Recovering from Mormonism
e-Workbook

Recovery from religious oppression and indoctrination is a process with several important elements.  It takes time, patience and the support of key people.  Perhaps the most important factor, however, is your individual will to grow and expand.  Without this, change is impossible.

In the spirit of acknowledging and developing this incredible will to grow, I created a workbook that you can download directly from this website.  It is not intended to be a substitute for professional coaching or counseling, but it does indeed help individuals become stronger, clearer and more independent. 

I’ve included what I believe are several key elements in overcoming the sometimes subtle, yet always personally undermining effects of religious indoctrination.

How can Mormonism be harmful?

• The answers to Life’s deep questions are provided, so we aren’t encouraged to think for ourselves

• We are coerced, if subtly, into accepting external authority

• We feel guilty or ashamed of our natural human desires

• We feel we have to hide our true thoughts and opinions if they are not in harmony with what is accepted by our peers

• We often feel inadequate to live up to impossible standards

• We resent the hypocrisy all around us but do not feel it is OK to speak up

• We feel obliged to give our hard earned money in support of a cause to which we are not really committed

• We become obsessed with fitting in at the expense of our individuality

• Women are often oppressed and depressed

• Men are often hungry for power and feel inadequate

• We learn to accept beliefs that defy logic and for which there is no evidence

• We attempt to “turn off” our logical, inquiring mind, which can create cognitive dissonance, compartmentalization or a feeling of mild insanity

• We brainwash our children with doctrine we don’t really believe

• We feel we are “right” and other religions “wrong,” breeding intolerance into our world

• We feel obligated to stay in horrible relationships, such as bad or even abusive marriages out of religious obligation or guilt, often feeling “trapped for eternity”

• We make poor decisions we think are endorsed by God, which are purely emotional and therefore largely unreliable

• We live with emotional disturbance such as anxiety, anger, depression, jealousy, guilt, shame or low self-esteem without knowing specifically why

• We give up, or never even know, what we want because we are “going with the program” offered by our religion

• We remain naïve, emotional children

When an individual becomes conscious of the above, leaving becomes an option.  Recovery becomes a quest.  Happiness is within reach.  This is not to say that it is easy  -  breaking free is a feat the requires the utmost courage.

What you will learn in this e-workbook:

• The fundamental paradigm shift that must occur to create true individual freedom

• The three essential tools for dismantling Mormon indoctrination

• How to free your mind from compartmentalization and rigid thinking through specific exercises

• How to know what is most important to you

• How to shift from religious thinking to open-mindedness

• How to recover from guilt, anxiety and depression related to Mormonism

• How to find define and explore your own path to fulfillment

• How to overcome the need for social approval

• How to become clear about what you want and how to get it

• How to communicate with friends and loved ones who may not understand your desires and motivations

• Ultimately, how to be an individual, self-aware, open-minded and optimistic

A few key ideas and a few minutes of your time may be all you need to become unstuck and able to move further down your individual path of personal growth and freedom.