r/exmormon•
Ex_mo

Looking for advice. First Christmas after after going "inactive".

Hey guys. Christmas is coming up, and I wanted to get other people's insight that may be in a similar boat that I am.

I've got 3 siblings that are all extremely religious. Each has a kid, and are all raising them exactly like we were raised in the church.

My entire extended family are all very active as well. This will be my first Christmas since I've stopped going to Church.

I'm pretty conflicted about the whole thing. I see the way my siblings are raising their kids, indoctrinating them just as we were, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Thanksgiving was rough. When asked what I was thankful for, I couldn't come up with something sincere, so I just said family. At that moment though, I really wasn't.

How do you guys deal with it? Part of me says I should just be tolerant, and sit there. Another says I should confront them on the way they're raising their kids. Then another says I shouldn't even go to the family party this year. I felt like such an outsider at Thanksgiving that I don't want to feel that again, even though that might make me even more of an outsider, though I guess.

I also don't want to hurt my family. I tried talking to some of them, and they basically said that they understood the Church isn't important to me anymore, but it is still a huge thing to them. Shouldn't they want to make me feel more welcome by maybe toning stuff down around me? Or am I asking too much? Thanks for reading.

Posted Dec 1, 2011, 11:10 PM UTC

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