i was born and raised into the church. i left through the quit mormon site recently, after having constant struggles with being accepted into wards that claimed to be "welcoming" and a prompting (yep, you heard that right! and yes! it was from a source of light, love, and unwavering doubt so don't at me! 😁😁 never felt more relief, more love, more light and less weight on my shoulders in my entire life so far as compared to when i was active and making the efforts i did! felt sooo much closer to a source than before, seriously), i followed that prompting and feel better about myself on a spiritual level/"worthiness factor". i've seen posts talking about contradictory statements from leaders, biblical texts being misused by leaders, blind faith, manipulation, etc etc but i was kinda curious about what people were taught by their local leaders growing up?

there were a couple of wild things i remember being taught, both by missionaries and a local priesthood leader and they are as follows:

- the priesthood leader i had grown up around taught one Sunday about disabilities and how they were a "curse from God", but he dove deep into things like Autism and Down Syndrome, stating stuff along the lines of how they were "cursed because they went back on God's word in heaven before having received a physical body and were not allowed into heaven even after they died no matter what, and they would be in a constant loop of earth and death until the 1,000 years after the second coming where they will just be wiped out along with all the wicked and sinful, those who didn't join the church (nothing about faith, just church specifically)" but even after having said he had a source for it he never showed it.

- there were a couple of elder missionaries that my family grew close with, invited them over all the time for dinners all the time and what not, card games, board games, music, TV, etc. there was a time where we scheduled a dinner with them and they showed up late saying they were at a Missionary Conference in the area. David A. Bednar was mentioned to have been there and taking questions and one of them was asking about the church and what will happen to it when the "second coming was going to happen" (i know it's fear mongering and a manipulation tactic now, but humor me here lol). Bednar's response to the question was how "the church and it's leaders would have been so corrupt that the church would be destroyed and same for it's members for 1,000 years before the church would be established on the earth again". among other things, he also mentioned how God's church isn't one of a physical structure but nature, how things like meditation were important and gratitude and stuff like that (a lot of other things that contradict church teachings. i've never heard anything in church growing up about how God's church is in nature, and even when talking about meditation or affirmations or gratitude to people i knew from church, leaders, ward members, missionaries etc. i was told that, especially affirmations and meditation, wasn't a thing the church teaches and talks about??) any time i have brought up what Bednar has mentioned to leaders, ward members from the past, missionaries from the past etc, they don't deny it. instead they change the topic or try to shift conversation elsewhere.

sorry for the long paragraphs lol, but if anyone wants to share some things they were taught growing up i'd honestly love to read about it! i've tried finding sources for the things i mentioned above, but i haven't been able to find anything 😅 sources would be great as well, if possible!