exmormon decides what to do with family prayer

Family Prayer - Keep, Dump or Replace?

July 11, 2025•2 min read

This one was hard for me for many years. It felt triggering to pray to a god that I was confused about their existence. I didn't know how to do it the "non-Mormon" way, and I couldn't look at it from a non religious perspective. So we just stopped ...

family prayer disaster after leaving the lds church

What have you done with family prayer in your household?

Keep it - You still pray to Heavenly Father in your household and use this time just as you had before. Perhaps you like the routine of it, or just the quiet it brings, or you still really believe in a Christian god.

Dump it - Family prayer might have been an obligation to you. Perhaps you never really "felt" it. You may have even turned more agnostic since leaving the church and have gotten rid of this practice.

Replace It - Perhaps you no longer believe in the prescribed god you grew up with, but you still feel a connection to something deeper. Prayer may have turned into a time for meditation. Maybe you've even become more spiritual and family prayer time is more of a time to share things you are grateful for with the entire family and support each other in goals.

Whatever you have decided to do with family prayer - there is no right answer! Listen to your intuition and be open about it with your children. Have them be part of the process as you decide whether to Keep it, Dump it, or Replace it.

I talk a lot about how to make these kinds of decisions with your children in my course "Family Foundations: Creating a New Path Forward." I share a 3 step process for talking to your kids about leaving the church, and an action step of how to create a new pathway together! Click here to sign up!

Cheering you on,

Audra

Audra Phelps

I am a mom of 3, teacher and school administrator. I have seen a lot of good and bad parenting come through my classroom and office - and I have also been an energy-depleted mom looking for a better way to parent. After leaving the LDS church, I knew I wanted to raise my kids differently than I was raised. But I had no idea where to start, no one to mentor me, and no resources specific to this transition. I understand the frustrations and the reasons why we resort to parenting tactics that are more damaging than we like to admit. I will share with you what I have learned through raising my own kids, and observing the affects of different parenting styles on the students I work with. When we know better, we do better - and I am here to help you learn a better way to raise independent kids without the guidance of the Mormon church, and while rediscovering your authentic self.

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