I need a bias free atmosphere.

I’m here because I needed a bias free (or less biased) environment for discussion about my relationship with the church. Where I live, it isn’t incredibly common to come across LDS members, let alone LDS members with doubts. So, this is the best hope I have for finding a support group.

I was raised in the church. My father’s side of the family has been LDS pretty much since the church was established. My mother is a convert. I’ve always struggled with religion. I’m married and have been for some years.

My side of the family is more or less split down the middle on religion. My mother and half my siblings are not active/agnostic/atheist, my father and the other half of my siblings are orthodox. My family does tolerably well considering the differences.

My husband’s family is all orthodox – except him. My husband is agnostic (a somewhat recent development). His family doesn’t do well with differing opinions. We are often hear the word “intellectual”, but they use it synonymously with “Black Sheep”. It makes my husband anxious, because he hasn’t told them the extent of his views, and it makes me depressed because I was previously labeled “Black Sheep” because I am literally the only person (male and female, in-laws included) who didn’t serve a mission. So now I feel like the “Black Sheep” label will stick.

The only person I know that doesn’t give me a biased opinion on a topic is my husband. He will discuss topics but he doesn’t want to influence my religious decisions. So, I’ve found myself in need of more material to help make my decision and another set of ears. I hope to gain some clarity and find some help with my questions here.