When Your Sister Leaves the Mormon Church - Meggan & Julie O'Neal | Ep. 2144

In today's episode, sisters Meggan and Julie share what it was like growing up in a family of 14 children in a very strict Mormon household. They describe a home built around structure, obedience, and high expectations: early morning scripture study, strict rules, limited privacy, and constant pressure to represent the “ideal” Mormon family. They each re-tell their own experiences growing up in this environment, and discuss why they found their relationship fractured for many years—then reveal how they re-kindled their relationship. They also each discuss their individual faith journeys and where they stand with their beliefs today. Topics/themes include: -Family dynamics -Authority and control in the home -Modesty and purity culture -Perfectionism, shame and worthiness -Faith transitions Meggan is also the host of her own post-Mormon channel called @GenerallyUnquotable ! This episode is a beautiful example of bridge building and unconditional love, and we are very grateful to Meggan and Julie for sharing their story with us. Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/when-your-sister-leaves-the-mormon-church/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Intentions 00:07:21 - Growing up Mormon 00:25:52 - Parentified children 00:33:17 - Fearing their father 00:40:23 - Relationship as sister 00:49:41 - Modesty/Purity culture 00:58:25 - Sex education 01:15:23 - First doubts of faith 01:20:25 - Cracks in God as a parent 01:27:07 - Julie’s High School experience 01:42:26 - Confessing sex to her bishop 01:55:40 - Major blows to Meggan’s testimony 02:10:53 - Discovering the Book of Abraham 02:17:57 - Family noticing her falling away 02:33:47 - Why not ask Meggan why she left? 02:53:33 - Julie’s faith crisis 03:04:23 - Reaching out to Meggan 03:08:29 - Meggan’s response 03:14:41 - Building back their relationship 03:34:33 - Final thoughts ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117