ExMormon Hymn Book: 2011

Friday, December 23, 2011

To 50... and BEYOND!!!

Well, I made my goal of 50 LDS hymn parodies... and now I'm aiming for 60 (which is apropos since that is now my age).

And here's #51... very self-explanatory, so...

OH SAY WHAT IS TRUTH

Sung to the tune of Oh Say, What is Truth? #272

O say what is truth, and do not ignore
What the actual facts really are.
Do not hide your head in the sand and pretend
That whatever they tell you is true to the end,
From truth you will be very far.

Yes, say what is truth, not the Mormon way,
Where they just bow their heads and say Yes.
Don’t follow along as you blindly obey,
Just accepting whatever it is that they say,
As they veil the lies with finesse.

The church is not true, that is very clear

If you really examine it all.

It’s simply a scam, a despicable fraud,
Joseph Smith made it up, did not get it from God,
The lies and deceptions must fall.

Then say what is truth, do not simply agree
Without looking at it carefully.
And with Google’s help, you can figure it out,
The lies so apparent, no more questions or doubt,
And then the real truth you will see.

Friday, December 9, 2011

50th LDS Hymn Parody

OK, this is my 50th LDS hymn parody. Pretty cool, huh??!! Now I gotta set a new goal...

As far as this LDS hymn parody goes, I think it's pretty much self-explanatory. YOU CAN MAKE THE FUTURE BRIGHT if you leave the Mormon Church - and your life will be much, much better. I can say that with certainty because that's what I have experienced. Truly... the future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

Obviously, there are obstacles in any chosen path, including people telling you that you've chosen the wrong fork in the road. But there are a multitude of rewards in store for those who follow their conscience and assert their individuality. Knowing for sure that the Mormon Church is built on a stack of lies, I know there is no other path available for me. Staying with a religion that is obviously false was not an option for me. Staying true to myself was the only thing I could do.

Those are my words of wisdom for the day. And here is my 50th LDS hymn parody...

YOU CAN MAKE THE FUTURE BRIGHT

Sung to the tune of You Can Make the Pathway Bright, #228

You can make the future bright,
And it will be out-of-sight,
If you leave the Mormon Church.
If it fills you with dismay,
It is worth the price you’ll pay,
If you leave the Mormon Church today.

(CHORUS)

If you leave the Mormon Church,
They will say you went astray,
Gave eternal life away.
And the guilt trip they will play,
If you leave the Mormon Church today.

Though the scriptures they’ll recite
As they try with all their might
To defend the Mormon Church.
They’ll insist that you must pray,
Push the evil one away,
If you leave the Mormon Church today.

(CHORUS)

If you leave the Mormon Church,
They will say you went astray,
Gave eternal life away.
And the guilt trip they will play,
If you leave the Mormon Church today.

It is only common sense
That it's built on false pretense,
Lies abound within the church.
Oh, the peace that you will find
When the web of lies unwind,
And you leave the Mormon Church behind.

(CHORUS)

When you leave the Mormon Church,
They may turn their backs on you,
And say you don’t have a clue.
But the truth will set you free,
When you’re out, I know you will agree.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

JUST TELL THE TRUTH - LDS Hymn Parody #44

The Truth and Nothing But The Truth. No Wiggle Room. No Bobbing and Weaving.
I mean, REALLY!?! Is that too much to ask?

And contrary to Boyd K. Packer's statement that "Some things that are true are not useful," THE TRUTH is always the best path.

No Ifs, Ands or Buts about it...

JUST TELL THE TRUTH

Sung to the tune of God Speed the Right, #106

Though there are no easy answers,
Just tell the truth.
Though the facts may cost you dollars,
Just tell the truth.
When researching Mormon doctrine,
Filled with lies and that’s for certain.
Just tell the truth, just tell the truth.

For the Mormons wearing blinders,
Just tell the truth.
Though they think they’re happy campers,
Just tell the truth.
Lies are such a vicious cycle,
Honesty a righteous battle.
Just tell the truth, just tell the truth.

So they pray and read their scriptures,
And they obey,
Shading things to make them better
Is not the way.
A religion should be truthful,
Not exploring every angle,
Make sure they pay, make sure they pay.

Joseph Smith was not a prophet,
Just tell the truth,
But you work to keep that quiet,
Just tell the truth.
History is not subjective,
And the lies are not persuasive,
Just tell the truth, just tell the truth.

© Diane Tingen, 11/23/2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

THE TRUTH IS MARCHING ON - LDS Hymn Parody #43

Another LDS Hymn Parody... the 43rd one I have written (so far). Since it is obviously self-explanatory, I won't go into a long explanation. Suffice it to say that the truth is very apparent, if only Mormons would seek the actual truth and not just rely on what they are told to believe.

