Some people think, and publically advocate, that Mormonism is a culture as well as a religion, and as such should be retained for its cultural aspects even if the religious mythology is recognised for what it is as a big fat fraud.

Is this a good thing?

I’m not so sure.

Consider….

Hobbits have bare feet.

I was born with bare feet.

I am a Hobbit. 😉

Our identity is interesting….

Human brains are not fully developed at birth and take years to fully develop.

Culture forms a large part of human development.

Humans are born expecting culture. We have evolved with brains which have the capacity to learn vast amounts of information, more so than any other living species. We are born with brains which need culture to fully develop. It’s our childhood culture which enables our brains to develop fully.

Since a large part of who we are is formed during our early development, it seems natural that many people born into Mormonism would retain that culture as part of their identity.

I think that’s part of the reason ex-Mormons are the best people in the world…… for other ex-Mormons. Because they understand us like no other group of people can or do.

Since Mormonism is basically a belief system born out of the vivid imaginations of a few people like Joseph Smith, Sydney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery and Brigham Young, and is a cynically sick con, I think it would be almost tragic for a child born into this twisted and contorted worldview to have to retain their allegiance to it after discovering the fraud. Much like I think it would be tragic for a child born into the Mafia, Scientology or some weird UFO cult to continue to feel they are defined by their birth culture.

In some countries the dominant culture is prescribed by the religion, for example Saudi Arabia.

Is it right to retain the culture when objectively we know that certain aspects of that culture are not good for human thriving?

I’m sure we do not have to continue to retain Mormonism as our main cultural identity, though I imagine it will always feature somewhere in our thought processes, due to the way our neurology develops as a child.

On the other hand I was also born part of the human race. A child of this planet. With the innate and wonderful capacity to learn, and relearn.

I believe we all have the ability, as humans, to re-define ourselves according to a chosen set of paradigms rather than those of the culture we were born into.

Just like in the analogy of Plato’s Cave, I believe leaving the Mormon Bubble of the religion and culture can totally redefine us and expand our perspective of life and attitude whilst giving us rich new vistas of opportunities and experience.

I now prefer to consider myself a terran and feel connected to my huge extended family of around 7 billion humans all over the world.

Instead of being limited by the expectations of the cynically self-serving and restrictive religious culture of Mormonism, I am free to define myself. To live my one life according to the dreams and aspirations I decide. To truly become all that human beings have the potential to become.