About Me — Steve Arrowsmith
Free At Last, Free at Last, Free At Last
No Man Knows My History
Over my lifetime, I have been many things to many people. And yet, not the thing I wanted to be for myself. And here we are, almost 63 years of age and a memoir or three in process. How is that possible? Well, as you see by the subtitle above, I am finally free and able to do what the hell I want. Family, employment, and faith no longer constrain me. After 35 long years, I no longer have to worry about consequences from anybody else. My consequences are now my own.
So, who the hell am I? I am a proud Englishman who has resided in the USA for 24 years. I emigrated to attend graduate school at BYU. After completing a Dual Honors Degree in History and American Studies with a Minor in Religious Studies in 3 years at Manchester Metropolitan University in England, I taught American Studies at MMU for a year. My family then flew to the jewel of the USA, yes, that’s right, you guessed it, Utah. I graduated from BYU with a MA in History with an emphasis in British and Utah Mormon History. During that time, I interned at the LDS Church Museum and spent many years in the LDS Church Archives. While at BYU, I worked as a researcher for Dr. Ron Walker, the finest mentor I have ever had. After changing my career due to family and mental health issues, my new path took me back to LDS Church employment within the Welfare Department. Assignments and employment took me around Utah and Arizona before my premature retirement due to a severe medical issue.
I followed my wife into baptism and was a highly dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for almost 35 years. After being ordained a High Priest at an unusually young age, I served in most local Ward and regional Stake positions or callings in England and Utah. As mentioned above, due to family and major mental health issues, after 20 years, I was excommunicated from the LDS church due to “Bringing the name of the church into disrepute.” It was a sorrowful time, and although abusive and mentally ill, no aid was offered, but at least the name of the church was beyond reproach (sarcasm is hard to emphasize).
Amazingly, encouraged by my fiancee, I was rebaptized years later. The most difficult path is returning to the LDS church's good graces. Statisticians within the church would point out the difficulty of returning to the fold because over 96% of people never return. Once more, I fought the good fight. However, after many years of asking questions without any answers, I started my journey of withdrawing from not just the LDS church but also Christianity. Suddenly, it became apparent that I had been living in a mix of Disney and a Truman Show. Only without the lovely children's songs. The blue pill was wearing off, and I finally wanted the red pill. The Matrix is an illusory world created to prevent humans from discovering that they are slaves to an external influence. In my case, it became ever more apparent what exactly that influence was. And so here we are! You now know something about me, of course not everything, just the parts I want to reveal at this juncture.
I believe the less you reveal, the more people can wonder. I do not like to state the obvious. I believe you should not become a mere recorder of facts but attempt to penetrate the mystery of their origin. That’s enough for today, folks!
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2021
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