Thanks for this. The title of your post made me think about the difference between leaving the “faith” and leaving the “community.”

I decided to leave Mormonism behind a little over ten years ago, and identified as something like “opinionated agnostic atheist.” Recently, however, I decided that being a part of the Mormon community is still important to me. I have also started to find other ways to find truth in the Mormon faith.

I do think Mormonsim has some special insights. There is a book called Mind, Modernity and Madness that talks about how the development of democratic nationalism (initially in England) a few hundred years ago started this idea of social mobility and increased individual freedom. With that came a sense that we are not satisfied with our place in life, that we need to progress and find our identity.

One way to understand Mormonism is in this context. It is among the only major religions (assuming we can call it major) that has truly embraced the essence of modernity: individual progress. The idea that a man can become a god is the ultimate expression of social mobility.

However, society is now struggling to incorporate post-modern issues. We must not only be ambitious and rise through the existing hierarchy, we are somehow responsible for the existence and structure of the hierarchy itself.

For me, this does not mean that we throw out our cultural heritage. We must build on it. What’s the best way to do this?