Shelise Sola discusses her life journey of being raised in the Mormon church, including the purity culture, self-worth struggles, and sexual trauma she experienced. She shares about having a faith crisis in her 20s after learning disturbing historical truths about the church, feeling liberated yet terrified, and rebuilding an identity outside of Mormonism. Sola also opens up about confronting childhood abuse memories, finding healing through experiences with psychedelics and embracing her voice by starting a podcast to support others leaving high-demand groups. https://youtube.com/cultstoconsciousness https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness Episode Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/portfolio-items/leaving-mormonism-in-las-vegas/ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro & Intentions 00:04:44 Story of Mormon royalty 00:08:12 Learning about polygamy for the first time at age 11 00:10:35 Family culture 00:14:20 She was very quiet growing up, but she was a dancer and loved it 00:16:30 Shelise makes costumes for TV and movies, she also acts 00:21:12 Mormon teen years 00:21:55 Purity culture 00:22:10 The lesson of the different kingdoms was traumatic 00:30:00 Trying to follow the rules of modesty 00:33:33 Biggest gripes with purity culture is that it has the opposite effect 00:43:45 Dating as a Mormon in High School 00:49:00 Worthiness interviews 00:53:20 The most cringy bishops interview and learning about her dad’s infidelity 01:00:47 Moving to Oregon was the best thing she could have done 01:02:45 Telling her peers about the Mormon church 01:08:21 She went home and started googling these answers to her friends questions 01:11:55 She loses her friend and goes to college in Vegas 01:14:00 She believed the church was true, but she dipped her toes in sin in High School 01:19:00 Life in Vegas “sin city” 01:25:00 Sexual sins with her boyfriend 01:31:35 The bishop punished her with a year of no temple, same punishment as sexs 01:34:50 What if the church is the problem? 01:38:00 Her family's relationships with the church, brothers, etc. 01:39:50 Her parents called her and told her they weren’t going to church any more 01:42:30 What did she feel when leaving the church? 01:45:10 A man she was dating took away her virginity 01:54:00 Millionaire Matchmaker 01:59:00 Her life now, confronting abuse 02:02:45 Dating after leaving the church; Breaking up with boyfriend after two years 02:03:09 Abusive and toxic relationships after leaving 02:10:55 Spiritual experiences using psychedelics 02:17:45 Releasing this trauma of this abuse, feeling compassion for the abuser 02:25:40 Getting involved in a podcast as a co-host 02:33:20 Starting her own podcast about leaving cults 02:39:50 What her journey was like calling her journey a “cult” 02:45:25 What made Mormonism a cult for Shelise 02:49:05 What care looks like for her around sexual trauma 02:52:50 Rebuilding after leaving the Church 02:56:25 Challenges to rebuilding 02:58:45 Is there anything that surprises you about yourself or your life? ___________________ 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