I'm (Officially) an Ex-Mormon, by Regina Samuelson...Coming Soon!

Hello, all! I've been away for a while now, primarily because I'm hard at work on a follow-up to I'm (No Longer) a Mormon, tentatively entitled I'm (Officially) a Ex-Mormon! I just finished a section in it last night that references a much-discussed illustration done by my husband, mentioned back in book 1, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Please keep in mind, this was done during sacrament meeting nearly 3 years ago...when we were BOTH True-Believing Mormons. It's very telling: even then we were thinking. REALLY thinking.

Enjoy, and please be on the lookout for periodic announcements related to book 2!

Much love,
Regina

PS: You'll probably have to click on it to see it properly, and you will also likely note the typed text behind the list on the left. This was done on the back of an old lesson handout! :)

New Week, New Reviews...and a Troll.

Good morning...and thanks! The reviews on amazon for I'm (No Longer) a Mormon are rolling in; 27 all told now! Believe it or not, 23 are five star, so to those who have reviewed the book and been so kind, a big heartfelt THANK YOU is coming your way! There's one in particular I'd like to draw your attention to, however...and it's the 2-star review.

I confess myself delighted to have picked up a troll (who, by the way, apparently did not buy the book). Check it out:

2 out of 5 stars "It would be smart for readers to get a balanced view - talk to others who've had positive experiences in the Mormon church." August 22, 2013

By Woodseal This review is from: I'm (No Longer) a Mormon: A Confessional (Paperback)

I have been a very happy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which means modern followers of Christ),(The Mormon Church) for 61 years. I am grateful for the strength it has given me to go through life with faith and happiness. I feel very close to God,and love Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I have never been abused or demeaned as a woman. On the contrary, I have found that women in the Church have a chance to become the very best leaders and contributors to their communities and the world around them, that they can possibly be. Opportunities to help others within the church and community give us many chances to learn and grow, and post-high school education is highly encouraged.

I have never felt limited in any way. The commandments of God rather keep me from problems I would have caused myself and others if I had ignored those commandments. They free me to make the choices I want to make, without addictions or baggage.

The Church is the same throughout the world, but groups of people can have very different attitudes and dynamics. I fear that is what may have affected the author of this book. She may have been living within a ward or area where the people did not understand and try to fully live the gospel and values taught by Jesus Christ. I have lived and regularly attended church in Wales, England, Minnesota, Utah, and Hawaii, and many places in Maine. I have found joyful, happy, growing individuals and families everywhere I've been. No group of human beings can be perfect. No Mormon is perfect. No matter where you go or what religion, or social group, or even company or neighborhood you may be part of, there will be individuals who wrong others intentionally or unintentionally. But as a way of life, a faith, the "Mormon church" is full of hope, peace, security, comfort, growth and joy. I am very grateful for the blessing of being a "Mormon." (Mormon was a prophet of God many centuries ago on the Western Hemisphere, who prophesied of Christ, and preserved and abridged the record of his people, known now as the Book of Mormon. Mormons who are living their religion try their best to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ taught in the Holy Bible, and in the Book of Mormon, and respect all other people of any faith, agnostic, or atheist.)

..........................Is it just me, or did this lady not even read the book? And for that matter, is this a review, or a proselyting attempt? Either way, I'm thrilled. I've officially ticked off a member enough by writing a former-member confessional that she felt a need to "balance" my unread account with a missionary edict.

Now if only I could get the Strengthening the Membership Committee up in arms, I'd be set!

Have a wonderful week! I sure will! Much love, Regina

PS: If anyone would like to respond to Ms. Woodseal, I'm sure she'd be elated. (wink, wink)
PPS: If anyone would like to review the book on amazon - you know, anyone who has actually READ it - I'd be elated, no matter how you rate it!

"What If You're Wrong?"

I have a very dear friend with whom I love to lunch and shop. She is LDS. I am No Longer a Mormon. (Sorry, had to.) Her kids are my kids' ages and older, so we have time during the day. (Yes, there are sometimes perks to being a stay-home Mom.) We went to lunch today, and talked, as we sometimes do, about "where I am now," as it were.

First, I adore her. She's one of my dearest friends in the world.

That said, today we were discussing how I DON'T sit down with true-believing members to recite all the Mormon Skeleton Closet History Tidbits I've absorbed in the last couple years because I have NO desire to blow anyone's testimony out of the water. I feel that if someone wants to know the truth, they will seek it out, and if they prefer to enjoy the delusion, it won't matter what I have to say, what evidence I have to offer, or what the real truth is...their cognitive dissonance will kick in, and they will continue to embrace the delusion.

That was fine with her. So fine, in fact, that she replied, "Good." Then came the kicker: "Because WHAT IF YOU'RE WRONG?"

.......................................Yes, what if I'm wrong? Well, then, I'd be acting as one of Satan's minions to drag people away from salvation, and I'd be destined for HELL.

Of course, that's if you're a true-believing Mormon.