THE TRUTH IS MARCHING ON

Sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic, #60

I know that Mormonism is a massive stack of lies,
Although they will deny it, the deception’s no surprise.
In examining the history, there can be no compromise,
The truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Just look close at Mormonism,
Show some common sense and wisdom,
Don’t rely upon the dictum,
The truth is marching on.

It is so clear to me that Mormonism is not true,
And I could not be happier I bid the church adieu.
After all the years of questioning, I finally got a clue,
The truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Just look close at Mormonism,
Show some common sense and wisdom,
Don’t rely upon the dictum,
The truth is marching on.

But still there are so many who are trapped within the church,
Who listen to the leaders and won’t do their own research.
Who might think that all I’m doing is to flippantly besmirch
The one true church of God.

(Chorus)
Just look close at Mormonism,
Show some common sense and wisdom,
Don’t rely upon the dictum,
The truth is marching on.

I know that life is much too short to spend it feeling trapped,
And feeling like there’s something wrong with you who must adapt,
But I came to the conclusion I must leave before I snapped,
And now I’m finally free.

(Chorus)
Just look close at Mormonism,
Show some common sense and wisdom,
Don’t rely upon the dictum,
The truth is marching on.

© Diane Tingen, 11/19/2011

Monday, November 14, 2011

I AM NOT ALONE - LDS Hymn Parody #42

Another LDS Hymn Parody - the 42nd one I have written so far...

I AM NOT ALONE
Sung to the tune of I Believe in Christ, #134

I am not alone, there’s many more
Who see the truth and close the door
On what the Mormon Church believes
And what they’re hiding up their sleeves.
I am not alone, I see the lies,
The false pretense they can’t disguise.
It’s all made up, enormous fraud,
The Mormon Church is not of God.

I am not alone, deceit is plain,
I’m not a fool, I use my brain.
My common sense is telling me
To run away and let it be.
I am not alone, though they will say
That I have tossed it all away.
But to the lies I can’t adhere,
I won’t remain because of fear.

I am not alone, and in my soul,
I finally feel completely whole.
The questioning tore me apart,
There was a hole within my heart.
I am not alone, the truth revealed
What all the lies had once concealed.
And now I know with certainty
That I cannot a Mormon be.

© Diane Tingen, 11/14/2011

Friday, November 11, 2011

WITHIN MY SOUL - LDS Hymn Parody #41

Of all the hymn parodies I have written so far, this one is my favorite. Part of the reason, I'm sure, is because the hymn (Be Still, My Soul) that this parody is based on is absolutely beautiful, and back when I was an active Mormon and was Ward Organist, I used to love to play it, sometimes playing it as prelude music. Of course, this hymn is not strictly Mormon - it is a Christian hymn originally written in German by Catharina von Schlegel (1752), and was then translated by Jane Borthwick (1899) who then set it to music written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (also in 1899).

My parody of this hymn outlines my struggles with coming to terms with what I began discovering about Mormonism back in 2001 (prior to, during and after going on a Mormon Church History Tour) - that it is a fraud that was made up by Joseph Smith and perpetuated by various others since its inception through to the present day. As I have explained in other parts of this blog and in my book, initially I began reading about the history of the Mormon Church prior to going on a Mormon Church History Tour so I would know more when we visited the key places. Having been born and raised Mormon, I had never really studied the history of the Church, but had rather relied on what I was told to believe. So when I began to discover the truth behind what I had been told, and the actual sordid history of the Mormon Church, I was flabbergasted. At first, I kept thinking that I must be misunderstanding things, that I just needed to continue to have faith that it was true - to "just believe." But eventually, as I began to see even more clearly that it was actually a scam, I began to realize that having faith in what I was told to believe was all fine and good, but when all the evidence pointed toward it being actually false, then it wasn't faith anymore, but rather denial. That was the turning point for me.

And as difficult as this process was for me, in the end I felt incredibly peaceful, knowing that I had discovered the actual truth. All the years of questioning things and the burden of being told to "just believe" were erased, and I felt complete and utter serenity. What a gift.

WITHIN MY SOUL
Sung to the tune of Be Still My Soul, #124

Within my soul, the questioning was strong,
But still I tried so hard to just believe.
Accept by faith, and try to go along,
Deny the truth, the web of lies they weave.
Within my soul, I struggled with it all,
But now the truth is written on the wall.

Within my mind, it made no sense to me,
To reconcile it all became too hard.
The more I read, the clearer I could see
The stack of lies I knew I must discard.
Within my mind, I know that truth prevails,
And in the end that Mormonism fails.

Within my heart, I know without a doubt
That Joseph Smith created it from scratch.
It’s very clear, I want to scream and shout,
The lies are plain, none of the pieces match.
The truth is there for everyone to find,
All it requires is opening your mind.

Within my soul, I felt a great release
From all the years of being just a sheep.
I felt renewed and finally felt at peace,
No longer trapped, ensnared, deception deep.
Within my soul, tranquility abides,
Serenity, the gift that truth provides.

