Get the complete manual for rebuilding after losing faith. Alyssa Grenfell's book is filled with poignant anecdotes and first hand advice from a girl who went from temple ceremonies to tank tops and lattes. In his forward, Dr. John Dehlin said, “This book is an essential companion for those who feel lost, alone, and confused once their Mormon shelf breaks.”
Buy your copy nowIt's hard to get rid of the missionary spirit, even after you leave the Mormon church. These exmormons are sharing their stories and using their experiences to support members experiencing faith crises.
There is no right or wrong way to leave the church. After years of obsessing over the "right" way to do things, exmormons should give themselves space to leave in whatever way feels the best. Sometimes that means exiting quietly and sometimes that means getting the loudspeaker.
Outspoken exmormons often risk alienating themselves from family and friends. Some exmormons have faced church disciplinary counsels and excommunication. For many who are outspoken about leaving the church and church history, it means risking your job or your livelihood.
I have deep respect for any exmormon willing to share their story. Aside from risk in your social circle, it is simply difficult to speak about the alienating and heart wrenching moments in our lives. Candid exmormons are brave and help so many others who face difficult history and challenging questions.
Jennette McCurdy was raised as a Mormon but her family slowly stopped attending as she became more famous. She shares her outlook on purity culture as a young woman on set and her mother's attitude on Mormonism. She shared "her mom warned her not to get 'too close' to 'iCarly' costar Miranda Cosgrove because she 'doesn't believe in God'." You can learn more about her journey out of the faith here.
Find her on TikTok with over 200k followers. She has been a leader in the exmormon tiktok movement which has led many younger members to learn about Mormon history and teachings not shared in Sunday School.
Tyler Glenn is the lead singer of the band Neon Trees. He created a solo album titled "Excommunication," where he shares his difficult experiences growing up in the church. The music video for the song "Trash" caused quite an uproar—he dances around pages of The Book of Mormon and does some of the "sacred" temple handshakes in front of the camera. An absolute inspiration.
Kate Kelly started the organization Ordain Women, and petitioned the Mormon church to give the priesthood to women. She actively campaigned for the church to grant equality on all fronts to the women of the church. Kelly was excommunicated from the church in 2014.
This man's writing is referenced throughout the internet as the most common entry point to falling down the rabbit hole. I wager to guess every single exmormon has read portions of the CES letter at some point. His writing includes extensive references to original sources and complex analysis. The CES letter is the answer to Jeffery R. Holland's quote, "if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit."
John Dehlin was the first member to start a podcast discussing difficult faith journeys and the tainted history of the church. After being excommunicated in 2015 for his continued work on his podcast, Mormon Stories, he focused on building connections in the exmormon community.
Misty Kathrine Snow was one of the first openly transgender people in the United States to have been nominated by a major political party for a federal office. She was raised Mormon but later left the church.
