via Reuters.

Over 150 people showed up to sign a…

“Declaration of Independence from Mormonism.”

What a great idea!

“This feels awesome,” said Alison Lucas, from West Jordan, Utah, who took part in the rally amid soaring temperatures. “I don’t know if I would have had the courage except in a group.”

Interesting… The only way to do really stupid stuff is to be a member of a group.  A group where everyone pretends to think the same thing and everyone is afraid to say they disagree.  A very dangerous place.

The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known for its culture of obedience, and the mass ceremony was a seldom-seen act of collective revolt.

Let us hope this is a start of a new trend.

The church bills itself as the one “true” Christian faith, and its theology promises families eternal relationships among those who remain faithful, sealing those gifts through special religious rites.

Don’t for get that you get your own planet!

Among the reasons cited by those resigning are the church’s political activism against gay marriage and doctrinal teachings that conflict with scientific findings or are perceived as racist or sexist.

Some good reasons but…. how about the fact that it is a lie.  Oh, wait….

Others cite inconsistencies in the Mormons’ explanation of its own history…

Some leaving the church Saturday did so with trepidation, as Mormon culture often stigmatizes those who fall away, leaving some without social or business connections.

I have seen this with people I know.  They will do what they can to ruin your life.

“It’s hard, so we have to be very careful,” said Robin Hansen, a participant who said she quit over a “culture of abuse” which she believes is cultivated by church teachings promoting obedience.

Hansen said her husband had not joined her in leaving the faith because he works in a church-related business and could lose his job if he doesn’t maintain his membership.

You can lose your job, spouse, family members and social connections.  Sounds like a cult to me.  They can’t keep you in with facts so they force you to stay.  If you don’t pay up they will destroy your business.  Sound like the mob to me.

Married in a Mormon temple, Fielding said the couples shared disaffection from their faith is tied in part to their local church leader’s response to questions Fielding had about polyandry and polygamy – taking multiple husbands and wives – in the early church.

“I went to him looking for a faithful perspective. He called my wife and told her she needed to find a new husband,” Fielding said.

Who would listen to such an evil group.

“The monkey’s off the back … I don’t feel like I have to explain myself or the positions of the church anymore.”

Were you a mormon at one point?  How did you get out?