A woman has shared the secrets from her time living as a Mormon for 25 years and the discovery she made which prompted her to leave. Watch below.
Lexi McDonald, who posts on social media as Exmo Lex, grew up surrounded by Mormons.
The strict environment was ‘mentally exhausting’ for Lexi. Sexual activity before marriage is strictly forbidden and modest clothing is a must.
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Coffee, tea and alcohol are not allowed and going shopping or out for a meal on Sundays against the rules.
She grew up as a seventh-generation Mormon who spent more than two decades believing there was no true happiness outside of her Church life.
A profound moment in Lexi’s childhood involved a picture of Jesus falling off a wall and hitting her in the head. “As a little kid, I thought that had happened because I hadn’t paid my tithing yet that month,” Lexi recalls.
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“That sort of feeling, that carried on throughout my whole life, where if I did anything wrong and something bad happened, I felt like I was getting punished.”
Lexi ended up with ‘crippling anxiety’ and she had a ‘hard time’ making mistakes because ‘there were so many that you could make’.
From the time she was a child, Lexi was raised to believe that her goals should align with being a good wife and mother.
Marrying another Mormon is a big specification in the community.
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“A good wife is a mother, first and foremost,” Lexi recounts. “It’s super important to them to bring children into the world that’s one of their core doctrines.”
Women are discouraged from working and are in charge of childcare and the household chores. Meanwhile, the man is the provider and responsible for the home.
One day Lexi’s life changed forever. Although she enjoyed family life, she became curious. She was 25 years old when she decided to use the internet, something so many of us take for granted, to research her religion’s history.
Lexi had been swayed away from looking into 'outside sources of information because that’s the devil trying to deceive you’.
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She claims that she realised the Mormon Church had been keeping information from her, including details about Joseph Smith, the religion’s founder. “He was a polygamous,” Lexi says.
The same year, Lexi made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Church and break family tradition.
She says her relationship with her family is ‘different’ and some members think she has been 'deceived by Satan and led astray'.
However, Lexi still struggles with anxiety but says her life is ‘better than ever’ outside the Church.
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“I would never call myself an anti-Mormon,” she said. “I’m not against the Church. I’m just for the truth.”
You can watch Lexi's full story here.
Gregory Robinson