Mormons have a mystical side they don’t like sharing with the world—they know how weird their secret practices make them look—but the secrets have a special power to hold on to people even years after they’ve thrown off their mormonism.
I experienced a good example of this on Wednesday when I stumbled upon my lost “patriarchal blessing.” This weirdo ritual is performed by what amounts to as a Mormon psychic—or “stake patriarch”—who is appointed to do so for his little corner of the church. This older revered man puts his hands on your head, conveys promises from “Heavenly Father” for your life, and provides enough specific sounding generalizations to convince the blessing’s recipient that the whole thing was intended just for them. The blessing is transcribed and filed away at the church offices in Salt Lake City. You get a copy of the blessing (on a very important and official looking form) in the mail a few weeks later.
Like most mission bound young Mormons, I received my patriarchal blessing a few months prior to leaving for my two-year mission. I felt incredibly special hearing God’s pronouncements for my life and worked hard to make sense of the blessing’s vaguer portions. There were promises of “sitting in counsel with the brethren” and an assurance that “a young lady [is] now being prepared for you.” Both presented its own unique mindfuck that would take years to undo. One seemed like a promise that I had the potential to attain church leadership (a great blessing and a signal of righteousness) and the other suggested to me that if I held on long enough, the whole “gay thing” might just go away.
These and other parts of the blessing loomed over me for years, but after accepting my atheism, I was able to slowly shed the control this document held over me. Through the years I have continued to set aside various relics of my religious upbringing.
At some point, I lost track of my copy of my patriarchal blessing and thought I’d never see it again. That is until I found it in a box of old credit card statements. My first reaction upon seeing it was excitement, and then I hesitated to read it. I realized though, that all these years later, I was still granting it some power.
So here you go world: Frank Feldman’s patriarchal blessing! Seeing as how Mormons don’t talk openly with outsiders about patriarchal blessings even in general, I’ve decided that I wanted to share my whole blessing for anyone who might be interested in reading it. A warning though, it’s really not that interesting.
Patriarchal Blessing (page 1)
Patriarchal Blessing (page 2)
Thank you – this was actually fascinatingly horoscope-like, and I also pictured a gypsy fortune teller too. The way he slid in the truths — you have an outgoing personality, your parents are devout, etc — was inspired.
I know that God is real and I have seen my Patriarchal blessing come to pass. This is the Lord’s true church on the Earth, he is watching all you say. There is a specific line that says that Satan wishes you to be his, he has made you his for now, but there is a return from this. Repentance is real, I pray and hope that you seek it. You are still alive because the Lord still wants you back. Denying the Lord is denying your existing life. Satan doesn’t love you! He has confused you and taken you away from him, who really loves and cares for you. JESUS is coming, think about it, there is still time…
I fully agree to Patricia, I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I KNOW God lives. I KNOW patriarchal blessings are real revelation given to us directly from God. They are there to help us through life’s struggles so that we can live with our loving Heavenly Father. I love my religion and I know that it is the one and only true church of God. One day Frank, I hope you will come to recognize this as well. Remember, no matter how far you’ve strayed, Heavenly Father will always welcome you back with open arms.
Zoe, you don’t KNOW anything about god. You might have FAITH. But that’s a totally different thing, and it’s really arrogant to say you KNOW something like that that you can’t possibly KNOW. Have FAITH all the livelong day, but please don’t claim to KNOW it.
Your right, Frank. I know I’m arrogant. I know I’m very prideful, it could be my downfall. But you you what, that’s what makes me human. I’m not perfect, no one is. But my pride is what keeps me going and what keeps me fighting. And you wanna know something else? As long as I’m on this earth, I will not stop fighting. Especially not when comes to my religion. You can try to tear me but you will fail. And yep, I know this isn’t how members are supposed to deal with these kinds of things, my pride is taking over but at least my pride is in the right thing. Go ahead counter this comment, just know itll be useless. You won’t shake my KNOWLEDGE. And actually Frank, you’re right about something else. I don’t KNOW, I ABSOLUTELY KNOW. I will forever claim my KNOWLEDGE of the gospel, your pleases have no affect.
