President's Message

I have been a member of this board for nearly a decade now, but this is my first time as acting President. In this time I have been involved in providing online support to what seemed to be a small fraction of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who are doubting and then leaving the church. That number has now grown to tens of thousands each year.

The access to information and discussion on the internet has been an "awakening" for the many souls so broken, who had no idea what was actually wrong with them, except that they weren't doing enough. Somehow THEY were not praying hard enough, not sacrificing enough, not reading their scriptures enough, and most of all, being left to feel constantly "not worthy", because they had "doubts" about their church. This, as most of us know now, leaves one feeling depressed, unhappy, unsatisfied and very lonely in a community of people who seem to "get it", while you don't.

It has been very rewarding to me to help those people in great pain who are losing spouses and children simply because they no longer believe in a church's teachings. I have watched so many people absolutely blossom and glow as they find themselves, that I'm not ever sure how to describe the beauty of it. It is very much like watching the caterpillar-becoming-a-butterfly process. Some of those people now serve on this board with me.

Sometimes there is a learning curve for many members as they navigate out here in the real world. The "rules" simply are not one size fits all. Many struggle with depression for a little while, especially the ones who lose family and other loved ones. But usually, because of the MANY online support groups that we help them find, and the Annual Conference we are able to put on each year, people find out they are not alone and begin to heal.

Serving one another is not just for the "religious". I believe it is one of the main things we are here to do on planet earth. To help and love others: that is the central mission of The ExMormon Foundation and I am honored to be part of it!

Kath Jones
President
The Exmormon Foundation