My stand-up act at TAM, and more about Mormons

Hi Diddly Ho Atheisterinos,

Andy recorded my act at TAM 7. Here it is. The quality isn’t great (no offense, Andy…I’m grateful to see it before the DVD comes out, so thanks again), but when the DVD of the event comes out, I’ll post the professionally recorded version.

TAM stand-up comedy

I’m open to constructive criticism, but please go easy:) Not too Simon Cowell-esque.
Now onto Not My God stuff. In the past few weeks, I’ve gained a much greater understanding of the unique challenges facing Mormons who want to leave Mormonism– and for obvious reasons, the ones who want to leave because they do not believe in God.

Aubrey Hales writes:

“I really was born and raised in the heart of Mormon country, or ‘happy valley’ as we call it here in Utah. Near Brigham Young University, I grew up in an area that has the highest saturation of Mormons per capita than any other place in the world. Walking in my neighborhood, one would never know that another life existed. The rhetoric was purely church-oriented, and there were literally Mormon churches on every corner, and for my young mind I had no idea that other religions even existed. However, my young mind was also highly mischievous with a very strong capacity for knowing when I wasn’t being told the truth. I remember sitting in church, being about five or six years old and feeling that I was totally and completely being lied to. I always knew.”

Aubrey illustrates how Mormons, even mainstream ones, are very secluded when they live amongst only each other. In a place like “happy valley,” it would be easy to be cut off from mainstream America. It’s amazing that from such a young age she understood that she was being lied to.

“Fast forward to the start of college and a liberal education, after junior high and high school years full of feeling like a freak because I didn’t believe, and a rebel when I dared to stand up and question the doctrine and the people who felt as if they had ‘authority’ over me. I was constantly going back and forth between what family and friends wanted for me and what I knew was the truth of myself. There were many times I even wanted to commit suicide, sometimes out of despair that I couldn’t believe, and sometimes to bring attention to the kids who were struggling just like me. I knew the church was false, that I didn’t believe, that I COULDN’T believe, not just that I was unwilling. Being in scholarly pursuits as an English major I did (literally) thousands of hours of research about the church, leaving no stone unturned. I was lucky enough to have apostate professors at Utah Valley University who even allowed me to incorporate what I was finding into my education at certain points. As cheesy as it sounds they are the ones who gave me the courage to walk away and follow my truth.”

It sounds as if she was lucky to have apostate professors in her university. Otherwise, how could she have questioned “authority,” as she was not free to do before?

“Around my 23^nd birthday I submitted a letter to the church stating that I was resigning my membership, with strong wording that it was my constitutional right to do so and threatening to get lawyers involved if harassment ensued. This really just means that your name goes from one list to another in the church, from ‘the ones we have’ to ‘the ones we have to get back.’ And I make no bones about the fact that this has quite a bit to do with the 10% of one’s income required to stay a Mormon in good standing.”

This is the case in many religions, but in Mormonism it appears more salient that the church is about money, money, money. Aren’t there poor Mormons who simply can’t afford the tithe?

“Once I did this friends stopped speaking to me. People who had always known me and been proud of my fierce independence became ashamed, and I gave up the idea that the person I loved would love me back. Because my ENTIRE family is actively Mormon I can’t escape it, and I’ve had to make the choice to keep my voice silent about what I know about how the church is and how it actually operates. If they knew the truth it would shatter their lives, and they would lose the directional compass for their families. They would flounder; so as much as I oppose it, there are many Mormons who don’t find out the truth because they couldn’t function otherwise. Two Sundays ago I missed attending a church function (a blessing ritual for infants, similar to a christening) that my whole family attended, and was then subsequently treated like I didn’t love and care about the family member who was being honored in the ceremony even though it is my nephew, and he is my heart and soul. I couldn’t even bring myself to attend for him because I am so angry about the time and money the church has pumped into ensuring that GLBT people do not have the same rights as every other American. I feel like the church has become a voice for hate and intolerance, which stands out more to me then the fact that it has been founded on a completely fraudulent basis. I am coming to feel that I can’t stay silent, and I need to become actively involved in exposing the church for what it is. It’s a moral dilemma for me…if I work for truth and expose injustice am I a bad person because I may also foster hate? I just don’t know.”

A worthy mission…I think Aubrey’s desire for activism is what New Atheism optimally should be. I understand her dilemma: it is one many of us face. For what it’s worth, hatred of something bad– and in this case, hatred of hatred– does not, in my book, a bad person make. Quite to the contrary.

“Being raised Mormon from birth is an unparalleled experience, one that is hard to describe to anyone who has a different background. But this is my attempt to show people that the church is a sham, a front for spreading hate and building up large coffers of money. It’s workings are interesting to say the very least, but I feel that ex-Mormons like me have the power and knowledge to bring the falsities to light.”