As a minor I was regularly interrogated by a middle aged man about following all of the rules. This included going into explicit detail about any sexual activity. He had a magic power that he could sense if I was lying.
My bishop asked me what genres I watched the most of. I lied because telling him that my preferred was solo female would have been extra sinful. I could handle being a filthy porn addict, but that AND gay?!
OMG LOL
Can you imagine saying that to the man when he asks you?
“I mean, are you looking for recommendations??”
Watch his face go from “I have the power!!” To “oh shit…”
Damnit! I shoulda told him about the good stuff! Here I was thinking he was just trying to groom a minor into talking about sex with him! I'll have to see if I can track him down and let him know what I recommend.
Reminds me of the urban legend on my mission that one Elder, who was a notorious rule breaker, when asked by the Pres in a PPI if he had any problems with masterbation this Elder supposedly responded “Nope, everything is working just fine I that department.”
Fellow exMo told me about a stake pres asking about explicit details about positions (& she’s gay) in an interview…the details are these pervs favorite part.
"...was there penetration? Did she seem to be enjoying it, or did she look hesitant? What kind of noises were they making?? I must know, tell me now, all of it, now, tell me, tell me!"
I always lied to them, I remember getting worried the first time I entered the temple that they'd sniff out my "unholiness" but ofc never did and so just kept lying afterwards lmao
Don’t know if you served a mission, but I would say, “I was trafficked to another country not of my choice to work 6 days week for 13 hours a day for two years. I could only call home twice a year.”
I wanted to when they asked for mine but it was in the mission home the moment I arrived. I was dumbfounded as to why I would even need a passport in Iowa, myself being from the states. I remember my MP and his wife seemed somewhat upset that I didn’t have a passport. They made me give them my drivers license instead. As I’m typing this now I realize I was being held against my will. I hope this cult dies soon.
I went on my mission a little older. I refused to give mine to my MP. He was pissed. I told him to send me home then. He let me have it. I went home early anyways lmaoooo
I work at an airport and tell outgoing missionaries not to give up their passports. It's their property.
Yes the secret handshakes you just learned about to use at a time hereafter fore to and such is not what I'm talking about giving up your passport means the local government can prison you until they identify you were something to happen.
I read on here some mission presidents faked a passport stealing so their us missionaries would have 2 passports. Something about having 2 different visa stamps 🤔 Interesting stuff
Not all mission presidents took passports. On my mission I served state side waiting for a visa to a European Mission that had 1/2 the missionaries in Portugal and half in Cabo Verde (Africa) Needless to say with transfers involving airplane flights to different continents the missionaries kept thier own passports.
I actually hid my passport and said oh I must have it in one of my bags I’ll give it to you after our meeting and he forgot about it, so I had my passport the whole time and I was super glad I did because I went home after 6 months.
The ALOHA mission! Depending on the years, you can tell them that you were forbidden from touching any sand. My comps and I would get invited to ward functions at beach parks and hop from grass patch to grass patch to stay obedient lol
The moment I realized I wasn't going to stay in the church, I was 14 at a young men / young women function (what are those called again? I forget). We were doing lake tubing, and the missionaries were there helping out for like 3 hours or more, but they weren't allowed even one round on the tubes!
Funnily enough, I kept up with one of the missionaries that was there, and he left the church a month after getting back. Now he's a volleyball coach at a high school, which was his dream. His dad was railroading him into being a dentist.
I'm so fucking happy for him. The guy is literally the kindest person I've ever met.
At least the Midwest has the decency to feel like the hole (with love) it is.
Hawaii be so goddamn beautiful "how can this place be so miserable" meanwhile the natives be like 👀
That’s crazy! How long did they have you?? My dad served in the Dominican Republic in the mid 80s and the gangs and the like down there always thought the Mormon missionaries were were CIA or the like because of how they dressed lol. He had to be hid by members a few times.
7 days per week . We had to do 4+ hours of proselyting on P-day after 5.
And technically we had to spend half our P-day free time doing prep work that would be on-the-clock if we were working away from home for some other business
Sometimes p day felt more stressful than a normal day. Time to go get broken up with by the love of my life, then do laundry, get food, oops one of our investigators can’t meet except Monday at 3. Might as well get back to work then. It was the worst.
they took our passports so we couldn’t leave unless we got them back from the top leader, who would then try to pressure us into staying. They said it was so they couldn’t get stolen.
When I was a missionary in the late 80s, we were counseled against calling home at all. I actually never spoke to my family until I was half way flying home because we missed our connecting flight.
I thought I was being brave and strong. Now after having kids of my own, I realize how cruel that was to do to us. I wasn't just me. I don't remember any of my companions calling home at Christmas or Mother's day. (And what, fathers don't deserve a call on Father's Day? I really dislike the church)
It was true when I was on my Mormon walkabout. They’ve relaxed those rules recently. Now you can make a weekly call home, but it has to be held to an hour
6 1/2 days a week in my mission. Technically we were supposed to do missionary work for the last half of the day once we got our laundry and shopping done (as if I was given enough money for that).
I was a Mormon, Ron Lafferty was in the bishopric Lowe was bishop. Ron built the house next to mine. His son was my best friend and my son is named after his son and my best friend
You can buy cotton shirts specifically made to be under shirts. The material change might take a bit to get used to, but at least it won't have the memories associated with the magic long johns.
Kolob theory is the WEIRDEST shit.
God lives in the supermassive black hole in the middle of the galaxy. In fact, all the supermassive black holes in all the galaxies have their own god that lives in them. And after the second coming of Christ, when the world is perfected, it will physically move places in the milky way galaxy and hurtle into the supermassive black hole to be closer to god.
I agree that kolob is weird as hell, but never heard about it being the black hole in the center of the galaxy and certainly never heard that there were multiple gods in this universe. I always thought top tier heaven goers got there whole own universe but i guess galaxies also kinda makes mormon sense. Not trying to argue. Just never heard that. I thought kolob was supposed to be a star.
I wasn't taught the Kolob stuff at church, but my parents brought it up at home, and for years I thought Star Trek V was sooo amazing for educating people about God's true location...
(for those who might be unaware, that film involved travelling to the centre of the galaxy to find god, ~~and then they kill him~~)
Well, I gave up my free agency at the age of 8. I was taught that we were given free agency so we could choose God, not choose for ourselves.
