Interesting my lds family dropped my siblings and myself when we refused to convert to lds.
After decades of being shunned by them, they consented to reconnect on a very limited bases.
When my son-in-law preached for the first time, I invited them to attend the service, they refused because lds does not accept any other message but mormonism.
Interesting that these lds helped your family out.
When one of my lds aunts was in the hospital with a suspected brain tumor for more than ten weeks, not even their own ward helped out my uncle and his four teenagers.
With one exception someone brought a pizza for Thanksgiving.
Oh, yea and that uncle was the bishop of his ward.
Your experiences are so very different than what most people experience and they sure are different than mine.
Thanks for sharing your experiences...believe me, I know what it takes out of you. You know you have to share the truth, half the time they don’t listen, and you relive all that pain in your heart...and for what, you sometimes wonder.
They’re listening. God Bless.
[svcw to Jeff Head]: “Your experiences are so very different than what most people experience and they sure are different than mine.”
If the average Mormon were as Jeff Head describes, I doubt it would be so easy to find the multitude of ex-Mormon sites and literature out there. All of those people can’t be completely crazy.
I am truly sorry if you have been mistreated, shunned, or belittled. That is not good coming from anyone, and particularly not family or people who consider and call themselves Christian.
As I have stated, I have been a member now for 42 years this September. In that time I have been to, been involved with, and served in wards and branches in all the following areas:
Denton, TX
Provo, UT
Karsruhe, Germany
Feurerbach, Germany
Mannheim, Germany
Worms, Germany
Kaufbeeuren, Germany
Brea, CA
Fontana, CA
Houston, TX
Spring, TX
Arlington, TX
San Jose, CA
Livermore, CA
Gainsville, TX
Milfrod, OH
Dillon, MT
Nephi, UT
Taipai, ROC
New Delhi, India
Boise, ID
Meridian, ID
Emmett, ID
Certainly I have seen wrong doing, and cases where people turned away from someone who may have showed up smelling badly of tobacco or alcohol...in all cases I have tried to remind and point out that all God’s children are welcome, that the Church is a hospital for sinners and not a country club of saints, and that folks with ills are what the church and the Gospel is for...for each of us. I have given talks on what might happen if lieing, cheating, immorality, watching bad things on TVs or Movies, or jealousy, envyy, or any other sin had its own distinctive smeell like Tobacco or Alcohol. In each case my sentiment and message was that the whole place would stink so badly that we would all be driven out...so it is best to love people and try and help them when they come, and not shun or turn away from them because, spiritually if we could smell the aroma of our own sins...we would be just as obvious.
So, of course, as humans, and imperfect, we find these types of things everywhere. The best we can do is try and live ourselves, humbly, trying to avoid such attitudes and behavior and help others to do the same...and not point the finger.
As I say, for the most part, the vast majority of members where I have lived and worked try to do this and are good, honorable, decent people. I am sorry that your experiences have clearly run you up against folks who apparently do not try and be Christ-like. The best you can do is to love them, and try and treat and show them how to be Christlike by treating them as you would be treated.
Again, the vast majority of members I have dealt with in all of those places, all over the country and around the world, have been good, Christian people, trying to follow the Savior and live as best they can, thankful for and relying on His grace and atonement to guide their lives.
I ray the people you have had run ins with will turn their lives around and seek you out one day, asking for your forgiveness.