Hey Frank,
My name is Brad and reading your message and blessing it reminded me of my childhood. I am not a current member of the Mormon church but I still have a strong relationship with God. My dad gave me the biggest gift in the world when he told me that going to church didn’t make someone a good person and is NOT a necessary requirement of spirituality. One thing it has taken me decades to learn is that the good that I learned from the Church as a child (19 yrs) didn’t mean I had to reject the good parts of it. It was me following my heart and living a life that in the end I could say in confidence that I stayed true to my heart and the intentions of my heart that followed through in my actions. I believe that our heart is how we will be judged. I know that if I died today God will be there loving me and I could go to Him knowing I did my best. If you ever want to talk to someone that has walked a similar path let me know. My email is bradsmith1977@yahoo.com.
How do you KNOW these blessings are real? Or do you just believe they are?
It is difficult to know anything with out proof
Patricia Betsey thank you for your words!! I agree with you!! Amen Sister!!
Warmly
Kathryn Gonzalez amen
Patricia- We shade the same belief and I’m glad you were able to say this to him. I wholeheartedly agree and thank you for posting this comment. You are an amazing example.
You realize, as atheists, we don’t believe in satan either?
I completely and totally agree with you. it is really sad to see how satan can corode the minds of gods children. patriartical blessing are meant to be sacred and a guide to help you through this life.
LOL, I agree with Phoebe, it’s exactly like a horoscope. Only difference is that this has the power of religion behind it, which makes is more sinister than the charlatans witch crystal balls, or the idiots who do your daily newspaper “reading.” Of all the stupid things in the Mormon church, this one is up there. But seriously, they need capes, purple ones with gold stars sown on them. And pointy hats.
Lol, I kinda get the way you see us as people with witchcraft and magic and all. Well, that’s how a ‘normal human being’ should see it, right? Because that’s who we all are, that’s what the world teaches us. Giving us the way of seeing Religion and Priesthood as weird traditions and all, seeing Saints as weird people as well. But the problem with your judgement is that, you tend to tell us how Mormons are or should be even though you have not yet become one. Now how should we..trust your judgement? You have no idea how the Spirit inspires us, testifying to us that it is God’s power manifesting <3
IourA – You literally don’t know what you’re talking about. Frank WAS a member, and went on a mission. He knows all about your cult. He knows, or at least admits, more than you do about the Church.
It’s you who should be listening.
Chris, going on a mission doesn’t mean he knows EVERYTHING. We are all still learning about the gospel everyday, obviously if Frank is making up crap about patriarchal blessing being a “horoscope” made up by some “gypsy fortune teller”,then no, he really doesn’t know everything. And no, in case you were wondering, our church is NOT a cult, it’s a religion, do you give other religions this much crap? Just for believing what we believe? So DO NOT tell us what we should and should not listen too, we can make those decisions wisely for ourselves because in the end, you’re going to find that it’s you who should’ve listened.
What makes me really know that our church is true is how many people are hating on it for no reason. Keep your head up
Our church is not a cult. You can leave at any time. We believe in god the eternal father. Our church strives to become like him, and that only brings more good into the world. Our church does acts of service and kindness, because we are trying to become like Jesus, so we can go back to him once we pass. I understand and respect you and your opinion, but we are not a cult.
I completely agree with you and i really respect what you have said. thank you for having the courage to say this.
Whatever happened to that special young girl they were preparing for you? Did she end up a bitter old maid?
Last I heard she’d married a guy who looked like me and they’re teaching middle school somewhere in Eastern Arkansas.
I don’t know what made you change Frank, but don’t be so easily fooled by Satan. He needs you on his side so that you don’t witness or teach all those people who you were supposed to! Don’t you see you are a strong asset for the Lord, and now Satan has accomplished exactly what your blessing warned you about. You have felt the Spirit, recall back when you felt it on your mission. I know I felt it many times and I can’t and will not deny it even if it kills me. The Spirit has testified to you many times, you are a powerful being from God and he sent you down here with serious and delicate tasks for you to accomplish. What happened that made you turn? Did you follow the blessing s instructions or not?
What the hell? Did he not follow the blessings instructions???? What kind of a stupid question….The “blessing” has verbiage like that on purpose! “Oh, he didn’t follow the instructions, that’s why the blessing wasn’t fulfilled”. Thats GARBAGE. What a cop out. Patricia Betsy you’ve been FOOLED by the Mormon church.