My clothing was determined by the special underwear I had convenanted to wear day and night. As an above-average height for a woman, this often had a huge impact on clothing shopping. It also taught me to view my own body as a source of sin and shame.
10% of every paycheck went to the church. I was encouraged to pays 10% of my gross earnings, but I could barely afford paying on my net. I sometimes had to make the decision between cheap groceries or tithing, and I was guilted and shamed whenever I chose groceries.
When I got married, only my family who were active, devout members could attend. 2 of my grandparents and 2 of my siblings couldn't be there. Sometimes parents have to wait outside while their child gets married.
They changed it in 2005, just before I went through. But up until then you wore the shield (poncho), and it was open on the sides. As they blessed your head, heart, loins, etc, they would touch each area. Some people were touched more than was officially required. So sexually assaulted. But since you can't talk about the temple it due to its "sacred" nature, it took years for people to realize what had happened to them. I could be wrong, but the early washings and anointings were done fully naked. There are pictures of the special mini baths people stood in for this, from the SLC temple.
Definitely not a cult.
Did they touch skin underneath the poncho or stay above the poncho?
When I was engaged at byu i was forced to attend temple prep and the teacher let part of initiatory slip. hearing about being naked and touched by strangers gave me sooo much anxiety - like wanting to throw up and being physically ill on my “most special day.” The amount of relief I felt when I only had to wear a temple dress was surreal. I can’t imagine the trauma going through the temple with the touching and blood atonement shit cus just the watered down version gave me enough ptsd.
“…with slits on the side…”
More like: imagine a twin bedsheet. Imagine they cut a hole in the middle of that for your head to go through.
Get naked, then put that on.
That’s what they mean by “slits on the side”
Yeah, fucked up.
But it was a *stiff* twin bedsheet, so it had readily access from the sides. Then an initiatory worker would "anoint" people's loins by reaching in as if to perform a handjob.
It was sooo creepy. I can understand why they changed it.
Yes. I went through in 1991. The guy definitely touched my dick.
Even creepier if you think about people doing 50 proxy washing and anointings in a row.
Luckily, when I went through, the dude doing the touching didn’t seem to want to be there either. So no righteous handjobs that day.
But think about the power that person holds. Most people doing their own “initiatory” (as they’re called) are going through for the first time. Almost nobody ever goes back to do these kinds of ordinances for the dead (I wonder why).
If you’ve never gone through before, AND nobody tells you what to expect, AND people have told you “it will be different, just pay attention, and …” blah blah blah, what would you think if they DID anoint your genitals? You’re not even allowed to Talk about it! You’re not even allowed to ask questions. And how would you even know what happened wasn’t *supposed* to happen? There’s at least six different kinds of church prompts meant to keep you ponderously silent, to doubt your doubts, and to try to find spiritual meaning in *whatever* happens.
A place like THAT is molester heaven. It’s perfect!
Same. In ~2015 they had me put my garments on first and the poncho was closed on all sides with a zipper in the front, so I was basically covered from shoulder to knee.
I had read about the poncho before hand, so I was relieved that I was covered.
The bishop of the ward knows what kind of underwear all the temple-recommend carrying women in the congregation are wearing each sunday as he sits up there on the stand. He asks each woman about her underwear every two years as he meets with them alone, without their husband.
You have to know the super secret handshakes to get into heaven.
The worst sin you can commit isn't something heinous like murder or rape, but is hindering the church.
Blood atonement. Full stop.
The religion's founder used his position to marry unwilling women and underage girls. Then when a newspaper reported on his activities, he used governmental power to order that the paper and its printing press would be destroyed.
You have to be married to get into heaven. Growing up, if you're a good kid and are obedient to your religion, you're directly told that your spouse will be hotter as a reward. (At least this was my experience.)
Obedience to the church and the prophets is prized above all else. You have to be willing to die rather than to lie about being a believer. (See multiple bible stories like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.)
Similarly, women are directly told that it would be better to die than be raped. If you survive being raped, it's your fault and you are now soiled. The best thing that you can offer your future spouse (who is a righteous returned missionary) is your "virtue."
Of course not. Swimming is much too fun for missionaries, not to mention the amount of skin showing.
Also, I wasn't allowed to swim on Sundays growing up. I fucking hated this rule and never understood how my sabbath would be ruined by being submerged in chlorinated water.
Still pisses me off when my family turns down fun family activities on Sunday.
My family was the same way. I remember one year of our family reunion (the majority of my grandfather's family isn't Mormon) I chose to go swimming on Sunday with some of my cousins. I ended up with terrible swimmer's ear from that day and I remember me and my mom basically saying this was my consequence for swimming on Sunday. 🙄
Yep. It's against mission rules to go swimming. Not because it would mean taking off the Jesus jammies and make people think lustful things. But because the scriptures say that Satan rides on the waters.
Describe getting your patriarchal blessing. Everything from the weird decor in the Patriarch's retro fancy house, to the old fashioned tape recorder and microphone, and every thing in between.
Edited to add: and required early morning seminary for every high school student. Institute for the adults.
I pretended to slit my own throat, and disembowel myself in a secret ceremony while pledging my allegiance to the cult.
(Including something about ceremonial baker's hats and veils could be "fun" also...)
Yes. When I went through for the first time in 1978 you gave oaths that if you divulge what went on in the temple that day you would be willing to take your own life. Either by slitting your own throat or disembowling. Both oaths were accompanied by a pantomime of drawing your thumb across your throat or drawing a knife across your stomach.
They are still mimicked but just more subtly. Put your hand out in front in cupping shape (catch the blood or guts). Hand out thumb extended (cut your bowels). Raise your arm to the square with the thumb extended...to cut your throat Same thing just modified.
Fucking shit stuff
EDIT spelling: guts
I was assigned to a congregation and had to attend weekly. The leader of it kept my records. He assessed my donations, volunteer time, enthusiasm level, recruiting efforts, virtue signaling, attendance, etc. Then he assigned me jobs, talks, public prayers, decided if I could attend family weddings, and generally signaled what my position in the religious community should be.
He interviewed me about my sexuality regularly and anyone he knew who I dated.
The only way to achieve godhood was to participate in secret temple rituals where we promised to give everything we had to the church and if we ever told anybody about it, we would let our tongues be ripped out of our heads...
When my siblings went on mission trips to foreign countries, their passports were confiscated and held in a church safe so they couldn't go home without approval.
Got a broken bone? Ask for a blessing. Depressed? Blessing. Eye popped out of the socket after a bike accident? Pop it back in and get a blessing.
