Rameumptom Ruminations: 078: Nuance and Respectful Disagreement with Patrick Mason

Thank you. Great work. Some things Patrick says bring many questions to my mind. Is there some way I could ask him? Please recommend how to contact him. Thanks.

Scott and Patric I’m a father and a husband and was a very active member of the church until my cousin’s son committed suicide a few years ago . At his funeral his siblings all adults, got up in the packed stake center and spoke of their love and their grief at the family’s loss , and most of all the role of orthodox Mormonism in this 38 year olds deciding to end his life , leaving behind 3 children and a very broken and devided family .
The thing is many of us are in our 50 s we were taught from a young age to be racist’s, we were warned over and over not to date non members. Not to trust anyone who had left the church. Not to allow our daughters to express themselves as anything more than future child bearers. All of these things happening in real time ,while we were expected to be 100 percent home teachers ,go to the temple 2-3 times per month dedicate a ton of time and talent, missions , youth activities, endless meetings and yes a shunning indoctrination ,of even our own children if they decided to leave the culture .I’m at a complete loss , because it’s now my fault as a conservative non educated former e q p , w m l, scout master, 1st councilor in a bishopric, gospel doctrine teacher , because I just don’t understand this professors explanation of why I can’t just walk away and let the church evolve into a over funded monster that thrives on excommunicating any and all vocal nay sayer’s. I’m saddened when exceptional apologists ,who are paid and rewarded for their efforts ,tell me to keep my mouth shut in priest craft meetings. I’m mad as hell , and there is good reason to be . Let’s build another temple and it will all be ok . I just want you to know I appreciate your tone (Scott) I believe that Joseph smith was the ultimate salesman and that Heber, Brigham, Bruce, Spencer, exct. Are all pillars of an edifice that like the temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed and it will be re constructed not in the image of a loving and caring Christ like figure but in a construct of a very nuanced very inclusive club of paid apologists. And it will ultimately be better for a milestone to be placed around their necks and cast into the sea , than to offend all of those little ones who were taught from a very young age to act, see , labor and believe that black skin is a curse, sodom and Gomorrah got a just reward for homosexuality and that whittling decons were completely in their right to take out apostates. It’s atrocious what we can excuse when we are being paid by those we front. Patrick I’m so sorry for placing you in the crosshairs of this rant. I would like my life back .I would like to be made whole , the time is passed, and I’m left sore and aching for the damage, I have caused in recognizing how damaging my life and my judgements have been to those I thought I was ministering to. Deconstruction is without a doubt the most harrowing thing I’ve been through. And for most of us it is truly a path we must walk alone. But we find ourselves in the company of those we wouldn’t have otherwise found. So it isn’t as lonely as I thought it would be.please give us old goats some slack, it’s going to take a while to get caught up. But remember it’s not our place to create truth it’s our place to find it and defend it.