Mormonism Schism: A MORMON NO MORE (No, Not Me)

Thursday, April 9, 2015

A MORMON NO MORE (No, Not Me) - Song Parody (ala Tom Petty)

Here's another ExMormon-themed song parody I've written. This one is set to the tune of a Tom Petty song (as was Even the Mormons, which I posted in December 2014). As a side note, the video link is to a concert version of this song which Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed at Red Rocks (near Denver, Colorado) in October 2014 (an incredibly beautiful outdoor amphitheater to which I've been a few times since living in Colorado, but sadly not to this concert).
Tom Petty is one of my favorite singers from way back in the 80's. I find it interesting that so many of his songs elicit my inclination toward song parodies of the ExMormon ilk. I'm working on some other Tom Petty based song parodies, too, including: (1) The Leaving (was the Hardest Part), set to the tune of The Waiting; and (2) You Don't Know How it Feels (to be free), set to the tune of You Don't Know How it Feels (to be me). Others I might post are ones like Refugee and I Won't Back Down, but those are the types that will probably require very few changes in the lyrics because they already fit the ExMormon theme so well. In fact, when I drove to Salt Lake City in October 2010 for my first ExMormon Foundation Conference, Refugee was my anthem as I crossed over into Utah.

The below song parody is very self-explanatory, so I won't go into a long explanation of its meaning. Basically, I'm a Mormon No More (aka MoMo NoMo) - and for that, I am very grateful.

A MORMON NO MORE (No, Not Me)

Sung to the tune of A Woman in Love (It's Not Me) by Tom Petty

They looked in my eyes, told me to stay,

Said “Don’t even doubt it, that would be crazy.
Why you doing research? You should just believe.”
But I didn’t stop it, that didn’t faze me.

[Chorus:]
I’m a Mormon no more,
I’m a Mormon no more,
When I really looked, it fell to pieces,
But they don't wanna see,
I’m a Mormon no more – oh no, not me.

Well alright, say what you want,
I walked away, never looked back.
I used to be the kind of Mormon
Who just went along, I just didn’t see the problem,
I simply went with the flow.

[Chorus:]
But I’m a Mormon no more,
I’m a Mormon no more,
When I really looked, it fell to pieces,
But they don't wanna see,
I’m a Mormon no more – I just let go.

[Bridge:]
Time after time, day after day,
I would look at it all
And it sounded crazy.
I don’t understand just why I stayed,
I don’t understand what compelled me,
I gave them everything and threw it all away on nothin’

[Chorus:]

But I’m a Mormon no more,
I’m a Mormon no more,
When I really looked, it fell to pieces,
But they don't wanna see,
I’m a Mormon no more – oh no, not me.

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MY EXIT FROM MORMONISM

As a preface to my thoughts about Mormonism (and my exit from my lifelong religion), I would like to share the following quote:

"Well, it's either true or false. If it's false, we're engaged in a great fraud. If it's true, it's the most important thing in the world. Now, that's the whole picture. It is either right or wrong, true or false, fraudulent or true."

President Gordon B. Hinckley,
Interview, "The Mormons,"
PBS Documentary, April 2007

In essence, after researching the roots of Mormonism, which obviously form its foundation, as well as examining its doctrine in depth, I have concluded that it is a great fraud. Having been born and raised in the Mormon Church, and remaining LDS until my early 50's, facing that realization was very difficult and was not done lightly.

SOME BACKGROUND:
In the Summer of 2001, I went on a Mormon Church History Tour. Before going, I decided to do some research so I would know more about what occurred at the key places when we visited them. But that was the beginning of the end for me as I discovered more and more of the sordid history of the Mormon Church. Soon, I began to realize that Joseph Smith made the whole thing up and that the Mormon Church is built on an enormous stack of lies. Sadly, I also began to realize that I had allowed the Mormon Church to pull the wool over my eyes for a very long time. But even with that realization, it took me quite a while longer to finally break away because of how intricately my life was tied up in Mormonism and how long I had been blinded by the lies Mormonism perpetuates (which, of course, is what they are counting on).

But finally, I did break away - and I have now been Mormonism Free since 2004. What I have realized during the ensuing years is that my intellectual curiosity was squelched by Mormonism. Being told to "have faith" and "just believe" was very detrimental to my psyche, particularly since so much made little sense. Trying to rationalize through everything had a negative effect on me as well, making me very confused and uncomfortable. Since that time, I have discovered that these types of feelings are called "cognitive dissonance" (a feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions). Cognitive dissonance is discussed in greater length in a book I have written which is now available on Kindle. Since leaving Mormonism behind, I have grown so much and have discovered who I really am - and that is a tremendous gift.

As mentioned above, a book I have written is now available on Kindle. My book (entitled "Closing the Door on Mormonism: The AHA!! Moments that Triggered my Awakening") chronicles my very long journey through and away from Mormonism and discussed many of the issues that had plagued me for many years. It also contains some poems that I have written about my views concerning various aspects of Mormonism as well as discussions relative to the issues that led to my decision to eventually disassociate myself from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

In sharing my opinions and the information I have uncovered, it is my hope that I can in some small way help others by offering some insights into issues that many Mormons undoubtedly face in determining whether or not their faith has been misplaced.

For those of you who are thinking, "Oh, those Ex-Mormons - they can leave the church but they just can't seem to leave it alone," I offer this quote:

"Some of you are probably thinking, 'Why don't you just leave them (the Mormons) alone?' So I ask you, if you saw a thirsty man drinking water from a well you knew to be poisoned, would you let him continue to drink or would you guide him to a safe well?" ~Christopher Miller

While I'm sure that active Mormons (TBMs) and the Mormon Church itself would be much happier if people who have left the church kept their opinions to themselves, I cannot do that. If I can help one person to see the lies that are laced throughout Mormonism, then I will feel that my efforts have not been in vain.

As you will note, I have written many LDS Hymn Parodies (to date, 111 and counting), all of which are posted on my other blog - http://exmormonhymnbook.blogspot.com/
On that blog, you will also find an alphabetical listing of all the hymn parodies I have written.

Favorite Quotes

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." ~Gloria Steinem
"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” ~Abraham Lincoln
"Some things that are true are not very useful." Boyd K. Packer
"I have a hard time with historians, because historians idolize the truth." ~Boyd K. Packer
"It's impossible to reach good conclusions with bad information... We're all entitled to our own opinions, but none of us can afford to be wrong in our facts." ~Mort Crim
"...just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it." ~George Costanza (Seinfeld)