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The poll answers refer to this map of Mormon population density: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dAK1Y1sEbuM/T6CMN6Hw-1I/AAAAAAAAAOw/zy-Fnjh9ttw/s1600/lds-percentage.jpg If the place you lived isn’t on the map (for example, I lived in Europe), make a guess at the percentage of Mormons in that area.
I’m testing the hypothesis that proximity to Utah influences whether people try to make Mormonism work for them after they lose faith in it. As before, I’m using “participants on StayLDS” as a proxy for the population I’m really interested in. Hopefully we’re sort of close-ish to a representative sample.
Officially, my “shelf” broke when I was living in a population <5% LDS. But it all started before my mission, all through stay at BYU, and continued for a couple years after. I guess you could say, the shelf begins to break as soon as its installed. My shelf breakage has been going on for almost a decade now; and I've lived in five different states, and two different countries during that time. I don't feel my answer is an accurate reflection. Yeah, there’s that danger. I had already had issues with some of the common discourse on salvation and almost completely disbelieved in a devil. (I hadn’t worked through the consequences of that yet, though.) The “shelf break” must have actually taken a long time. The assumption I’m making is that the context surrounding the event, if there is one, when you recognize your change in beliefs, greatly influences how you react.
I was raised in rural Utah County, so I came to recognize my heterodoxy in solid Mormon country. My own personal faith has been developed in Utah, Japan, Massachusetts, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, and North Dakota.
I was living in rural Iowa at the time of my family bereavement. The counselor I went to was non-LDS. The people at the support group we attended were non-LDS. I was exposed to the similarities in coping mechanisms from people of different faiths. I had wondered if I had been surrounded by LDS support if my path forward would have had a greater LDS flavor to it.
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