Ex-Mormon Saints?

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St_Nephi

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Are there any?

I’m in rcia and may be entering the catholic church this Easter. I need to pick a patron saint, and was wondering if there’s an exmormon catholic saint, or maybe a saint from Utah or a saint who preached to Mormons. Or anything else that might seem relevant.

Thanks
 
Kateri Tekakwitha, “Lily of the Mohawks”, might be a nice one for you.
She is Algonquin/Iroquois so there is a connection with Mormon focus on “Lamanites”.
She is female, so accepting her presents a step up from Mormonism’s somewhat lower view of women’s role in religion.
Her story is pleasing and inspiring.

“imo”.
 
Why an ex-Mormon saint?

I’m an ex-Mormon. I’m from Utah, I’ve been immersed in LDS culture. I’m a sixth generation Mormon from both sides of my family. My upbringing was so incredibly anti-Catholic that I’m surprised to this very day that I’m even considering Catholicism. Like many ex-Mormons, I became so disillusioned by religion after finding out that I had been lied to all my life that I’m currently (technically) an atheist. While I no longer live in Mormondom (i.e. Utah), my grandfather is a General Authority of the LDS Church (no I won’t divulge my identity, so please don’t ask), and most of my family members come from similarly important LDS stock. This means that there is a HUGE obligation for me to toe the Mormon party line.

Given all this, assuming I can actually find faith in God and in the Catholic Church, specifically, I should think that such would be a miracle, possibly due to the intercession of a fellow ex-Mormon.
 
Tamarack said:
Check out Cora Evans, a convert from the LDS faith. I believe this website is about her cause for (not Latter-day) sainthood: parishretreat.org/index.php?id=story. God bless you and good luck.

Just curious: Why an ex-Mormon saint?
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Interesting story…Im guessing like many people, the penalties freaked her out. I know it did many. When I first went thru, I was deeply troubled at the profound violence of it…

Of course they have since been moved (1990)…
 
Jerusha (nice name considering this thread, lol :D) - well done on Alleman! I had not heard of him.

Anyway, OP, if you are thinking about the supposed penalties for ex-Mormons, you might also choose a patron saint who is particularly associated with fighting evil: St. Benedict, St Michael the Archangel, etc.
 
Actually, when I chose it, I had no idea it had a Mormon connection. It was from my favorite book when I was little, about a duck who thought she was a chicken. I was raised in Hancock County Illinois, descended from the “opposition.” So devotion to Fr. Alleman is a natural for me.
 
St_Nephi said:
Why an ex-Mormon saint?

I’m an ex-Mormon. I’m from Utah, I’ve been immersed in LDS culture. I’m a sixth generation Mormon from both sides of my family. My upbringing was so incredibly anti-Catholic that I’m surprised to this very day that I’m even considering Catholicism. Like many ex-Mormons, I became so disillusioned by religion after finding out that I had been lied to all my life that I’m currently (technically) an atheist. While I no longer live in Mormondom (i.e. Utah), my grandfather is a General Authority of the LDS Church (no I won’t divulge my identity, so please don’t ask), and most of my family members come from similarly important LDS stock. This means that there is a HUGE obligation for me to toe the Mormon party line.

Given all this, assuming I can actually find faith in God and in the Catholic Church, specifically, I should think that such would be a miracle, possibly due to the intercession of a fellow ex-Mormon.
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Im no saint, but I will be praying for you.

Yes, you have some heavy concerns there. Very deeply entrenched.

The only bit of insight I have from my own experience (and yes I went thru the profound disillusionment and was agnostic/atheistic for a number of years) is to focus on Christ and lay it out all before Him

The being lied to. How hard it is to trust. Trust man, trust religious institutions, even to trust ourselves and God. The cyncism, skepticism, whatever it is that you are dealing with.

Be brutally honest with Him. Brutally. My experience is, He can heal it, He can deal with it, He can handle it.

Praying for you St Nephi. You are in a tough spot, but it’s not a hopeless spot. Not by a long shot.
 
St. Nephi,
I don’t know the answer to your question of whether one can pick a Servant of God. Whether, technically, that’s “allowed,” you can cultivate a relationship (asking for prayers, praying for them just in case they’re still in purgatory) with anyone. Your prayer to Cora or Alleman or known-only-to-God saint can be your own private affair 🙂

It is a sad truth that so many who leave the LDS, lose faith in God altogether. I’ll be praying for you, St. Nephi. (awesome choice of moniker, by the way)
 
St. Nephi,
Another suggestion: St. Damien of Molokai. A Belgian priest who chose to minister to lepers surely worked with Mormons there, given the success missionaries had in Hawaii in the same era.
 