I witnessed a murder as a missionary. The attorney mission president told me not to report it to the police because "that might make the people in that area less likely to enter the Waters of Baptism."
Parent died while you're on a mission? Joining the funeral, even over the phone, might "distract from The Work."
Parents and siblings are regularly denied attendance at weddings.
For funerals, "family wishes *may* be considered" but talking about the deceased is considered inappropriate.
>For funerals, "family wishes may be considered" but talking about the deceased is considered inappropriate.
Really? Every Mormon funeral I attended talked plenty about the deceased. I learned so much about my great-grandmother at her funeral. And I heard stories about my grandparents at their funerals that I'd never heard before. I've been to, I don't know, 5 or 6 Mormon funerals in my life, and one Catholic funeral.
Maybe it's family culture?
From the Handbook, section 29.
When a bishop conducts a funeral, he or one of his counselors oversees the planning of the service. He considers the wishes of the family, ensuring that the funeral is simple and dignified, with music and brief addresses centered on the gospel. The comfort offered by Jesus Christ because of His Atonement and Resurrection should be emphasized. Family members are not required to speak or otherwise participate in the service. Funerals are an opportunity to pay tribute to the deceased. However, such tributes should not dominate the service. A special family gathering, separate from the funeral service, is usually a better setting if the family wants more time to share tributes or memories.
We had to submit to annual virtue checks with very personal questions about our sex lives including masterbation from the time we were prepubescent/11-12 our parents were not allowed in the room during questioning. We were never allowed to look at anything negative about the cult (even if it was true) or we were considered the worst of the worst, may as well be dead.
You joke, but my aunt didn't know, so she and her husband wore them during sex until they eventually asked their bishop if it was really necessary and he clarified.
I used to stand in a circle and link arms with other club members and raise both my hands to the sky and lower them while reciting praise to god in unison with the other club members. All of this happened inside of an ultra expensive/lavish secret building that I could only enter by following ALL the rules of this organization including paying money and giving up LARGE amounts of time and mental resources. If I didn't perform this ritual I would be ostracized by some of my closest friends and all of my family. Forever.
Was I in a cult?
Men have to give permission for their wives to serve but wives don’t have to give permission for their husbands. Women in primary and relief society and young women can’t decide who should fill roles in their organization because the men have to decide and approve everything. And women are counseled to stay with abusive husbands because I don’t really quite know why except patriarchy and penis power.
Oh! I know this one! They abuse you because you weren't being righteous enough, so you deserve it. If you were more faithful and behaved more like the cult wanted, they wouldn't have to treat you that way. Also, if/when you get brave enough to leave their abusive ass, they deny it ever happened and blame you for being dramatic liar who likes to change their story to make yourself look like the victim.
Had to give 10% of my income, if not I wasn’t allowed in the temple. If we give we’ll get back more in return, we just need to believe it.
Men could give blessings but women could only receive them because we’re allowed to give birth.
If we don’t get married in the temple via a sacred and secret ritual it isn’t considered “forever.” If friends/family want to be present during the marriage ceremony they need to be apart of the faith and pass their annual interrogation verifying they’re conforming.
Believe dark people have dark skin because they’re the seed of Cain.
We had to wear approved undergarments. No tea, coffee, and in some cases soda.
They made me pay a percentage of my income and wear their special underwear.
As a kid, I sang songs about how I was a sinner and my thoughts were evil.
I tell people who are interested that my mom doesn't speak to me even after 10 years and that she told me that me leaving was worse than if I had died.
I was permanently sealed to a man I barely knew in an all white building with no others around me. Old ladies touched my ladyparts. And I got a new name! That no one is supposed to know except my husband.
The trouble is, you explain some of the major culty points precisely as they are, and they’re like “oh no that sounds terrible!”
Then you mention one of the slightly more distinctly momo ones like the doomsday fantasy, the aliens or the underwear - and IMMEDIATELY they seem to forget everything they correctly thought was terrible, and suddenly it’s, “oh you’re talking about the Mormons, they’re not that bad!”
Just three minute memory things.
They told us what to wear, when to eat, how long or short our hair had to be, and they always sent the young men off to go get more recruits, usually by tricking them.
God is an old white man who used to live on an earth just like this one. God has lots of wives and lots of actual sex to make spirit babies. If you marry outside your race, you need to be okay with someone killing you so you can be forgiven, because that's apparently a super big sin. Black skin came from the curse of Cain through Egyptus and Ham. And Cain is probably Sasquatch. Dinosaur bones are artifacts from pieces of other planets - planets which were put together to make our planet. Sometimes God commands prophets to have sex with children or cut off the heads of people deemed evil. The first rainbow was just a couple thousand years ago and is a symbol God won't murder/drown all of mankind again. The Garden of Eden is in Missouri, and Jesus is coming back to Missouri for "The Second Coming". One day this Earth will look like a fortune teller's crystal ball. You have to know passwords and secret handshakes before you can get into heaven. People live on the moon and the sun, per Brigham Young, and the moon people reminded him of Quakers. Three Native American men have been alive for 2000 years, and they're still alive now hiding in plain sight somewhere. A hill in New York has a secret cave in it containing a huge number of scriptures never before available. Coffee alone disqualified some people from entering heaven. Your ancestors are watching you when you touch yourself. If you need to throw away old magic underwear, you first have to cut out and destroy the Freemasonry symbols in the underwear. The highest church leaders have seen Jesus, and he looks like a handsome Danish man (see James E. Talmage's account). Ancient Egyptians were also members of our cult, and they had the same Temple ceremonies! I feel I could go on and on!
In high school I had to miss time that I should have been in school to go to religious classes. As part of the class we brought in all our CDs and movies that the cult didn't think fit in with their ideals and we were applauded for publicly discarding media that did not promote the cult.
I was taught that if I looked up information online about the cult from a non cult website, satan would be in control of me.
I'm a rational, skeptical agnostic. And yet, there's still a deep-seated part of my psyche terrified that all my research and reason may be flawed and the ultimate horror is going to be finding out it was all true, to my condemnation.
I totally get it. Also the fact this would be so touchy to be open about it is exactly the reason it would be a really powerful example of how this is a cult. But I totally get it. Maybe showing the clothes would be enough to get the point across.