If you read it, it says “IF you are faithful, IF you keep the commandments and IF you are clean and pure.”
IF you believe the cult… IF you deny reality… IF you ignore all the evidence to the contrary
If you open your mind and review all the facts about the founding of mormonism you will see too that Joseph Smith made it all up.
I just received my blessing and have had some doubts. However, after reading yours I found are blessings are completely different. After reading yours my faith is restored thank you. You blessing mentions that you will struggle more than most and that you have a high chance of leaving the church if you do not not follow your parents and leaders wisdom. After reading it is clear you were most at risk of leaving the church and you did. When reading this for yourself you can see what you did wrong but it is not to late to restore your faith and listen to counsel.
IF you get your head out of your butt and do something else besides actively attempt to prove that the Church is a lie. I guarantee you that this all gonna come back to bite you one day. And when it does, your gonna be in living hell.
How very Christlike of you, Zoe. I think I remember Jesus saying, “Do what I say or your sins are all gonna come back and bite you one day and when they do you’re gonna be living in hell.”, when he came to the americas and preached to the Nephites.
Not nice to say someone is going to be living in hell. What kind of malicious God sends a being of hell based on a life we were all blindly born into as infants, left to find the truth in this murky scary world. And if we fail to find the truth, and speak (not even act, merely speak) against the Church, the result is Hell? For eternity I presume? Please think about this.
Wow Zoe, people like you is why I left the church. Pompous and hypocritical. If you’re so sure of your convictions you wouldn’t be acting this way.
Are you really calling a religion a cult? have you seen some of the other religions out there? they literally sacrafice animals and people to their god. that is not something that this religion does. im sorry you feel this way and i am sorry you most likely had a bad experience with the church to leave it. since we are living in the last days, i hope you really ponder about this before sharing complete derogatory opinions. its like you are sharing things like this is a political stance. let people have their own opinions and please dont bring others down with you.
Ohhhhhhhhh …. riiiiiight. How convenient there is an IF statement in there to bail out the Mormon church’s fakery.
There are if statements to show what could happen to those who are faithfull. they arent there to bail out anything other than your decisions.
Wow, quite the document. I can’t imagine receiving this as a young man. It reads like there’s a long, boring life ahead. Full of proselytizing under the watchful eye of the lord. With the “evil one” lurking around every corner, ready to pounce. And this is supposed to be an inspirational milestone? Jeez, give a kid a break.
I’m amazed at how similar this is to mine. It’s different words, but basically the same template. Tribe, then personality, then mission, then marriage, then family, then death and resurrection. I wonder if they told us in church to not share it with anyone because once you start reading others’, you realize yours is full of shit.
I have just searched this out for myself and I am coming into the same repetitive thing. And I’m not trying to diss the church that I have great faith in. But I have been looking forward to getting my patriarchal blessing, but they are all basically the same I am seeing. Hmmm….. I know I am not supposed to look this stuff up and this is supposed to be kept sacted….. but would they be a little more detailed and different from eachother???
Hailey- don’t EVER let anyone tell you that you can’t look up information. That means they are hiding something. It’s not anti- it’s just history.
or maybe you realize that satan is here and wants you to go down with him like the rest of society.
I just ran across this post, I guess I’m a little late to the party. I like how you thought of the patriarch as a psychic. I used the same term when sharing my blessing. Here’s a link to mine…very similar as well.
http://farklogic.blogspot.com/2013/04/my-psychic-reading.html
Ive been reading about religions cause my “christian” aunt just shot herself…im an atheist thank god lol but the reality is is its all what a persons imagination makes it. They want you to think your in a matrix but in reality its them dreaming! If she was a “christian” either one she wouldve never shot herself or two they dont stand on what they say they believe!
Maybe she was overwhelmed with the trials of life and couldn’t take anymore heartache and suffering.
The great poet Wordsworth wrote, ‘Trailing clouds of glory do we come, from God who is our home.”
We all lived before we came into this world and we all know God, or our Father in Heaven, is real.
That includes you, my friend.
I thought this was very sweet and wonderful blessing. As a Mormon myself, mine reads quite different and I wish you could have stayed in the church and prospered. Take care.
Ann you’re right. Mine also is different.
