Many bloggers who describe themselves as ex-Mormons also describe themselves as secular humanists.  They’ve rejected belief in God entirely.  Their attacks tend to focus on what they perceive as the greatest problems with the Mormon Church.  Such as some kind of enforced conformity that denies freedom of thought to its members.  Or hypocrisy – for some ex-Mormon critics will see any sign of weakness among Mormon leaders or members as hypocrisy.  If anyone with any authority, or anyone who purports to be trying to live the gospel, makes a mistake, some critics will pounce on it as proof that Mormons don’t practice what they preach.  Ex-Mormons may also claim to have been tricked by the Mormon Church, or that the Church lied to them and brainwashed them.  They may claim to be too intelligent to believe those beliefs of Mormonism any more and that those who do believe can’t or won’t deal with reality.  Or, they may claim that the leaders of the Mormon Church lust after power – they may go so far as to claim that the Mormon faith is a cult or a conspiracy.

The Mormon Church never promises that whoever joins it will immediately become perfect, or that everyone that you run into will be perfect.  Or that only perfect people become leaders in the Church.  No.  The Church is full of imperfect people – only one perfect person walked the earth, Jesus Christ.  And failures are inevitable when standards are high.  The goal is to repent of sin and keep striving to be better – and everyone is going through that same process.  And if Mormons are part of a conspiracy or a cult, they don’t work as a unified one.  Mormons hold a wide variety of political beliefs, jobs, hobbies, and interests.  They disagree with other members on many personal matters.  And no real proof of conspiracies or dangerous cult-like behaviors has ever been set forth.

Some ex-Mormons accuse the Church, its members, or Mormon missionaries of lying to them, instead of showing them the “truth” about Mormon doctrine.  Mormon doctrine is published widely (although those books officially published by the Church are more likely to be accurate).  Additionally, people part of the Church, or investigating it, are encouraged to ask questions about any concerns they might have.  Beyond that, no one is forced to remain a Mormon after becoming one.  This would appear to be obvious.  If the Mormons were really interested in silencing critics, they would be pretty bad at doing it.  There are, after all, plenty of ex-Mormon voices out there.

But why are ex-Mormons so very angry at the Mormon Church?  It may be that although members can leave the Church at any time, leaving a community (especially if it’s one you grew up in) is always difficult.  Former members may leave behind a whole series of religious traditions and religious culture and strain ties with family and friends.  Leaving Mormonism can make you feel alone, after all the tight ties Mormonism promotes are no longer as present.  And while Mormons are supposed to be tolerant of others, they don’t accept things that they see as sin as not sin.  Someone leaving the Church because they want to do something that the Church doesn’t allow may feel further uncomfortable.

In closing, people do leave the Church – the Church isn’t comfortable for everyone.  They may take issue with Mormon theology, they may have been offended by other members, they may want to behave in ways not allowed by the Mormon Church.  However, the anti-Mormon ex-Mormons are not the best source for information on the Mormon Church as they often distort its teachings.