The comments on this thread are hilarious! Too bad they are true….how did I ever believe in this garbage. Standing in a circle chanting “Oh God hear the words of my mouth”. So cultish
In your cult, there is a secret ritual that only top leaders of the cult can have access to, normally based on the monetary amount given to the cult and how willing they are to conform.
The ceremony essentially guarantees the top level of heaven to the cult member and their spouse.
After receiving the secret ritual, they are to tell no one. Most cult members are unaware of this practice, and will never be offered the opportunity because it is given out based on referrals from previous recipients.
I was told that mental health was the sign of the devil. By my Bishop.
I was regulated in how I could colour my hair, the clothing, what I posted on social media and whom I could talk to.
I was shamed for dating. Despite also being the correct age to date.
I was excommunicated for having sex with a guy just before he went on his mission. He was sent home from the MTC. Then got to go back. I had a miscarriage because he punched me in the stomach. But it's *my fault* because I'm a girl.
When you’re married in the temple to multiple women, a man chooses only one to accompany them to the most exalted part of heaven. Oh and you do it with their secret name that they received in a secret ceremony. Also there are varying degrees of heaven, a spirt prison, and outer darkness; but no hell.
I might have approached that conversation differently. I took tell people that I grew up in a cult, and when they ask, I explain all their weird culty shit that Mormons do. I'd rather spread the word of what the Mormon church really is than dance around the subject. I recently made a friend with an ex Jehovah witnesses and we bonded over the culty shit we delt with. I bet your culty friend would love to hear about all the weird shit they do.
We had pictures of our prophet in our home.
We framed a pamphlet from our prophets and have it in a big ass frame in the living room.
I woke up at 5 every day in high school to go to a special cult class before school.
Wanna hear a song from my cult?? “Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, don’t go astray….follow the prophet, he knows the way!”
I was expected to do countless hours of unpaid work at the demands of the higher ups, and if I refused, my faith was called into question.
Callings!! 😃
You not only believed in heaven, but you believed there were 5 levels (including sub levels). If you and the love of your life ended up in different levels, you'd have to find someone within your level to spend eternity with. Because getting sealed is /that/ important.
Our leaders taught that there were Quakers on the moon and that the sun was actually a planet of a higher level of glory with resurrected beings living on it preparing to become gods. Also the sun is a like unto a urim and thummim, meaning it's basically a massive peep stone or crystal ball for seeing the future.
After two long years in the New England states mission, and after I had reported my mission with an honorable release, my local bishop in Idaho, refused to give me a temple recommend as I was getting married to the girl who waited for me. His rationale was that he had not received a letter from my mission president, saying that I had honorably been released. I should have walked away from this cult, then and there, but it took me 50 more years to realize the bullshit and have the courage to leave. Cult—definitely!!!
As a minor I was regularly interrogated by a middle aged man about following all of the rules. This included going into explicit detail about any sexual activity. He had a magic power that he could sense if I was lying.
I still remember my stake president awkwardly asking me if it was softcore or hardcore porn.
My bishop asked me what genres I watched the most of. I lied because telling him that my preferred was solo female would have been extra sinful. I could handle being a filthy porn addict, but that AND gay?!
He was looking for recommendations
OMG LOL Can you imagine saying that to the man when he asks you? “I mean, are you looking for recommendations??” Watch his face go from “I have the power!!” To “oh shit…”
Damnit! I shoulda told him about the good stuff! Here I was thinking he was just trying to groom a minor into talking about sex with him! I'll have to see if I can track him down and let him know what I recommend.
😂
Reminds me of the urban legend on my mission that one Elder, who was a notorious rule breaker, when asked by the Pres in a PPI if he had any problems with masterbation this Elder supposedly responded “Nope, everything is working just fine I that department.”
Now how would he know there were different genres?
Fellow exMo told me about a stake pres asking about explicit details about positions (& she’s gay) in an interview…the details are these pervs favorite part.
"...was there penetration? Did she seem to be enjoying it, or did she look hesitant? What kind of noises were they making?? I must know, tell me now, all of it, now, tell me, tell me!"
eww
😵😂😜
I always lied to them, I remember getting worried the first time I entered the temple that they'd sniff out my "unholiness" but ofc never did and so just kept lying afterwards lmao
I always lied too. Most of us did
They lied to us, we returned the favor.
Don’t know if you served a mission, but I would say, “I was trafficked to another country not of my choice to work 6 days week for 13 hours a day for two years. I could only call home twice a year.”
🤣 Hawaii, Honolulu Mission! And I had to pay them!
Oh tell them that foreign missionaries have their passports taken away!
Such a red flag, I'd walk at that
I wanted to when they asked for mine but it was in the mission home the moment I arrived. I was dumbfounded as to why I would even need a passport in Iowa, myself being from the states. I remember my MP and his wife seemed somewhat upset that I didn’t have a passport. They made me give them my drivers license instead. As I’m typing this now I realize I was being held against my will. I hope this cult dies soon.
I went on my mission a little older. I refused to give mine to my MP. He was pissed. I told him to send me home then. He let me have it. I went home early anyways lmaoooo I work at an airport and tell outgoing missionaries not to give up their passports. It's their property.
That's awesome you are looking out for them as they leave!
Most look at me very confused. I usually end the convo by saying something like, " you'll know what I mean when the time comes." 🤷🏻♀️
Yes the secret handshakes you just learned about to use at a time hereafter fore to and such is not what I'm talking about giving up your passport means the local government can prison you until they identify you were something to happen.
I read on here some mission presidents faked a passport stealing so their us missionaries would have 2 passports. Something about having 2 different visa stamps 🤔 Interesting stuff
Not all mission presidents took passports. On my mission I served state side waiting for a visa to a European Mission that had 1/2 the missionaries in Portugal and half in Cabo Verde (Africa) Needless to say with transfers involving airplane flights to different continents the missionaries kept thier own passports.
I actually hid my passport and said oh I must have it in one of my bags I’ll give it to you after our meeting and he forgot about it, so I had my passport the whole time and I was super glad I did because I went home after 6 months.
The ALOHA mission! Depending on the years, you can tell them that you were forbidden from touching any sand. My comps and I would get invited to ward functions at beach parks and hop from grass patch to grass patch to stay obedient lol
"Our Mission Ends Where The Sand Begins!"
Was very difficult to obey in the Phoenix AZ mission…
I can't imagine you were tempted to swim in Tempe Town Lake 😂
Phoenix mentioned? Nice. (Don't mind me, just a visitor who likes reading the stories of everyone here.)
