As you leave Mormonism, one tendency is to throw out faith entirely and become either atheist or agnostic. This impulse is understandable, but not reasonable.
After leaving Mormonism, it is easy to become agnostic
Some people may feel that if Mormonism is not true, than nothing is true. As a former Mormon, you have had this paradigm your whole life. However, now it has been proven false and you might feel that religion in general is just a scam. You might be wondering how to know that God is real and that Jesus walked the earth. Your entire concept of God and Jesus has been wrapped up in the Mormon church. Now you have discovered that the church has been lying to you and you wonder if they even told the truth about God and other important facts. Sometimes when people are in emotional turmoil and distress they go to illogical extremes. You have to realize that there is middle ground. Mormonism can be false and God can still be very real and present. It is important to understand that God can exist in a different way than Mormonism portrays him.
As you leave Mormonism, it is important not to abandon faith
As you leave the Mormon church, it is important not to write off faith completely. Let us say you are out buying cars and every time you have bought a Ford you have had one issue after the next. You have spent an incredible amount of money and are through with Fords, but what are you going to do; ride a bicycle the rest of your life? No. You are going to search consumer reports, read about the different issues, and buy a nice, reliable car. Now, if you would spend that much time and effort looking into buying a car that might last a decade; how much more time should you spend on the eternal? Why should it be any different? You would not quit driving after a bad experience with one particular car, so why would you quit faith because you had a bad experience with one particular expression of faith?
Say you were in a relationship with an abusive person. Does that make all spouses scoundrels? No. You get the help you need, leave the relationship, and after a time of recovery find someone who can be that loving, supportive spouse. You do not give up on marriage completely, but just go into it more carefully and thoughtfully.
Another example is counterfeits. Counterfeits would not exist if there was not something real, authentic, and genuine on which to base them. Suppose you saw a man on the street corner selling “Rolex” watches for $50. Say you bought one and it turned out to be a fake. You would not stop believing Rolex watches were real.
There is evidence supporting the Bible, but not the Book of Mormon
One difference between Mormonism and Christianity is evidence. Mormonism is based on prayer for a feeling and spiritual witness that their beliefs are true. However, Christianity is not based on prayer for confirmation, but evidence.
Mormonism does not have any evidence supporting it. For instance, the Book of Mormon says that there was a war in the eastern part of the United States that killed two million people. It has been fourteen hundred years since the supposed battle and we have still not found any bones or swords. There is no evidence for this battle, or for the rest of the Book of Mormon.
Even though we do not have evidence for every single thing in the Bible, everything we do have checks out historically. For instance, ossuaries (bone boxes) display the names of people who were in the Bible. The people, places, and events of the Bible actually happened. The Bible is reliable and trustworthy.
Unlike Christianity, Mormonism requires blind faith
As a Latter-day Saint you were asked to listen to the church leaders and have blind faith in certain things. You were discouraged from asking questions or looking into things. However, in Christianity you are told to question everything. The Bible has been tested and proof of its authenticity has been found.
As a Mormon you were not supposed to stray from officially sanctioned church material, but as a Christian you can look at different sources and see what checks out intellectually. You can separate fact from fiction and cultural Christianity or tradition from actual doctrine. Even though the mind is important, this is not entirely an intellectual pursuit, but both mind and heart must work in harmony.
Now that you have come to know the pitfalls of Mormonism, it might be tempting to just forget faith entirely. However, the Bible and the Book of Mormon are different. Take some time to check it out. Let the claims of historic Christianity stand on their own and do not conflate them with Mormonism. It is possible to have a reasonable faith in God, even after Mormonism. Hopefully, you will discover this as you take time to study and learn.
