Family life

Pros of Mormonism from the perspective of the
Believer	Ex-believer
Teachings of the church, such as patience, love, and forgiveness, and the guidance of the spirit, help us to be better husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, and children. Family home evening is a great opportunity to bring the family together. For believing Mormons, there is great power in a family that shares the same values and beliefs, sharing hope and faith. Family time spent together in prayer, scripture study, and family home evenings brings everyone together in precious and priceless harmony.	Teachings of the church, such as patience, love, and forgiveness, help us to be better husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, and children. Family home evening is a great opportunity to bring the family together (although if the family stopped attending church they would have more time together and might not need to “schedule” time together with FHE)

 

Cons of Mormonism from the perspective of the
Believer	Ex-believer
Church meetings and responsibilities often get in the way of actually spending quality time with family. Another way that the church can harm family life is when one member of the family stops believing or commits certain sins. This can create a conflict in the family, sometimes severe, that would otherwise not exist. One common example is when children in the family come out as LGBT (see “LGBT issues”). Some parents and siblings, because of church teachings, have a hard time accepting the LGBT person in the family. This causes untold strife and anguish.	Church meetings and responsibilities often get in the way of actually spending quality time with family. Another way that the church can harm family life is when one member of the family stops believing or commits certain sins. This can create a conflict in the family, sometimes severe, that would otherwise not exist. One common example is when children in the family come out as LGBT (see “LGBT issues”). Some parents and siblings, because of church teachings, have a hard time accepting the LGBT person in the family. This causes untold strife and anguish.   Ex-believers would be unwise to dismiss the joy that some families experience as they worship together. However, they might also wonder if time spent reading scriptures together, praying together, and having FHE lessons together wouldn’t be better spent on doing other activities together that focused more on relationships and less on indoctrination and conformity.