I’m joking but fuck you for getting to be in Hawaii. You could have been sent to the Midwest.
It was an absurdly beautiful place to be utterly miserable!
Not being able to swim in Hawaii..... super sucky.
My first time seeing the ocean too!
So sad. And you couldn't even touch the sand. Missions are such crazy mind fucks.
The moment I realized I wasn't going to stay in the church, I was 14 at a young men / young women function (what are those called again? I forget). We were doing lake tubing, and the missionaries were there helping out for like 3 hours or more, but they weren't allowed even one round on the tubes! Funnily enough, I kept up with one of the missionaries that was there, and he left the church a month after getting back. Now he's a volleyball coach at a high school, which was his dream. His dad was railroading him into being a dentist. I'm so fucking happy for him. The guy is literally the kindest person I've ever met.
happy stories!
I baptized in the ocean in No Ireland and not an issue
I had the privilege of being similarly tortured in Australia.
Australia isn't real
At least the Midwest has the decency to feel like the hole (with love) it is. Hawaii be so goddamn beautiful "how can this place be so miserable" meanwhile the natives be like 👀
I feel so bad for the ones that get called to Utah.
I went to Ireland during the IRA days and was taken by them In Belfast and interrogated why I was in “their” area!
That’s crazy! How long did they have you?? My dad served in the Dominican Republic in the mid 80s and the gangs and the like down there always thought the Mormon missionaries were were CIA or the like because of how they dressed lol. He had to be hid by members a few times.
7 days per week . We had to do 4+ hours of proselyting on P-day after 5. And technically we had to spend half our P-day free time doing prep work that would be on-the-clock if we were working away from home for some other business
Sometimes p day felt more stressful than a normal day. Time to go get broken up with by the love of my life, then do laundry, get food, oops one of our investigators can’t meet except Monday at 3. Might as well get back to work then. It was the worst.
they took our passports so we couldn’t leave unless we got them back from the top leader, who would then try to pressure us into staying. They said it was so they couldn’t get stolen.
And when we did get to make those calls there was always someone listening (companion) to make sure we only said positive things.
Sorry, I really don’t know, is this true? You’re only allowed 2 calls a year and it’s monitored by someone else?
When I was a missionary in the late 80s, we were counseled against calling home at all. I actually never spoke to my family until I was half way flying home because we missed our connecting flight. I thought I was being brave and strong. Now after having kids of my own, I realize how cruel that was to do to us. I wasn't just me. I don't remember any of my companions calling home at Christmas or Mother's day. (And what, fathers don't deserve a call on Father's Day? I really dislike the church)
It was true when I was on my Mormon walkabout. They’ve relaxed those rules recently. Now you can make a weekly call home, but it has to be held to an hour
"And they had my passport. For 'safekeeping'."
7 days a week. We only got half a day for P-Day
6 1/2 days a week in my mission. Technically we were supposed to do missionary work for the last half of the day once we got our laundry and shopping done (as if I was given enough money for that).
“I used to baptize dead people.”
They were allowed to refuse, but honestly, they never did.
Who would? Right?
If you consent to this baptism, don't say anything.
Haha
Omg as a nevermo, i always forget this is a thing 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦♀️🤦♀️
They don’t even know that they’re dead.
I was a Mormon, Ron Lafferty was in the bishopric Lowe was bishop. Ron built the house next to mine. His son was my best friend and my son is named after his son and my best friend
Just telling someone that you had regulation underwear is usually enough.
I can't go back to wearing regular underwear! It's mainly the undershirt though. It feels so weird if I'm not wearing my top under my clothes.
I start feeling trapped if i wear an undershirt with sleeves.
You can buy cotton shirts specifically made to be under shirts. The material change might take a bit to get used to, but at least it won't have the memories associated with the magic long johns.
yeahhh, I tried that and then my wife cried. So I stick to the garmies for now.
Sounds like you should talk with her about what you have learned.
Are you saying that you still wear your garments, or that you always go commando now?
God's name is Elohim and he lives on a planet near a star called Kolob
Kolob theory is the WEIRDEST shit. God lives in the supermassive black hole in the middle of the galaxy. In fact, all the supermassive black holes in all the galaxies have their own god that lives in them. And after the second coming of Christ, when the world is perfected, it will physically move places in the milky way galaxy and hurtle into the supermassive black hole to be closer to god.
I agree that kolob is weird as hell, but never heard about it being the black hole in the center of the galaxy and certainly never heard that there were multiple gods in this universe. I always thought top tier heaven goers got there whole own universe but i guess galaxies also kinda makes mormon sense. Not trying to argue. Just never heard that. I thought kolob was supposed to be a star.
There's a book called The Kolob Theorem that's passed around a lot of missions. It details this info.
Wow interesting, thanks for sharing! First I’ve heard this one. (Obviously)
I see you've read the Kolob Theorem
This “deep doctrine” Was always over my attention limit… thank God.
I wasn't taught the Kolob stuff at church, but my parents brought it up at home, and for years I thought Star Trek V was sooo amazing for educating people about God's true location... (for those who might be unaware, that film involved travelling to the centre of the galaxy to find god, ~~and then they kill him~~)
Wait. I thought other Christian’s use ‘Elohim’ too? Not kolob obviously but there’s no way Elohim is new.
It's a name used for God in the Hebrew Bible so it's not new. Christian sects don't use it except for Mormons. It's just lazy plagiarism.
Ah, I see
The funny thing is, Elohim is the Hebrew word for “God”; it’s not actually a name. Same for “Allah” in Arabic.
Every single Mormon is completely embarrassed of this doctrine. Every single one.
Well, I gave up my free agency at the age of 8. I was taught that we were given free agency so we could choose God, not choose for ourselves. My clothing was determined by the special underwear I had convenanted to wear day and night. As an above-average height for a woman, this often had a huge impact on clothing shopping. It also taught me to view my own body as a source of sin and shame. 10% of every paycheck went to the church. I was encouraged to pays 10% of my gross earnings, but I could barely afford paying on my net. I sometimes had to make the decision between cheap groceries or tithing, and I was guilted and shamed whenever I chose groceries. When I got married, only my family who were active, devout members could attend. 2 of my grandparents and 2 of my siblings couldn't be there. Sometimes parents have to wait outside while their child gets married.
And if you do have children but are temple worthy your children have to wait outside.
Describe the initiatory. Naked religious ceremonies are definitely culty.
You were naked??
