Mormons, Exmormons, and Black Mirror

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! Our Hero analyzes the Episode of black mirror titled "Men Against Fire" and tries to tie it to his mormon experience. We talk about compassion and how we need more of it in the dialogue between Active Mormons and those who have left the mormon church.
I do not own any of the footage used from the actual episode of black mirror.
I do not own the music used in this video although i was gived permission by the channel that posed them.
Here is a link to the music used.
• Aesthetic Lofi Mix 202...
#exmormon #leavingreligion #mormonism #psychology #philosophy #blackmirror #atheist #exchristian #lds

[@sachamo100]

As a convert of 40 years, I am now faced with a faith Crisis. For me, it started out with open curiosity. I came to a point while investigating, that I wanted to know if it really was true! Many consider the answer I received as a Miracle! Faced with what seemed to be an obvious answer to my prayers, I consented to be baptized. I didn't know where this was going to take me but, a year later I was on a Mission! 40 years, a family and multiple callings later, Now, the same curiosity that lead to my conversion, I am questioning everything!!!

[@ubermormon9611]

That is hard! I have been there and can only tell you that happiness and less stress does exist in the other side. Be patient with yourself and carry the cross at the pace you can handle.

[@KinglyJason]

Breaking bad exmo again, I was dating my wife back in 2018 and she wasn’t a member. I went to make sure I actually wanted to stay in the church if I was going to leave her for faith reasons. I confessed my sins to my bishop to have the spirit again. But after I was excommunicated, I felt so lonely in my ysa ward. I couldn’t pray at church or hold a calling. So it finally hit me, the spirit I thought I felt and my testimony was the community I felt. That was gone and so was the “spirit”. That was definitely the green light for me. Ever since, exmormons have been my new community. But I agree, we have a chance to be the more loving community and don’t have to be unkind to them even though we’re angry at times.

[@ubermormon9611]

That’s profound how for you the spirit was the spirit of community. I hope Mormons appreciate how lucky they are to have immediate families everywhere they go. My wife and I have had to work hard to build ours everywhere we go. Thanks for great comments!

[@ubermormon9611]

That’s profound how for you the spirit was the spirit of community. I hope Mormons appreciate how lucky they are to have immediate families everywhere they go. My wife and I have had to work hard to build ours everywhere we go. Thanks for great comments!

[@KinglyJason]

@@ubermormon9611 happy to contribute. Love the insightful videos. I’m happy you’re gaining a modest following.

[@Zelig_G]

Green light - wake up call. For me, a main one was seeing my neighbour as myself. I made a beautiful, kind, gracious friend with an addicted Native woman. She led me into her world of violence and crummy housing and poverty and alcoholism and residential schools and zero mothering and and and. My friend’s name is Gailena. Her light was my green light, and her light continues to light my Way.

[@MerkieAE]

My Dad left in the midst of teaching a seminary class of 50+ kids, he said one of the biggest things for him was having kids come out to him as gay and trans and witnessing how the church treats those people. He also lived in LA whenever they asked people in church to picket for prop 8. crazy stuff

[@ubermormon9611]

It’s can be really eye opening to see things that the church considers to be a sin especially when the people “commuting the sin” are lovely and kind.

[@papadopp3870]

Nailed Üb! It’s a lovely addition to the cognitive dissonance.

[@ubermormon9611]

@@papadopp3870 thanks Papa

[@papadopp3870]

@@ubermormon9611 You, too. Keep ur shoulder to the wheel, this is a great format for you. Extremely coherent, as well. Fine work!

[@Post-MoMitch]

Excellent video my friend. I feel extremely similar to you

[@123mneil]

The thing that gave me permission to look at anti Mormon literature was reading saints along with the reference material and realizing that the way that the information was summarized in saints was not how I would summarize. I realized for the first time that the church is no better than any other organizations at 'truth' or bias. I realized I wasn't getting the full picture by only consuming church sources. My husband and I decided that if we come across anything false we would easily debunk it. 2 seconds before I found ces letter. I used fair Mormon as a study manual and I did not feel like fair addressed the problems. Tried to do the PIMO thing for a while and I couldn't put the toothpaste back in the tube.

[@123mneil]

Super great episode! ❤️

[@ubermormon9611]

THANKS MARTI! I don’t think that fair should touch this stuff. I know and have heard of way too many people who left because they didn’t feel like fair did a good job. I think it’s cool that you and your husband made that choice together. I know too many people who do it alone because they are scared.

[@Post-MoMitch]

I've always been a very spiritual person. It took a spiritual experience telling me the church wasn't true in order to allow me "permission" to look into critical arguments about the church.

[@ubermormon9611]

I was the same way. I didn’t feel comfortable researching anything until I had come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be in trouble with god. After that I researched everything and quickly came to the realization that faith and truth don’t get you to the same place.

