A Mormon Atheist Transition

After realizing that I was an atheist, the absurdity of religious belief became very clear. During my research into what an atheist is, I came across a very funny skit that presents a tongue in cheek representation of theism. It was originally written by James Huber and has been used in several different videos since. One of my favorites is found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaFZQBb2srM

I like to imagine a scenario in which I could sit down with my wife one evening after the kids have gone to bed, explain to her that there is something on my mind and something I'd like to share with her. Then she would say "You can tell me anything, you know that. What is it?" Then I would explain my journey out of theism and disbelief in supernatural claims including that of the church to which we belong. Then, maybe she would say something like "Wow, that sounds like quite an internal struggle. But no matter what, we can get through this together. Let's come up with a plan."

"I would like to bear my testimony, I know the church is true" This is the phrase we, as Mormons, are taught to say over and over. It's how you begin your testimony. There has been some effort within the church to urge people, especially children, to stop using this cliché, but it still pops up every testimony meeting at church.

If you leave the church, you end up being miserable and alone or giving in to self-destructive habits. Everyone knows that. There is a fundamental belief in LDS doctrine that if you adhere to all the rules and regulations (guidelines and principles of the gospel) that you will be blessed and find true happiness in life. If you don't, you will never know true happiness and be more susceptible to the influences of Satan.  In other words, if you have struggles and trials in life, you are probably not doing something that you should be doing. And if you fall away, you only have yourself to blame.

What do you believe and why? I use to define faith as a confidence or a trust in the things you believe in. Regardless of evidence to the contrary, your faith was sufficient to discover if something is true or not. First, you have faith then you gain knowledge. This works great in Mormonism. You can take an unusual or extraordinary claim, tell someone to just have faith that it's true, and if they pray hard enough and believe that they'll receive an answer, an answer is revealed through feelings of joy and comfort. That's how you can know something is true. Your confidence grows with your faith and you learn to trust this pattern more and more because you feel happier and happier.

The Thinking Atheist Logo Growing up in a religious environment, I was influenced to believe that skepticism and atheism were terrible traits. An atheist was explained to be someone who either claimed that they knew there was no God, or a person who went through such a terrible tragedy or trial that they ended up rebelling against God and hating him. Plus, they hate religion and all churches and want the belief in God to disappear. Skepticism was frowned upon as a lack of faith and giving into the temptations of Satan. You just don't question!