© Diane Tingen, 10/27/2011

Thursday, November 10, 2011

WHY DO THEY BELIEVE? LDS Hymn Parody #40

Yes, another LDS Hymn Parody - the 40th one I've written (so far). Well on my way to my current goal of 50...

This hymn parody addresses the issue of blind faith and compliance without questioning, definitely applicable to members of the Mormon Church. Sadly, I used to be one of them - just went along, believed what they told me to believe, bought into it all. But I am so glad that I finally opened my eyes and started examining it all because doing so undercovered a plethora of lies and deception.

This quote by Buddha really hits home for me - "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." Such good advice. Of course, in order to use reason in any given situation, a person has to have studied an issue out, to have actually thought about it. After doing so, that person must apply their own common sense to see if it makes sense to them. And if it does not make sense to them personally, then it should be discarded.

Naturally, the leadership of the Mormon Church doesn't want its members looking closely at the doctrine or history, and they certainly don't want members thinking on their own. They want everyone to accept it all without question. In researching about cults, I discovered that is one of the signs of a cult. If an organization has nothing to hide, then no amount of independent research can hurt it. But, of course, that is not the case with the Mormon Church because it has plenty to hide, and has been trying to do so for its entire history. With the internet age in full swing, though, their ability to continue to hide it all is diminishing as people "Google it" and discover the actual truth.

Critical thinking is so important. Examining issues and deciding for yourself whether it is true or false. I hope that more members of the Mormon Church begin to realize that to simply follow along without doing any independent research is not wise - and that they open their eyes to the possibility that what they have adhered to is built on a stack of lies.

WHY DO THEY BELIEVE?

Sung to the tune of Now Let Us Rejoice, #3

Why do they believe what they’re told without question?
Although it is nonsense, they cling to the lies.
Why don’t Mormons study and find out the answers?
The concept of critical thinking applies.

(Chorus)

Just open your eyes and you’ll see the truth clearly,
Examine it all, the deception is deep.
Important to think for yourself, independent,
Don’t let them corral you like one of the sheep.

Why does Mormonism promote such reliance
On what they are told to believe down the line?
Accepting by faith is a form of denial
When all of the facts with the truth don’t align.

(Chorus)

Just open your eyes and you’ll see the truth clearly,
Examine it all, the deception is deep.
Important to think for yourself, independent,
Don’t let them corral you like one of the sheep.

I once was a Mormon, believed without question,
But now that I’ve opened my eyes, I can see
It’s all laced with lies, there is no doubt about it,
And I hope they will all know eventually…

(Chorus)

That looking more closely will help them see clearly
It’s not the true church but is riddled with lies.
If only the members would do their own research,
They would find the truth – there is no compromise.

When I first began writing LDS Hymn Parodies, I first began by posting them on my other blog (http://mormonismschism.blogspot.com/), and then decided it would be a good idea for them to have their own dedicated place (with special pages in alphabetical order and all), so this blog was created for that purpose.

Having been born and raised in the Mormon Church, I spent my entire life singing hymns, not only in church meetings but also in various Ward and Stake Choirs (and even in the Southern California Mormon Choir). Ward Choir Director was also my calling for awhile. Since I also play the piano (and learned from a Mormon piano teacher), I also learned to play the hymns, and was Pianist in Primary, Sunday School, and Relief Society. Naturally, playing the piano led to learning to play the organ, and then being Ward Organist for a long time.

So it's no wonder that I have so many LDS hymns stuck in my brain. It amazes me just how many hymns I can still sing from memory. Of course, since I've been out of Mormonism now for over 8 years, it irritates me that I know the words to so many Mormon-themed hymns. So one day, I started making up alternative words - and found it very amusing and extremely cathartic. The first hymn I parodied was "I Stand All Amazed," and since then I haven't been able to stop. So I'm gonna just keep going until I can't think of anymore. But since I apparently have the gift for blasphemy (as my daughter recently told me), that probably won't happen anytime soon.

I hope you enjoy my "spin" on some old familiar LDS Hymn favorites. But if you don't, you're probably a TBM and not an ExMormon like me. Oh, well...

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 for over 8 years. What I have realized during the ensuing years is that my intellectual curiosity was squelched by Mormonism. Being told to "just believe" and "have faith" 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 coming soon to Amazon.com and Kindle. Since leaving Mormonism behind, I have grown so much and have discovered who I really am - and that is a tremendous gift.

As noted above, a book I have written is coming soon to Amazon.com and Kindle. That book (entitled "Finding My Own Voice: The AHA!! Moments of a Former Mormon Woman") chronicles my very long journey through and away from Mormonism and discussed many of the issues that had plagued me for many years. Also, on my other blog - www.mormonismschism.blogspot.com - you will find some poems 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 can't 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.