To those against the church…look in a library for books on a particular subject and you would find similar material in each but yet it is somehow unique to that book….our blessings should be similar because God doesn’t give one a better promise than the next….but these blessings do provide some unique warnings and blessings. I’m not a brainwashed Mormon. I have studied all literature for and against the church and i know what i believe in. I don’t believe in the leaders….I believe in God. I know he exists not from books but from personal experience as real as daylight. I don’t need anyone to change and don’t intend to convert anyone…but let the Hindu people be, let the Christians alone, let the atheists alone.
Nope. No brainwashing here.
says the one who made this whole document to brainwash and split society even more.
Facts
I am going to receive my blessing in a few days time. I am excited to receive my blessing. I know when someone cannot keep up with the virtues and morality that is expected, they tend to fall apart. And when they do fall apart, they tend to forget the whole purpose of worship and being obedient to God. Our Father knows we may fall and He is ready to pick us up again.
Becoming a Morman has changed my life. The church is my family and I am neither lost nor lose my faith if someone makes public misinterpretations to confuse me. I shall continue my code of obedience to LDS.
Surprised that you pledge obedience to Mormonism and not what the Bible teaches. Seems that Mormons are more about what they need to do as opposed to what has already been done for them.
We are all learning, Robert, and one thing we must learn is that “faith without works is dead,”
Take care, my friend.
I like you Ann
I’m glad I’m not alone <3
Perspective is everything. The things mentioned in your blessing will not happen if you don’t hold up to your covenant. It’s a two way promise. You always have a choice. I do know God loves you whether you believe in Him or not. The words in your blessing are from God. I would be honored to serve in a council with you. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Amen
Amen
Mine is completely different to yours. You need to wake up man before its too late!!! You are so lucky to receive those blessings mine is opposite. I read into it that you are born of good parents and that one day you will be an apostle or on that level.You are a very special person with a great personality and Satan is real he wants to possess you!!! This is not a joke he does want to possess you and if you are an atheist he will. Heaven is real and if you accept the Lord Jesus into your heart whatever religion you are he will accept you into Heaven if you don’t you will go the other way. This is very real, I’ve been to the other side and seen. If I was you I would repent and put your life in order come back and receive all the blessings of a wonderful family that you deserve before its too late!!!,!
Lou, I understand you want to make Frank feel special like how he should be. But it is not right to obsess over another’s life when you yourself has the capability of making your life as awesome! We are all daughters and sons of God, a God so powerful He can make anything possible if it so be according to your faith. Also, therefore, we are potential great great Gods and Goddesses! Now let us always strive making this potential, kinetic pfft joke, make this potentiality a reality <3 Have faith and act upon that faith. I'm sure you'll go far. :)
I agree!!! Not that you cannot have a wonderful family if you are atheist but wouldn’t you like to challenge God and see if he keeps his promises?? Maybe give it a go? Challenge Him!!!!! And if he doesn’t do it then sure go ahead and carry on :) I think you can still be happy whether atheist or not ya know, you be you but you mentioned efy and general conference before. And your PB Says good parents… I wasn’t fortunate to have 2 goodly parents. Anyways. Thanks for sharing man… Your name is the same name as my favourite uncle :) It’s special!
Woe unto all of you
How sad that you take such great promises so irrevently. Sorry you’ve struggled with things but I find it sad that you are doing this. I’m a convert to the church and I know it’s true and it’s a huge blessing in my life. It truly is set up to help us learn important truths that help us be happy. That simple! There’s nothing ulterior or sinister about it.
A patriarchal blessing may contain general advice they may be applicable to more than one person. Human nature tends to remain constant through the ages so of course all patriarchal blessings will hinge on the same important topics such as marriage, family, career and general life advice.
Life is a real challenge me. I’m glad my patriarchal blessing helps guide me on occasion when I read over it again.
Mine is different to yours. But there are some similarities. This doesn’t phase me – if I spoke to my children in this way I would say 90% of the same things to all of them with maybe a few individual things pertaining to their own personalities. Patriarchal blessings are no different we are all facing similar life challenges with a few differences.