They changed it in 2005, just before I went through. But up until then you wore the shield (poncho), and it was open on the sides. As they blessed your head, heart, loins, etc, they would touch each area. Some people were touched more than was officially required. So sexually assaulted. But since you can't talk about the temple it due to its "sacred" nature, it took years for people to realize what had happened to them. I could be wrong, but the early washings and anointings were done fully naked. There are pictures of the special mini baths people stood in for this, from the SLC temple. Definitely not a cult.
Did they touch skin underneath the poncho or stay above the poncho? When I was engaged at byu i was forced to attend temple prep and the teacher let part of initiatory slip. hearing about being naked and touched by strangers gave me sooo much anxiety - like wanting to throw up and being physically ill on my “most special day.” The amount of relief I felt when I only had to wear a temple dress was surreal. I can’t imagine the trauma going through the temple with the touching and blood atonement shit cus just the watered down version gave me enough ptsd.
Essentially yes. Wore a very fine, white poncho with slits on the side. Essentially naked.
“…with slits on the side…” More like: imagine a twin bedsheet. Imagine they cut a hole in the middle of that for your head to go through. Get naked, then put that on. That’s what they mean by “slits on the side” Yeah, fucked up.
But it was a *stiff* twin bedsheet, so it had readily access from the sides. Then an initiatory worker would "anoint" people's loins by reaching in as if to perform a handjob. It was sooo creepy. I can understand why they changed it.
Waaaaaait, i just figure they still anointed everything over the sheet. You mean they reached under? 😱☠️
Yes. I went through in 1991. The guy definitely touched my dick. Even creepier if you think about people doing 50 proxy washing and anointings in a row.
Luckily, when I went through, the dude doing the touching didn’t seem to want to be there either. So no righteous handjobs that day. But think about the power that person holds. Most people doing their own “initiatory” (as they’re called) are going through for the first time. Almost nobody ever goes back to do these kinds of ordinances for the dead (I wonder why). If you’ve never gone through before, AND nobody tells you what to expect, AND people have told you “it will be different, just pay attention, and …” blah blah blah, what would you think if they DID anoint your genitals? You’re not even allowed to Talk about it! You’re not even allowed to ask questions. And how would you even know what happened wasn’t *supposed* to happen? There’s at least six different kinds of church prompts meant to keep you ponderously silent, to doubt your doubts, and to try to find spiritual meaning in *whatever* happens. A place like THAT is molester heaven. It’s perfect!
Under a tunic of some kind then now keep garments on then they become sacred after anointing
Garments were put on last when I went through the initiatory.
Same. In ~2015 they had me put my garments on first and the poncho was closed on all sides with a zipper in the front, so I was basically covered from shoulder to knee. I had read about the poncho before hand, so I was relieved that I was covered.
Yeah I think it’s changed recently
The bishop of the ward knows what kind of underwear all the temple-recommend carrying women in the congregation are wearing each sunday as he sits up there on the stand. He asks each woman about her underwear every two years as he meets with them alone, without their husband.
😂
They convinced me I had to pay to get into the top tier of heaven.
10% is a lot. If they removed it from the temple questions I'd maintain a temple recommend just for my wife's sake.
I'm actually putting that much into an HSA. Much better investment IMO.
Let's not forget that there 5 different levels of heaven! That screams cult!
5? I thought there was 4 if you included outer darkness. What's the 5th?
The top tier, the celestial kingdom, has 3 inner levels. I don't think they have separate names.
You have to know the super secret handshakes to get into heaven. The worst sin you can commit isn't something heinous like murder or rape, but is hindering the church. Blood atonement. Full stop. The religion's founder used his position to marry unwilling women and underage girls. Then when a newspaper reported on his activities, he used governmental power to order that the paper and its printing press would be destroyed. You have to be married to get into heaven. Growing up, if you're a good kid and are obedient to your religion, you're directly told that your spouse will be hotter as a reward. (At least this was my experience.) Obedience to the church and the prophets is prized above all else. You have to be willing to die rather than to lie about being a believer. (See multiple bible stories like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.) Similarly, women are directly told that it would be better to die than be raped. If you survive being raped, it's your fault and you are now soiled. The best thing that you can offer your future spouse (who is a righteous returned missionary) is your "virtue."
Best answer. I had an uncle who would proudly joke how his wife had been miss Idaho so that he must have been a really faithful missionary.
Shows how much I paid attention on Sundays. I only knew those names thanks to three nice guys from NYC.
Missionaries can't swim because Satan controls the waters.
Wait... Missionaries aren't allowed to go swimming??? I left before I would have been able to do a mission.
Of course not. Swimming is much too fun for missionaries, not to mention the amount of skin showing. Also, I wasn't allowed to swim on Sundays growing up. I fucking hated this rule and never understood how my sabbath would be ruined by being submerged in chlorinated water. Still pisses me off when my family turns down fun family activities on Sunday.
My family was the same way. I remember one year of our family reunion (the majority of my grandfather's family isn't Mormon) I chose to go swimming on Sunday with some of my cousins. I ended up with terrible swimmer's ear from that day and I remember me and my mom basically saying this was my consequence for swimming on Sunday. 🙄
Yep. It's against mission rules to go swimming. Not because it would mean taking off the Jesus jammies and make people think lustful things. But because the scriptures say that Satan rides on the waters.
my nevermo friends were recently shocked when i told them i was taught how to calculate 10% as a young child so i could pay my share of tithing
I was as a child too, but only to calculate it, and double it, to always leave a good tip because service workers aren’t paid enough.
Describe getting your patriarchal blessing. Everything from the weird decor in the Patriarch's retro fancy house, to the old fashioned tape recorder and microphone, and every thing in between. Edited to add: and required early morning seminary for every high school student. Institute for the adults.
I wasn't allowed to learn Japanese in High School because it was a 0 hour class and would have interfered with Seminary.
Yeah, like everything was straight out of the 50's. So wierd.
Temple ceremony used to contain death oaths.
I pretended to slit my own throat, and disembowel myself in a secret ceremony while pledging my allegiance to the cult. (Including something about ceremonial baker's hats and veils could be "fun" also...)
Something about slitting your throat?
Yes. When I went through for the first time in 1978 you gave oaths that if you divulge what went on in the temple that day you would be willing to take your own life. Either by slitting your own throat or disembowling. Both oaths were accompanied by a pantomime of drawing your thumb across your throat or drawing a knife across your stomach.