[@kittiegramfrfr]

New follower here, only just yesterday your video showed up in my feed. I was a convert (which probably makes me a converted roach) and stayed in the church for 5 years. I left in 2000 (?, can’t remember exactly) I left based on my intuition and feelings. I am sure that it was way easier for me to back away than for someone who was indoctrinated since birth. But I still had to fight the guilt and what-ifs in my mind during my leaving process, still do actually. I think that is because I grew up as a Baptist, never devout though and quit going to church at age 14. I was taught to believe in all the heaven/hell stuff. I knew of “mormons” but never really gave them a second thought even though somewhere along the line I was told that the mormon church is “of the devil”. I knew a mormon family and a few kids at school that were members. I just remember thinking they were “nice people”. As a new mom with 3 little ones I was looking for a way to bring up my kids, an easy set of answers about right and wrong. I joined a methodist church, quickly felt that something wasn’t right for me there despite really trying by intensely studying the bible. Aabout a year into it the missionaries came to my door. I told my pastor that I was taking lessons from the missionaries. Of course he came unglued and proceeded to warn me about “that church!”. I never have or nor did I look at anti-mormon literature, ended up getting baptized, becoming temple-worthy, served in callings, did my best to do all the things required, etc. But I always felt like I was putting on a facade and tried to talk with my bishop about it a couple of times and he just kind of chuckled it off and gave me the old “read more-do more” advice. I left the church 5 years after my “conversion” because my brain said “there is something not right here”. I still feel a little afraid to look at any literature against this church and have only come across ex-mormon videos in the past two weeks. I don’t even know what video i clicked on that caused the algorithms to place an exmo video into my feed in the first place. I know why I clicked on it though. It was because enough time had passed and I was finally brave enough to start finding out whether or not I am so gullible that I could so easily be sucked into a cult. I think “the green light” might simply be that thing that happens in our brain that allows us to access the thing we call “a moment of clarity”. It reminds me of that toy, that red plastic that you could look through and see things on the printed paper that you couldn’t see without it. Calling someone an an “anti” automatically pits them as an enemy to the thing that you are “for”. I marvel at the psychological tricks used by the church and how they’ve figured out a way to manipulate people into believing all the things, the way they have manipulated some truths about our nature and purpose. I do think they really truly believe everything they say and do is sanctioned by “God”. Thanks for the space to speak. I am appreciative of your words and the way you think.

[@ubermormon9611]

It’s so interesting to me that you left so long ago but still had so much fear when it came to looking up information on the “other side”. Time passing really is the best medicine. Thank you so much for commenting!

[@kittiegramfrfr]

One word - Fear. “What if they are right and I am wrong?”

[@ubermormon9611]

@@kittiegramfrfr I remember having these thoughts all night. I would get in bed and just think and worry until about 4 am. This doesn’t happen anymore. There is hope for it to end.

[@thelastgoonie6555]

I've thought a lot about what makes exmo's different than TBM's in their objective analysis of LDS history/doctrine/policies/etc. My family and friends fell into two categories: Functional mormons and Truth-seeking mormons. Mormonism doesn't have to be true for the functional mormons (people like my parents) because it works for their needs--It gives them community they wouldn't have on their own. It gives them purpose and direction which translate to comfort. For the truth seekers to remain, the church must be true. They are principled and would rather experience discomfort than live a lie so when they are confronted with evidence contrary to the teachings of the church, they have to deal with it.

[@ubermormon9611]

Great observation! I 100% agree with this. One thing I’ve come to learn is that being a truth seeker or a functional Mormon is not a choice for most people. It seems to be part of their personality and we should just respect people for knowing what works for them and doing what they need.

[@thelastgoonie6555]

@Ubermormon Hard to respect, but I'll try and accept it :)

[@thuggie1]

i would say i did not have a one experience that made me question it i have a very logical way of looking at things at times i can be very unhuman in the emotional sense which makes me question my actions more i just translated that to general things like the DNA of native Americans or the problem with horses and swords so on. my emotional attachment in a way means nothing if something is so blatantly false also that thing says there something wrong with me due to a behaviour that is innate within me. i would say i became more numb and that why i got into deep meditation to mainly start from a baseline of nothing, now i neither blame or demonise anyone over the i am not atheist and i don't hold a dogma i look at people and myself at an individual level. the only one to blame is Joseph Smith and he long sines gone

[@ubermormon9611]

That is super relatable! I always love your comments!

[@thuggie1]

@@ubermormon9611 thanks. i still find myself hard to thaum sometimes maybe people see more looking in even if it is a glimpse even with the bad spelling

[@KLECKFILESdotCOM4TrueJesus]

You should try and watch the Genesis Series Man in Our Image on my Playlist! It was learning Genesis with Hebrew and Greek and 1 lie proven, I realized it wasn't 100% true, so I left.

[@ubermormon9611]

Interesting. Thanks for the rec!