Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

During faith transition, set boundaries with family members so that family doesn't get between you and your relationship with God.

Parents and other family members can put a lot of pressure on you as you leave Mormonism. Often they are processing their own grief over losing their ideal of what their children and their family relationships should be.

How to set a boundary

When you have a relationship that is toxic – or is in a toxic phase – you might have to separate from that person for a time. or at least set some limits. Setting a boundary doesn’t mean you don’t love your family. It doesn’t mean you should never see them or talk to them. It might mean defining more clearly how often and under what circumstances you can talk.

[Related: How Your Closest Family Will Respond to Your Faith Transition]

[Related: Dealing With Toxic People]

In Christ, family takes on a different focus

Once you surrender your life to Jesus, your greater priority becomes the family of God. And the greatest priority is your relationship with God. When we emphasize our natural families like Mormonism does, the family and family heritage can become an idol that stand in the way between your and God.

We can’t control our families

The choices our family members make affect us, but we cannot control what they do or say. Ultimately the only thing that matters is our relationship with God, and we just have to trust him with our families.

[Related: Dos and Don’ts for Families Divided by Mormonism]

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Key Points:

  • How to set a boundary.
  • In Christ, family takes on a different focus.
  • We can’t control our families.

See Also: Family

Talk About It
  1. How has your family responded to your decision to leave the LDS Church?
  2. What boundaries have you been able to set? What boundaries have you had trouble setting?
  3. Looking back, in what ways have you realized that family an idol when you were LDS?
  4. What are some ways your family threatens to come between you and your relationship with God?
  5. Read Matthew 19:28-30. How do you think this promise of Jesus applies in your family situation?
  6. Have you experienced the family of God as a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 19:29? Explain.

This is part of the 2018 Faith After Mormonism Conference series.