Let me be clear

My post about why I left the church generated more traffic than I ever dreamed of, and an overwhelming positive response.  Many encouraged me to keep writing and paid me some flattering compliments.  I thank you all for this.  Writing is something I've always wanted to do, but the bug seems to be fickle for me, as well as the time and inspiration.  This encouragement has been invigorating, and I may just rededicate myself to the effort.  I do feel I should warn those with expectations, future writing will likely depart from the topic of Mormonism.  There are many volumes that could be and have been written on the topic, by minds much greater than mine.  For me, I feel as though it will be flash in the pan.  The church was a big part of my life, the wounds are fresh, and the obsession is strong and active, but my lasting passion is wild plants and mushrooms.  If I dedicate my time and talents to writing, I feel it would be bett...

My uncle died last week.  He was a really amazing man.  My aunt has been collecting stories for a eulogy, and I wrote this up.  I'm posting it here mostly for online back-up purposes, but feel free to read it.  If you know me in real life and have ever wondered why I'm so weird, this might give some perspective.  Also, so no one thinks I've made a mistake, or am being disrespectful, mat preferred his name to be spelled with a lowercase m and one t. Mat Mat was the embodiment of everything I love about my family of origin.  Thoughtful intelligence, deep love and strong bonds, adventure and misadventure, epic story telling. Most of all, humor, lots and lots of often dark and inappropriate humor.  Listening to my mom and aunts and uncle tell stories of family dinners with mat’s epic tales of “Dr. Lardo”, breaking the tension and reducing everyone to hysterics, it makes me wonder if mat made us all what we are.  I knew my grandparents as humor ...

I started this blog with the hope that my perspective could be fully understood, that I might not offend and hurt people with my tendency to be carelessly blunt in short quips on social media.  I've posted infrequently, but I think having the tool available has helped my interactions.  Faced with the prospect of having to write a comprehensive essay to explain my controversial opinion, I more often just hold my tongue.  In all the time since setting up this tool, never have I needed it more. My family has left the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints.  This has been a difficult and traumatic experience for me, for reasons I will go into.  At first we received almost universal love and support, but as I began to talk about the reasons I left and the effect the church teachings had on me, or call attention to the current  sex scandal  in the church, things got tense.  I lost friends, I was shamed and shunned.  I do want to point out...