Frank, Are you still kicking against the pricks? Putting your blessing on line doesn’t change anything. Whether you wish it or not, God still exists, you are still His son, and He still loves you and wants you back. Amazing, isn’t it? But still true! Actually, instead of being angry at your blessing, you are angry at yourself, because you messed up. Fortunately, because of Christ’s atonement, forgiveness and a new start can be yours if you choose to repent. I hope you can do it.
Oh Emma, too bad your god is fake, and you’ve been completely fooled by a cult. No matter how hard you wish it so, Heavenly Father still isn’t there. I’m out, and I’m happy.
You might be living a life of instant satisfaction and excitement, but deep down I think you know that you’re not really “happy”. How could you throw away such amazing promises that are in your blessing? God loves you, and even if you don’t believe he’s real, that doesn’t change the fact that he is. Look around you. How could a world like this be created without a god? How could anything start without a god? If you dig deep down, I think you’ll be able to find that Light of Christ that we’re all born with. You can still repent and gain salvation, and have an eternal family. I know that I probably sound like everyone else that has commented on this page, but I KNOW that there is a god. He’s real, and he cares about me and you.
Amen, Ammon! Frank, your temporary worldly lusts are what covers up you true emotions. Set aside everything our world is trying to get in your head and focus on you, your comments here prove nothing of what you are actually feeling. I know what you think you are feeling, and I know what you really are feeling. I’ve been there, but picked myself up and got my head out of my butt and realized that there is more to life than this world we live in, this is temporary, God is an eternal, REAL being.
I testify firmly and boldly there is a God. The sun , earth, and universe testify of a great and glorious creator. The air we breath testifies of a God. Satan is the great deceiver. The father of lies. Be wise and follow the light that is true! Satan will not support you in the end. But remember, how ever far you stray Jesus will be there for you. He remembers you. He loves you infinitely- enough to give his life for you. Remember, remember- do not be deceived. Remember how much he loves you and the spirit that is in you-the light within you. In his Holy name I testify, even Jesus Christ
Susan,
The god Christians believe in has always been a “god of the gaps.” As we learn more about the universe, the Christian god gets relegated farther and farther out into fewer and fewer places. That’s fine–if that’s how you want to believe–but atomic fusion, gravity, geology, and physics all explain the earth and sun without any need for a god to step in. Science doesn’t need a god for humanity to understand how the cosmos operates or why the earth revolves around the sun.
You really should get with the times! The gaps in scientific knowledge you should be claiming as evidence of a god are quickly disappearing, but if you look real hard, there might still be something out there that could use a little help from a god. Personally, I’d suggest sticking more with the metaphysical though–the essence of human consciousness might be a good place to start. Not very compelling to me as a reason to believe in a god, but still something interesting to think about on a Saturday afternoon.
It really boils down to this… just because you don’t understand how something came to be does not mean that there must be a god behind it. It means that you personally lack the knowledge to explain it, but you can fix that! I’d recommend the new “Cosmos” series that Fox aired a couple of years ago as a starting point–plenty of cool animations, interesting stories, and if Neil deGrasse Tyson can’t win you over, you really are a lost cause.
In conclusion, I do want to say that there’s nothing morally wrong with believing in a god–I don’t think it inherently makes you a bad person. Lots of good people still hope for a god to exist, but it starts getting difficult to hold onto the “good person” designation if you use your god belief to justify judgmental behavior or support laws that limit other people’s legal rights based on who they are. As long as we all “live and let live” and adopt some form of what Christians call the Golden Rule, we can live together in peace. For example, let’s say you believe gay people are bad. You have the right to say so all you want, but don’t treat (or support laws that would treat) gay people any differently than you’d like to be treated. That means you shouldn’t oppose gay marriage for the very simple reason that it doesn’t affect your marriage. Your morality is yours and yours alone. Share it, talk about it, but know the limits of what’s decent.
So in that vein, thank you for commenting on my blog, but accept it when I say that even with all your testifying, I’m still an atheist.
Amen.
When we humble ourselves and repent of our sins we see more clearly, feel more love, and have a stronger desire to help others.
In essence we become more like our Father in Heaven and our Savior.
I hope you will repent of your sins and reclaim your life, because life is short and then it’s over.
Take care, my friend.