So I told her I wasn't wrong, and I would gladly share all the information I've discovered with anyone who wanted to know what I had to offer. I told her I had no fear of the LDS version of God - no fear of God at all, for that matter, because a) if "He" exists, He is vastly different from what Mormons imagine, and b) I have come to understand that God is Love, and I have no fear of God.

Furthermore, I explained that "if" I was wrong, no one knows my head and heart like God ostensibly does, and He would understand my sincerity. Additionally, since He has never, EVER told me that this is "His" gospel, He must therefore take responsibility for my swaying people away from the church, as He has never directed me otherwise.

Then came the clincher, and she didn't like it much. I looked her in the eye and asked, "What if YOU'RE wrong?"

We were at an impasse.

She told me that she isn't wrong, either. She bore her testimony to me and confirmed that she has received personal revelation that the Church is True. And she told me that if she IS wrong, she will at least have lived a good and moral life.

But the Born-Again God won't welcome her Home. Allah will want nothing to do with her. Jehovah God will let her disappear into Gehenna.

My God? "He" just wants me to be true to myself, to seek out truth wherever I find it and however often I have to revise my thinking when new evidence is presented. Jesus was a hoax? Okay. I'm still me. The JW's are nuts? Still just Regina. The Jews could've clipped the side curls and walked right by the Wailing Wall? Regina is happily Regina. Allah is a crazy figment of a warped Mohammedan imagination? Regina's okay!

The Zoroastrians were right?! .......... Well, I'LL never know about it...and I still get to enjoy my coffee in the morning.

I don't need to be scared by threats of condemnation. If God exists - and I'm at about 60% right now in believing that some form of God exists, even if it's just "The All" - that's great; it means I might get to enjoy some sort of afterlife. If God doesn't exist - and frankly, I've seen no concrete evidence either way - that's fine, too; I'd better enjoy my existence while I have it to enjoy!

So what if I'm wrong? What if she's right, and I really DID need the patriarchal grip to get past the Celestial sentinels?

That's a God I refuse to worship...and I'm okay with that.

Besides.................I'm not wrong. ;)

PUBLISHED!!!

Okay, everybody...it's done! It'll be a couple days before I'm (No Longer) a Mormon is up on amazon, but for the time being it's available for ereaders everywhere! For Kindle, please go here. For every other format - including online reading AND Kindle format! - please visit smashwords; you'll need a free account. I'll put the print book link up the moment it's ready, and once the ebook is available direct from B&N, Kobo, iTunes, etc, those links will appear here, too! Enjoy, and thank you all so much for your support!

So Here We Are, Just You and Me, Computer Screen!

Yup. No one knows about this blog yet. No one knows about my BOOK yet, outside of the dozen or so people who have already read it. I'm preparing to self-publish, you see...after being informed by a very publish-heavy book agent that as much as he would love to publish a slap-in-the-face to the Mormon Church, no one - NO ONE - in the publishing world will touch it. He said the Mormons have too much political power to piss them off. If I want to publish, I'll have to do what every other "open up the skeleton closet" ex-member has done, which is to self-publish...but if I DO self-publish, to let him know; he'd buy a copy.

Wow. Okay, then. That places a massive task before me. But why pursue it? Why bother? Because I honestly think that my life's experience (not my "life story", but my experiences as related to the church) demonstrates the psychological damage of Mormonism to an average human being. (Yes, I believe I am THAT screwed up because of the church, and I make no bones about it.) (No, really, THAT screwed up.) (And I have a major guilt complex, but if you've read my book, you'd know that...)

But here I am. Because about a year ago, an uber-liberal upstate New York friend challenged me to find a cause I believed in...and when I started to really, truly question my faith - to realize how important it was to hold my childhood faith up to the same skepticism I showed other beliefs - I had maybe two friends in the world I could talk to about it, and I feared losing them daily. This has required a complete mental and emotional overhaul...30-some years into life. Your reality was, since I was in my mother's womb, my worst fear. Entering reality tears you down in ways you could not have imagined, but buoys you with a remarkable hope for mankind's evolution. I'd say "All are One, Praise God!", but you would likely have NO CLUE what I mean yet. (Not that I find myself a genius by any stretch, but I think Carl Sagan would smile at my meaning.)

So this is my Star Trek-style "continuing mission", but in my case, continuing journey. (Sorry, it's the geek in me.) You'll get regular-ish updates on the weird inner-workings of my head, and I will attempt to read and respond to comments and to make sure ALL posts, pro or con, that are not attacking (either side!) will be approved. That said, I am a wife and mother and don't always have the time, AND I will not approve any posts that attack EITHER side. Please be civil and courteous, and keep your language appropriate.

By the way, I'm interested to see if and when anybody finds me, so if you see this, could you please comment with a "read it!" comment? Much obliged!

More soon, and I sincerely thank you for your understanding and support,
Regina

PS: No, Regina is not my real name. Yes, you could probably figure it out if you tried. Please don't try. There are reasons that this is anonymous, not the least of which is my family. Thank you.