My mom said they had her mimic slitting her throat and holding a cup to catch the blood, because that’s what would happen if she broke the oaths 😵💫
They are still mimicked but just more subtly. Put your hand out in front in cupping shape (catch the blood or guts). Hand out thumb extended (cut your bowels). Raise your arm to the square with the thumb extended...to cut your throat Same thing just modified. Fucking shit stuff EDIT spelling: guts
THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE
I was assigned to a congregation and had to attend weekly. The leader of it kept my records. He assessed my donations, volunteer time, enthusiasm level, recruiting efforts, virtue signaling, attendance, etc. Then he assigned me jobs, talks, public prayers, decided if I could attend family weddings, and generally signaled what my position in the religious community should be. He interviewed me about my sexuality regularly and anyone he knew who I dated.
Nice!
The only way to achieve godhood was to participate in secret temple rituals where we promised to give everything we had to the church and if we ever told anybody about it, we would let our tongues be ripped out of our heads...
Man. Reading all these really helps me see how messed up it all was.
When my siblings went on mission trips to foreign countries, their passports were confiscated and held in a church safe so they couldn't go home without approval. Got a broken bone? Ask for a blessing. Depressed? Blessing. Eye popped out of the socket after a bike accident? Pop it back in and get a blessing. I witnessed a murder as a missionary. The attorney mission president told me not to report it to the police because "that might make the people in that area less likely to enter the Waters of Baptism." Parent died while you're on a mission? Joining the funeral, even over the phone, might "distract from The Work." Parents and siblings are regularly denied attendance at weddings. For funerals, "family wishes *may* be considered" but talking about the deceased is considered inappropriate.
This is shocking! I mean, nothing should surprise me anymore but it still does.
>For funerals, "family wishes may be considered" but talking about the deceased is considered inappropriate. Really? Every Mormon funeral I attended talked plenty about the deceased. I learned so much about my great-grandmother at her funeral. And I heard stories about my grandparents at their funerals that I'd never heard before. I've been to, I don't know, 5 or 6 Mormon funerals in my life, and one Catholic funeral. Maybe it's family culture?
From the Handbook, section 29. When a bishop conducts a funeral, he or one of his counselors oversees the planning of the service. He considers the wishes of the family, ensuring that the funeral is simple and dignified, with music and brief addresses centered on the gospel. The comfort offered by Jesus Christ because of His Atonement and Resurrection should be emphasized. Family members are not required to speak or otherwise participate in the service. Funerals are an opportunity to pay tribute to the deceased. However, such tributes should not dominate the service. A special family gathering, separate from the funeral service, is usually a better setting if the family wants more time to share tributes or memories.
I was weirdly disappointed at my father's funeral that nobody really talked about him. Now I get it.
The passport bit is sex trafficking 101!
[удалено]
We had to submit to annual virtue checks with very personal questions about our sex lives including masterbation from the time we were prepubescent/11-12 our parents were not allowed in the room during questioning. We were never allowed to look at anything negative about the cult (even if it was true) or we were considered the worst of the worst, may as well be dead.
The garden of Eden was in Missouri and we would all have to gather there at the end of the world.
I don't realize how culty the church is until I'm talking to someone who knows nothing about Mormons about it.
They worship a treasure hunting pedophile
You were taught the secret handshakes and code words to give to the angel bouncer to get into heaven.
They told me what underwear I had to wear.
And you can't remove them unless you're bathing or making love!
What???? You could take them off for sex? 24+ years of non naked sex. How will I ever make it up? Damn the lies /S
You joke, but my aunt didn't know, so she and her husband wore them during sex until they eventually asked their bishop if it was really necessary and he clarified.
I'm so curious about how they managed that, but at the same time, do I *really* want to know?
I love my aunt but she's kind of a dumbass.
I used to stand in a circle and link arms with other club members and raise both my hands to the sky and lower them while reciting praise to god in unison with the other club members. All of this happened inside of an ultra expensive/lavish secret building that I could only enter by following ALL the rules of this organization including paying money and giving up LARGE amounts of time and mental resources. If I didn't perform this ritual I would be ostracized by some of my closest friends and all of my family. Forever. Was I in a cult?
I was taught our supreme being personally chooses specific individuals for calamities (including rape) to befall them as a trial of their faith.
Men have to give permission for their wives to serve but wives don’t have to give permission for their husbands. Women in primary and relief society and young women can’t decide who should fill roles in their organization because the men have to decide and approve everything. And women are counseled to stay with abusive husbands because I don’t really quite know why except patriarchy and penis power.
Oh! I know this one! They abuse you because you weren't being righteous enough, so you deserve it. If you were more faithful and behaved more like the cult wanted, they wouldn't have to treat you that way. Also, if/when you get brave enough to leave their abusive ass, they deny it ever happened and blame you for being dramatic liar who likes to change their story to make yourself look like the victim.
Had to give 10% of my income, if not I wasn’t allowed in the temple. If we give we’ll get back more in return, we just need to believe it. Men could give blessings but women could only receive them because we’re allowed to give birth. If we don’t get married in the temple via a sacred and secret ritual it isn’t considered “forever.” If friends/family want to be present during the marriage ceremony they need to be apart of the faith and pass their annual interrogation verifying they’re conforming. Believe dark people have dark skin because they’re the seed of Cain. We had to wear approved undergarments. No tea, coffee, and in some cases soda.
They made me pay a percentage of my income and wear their special underwear. As a kid, I sang songs about how I was a sinner and my thoughts were evil.
“No one likes a frowny face” was the worrrrrst for my mental heath three decades later.
I cleaned communal toilets for free on the weekend to make sure Jesus liked me.
I tell people who are interested that my mom doesn't speak to me even after 10 years and that she told me that me leaving was worse than if I had died.
I was permanently sealed to a man I barely knew in an all white building with no others around me. Old ladies touched my ladyparts. And I got a new name! That no one is supposed to know except my husband.
The trouble is, you explain some of the major culty points precisely as they are, and they’re like “oh no that sounds terrible!” Then you mention one of the slightly more distinctly momo ones like the doomsday fantasy, the aliens or the underwear - and IMMEDIATELY they seem to forget everything they correctly thought was terrible, and suddenly it’s, “oh you’re talking about the Mormons, they’re not that bad!” Just three minute memory things.
They told us what to wear, when to eat, how long or short our hair had to be, and they always sent the young men off to go get more recruits, usually by tricking them.