I hope at some point in your life you find a moment to actually look at your little cult, examine its teachings and history, and then ask yourself (YOU! NOTHING ELSE! JUST YOU AND YOUR MIND!) if any of it could possibly be true. If you do that, it all washes away. I promise you. But you have to be brave and honest and real. That sinking feeling inside? It’s not the Holy Ghost. It’s not “the adversary.” It’s you–for once in your life–facing reality. It’s the cult’s programming reacting to the truth. It’s hard. It’s painful. But it’s the reality the rest of us live in. Go for it. I dare you.
The “gaps in scientific knowledge” are there because God doesn’t need to give proof to those who don’t believe. It’s your choice whether or not you believe in God, but just because you don’t, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t respect the opinions of others. God will answer those who seek him, and will not try to prove himself to those who listen to Satan and do his bidding.
Haha! Yeah cuz a big explosion TOTALLY explains how a whole universe was created. Haha!
Frank, look at yourself. You are a mess. Satan is making you believe you happy but you’re not. Search deep inside yourself. Search for what you know to be true. Ill give you a hint: it has nothing to do with your criticism you your church. You are still a member and we love you.
I hope you take time to re-read the comments you’ve posted all over this website. Condescending and gross.
Its amazing how weak your responses are, they are full of spite…Anger and resentment… You even acknowledge that your patriarchal blessing held power over you for years..That should tell you something brethren… I for one KNOW that you KNOW the truth and that very truth conflicts you deep In your gut… The Holy Ghost still whispers to you and you feel him, you hear Him and you my brother has felt the love of Christ and you know its real , you are the son of God our Heavenly Father and if you deny him as God, then who is your god brethren?
Agreed! Frank, where’s your evidence to go with your many, many claims? If you trace all the lines back, you’ll find that the gospel is the only religion or explanation that completes the whole puzzle.
You don’t sound happy
Truly happy people don’t say they’re happy
Ammon, I’m so glad that you know me well enough to be able to speak about how I’m living my life. Seeing as how you’ve made conclusions about me based on a few lines of text online, I’m going to do the same and assume that you’re a judgmental religious prick. See how that feels? Sadly for you, I’m on firmer ground judgmentally than you.
You know, I actually feel bad for you religious types. For one, you’re all so limited by guilt and shame, and two, you don’t even understand simple little things like the meaning of the word “know.” The word you’re looking for is “believe.” And to be honest, your belief is not something I’d be willing to base my life on. No offense.
The fact of the matter is you don’t know that god exists. You only have warm feelings when you think about how special you are because you have the “gospel” in your life. I get warm feelings watching rated-R movies and listening to adult themed music. It’s exactly the same feeling I had as a kid watching General Conference or listening to speakers at EFY. Exactly the same. And if you’ll be honest with yourself, it’s exactly the same way you felt while watching a really sweet episode of Gilmore Girls or if that’s too racy for you—Touched by an Angel.
This is not happy
You’re patriachal blessing is a gift!!!! I wish I had been blessed to receive some of those promised blessings.. Frank, wherever you are… I don’t care if you are now atheist, you do you :) But man it sounds like you had a pretty strong testimony or strong upbringing in the gospel. May i ask, what happened? Anyways thanks for sharing this … Hope to hear from you:D
Thanks for posting this. I’m an atheist too. Never been a Mormon, but I always have been interested in Mormonism from an “academic” perspective and had been wondering what was in one of these blessings. Now I know! Thanks.
You’re not an atheist, Stefan… you’re a child of the living God.
If you don’t believe me, then ask Him.
Take care, my friend.
How dare you tell someone what they are or are not! Who the hell do you think you are?! (Oh that’s right… you’re a Mormon.) You need to take a long, hard look in a mirror and figure out how to actually be a good person, because your little cult is doing a really bad job of it.
Frank, lime it or not, you’re still a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints (Mormanism). Your membership records are in there somewhere, when you insult our religion, you are insulting yourself as well, don’t make a fool of yourself.
Zoe, I’m not a member anymore. I resigned because the Mormon church is a cult.
You became Your baptism and confirmation records say otherwise. Wow, I love seeing other members reply, it makes me feel so happy to see others with the same believe as me come together and share their testimonies, thanks guys.
Yes you’re right. He IS a mormon, and he’s proud of it. So you’d better swallow your pride and learn to respect others. You embarrass yourself and are a poor representation of the church you were apart of.
