In Part 2 of our series on Seventh-day Adventism, Melissa Spiers shares her personal story of growing up as a fourth-generation Adventist in a deeply religious family shaped by strict lifestyle rules, purity culture, and constant pressure to perform spiritually. Melissa describes her experience navigating SDA education systems, thought control, and the intense expectations placed on young women within the church. She also discusses her eventual move away from Adventism, and the complicated relationship between religion, identity, and personal freedom. Another major focus of this episode is Melissa’s discovery of abuse within her own family, the response from Seventh-day Adventist leadership, and the broader systems she believes protect abuse within high-control religious institutions. She shares how these experiences affected her relationships, mental health, and eventual religious deconstruction. Throughout the conversation, Melissa reflects on healing, rebuilding life outside of religion, and the challenges many people face after leaving high-demand faith communities. We also discuss her new memoir, "Holy Disobedience: Sex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows". You can purchase her memoir here: https://www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/holy-disobedience/ Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/leaving-the-seventh-day-adventist-church/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Recap and overview 00:03:44 - Melissa’s intentions & disclaimers 00:18:15 - Thought/emotion control as a kid 00:28:22 - Purity culture teachings 00:32:45 - Three “indoctrinization” sessions a day 00:47:26 - Her mom pulled our out of school 00:50:09 - Decided to be an actor 00:55:59 - Marriage to controlling man 01:01:18 - Found out her dad was a child abuser 01:09:46 - Confronting her parents 01:15:16 - Sharing her story for other ex-Adventists 01:20:09 - Speaking to her father’s abuse victim 01:24:53 - Finding religious deconstruction communities 01:31:53 - Lawsuit against the SDS 01:33:41 - Family relationships now 01:45:10 - When not to leave religion 01:58:09 - Key pillars to healing 02:11:14 - Final questions 02:15:41 - Conclusion ___________________ 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