Walking Away from the Faith of My Fathers

The Modern Day Pioneer™ is a blog and podcast focused on sharing my personal journey in forging a new future, walking away from the traditions of my fathers and healing my trauma wounds. I want to take a step back into the past to set the tone for the direction I hope to go in the future with what I share.

To set the stage, it is important to understand that the majority of my life was spent believing in and practicing Mormonism. Much of my world views were created and structured within this belief system.

From my father’s side of the family, my ancestors were some of the very first to join the Mormon church and were literal pioneers who traveled across the sea and land to settle what is now known as Utah, Idaho, and California in the United States. An ancestor of mine was one of the apostles to the founder of the Mormon religion, Joseph Smith, and was a key leader in the Mormon church until he died.

Much of my family was, and still is, deeply steeped in this religion and culture. I am the black sheep in a very large family and I have personally lost relationships due to my deciding to walk a different path than the one I had been taught to walk within Mormonism.

Mormonism teaches that the day we currently live in is known as the “modern day” and they describe their leaders as being “modern-day prophets and apostles,” copying what Jesus had established when he was on the earth as a leader. Mormons believe that they belong to “the one and only true church on the face of the earth today.” A core, tenet belief within Mormonism is that prophets and apostles speak for God and that you must follow them in order to be saved after you die. You do not question them. Ever.

Much of what I share will be in connection to my experience within Mormonism and my journey in leaving. Leaving Mormonism is becoming easier these days as there has been a serious number of lifelong members who have walked away from the faith they were taught to believe in; those who have left often offer support to those leaving. I am one of them.

At the time I began to question and eventually leave, it was a journey that both literally and figuratively brought me to my knees, in fact, I barely survived.

Choosing to walk away from the belief system I was raised in was not easy—it was painful, disorienting, and at times, devastating. But it was also the most honest and liberating decision I’ve ever made.

If you are questioning the faith you were raised in or facing the loss that often comes with leaving, please know you’re not alone. There is strength in truth and freedom in finding your own voice.

In the next post, I’ll introduce you to one of my ancestors—Elizabeth Green Arnold—a woman whose pioneer story has shaped generations. Her life, viewed through a new lens, reveals both resilience and deep, unspoken trauma. I can’t wait to share her journey with you.

~ The Modern Day Pioneer™