Stefan, if you want an academic perspective of on the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints (Mormanism) I invite you to go to http://www.lds.org where you can read the Book of Mormon, the Holy Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History, read General Conference talks, watch videos, and learn about our religion straight from the source. Obviously Frank is biased in his his opinions, which, you know, is not the best way to learn the real facts. That website was designed so members can have access to all our resources and hear the most recent news from our beloved prophet who currently is President Neilson. We all love him very much.
Zoe, I might be a little biased (and so are you, btw…), but I’ve got to say, you are a really bad speller. You got your church’s nickname wrong. Haha!
Nope I’ve got it right, and btw Frank, The Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints is our full name not our nickname, but oh, you wouldn’t know because your too busy with your blog thingy to notice that we are getting stronger. This may pull some members away, you’re good at that, but Heavenly Father is stronger, and you’ve already lost. But I am curious, when did you leave the Church? And why? What happened that made you think this wasn’t true?
Ummm… “Mormans”??! It’s Mormons, with an “o”. You misspelled it. Haha. And no… the church is failing. Don’t believe everything you hear at conference. Just like Joseph, today’s prophets are liars.
No the Church isn’t failing, at least 10 temples are being built all over the world every time President Nelson speaks to us at GC, plus many new zones are being opened for missionaries to teach the true and restored gospel. Does that sound like ‘failing’ to you???
Zoe, at this point I can’t possibly continue to think you’re actually a true believer. The LDS Church building temples is evidence that the church isn’t failing? New mission zones? Please come back with some better stuff than that… The church can’t keep its members going to church!!!! It’s been closing ward houses like mad and consolidating stakes right here in the heart of Mormonism. Apparently they can’t keep the temples filled and this latest attempt to make the temple ceremony less distasteful is clearly a reaction to A LOT of feedback from the faithful that sitting through the endowment ceremony SUCKS!!! So shave 30 minutes off and throw a bone to the “feminists.” The block meetings suck? Shave 60 minutes off.
Why do they build more temples? Because the church has so much money that it’s one of the few growth statistics they can control. Few will ever attend them, but they’ll have lots of temples!!
But seriously… game’s over. You can’t be for real.
Where does it say we’re closing ward houses? Where does it say we’re consolidating stakes? And where does it say we can’t keep themes filled? Who are your sources? All that is just made up Frank crap to try to keep your reputation of this whole atheist thing. Please, your an adult, I’d think that you would be smart enough to be able to back yourself up, im a little disappointed, im just a young teen. Give me a better challenge, frank, you better step up your game cuz nothing you say is working. Oh, and all our money comes from us faithful members paying tithing, giving money to help or church, which goes to more than just temples.
Oof Frank, how does it feel to have your own statement give evidence to mine?
A few observations:
1. I think it’s hilarious that you redacted your father’s name. Oh the irony!
2. “…keep your life STRAIGHT.” Seems like that Faketriarch had some pretty strong gaydar.
3. #winningpersonality XD
My sister’s patriarchal blessing said she’d have kids and a loving husband. Then she got divorced because he cheated (a lot). Then she got cancer and can’t have kids anymore. And the excuse? “You didn’t live your life righteously!”, “you must have misunderstood”, “but these things can happen in the after life!”. I’m appalled.
Katrina, your sister didn’t have a divorce and get cancer because she wasn’t living righteously, im sure she was. Trials come to everyone, righteous or not. What make you righteous isn’t the amount of trials you must endure, but your faith in the Lord as you prayerfully overcome your trials. I send my prayers to your sister.
I researched J.S and I got all the answers I needed from that alone. From his childhood, jobs, habbits and religion growing up. I found out as much as I could.
I think the last real straw was the magic rocks.
Don’t even want to think about the papyrus translation of his.
Colleen, see my comment directed to Stefan. That’s where you’ll learn the truth about JS. He was a great man.
A man who used his position as “prophet” to take other men’s wives as his own, rape children, and basically be the Warren Jeffs of his time. Wow… a really great man!!
The prophet Joseph Smith was faithfully married to Emma Smith and Emma Smith only. Where does it say Joseph raped children and took other men’s wives?? You have no proof. Also, lol I just realized I had misspelled Mormon, haha. But a little misspelled word doesn’t prove God doesn’t exist.
