2 Questions I am Asked the Most

2 Questions I am Asked the Most

Why The Judged Mormon? and Am I Mormon?

So I get asked quite a bit about why I use the name The Judged Mormon, and I am asked a lot, if I am a Mormon. I figured these are fair and valid questions to ask me. So sit back for the next few minutes while I tell you my story of how I came up with my Judged Mormon name and if I am Mormon.

I am going to start with my background so you can understand where I came from and how I ended up starting my blog and podcast.

I have been Mormon most of my life. I grew up enjoying the Boy Scout program that the Mormon church was involved in. I can tell you that the Mormon church automatically enrolls every boy into the Boy Scouts and every ward around me has their own boy scout troop. I loved it because I am a huge fan of the outdoors. I don’t even know if I missed any campouts because I love camping so much. I grew up in a neighborhood where only 3 families were not Mormon. But that didn’t matter. Everyone in our neighborhood were friends. Growing up, my friends and I would walk to church together and meet the rest of our families there. In high school I attended seminary and graduated from that seminary program. I can’t really say graduating from Mormon seminary means much, because all it really means is that you attended an hour of church class and teachings 3 days a week for 4 years. I graduated high school and went on to college and I began to attend what is called a Singles Ward. A Singles Ward is a church congregation where you have to be single to attend. This was great because you meet a lot of single people to date and new friends. The social atmosphere was great.

I eventually went on to serve a mission and was a typical Mormon missionary that was sent somewhere away from home to teach people about the Mormon church and hope they decide to get baptized. I did my missionary duties for the 2 years, came home to attend more college, got married and started my career and graduate college.

I was married in the temple, I attend church every Sunday when work does not make me travel away from home. And yes, I still attend Mormon Church to this day. However, I am not your perfect Mormon. My views on sins are different that your typical Mormon view on sins. The Mormon church believes in the bible and it’s teachings, but through out the history of the Mormon church, they add on and have a list of additional things that they call sins….. like my coffee. I am drinking an iced mocha right now. From the church that claims it never changes because Jesus is the head of the church and it cannot change….. well the Mormon church has changed and does change. Read my blog on the Word of Wisdom and you will discover that hot chocolate and hot soup used to be a sin. Now they aren’t.

I have held various callings in the church, including a couple of higher positions in a couple of different wards I have been in. I used to be a very active participant in my church. As I already said, I still go to church, but I don’t volunteer to pray, give talks, and I am not afraid to tell the bishop “no” when they want to give me a calling. I go to church, I sit, I listen, and I socialize. That’s what I do.

I say I am not a perfect Mormon because I openly drink coffee. I absolutely love espresso drinks. Coffee goes against the Mormon law regarding the Word of Wisdom. But the Word of Wisdom comes down to this….. Coffee is on the list of drinks Mormons cannot drink. This means I am not considered a worthy Mormon to enter the Temple. So obviously I prefer coffee over going to the temple. I can talk more on the Temple another day. I have also quit paying my tithing. The main reason for not following that Mormon commandment is because I can’t afford it. Now the Mormon leaders will make you believe that you can’t afford not to pay tithing because you are a sinner and will go to hell if you don’t pay it. Well, Mormon prophets have different teachings on that topic and I write more about tithing in a different blog post. The other reason I don’t like to give the church 10% of my money, is because the church is not transparent at all with what they do with its money. Other charities provide a prospectus every year on where the money goes. The Mormon leaders keep it secret. I am not opposed to donating money to charities, but I like to know where the money goes so I can make sure the money is being used for legitimate reasons. I don’t think using money to pay the lavish lifestyle of the Mormon leaders is where I want my donated money to go. The Mormon leaders tell us that we shouldn’t carry debt. Well guess what Mormon leaders….. Thanks for that great advice….. I will use my tithing to help pay off my debts, not give to you so you can live a lavish lifestyle living in huge homes, nice cars, tax free 6 figure income, and jet set around the world so you can tell poor countries to pay tithing so you can have more money in your pocket.

So with the coffee and tithing, I am a Mormon sinner and not worthy to return back to Gods presence. At least that is what the Mormon church believes about me and wants me to believe. My personal belief is different than there’s. I don’t believe my coffee is sending me to hell.

This brief background about me now leads me to answer the first question I am asked the most. Why did I choose the name “The Judged Mormon”.

That name was chosen because fellow Mormons judge me about my sinning. You will find a lot of Mormons are hypocrites. Mormons are taught to love everyone, respect everyone, and be a friend to everyone. Well that is bull shit. A LOT of Mormon members gossip like cray. They make your personal business…. Everyones business….. I have lost friends because I don’t pretend to be the perfect Mormon or claim to be Gods chosen people. I don’t believe anyone to be above anyone else. but I don’t care about that. People are who they are and they will live their life and have to answer to God one day for everything. But a few of my neighbors in my church cast judgement on me and have let me know that I can’t return to heaven if I keep breaking the Word of Wisdom. I guess these same people forget biblical teachings such as “Judge not lest ye be judged”. Or the story where people were going to stone a lady to death because they believed the lady committed adultery. Jesus told the people “those without sin among you, let him cast the first stone”. Everybody walked away. But a few neighbors are more than happy to cast judgment on me. And it does not bother me, but that is why I chose the name……. The Judged Mormon.

Now for the 2^nd question I am asked often….. Am I still Mormon?

I guess the short answer is yes. My name is on record with the Mormon church as a member. I attend Mormon church every week, and I attend some of the social gatherings. I look at it this way, If I attended any other church, such as a Methodist church for example. If I attended a Methodist church every week, attended the social events, and had my name on their records, I would call myself a Methodist.

So I do call myself Mormon, but I do not believe everything the Mormon church teaches. If you read my blog posts, you will find areas of the Mormon church that I have issues with. I do not believe The Book of Mormon to be the history of ancient American people, and I do not believe Joseph Smith was shown where to dig up gold plates that contained a language he could not read and translated the gold plates. I have concerns that The Book of Mormon is a rip off of a book called The View of the Hebrews that was written before the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon does have good stories and teachings, but I do not consider it to be on the same level as the Bible. I do not believe Joseph Smith was called of God or Jesus to restore Jesus’s Church. I think Joseph Smith made a lot of stuff up and people believed him. Joseph carried the title Prophet, and I don’t believe he was a prophet God. The history of the Mormon Church is coming out with the internet and I am discovering a lot of things that are completely different that what I have been taught most of my life. The Mormon leaders don’t really address the issues, and if they do, they keep their explanations so vague, that the questions are never answered.

I am guessing you are wondering why I continue to attend a Mormon church. It comes down to this. I believe there are good things about Mormonism. The Mormons are big on family, they teach we should all be and live a good honorable life, they believe in the bible, Jesus Christ, and Mormons in the church you attend will help you when you need it. These are all things I believe in and respect. My religion I take in during the week does not all come from Mormons. There are Pastors and other religious leaders that I listen to and inspire me to be a good person. I tell people this…… If the religion you follow helps you to be a good person, then that is right religion for you.

I hope this answers the 2 questions I am asked the most.

I have been talking with a lot of people, and hearing their stories. I strive to interview people for my podcast, but I understand people being nervous about sharing their story to the public. These individuals I have spoken with don’t want family and neighbors to recognize their voice and end up getting judged themselves. I respect their concerns.

Thank you for listening. Please contact me at thejudgedmormon@gmail.com. Visit my website and blog at thejudgedmormon.com, and you can also follow me on Instagram at…. You guessed it…. The Judged Mormon. I hope you enjoyed your time as you listened to my podcast. Thank you all. And may God bless you and your day.