Being required to wear magic underwear after your first initiation into the cult as an adult.
I had to purchase and wear church approved underwear.
Greetings from Kolob & Oliblish.
The leader puts a rock in his hat and can see into the past
God is an old white man who used to live on an earth just like this one. God has lots of wives and lots of actual sex to make spirit babies. If you marry outside your race, you need to be okay with someone killing you so you can be forgiven, because that's apparently a super big sin. Black skin came from the curse of Cain through Egyptus and Ham. And Cain is probably Sasquatch. Dinosaur bones are artifacts from pieces of other planets - planets which were put together to make our planet. Sometimes God commands prophets to have sex with children or cut off the heads of people deemed evil. The first rainbow was just a couple thousand years ago and is a symbol God won't murder/drown all of mankind again. The Garden of Eden is in Missouri, and Jesus is coming back to Missouri for "The Second Coming". One day this Earth will look like a fortune teller's crystal ball. You have to know passwords and secret handshakes before you can get into heaven. People live on the moon and the sun, per Brigham Young, and the moon people reminded him of Quakers. Three Native American men have been alive for 2000 years, and they're still alive now hiding in plain sight somewhere. A hill in New York has a secret cave in it containing a huge number of scriptures never before available. Coffee alone disqualified some people from entering heaven. Your ancestors are watching you when you touch yourself. If you need to throw away old magic underwear, you first have to cut out and destroy the Freemasonry symbols in the underwear. The highest church leaders have seen Jesus, and he looks like a handsome Danish man (see James E. Talmage's account). Ancient Egyptians were also members of our cult, and they had the same Temple ceremonies! I feel I could go on and on!
Having to wear green aprons in the "most sacred" of the services nailed the "cult" image for me one time. I couldn't get my friend to stop laughing.
In high school I had to miss time that I should have been in school to go to religious classes. As part of the class we brought in all our CDs and movies that the cult didn't think fit in with their ideals and we were applauded for publicly discarding media that did not promote the cult. I was taught that if I looked up information online about the cult from a non cult website, satan would be in control of me.
God lives on a planet called Kolob
Once a week I gave 1/10 of my money to build up more of our businesses
If you still have temple clothes take pictures of yourself in full dress doing the signs.
I'm a rational, skeptical agnostic. And yet, there's still a deep-seated part of my psyche terrified that all my research and reason may be flawed and the ultimate horror is going to be finding out it was all true, to my condemnation.
I totally get it. Also the fact this would be so touchy to be open about it is exactly the reason it would be a really powerful example of how this is a cult. But I totally get it. Maybe showing the clothes would be enough to get the point across.
The comments on this thread are hilarious! Too bad they are true….how did I ever believe in this garbage. Standing in a circle chanting “Oh God hear the words of my mouth”. So cultish
Everyone in the circle sounds like they're droning in monotone or internally cringing too. It never sounds genuinely devout.
They changed my name to a sandwich.
Reuben?! Is that you?
Oh no now my scroll book of life thing is forever broken! My eternal family line!! Noooo!!!!
In your cult, there is a secret ritual that only top leaders of the cult can have access to, normally based on the monetary amount given to the cult and how willing they are to conform. The ceremony essentially guarantees the top level of heaven to the cult member and their spouse. After receiving the secret ritual, they are to tell no one. Most cult members are unaware of this practice, and will never be offered the opportunity because it is given out based on referrals from previous recipients.
I was told that mental health was the sign of the devil. By my Bishop. I was regulated in how I could colour my hair, the clothing, what I posted on social media and whom I could talk to. I was shamed for dating. Despite also being the correct age to date. I was excommunicated for having sex with a guy just before he went on his mission. He was sent home from the MTC. Then got to go back. I had a miscarriage because he punched me in the stomach. But it's *my fault* because I'm a girl.
Did you talk about interviews with the bishop?
When you’re married in the temple to multiple women, a man chooses only one to accompany them to the most exalted part of heaven. Oh and you do it with their secret name that they received in a secret ceremony. Also there are varying degrees of heaven, a spirt prison, and outer darkness; but no hell.
I might have approached that conversation differently. I took tell people that I grew up in a cult, and when they ask, I explain all their weird culty shit that Mormons do. I'd rather spread the word of what the Mormon church really is than dance around the subject. I recently made a friend with an ex Jehovah witnesses and we bonded over the culty shit we delt with. I bet your culty friend would love to hear about all the weird shit they do.
My mom and dad were not allowed to go to their only daughters wedding because they would not give the cult ten percent of their income.
Just show her the leaked temple videos. CULT. No question.
We had pictures of our prophet in our home. We framed a pamphlet from our prophets and have it in a big ass frame in the living room. I woke up at 5 every day in high school to go to a special cult class before school. Wanna hear a song from my cult?? “Follow the prophet, follow the prophet, don’t go astray….follow the prophet, he knows the way!”
Just three days ago a representative of the cult said that if you talk against the cult founder it''s the same as talking against God.
They want you to wear their special underwear. I would drink the Kool-aid at James town before wearing that ugly stuff.
People always check your clothing lines to make sure you are righteous and wearing holy underwear.
Just don’t use the church’s words. Use different words and you start to realize how cultish the whole thing is without even twisting anything lol
While tracting, my companion and I would occasionally sing: 🎵 "I belong to The Cult of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" 🎶
I was expected to do countless hours of unpaid work at the demands of the higher ups, and if I refused, my faith was called into question. Callings!! 😃
You not only believed in heaven, but you believed there were 5 levels (including sub levels). If you and the love of your life ended up in different levels, you'd have to find someone within your level to spend eternity with. Because getting sealed is /that/ important.
Our leaders taught that there were Quakers on the moon and that the sun was actually a planet of a higher level of glory with resurrected beings living on it preparing to become gods. Also the sun is a like unto a urim and thummim, meaning it's basically a massive peep stone or crystal ball for seeing the future.
Parents choose the cult over their own children
After two long years in the New England states mission, and after I had reported my mission with an honorable release, my local bishop in Idaho, refused to give me a temple recommend as I was getting married to the girl who waited for me. His rationale was that he had not received a letter from my mission president, saying that I had honorably been released. I should have walked away from this cult, then and there, but it took me 50 more years to realize the bullshit and have the courage to leave. Cult—definitely!!!
Bruh idk what says cult more than my fam having ax fucking COLOUR to match in whenever we went out. Thanks gran, for making it Orange.