God, Zoe, you’re an idiot. Wake up.
Emma Smith only? What about his 30+ other polygamous wives?
Zoe, If you think Joseph Smith only had one wife, you need to research polygamy on LDS.org.
Well, actually, Joseph Smith did only have one wife, you’re wrong about that. However our church did practice polygamy, but that was just during the early stages of our church. We practiced polygamy because there were lots of women and not a lot of men, and many women could not find a husband and couldn’t survive with the trek to Zion and especially with the government driving the saints out of their homes. So the men would marry more than one wife to give them a safer, more stable life and it made it so they could survive longer.
Also, it’s very sad to read about the saints and them being driven out of their lands by the government just because of their belief and religion. Like, what happened to a free country, freedom of religion??
“He was a great man”. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Criminal, charlatan, thief, liar, philanderer, fraud, conman, and a coward is what he was.
@Chrsitian, maybe you should read the Book of Mormon and see that polygamy wasn’t against the church’s belief back then, because they were commanded to multiply and replenish the Earth.
He also married a 14 year old. What a great man
People base their WHOLE LIVES on the idea that these are personal messages from GOD. Who knows you, knows your path, loves you and wants to give you a sneak peek and a blessing of what can be yours if you’re honorable and righteous. And it’s all a sham. It was a very sad day when.I realized that part of my old belief was crumbling away.
I too think it was a sad day when your belief started crumbling. But one day when you are standing before God, you will regret saying all these things.
The only thing about the nonexistence of god that makes me sad is that people like you won’t have to answer for your judgmental treatment of others.
I am amazed at all the judging going on. My brother Frank is the most honest, loving, kind, and true to himself person you’ll ever meet. He has just as much right to believe as he chooses just as all of you. Passing judgment doesn’t make you a “good” Christian! It actually has the opposite affect on people.
Frank I love you and know your heart and I couldn’t be more proud to call you my brother!
I shouldn’t be laughing. I *really* shouldn’t be laughing, but good god! Those comments 😂 Years after the original blog post, and people are *still* trying to change you with their testimonies. Wow. Just…wow. Must have struck a nerve, my friend! Thanks for the blog post from a fellow ex-Mormon atheist. Always good to be reminded how absurd PBs really are. And thanks for the laughs; hope you were also able to find the humor behind the aggravation 🤦🏼♀️
P.S.–I’m sorry about those years of mindfuckery. I’ve had my share of those to work through. Not. Fun.
I think it’s very sad that all of you here that don’t believe in God or in the church are spending your time trying to dissuade the beliefs and opinions of others. I encourage you to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about your questions before you read it. I challenge you to go to a Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and to seek guidance from the missionaries. I hope to meet you all one day in heaven and to see how your beliefs will have changed.
Amen!
Let me ask you this, If it’s not true and you keep the commandments, what are you out? But if it is true and you don’t keep the commandment, what do you loose? God sent us here to test our true character and how could he do that if just proved everything right away?
I was reading about irrigation canals dug by an ancient civilization in the Kalahari Desert. Then on the website and stumbled across a link promoting Nadi Astrology, supposed to give you life direction advice or info about past and future lives, using your thumb print and ancient sanskrit notes on palm leaves. It sounded familiar to a patriarchal blessing. They’ve been doing this for thousands of years..
Reminds me of when I was kid and would sell pet rocks. :)
Reads like a form letter to me. Have any of you ever compared your patriarchal blessings?
Yes and actually, my patriarch was very old and had given them for many years and he had very lengthy and intense detail in my blessing. Franks is not lengthy or in half as much detail. I’m not sure why buy some patriarchs personalities do play a role in how the blessings are given/ spoken. My brother and I received ours on the same day. Not a single line similar or the same. They were both amazing. Not a single “IF” was said in mine. My brother though had “IF” many times.. He too is now gay and living a different lifestyle. He still loves the church and shares about it often. He doesn’t fight against the church and we as a family don’t fight him for his different lifestyle. Our family adores each other. He still reads from his blessing and prays even though he’s chosen to be gay and married. He didn’t turn away from God because it got hard to live the gospel. I’m sorry you chose to turn from God Frank.