My greatest fear in leaving the Laestadian Lutheran Church was what others would think and believe about me. I knew they would think I am going to hell and that I no longer believe in God. I was sure they would think I'd "gone off the deep-end" as I had heard of so many others who left before me. I was afraid I was actually leaving God, even though I knew He had led me to leaving and most of all, I was terrified hell. I felt like I would never overcome these fears.
Now, I have friends both in and out of the church and have found a new community! I have good relationships with my parents, family, and friends still in the church and I consider myself very blessed because this is unfortunately not the case for most. And most important to me, I have a stronger relationship with God than I ever did in the church. Fear is just that, fear. It is typically not based in reality but on emotions and our subconsicous wiring.
I would love to hear the thoughts of others on this topic and know how I/we can help you as a community!
It was definitely hard to leave the LLC. I went back and forth for years wondering what to do.
My greatest fears were a) losing all my friends and b) worrying that the LLC was right and I would die after leaving and go to hell. I was really, really, afraid of dying and that God would punish me for leaving.
Well, I did lose all my friends. Not immediately, because I think some of them were hoping I'd repent. They soon all drifted away, though. It was difficult to replace them. I have some good friends now, but I still miss my old ones.
And God hasn't punished me for leaving. I've been blessed with a good husband and family, a home, good health and a beautiful place to live.
Distance from the LLC helped me see that it is a cult, or at least cult-like. Any group that intimidates a person into staying silent and not questioning its teachings is not a healthy group, no matter how close we are to each other and how much caring there is for each other.