It depends on the particular family. It can be wide ranging from passing mild anger and/or sadness to complete shunning and even legally disowning their child. Usually it ranges between these extremes. I have known many people who have escaped from the LDS church. Parents, if they are very good ones, usually know how to push their childrens buttons. Like any other parent, Mormon parents will begin pushing buttons. The big difference here is that the buttons they push in this situation are reinforced by years of conditioning that often overwhelms a would be errant child. Even as an adult.

I was raised Mormon, and eventually rejected it because I lost all faith in GOD. My parents were upset, but supported me and still showed their love. After a few years, I regained my faith in the lord, and now go to My church every other week. (My Fiance isnt mormon, so we go back and forth to each others churches). My brother now feels the same way I did, and my parents still love him very much. Some other families could be more harsh, but I haven't met any.

science_geek: So, once again the mythical Mormon Mafia is downrating me for telling the truth. Note that they are not actually saying anything, just hitting the thumbs down. This is the truth, I have seen it with my own eyes. I have watched as other people left from within as well as from without. in regaurds to: I think that every family is different. If my kids left the church at any age I would love them no matter what. God lost 1/3 of his children to Lucifer, it doesn't mean that he stopped loving them. I have a friend of mine, all but one of her children left the church, does she disown them no... actually all of them still live with her. On the other hand I know of a Bishop that left the Church because his son did. He prayed asking God to bring him back and when the son didn't come back the man got mad at God and left the church. a good honest mormon would NEVER disown thier child. Just because some do, doesn't mean all do. thats like reading the first few chapters of a book, then asuming you know the ending. you will not get any thumbs down from me. you have the right to your opinion, but you do not have the right to tell others the do not have that same right.

Is this question about belief and teachings of the Mormon Church? or how Mormon humans act? If it is the second, Mormons act the same way as I believe anyone else would that believes there faith to be the only true faith. Members are allowed to act on their own free will, though it may be contrary to their own beliefs. So those that reject their faith may be shunned, loved, hated, rejected, and whatever else you can think of. If it is the first, Mormons have not been taught to hate or shun those that leave the Mormon Church. Mormons are taught to love their family, neighbors, and everyone whether they're members and not. Family is extremely important in the Mormon Church.

The have the missionaries stalk them. Just kidding. I've moved recently and actually have NOT received a visit from the missionaries or people trying to do home teaching! That's kind of odd for me.

My hubby was raised mormon, and has started attending a non mormon church....his parents act like we dont even go to church, that our church doesnt even exist...it is sad....they tell my husband they will sign there farm over to him if he will go back to their chruch...thats bribery....and just wrong...needless to say we dont go to their church not even for holidays

It really depends on the family. My family is sad but don't really care. I am not sought out by the missionaries for not going nor do i get random calls from people in the church. Most of my family is very active in the LDS church. We still talk about it in a friendly manner from time to time but there is no pressure. But on the otehr side my Best Bud’s wife’s family has all but burnt her birth certificate. They send missionaries to her door any time they can and call her often leaving messages of repentance and other goofy things. Well actually it is mostly her mom, her sister and her sister’s husband. But her mom is "the head" of the family so she is written out of the family almost always. :( It really really depends where you live and what your family is like.

So there are adults and then children and then an adult child?

My husband was raised a mormon, but left the church when he was a young adult (years before he met me). After we got together we decided that we wanted religion in our home, and so we investigated the mormon church. It did not hold up. So we started taking classes at the catholic church in our town, (I was raised catholic.) We decided that was the way to go. His mother doesn't acknowledge our church-going in any way. She refuses to come to special ceremonies such as our marriage con-validation and his baptism.

Well being a Roman Catholic raised and baptised both catholic and mormon, then reconverted to catholic when I was older and had a choice of my own, I know that the JCLDS turns thier back on you and your family when you denounce them. My mom and grandparents got conned into believing in the church and after many years found out what they really were. Joseph Smith was the best religous con artist and obviously his legacy lives on. Both my grandparents are still active members of the church but turned their back on my family after we made a choice, even though the "church" isnt supposed to be like that.

I've been LDS my whole life, and now about half my family has stopped going to church, though I am still very active. But our personal relationships with each other haven't really changed at all. A few of the other people who answered this question have mentioned negative reactions by their families, like bribing with a farm to come back to church and what-not. That certainly isn't in the spirit of what the church teaches, but I think it happens within every religion. Certainy a lot of people who join the LDS church are disowned by their families of other faiths when they join. It's not a good thing, but its not the fault of any church. The idea is, you should love your children regardless what they do. Especially as adults, they need to make their own decisions.

I think it just matters about the family or the people you know in the church. Not all are crazy! This maybe a little off topic but my wife and I left the church, her 12 years in the church, me 2 not very active. I did a lot of research on the church and we left the church..one of her church friends urged her to leave me because I was evil and leading her astray, leave him and come back, marry someone that will take you to the temple so you can have an eternal family, is what she said.

Depends on the family. MY family send the missonaries, and constantly tells the adult children that they want to find new spouses so they can have a proper mormon family. They constantly and consistantly convey disappointment in everything the adult children do and offer the church as a solution to all of life's problems. So much so that the adult children no longer enjoy thier parent's company. Of course, all of this is done in private and nobody outside of the family knows the parents treat the children this way. I don't know if it's the norm or not, but it's incredibly sad considering how family based the church is supposed to be.

It really depends on the family. But most Mormon families that go through this, usually there seems to be a feeling of sadness that their child is leaving the church, but still it seems that the parents still love and accept their child in whatever decisions he or she makes.

What is an adult child?

Same as anybody else I expect - disappointment that the child followed a different path than they were raised on.