Today, Debora Meireles Ling joins John and Margi to share her journey growing up in a deeply orthodox LDS family in Brazil, where Mormonism shaped nearly every part of her life. As a teenager, Debora felt intense pressure to live the gospel perfectly and struggled with perfectionism as she tried to meet the expectations placed on faithful members. Debora was called to serve a mission in the São Paulo South Mission, but the experience quickly became overwhelming. After experiencing severe anxiety and panic attacks, she was sent home early—a devastating event she initially interpreted as a punishment from God. She reflects on the emotional toll of mission culture and the challenges missionaries can face when mental health struggles arise. After returning home, Debora worked to rebuild her life while remaining deeply committed to her faith. She eventually married a fellow returned missionary, and together they tried to build the kind of life they had always been taught to pursue within the Church. Over time, however, new questions and experiences began to challenge some of the assumptions she had carried for most of her life.  This conversation explores perfectionism, missionary culture, mental health, and more. Show notes can found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/perfectionist-mormon-missionary-sent-home-early-from-brazil/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:26 - Her Mormon story begins 00:17:31 - Baptism 00:28:24 - Dating 00:33:10 - Membership in Brazil 00:26:20 - Young Women’s 00:45:25 - Age change for sister missionaries 00:46:46 - Called to Sao Paulo South Mission 00:54:09 - Panic attack 01:08:13 - Mission overall 01:12:18 - Unsafe on her mission 01:19:38 - Told she was being sent home early 01:32:21 - Missions can be inhumane 01:38:06 - Writing to an elder 01:48:03 - Interracial marriage 01:52:27 - Husband began to have questions 01:58:23 - Church leaders on COVID vaccine 02:07:28 - Different church 02:15:09 - Called to Relief Society Presidency 02:20:38 - Issues from CES Letter 02:27:29 - “Choose” to have faith 02:32:38 - Husband says, “I’m done” 02:39:49 - Resigning from the church 02:41:41 - Rebuilding 02:52:48 - Who she is outside of motherhood 02:57:24 - Mormon Stories/LDS Discussions 03:07:11 - Final questions 03:11:00 - 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