Kathrine

I wasborn and raised as a Mormon. My father left when I was 5 years old. My motherwas left with 6 children, ages ranging from 10 to 3 years old. She had to go back to school in orderto feed us all. My father married someone else in the Temple and was still married to two other wives in thetemple at the same time. I followed the rules of the church like I was wearingblinders.

When I was 6 years old, a school mate invited me to a summer vacation school ather church. It turned out that it was a Christian church. They told stories ofJesus and how he loves us. I remember asking the teachers "why is yourJesus different than the Jesus I have been taught about. We finished the summervacation without any further discussion. I enjoyed it a lot.

By the time I was 12 years old I had attended every investigator class availablein the Mormon church. I kept asking questions. I had two things against me, Iwas a child and I was born a Mormon. They did not want me stirring up the peoplein the investigator classes. You see the investigator classes were for newmembers only. I told the Bishopric that I need to have some answers and if thatmeant going to the investigator class I was going to do so. You see a female age12 usually did not stand up like that against the bishopric. I also was thefirst child to sing in the choir and the first child to attend adult classes. Iwas paving my way to get closer to Jesus.

The main answers I needed were:

1. If my mother is still sealed to my dad in the Temple , but my dad is also sealed to other women, who am I sealed to? (My dad told me that my mother lost all of her children by getting the divorce.)
2. How is it that my christian friends are nicer to me than my Mormon friends? You see, without a father with the priesthood, we were treated like low-life. If a family needed help and they had a father with the priesthood, the ward members were right there helping them. My mother had to pretty well do it on her own. She was extremely dedicated to the Mormon church.
3. Why is my father married/sealed to 3 or 4 woman at the same time in the Temple ? I thought polygamy was not allowed. It appears to me that polygamy is still being practiced in the Temple .
4. If the church is true, why are there so many families who are fighting with each other? All I ever saw was families fighting amongst themselves. Family Home Evening did not help.
5. If the Bible asks that we sing with joy why are the Mormon songs so down? It did not appear that the members were enjoying and praising Jesus. They were just there as robots.
6. If Joseph Smith was told all other religions were an abomination to God, what will happen to my Christian friends in the afterlife? My Christian friends were nice, friendly, and helpful to me. They showed me more love than my Mormon friends.

So it took several more years until I realized that I was judging the Mormonchurch on how people treated me. I moved to Arizona and found ConcernedChristians. I read, read, andread more about the doctrine of the Mormon Church. There was another separateworld out there that told a different story than what I had been told.

As I was growing up, I never could forget that summer vacation school. Myquestions became stronger and harder for my family to answer. Finally, the onlyanswers I got from my family was "Go pray about it." Well, that iswhat I did. I prayed about it. I read more books. I gave a couple of seminars toa group of ladies at a Baptist Church. I sent a letter to the Bishop asking to have my nameremoved from the records. Two years went by and I still had not heard anything.When the visiting teachers came to my door, I told them "if you are comingto lecture about the Mormon church, do not come; but if you coming as friendsand truly want to know how I am doing, I will welcome you with open arms."Since the visiting teachers only came that one time, I knew my answer.

I found Christ during that two year wait. I finally located who the Bishop wasin my area since I had moved to Arizona. I mailed him a letter asking that my name be removedfrom the rosters of the Mormon church. I made it even more firm by adding that Idid not want anyone visiting me or have me ex-communicated. I also told themthat, I was willing to sue the Mormom Church if the action I requested was not done by a certaindate. Guess what, I got my wish and I have never felt this relaxed and happybefore as a Mormon.

That one seed when I was a young girl stayed with me and helped me to see thedifferences and gave me the strength to ask questions. I found Jesus. The Jesusthat I was taught about at the Summer Vacation School. Now I know the difference. The facade that theMormon church puts out to the world is false and misleading. I pray with all myheart that the misguided members of the Mormon Church open their hearts and mindto hear the conflicting propaganda the Mormon Church is feeding them. I praythat they learn about the true Jesus.

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