I would also think of St Augustine (was very much into Manicism in his early years). He knows what it’s like to be under the influence of bad teaching. He talks about it in his book “Confessions” He also knows what it’s like to apply critical thinking skills to what others are saying and doing.

And St Paul…He would understand the need of profound intervention to overcome being on the wrong path with a distorted vision .
 
St_Nephi said:
Why an ex-Mormon saint?

I’m an ex-Mormon. I’m from Utah, I’ve been immersed in LDS culture. I’m a sixth generation Mormon from both sides of my family. My upbringing was so incredibly anti-Catholic that I’m surprised to this very day that I’m even considering Catholicism. Like many ex-Mormons, I became so disillusioned by religion after finding out that I had been lied to all my life that I’m currently (technically) an atheist. While I no longer live in Mormondom (i.e. Utah), my grandfather is a General Authority of the LDS Church (no I won’t divulge my identity, so please don’t ask), and most of my family members come from similarly important LDS stock. This means that there is a HUGE obligation for me to toe the Mormon party line.

Given all this, assuming I can actually find faith in God and in the Catholic Church, specifically, I should think that such would be a miracle, possibly due to the intercession of a fellow ex-Mormon.
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🙂 I came from Mormonism, went atheist, and was an atheist for the majority of my life (a couple of decades). I call my faith a miracle, because that is what it is. You belong to God, that is important to know.

I chose Mary Magdalen as my patron saint, for a lot of reasons, but one is because she is one of the patron saints of converts. She understands where we are coming from. I’ll pray for you.

Rebecca
 
Hey St. Nephi,

Just another ex-LDS that’s VERY happy in the Catholic Church here to lend you support. I too came from a very, very Mormon family and my perception of God due to being raised LDS was pretty skewed. I’m sure you’re learning this in your RCIA classes, but the very NATURE of the Christian God vs. the God we grew up learning about is so vastly different that it’s difficult.

I’ll be praying for you too; I understand allllllllllllllllllll too well the pressures and fears that come with having an active LDS family and thinking about converting. My dad served his mission in Rome and spent his entire mission fighting the Catholic Faith, so you can imagine I wasn’t really raised with a friendly view of the Catholic Church especially.

In my journey into the Catholic Church, I honestly had to make a “leap of faith” and commit to being baptized before I “felt” the confirmation that it was the right thing to do. Honestly, it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. I know everyone’s journey is different, but I hope that you find the peace that religion can truly bring you as I have 🙂

I chose Catherine of Siena as my Patron Saint. A big reason was because she kind of had to fight her family to live out her religion as well, and that was encouraging for me!
 
St Nephi,

I am going to baptized this Easter Vigil. I was raised LDS, pioneer heritage, family still Mormon, mission, temple marriage, and all that. I am choosing the confirmation name Irenaeus, who was also mentioned by a previous poster. I choose him for two reasons. First, Irenaeus was a great fighter against heresies. Mormonism is certainly heretical. His writings were instrumental to my becoming a Catholic Christian. Second, his name means peaceable or peacemaker. That’s definitely a trait I am going to need since my wife, children, and parents remain faithful Mormons who cannot understand why I left the LDS church and became Catholic of all things. I can’t think of a better patron for exMormons than Irenaeus.

I noticed that you listed atheist as your (former?) worldview. It seems from ex Mormon discussion boards that atheism or agnosticism is the default position for many former Mormons. Once bitten, twice shy as they say. Anyway, there are some good books out there that defend the rationality of theism and Christianity. I would be happy to offer some book recommendations if you are not already familiar with the genre.
 
nevadaborn said:
St Nephi,

I am going to baptized this Easter Vigil. I was raised LDS, pioneer heritage, family still Mormon, mission, temple marriage, and all that. I am choosing the confirmation name Irenaeus, who was also mentioned by a previous poster. I choose him for two reasons. First, Irenaeus was a great fighter against heresies. Mormonism is certainly heretical. His writings were instrumental to my becoming a Catholic Christian. Second, his name means peaceable or peacemaker. That’s definitely a trait I am going to need since my wife, children, and parents remain faithful Mormons who cannot understand why I left the LDS church and became Catholic of all things. I can’t think of a better patron for exMormons than Irenaeus.

I noticed that you listed atheist as your (former?) worldview. It seems from ex Mormon discussion boards that atheism or agnosticism is the default position for many former Mormons. Once bitten, twice shy as they say. Anyway, there are some good books out there that defend the rationality of theism and Christianity. I would be happy to offer some book recommendations if you are not already familiar with the genre.
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🙂 only one more week. All the catechumens are in our prayers. I look forward to wishing you a Happy Easter!
 
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