Smithsonian museum had evidence or information that proved The Book of Mormon false one way or another. I assured this misguided fellow that Heavenly father will reveal the evidence of The Book of Mormon's truth at the second coming and that all the contrary evidence in the world will not overturn gods work. The year I returned home from the mission I started reading philosophy; I was big into gaining knowledge and seeking truth. I read a bit of Rene Descartes and he proposed conducting a personal experiment to determine truth: discard all preconceptions and personal beliefs and look at the world with fresh eyes. Growing up I often thought about how grateful I was that I was born into the church because I knew that as a nonmember I wouldn't believe the Joseph Smith story. This is why I did not attempt Descartes exercise because I knew that on a clean slate I wouldn't return to the church. These thoughts scared me as a true believing member and I resolved to be as diligent as I could to do only those things that would be conducive to keeping the spirit with me. My intended plan to redouble and be more devoted worked well; for a time I was able to deflect doubts and contrary evidence that came my way. My defensive walls came down in university while I was taking a philosophy of the brain class. The professor asked in class for believers in god to give reasons for god or the soul; I knew that my proof was my spiritual experiences and feelings of the Holy Ghost. I did not raise my hand because I anticipated the professor's response: "and how can you be sure that is the Holy Ghost and not just your mind?" My honest answer to that question was "I don't know." As a side note, I did not like my philosophy instructor or enjoy the class because he made jokes against god, tore apart ideas of eternal life and showed evidence that pointed to a godless universe. (CONTINUED) To read the rest of Mike's story, visit our website here: http://www.iamanexmormon.com/2010/12/hi-my-name-is-mike-and-im-an-ex-mormon/ Videos that Mike found helpful in his own journey: Mike suggests taking a look at the videos on the youtube channel "QualiaSoup" as a great resource in helping to understand why he left the Mormon church. One of his favorite videos on this channel called "Open-mindedness" can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI There are many more videos in this series. You can view QualiaSoup's youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/qualiasoup