Not Bitter—Just Free
🕊️ Not Bitter—Just Free
Why the Truth Feels Like Fire Before It Feels Like Healing
💔 “You’re Bitter” — The Easy Label
It happened again this week.
A sweet, well-meaning lady—someone I’ve known and respected—read some of what I’ve written and said, “You’re bitter.”
Then, just a few nights later, inside the temple, she looked at me with concern and said:
“Oh, are you feeling better now?”
Her smile was kind, but the words carried an assumption:
If I speak against false traditions, I must be sick.
If I share truth that doesn’t fit the approved narrative, I must be bitter.
That’s the LDS script, isn’t it? Anyone who steps out of line must be:
Offended,
Angry,
Or “spiritually unwell.”
But here’s the truth, my friends: I am not bitter. I am free.
And if you’re reading this with a lump in your throat because you feel the same way… I see you. And you’re not bitter either. You’ve just learned to breathe.
🧠 Why the Truth Feels Like a Punch at First (A Little Science)
There’s a reason it took me years to let go of anger and come to peace. It’s not just spiritual—it’s biological.
Your brain hates new truth when it contradicts old beliefs. Science calls this cognitive dissonance. When a belief is tied to your identity (like “The LDS Church is the Kingdom of God”), any challenge to that belief feels like a threat. Your brain actually floods your body with stress chemicals—cortisol, adrenaline—as if you’re being attacked.
So when someone hears, “The traditions of the fathers have mingled with the gospel,” their brain screams: Danger!
And the easiest way to defend themselves is to say:
“You’re just bitter.”
But give it time. That same brain can rewire. That’s the miracle of repentance—both spiritual and neurological.
📜 The Doctrine and Covenants Warned Us
Even Joseph Smith saw this problem:
**“That wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth,
through disobedience and because of the traditions of their fathers.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 93:39)
There it is. Two reasons for losing light: sin and tradition.
The first is obvious—break God’s commandments, and you lose light.
But the second? That’s more subtle. You can keep all the commandments, attend every temple session, pay every tithe—and still lose light if you cling to traditions that are not of Him.
✅ The Real Commandments (What No One Talks About)
Every Church member says, “Keep the commandments.” But have you noticed? Most of them mean checklists—rules written by men.
The scriptures say otherwise. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and even Nephi’s own story all teach that the commandments are what Christ tells you—personally.
When Nephi was commanded to kill Laban, that wasn’t on any stone tablet. It was the Lord’s direct voice to him. And Nephi kept the commandment because he listened.
But here’s the thing: the Lord doesn’t usually start with Nephi-sized commands.
Most of the time, His whispers are small, simple, and full of love:
“Pick up your socks.”
“Help your wife right now instead of finishing that thing you’re doing.”
“Roll down your window and give that man the money in your pocket.”
“Does that person need it more than you do?”
If we won’t listen to Him in the little things, how could He trust us with the big ones?
That’s the only way we can get close to our Lord and Savior—here and now, in the flesh:
Close your eyes.
Feel His presence.
Ask. Ask. Ask.
And He will tell you what you should do. Not your bishop. Not your quorum. Not your traditions.
The Book of Mormon shouts this truth if you have ears to hear:
“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”
(2 Nephi 32:3)
And again:
“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good.”
(Alma 37:37)
This is how commandments work in the Kingdom of God. They are alive. They come from Him, to you, right now.
Give yourself to the Savior, and He will show you. That is keeping the commandments.
🔥 How Freedom Feels (And Why It’s So Loving)
Let me tell you what freedom in Christ feels like.
It’s Peaceful – No more frantic proving of worthiness. No more fear of missing a checklist.
It’s Healing – Years of spiritual bruises fade when the Savior whispers directly to you.
It’s Loving – The less you’re bound by traditions, the more you love people where they are. You stop needing them to agree with you to love them.
Truth doesn’t bind you. It doesn’t demand obedience to men.
Truth sets you free. And nothing feels more like love than being free.
💪 Fighting for Truth—Without Chains
So no, dear sister—I’m not bitter, and I’m not sick.
I’m healed.
I’m free.
And I fight for truth not with anger, but with love—because anger is just another chain.
I don’t have to argue anymore. I don’t have to prove anything.
All I have to do is live free—and people notice.
📖 A Motto for the Remnant
“I am not bitter. I am free.
I am not sick. I am healed.
I do not fight for truth with anger—
I live it with love, and let it speak for itself.”
The Savior Himself said, “The truth shall make you free.”
He never said, “The traditions of your fathers will save you.”
So to my dear brothers and sisters still bound by tradition:
I love you.
I’ll wait for you.
And when you’re ready to breathe this free air, you’ll find the Savior waiting too.
⛓️ A Question for You
Are you clinging to the voice of God—or to traditions? One brings light. The other blinds you to it.
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