A former Mormon has shared her thoughts on how her voice has changed since she left the ultra-religious sect in her twenties.
Alyssa Grenfell, 31, grew up within the confines of an ultra-strict home, but escaped the uptight lifestyle and began focusing on getting her body back after leaving the Mormon church with her husband in 2017.
In a recent clip posted to her popular YouTube channel, Alyssa rewatched an interview from when she was still rooted in religion and had just returned from a missionary in Colorado, admitting that she barely recognized herself.
She was watching a clip of herself recording her testimony for God after finishing her mission, which aims to inspire younger people to also go out on their own.
Alyssa Grenfell (pictured in main photo) has shared information about how her voice has changed since leaving the religious sect, reacting to a video she recorded after her missionary (left inset).
In their Mormon missions, missionaries must spread the gospel to new people and help expand church membership.
The missions, which last six to 24 months, are voluntary and involve religious and community services, as well as humanitarian aid.
“This is the most Mormon version of me and I honestly feel like I don’t recognize that girl,” admitted Alyssa, who now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children.
He addressed the fact that his voice sounded very different than it does now, noting that it was higher and softer.
“You’ve probably heard it in the clips I’ve put up so far, that my voice is different,” he shared. “I have a different cadence, I have a lot more pauses, I speak a little slower and the pitch is higher.”
“Some people call this the voice of baby fundy, the voice of baby fundamentalism,” he shared.
Alyssa, who has written a book called How to leave the Mormon church Regarding her experience, she said that it was called that because the tone of voice was common for women raised in a very high-demand type of fundamentalist or evangelical religion.
‘[In] “In Mormonism you are often trained to speak differently, especially as a woman,” Alyssa explained.
‘[This involves speaking] a little more like a child, to speak a little more humbly; It is rather speaking with a higher pitch to sound more childish.
The mother of two regularly shares insights from her past Mormon life on social media. Pictured is Alyssa teaching at a Mormon Missionary Training Center in Utah.
As Alyssa, who also wrote a book called How to Leave the Mormon Church, ages, her fashion choices become bolder as she begins to show more skin and “get her body back.”
‘This is a way to hear all the women around you speak and know that you are trained to share your testimony of God.’
In the video, Alyssa had written that it is a very “submissive” voice.
The mother of two said she didn’t think she could do the voice anymore.
“It’s a different voice, it’s fundamentally a different voice and it’s a cult voice,” he reflected.
Alyssa said she had complicated feelings while recording her testimony, remembering that her mission was very difficult, but that she couldn’t share her true feelings because they were meant to encourage and inspire younger generations to do the same.
The ex-Mormon also mentioned how dangerous missions can be, especially for women, and that they tend to focus on missionary etiquette rather than their safety.
‘There are women who have died on their missions and there are women who have been [raped] on their missions,’ he shared.
Alyssa acknowledged that the men were also in danger and that a man at her husband’s mission had a knife pulled on him.
“We were all a little worried about death,” he admitted.
‘I really hope they are doing more to train women specifically on how to stay safe while they are knocking on doors talking to everyone.
“I hope they’re doing more now, because I feel like there was nothing.”
Alyssa said it can be jarring to rewatch videos of herself when she believed deeply in Mormonism.
‘I was so sure about Mormonism in this video [and] Now I don’t believe in it,’ he said.
She continued: “It’s confusing, it’s hard to look back and see what it was like then and feel so different now.”
After growing up in a strict Mormon home, Alyssa Grenfell shares how she found her personal style and reclaimed her body in her twenties. She in the photo of her with her husband at 23 years old.
The mother of two said she didn’t think she could do the voice anymore, reflecting on her life in Mormonism.
Alyssa Grenfell regularly shares insights into her past Mormon life on social media, documenting her journey from active church participant in the ultra-religious sect to eventually leaving the group.
She recently shared the bizarre list of rules she had to follow when she was a member of this strict religious group, from a coffee ban to extreme dating regulations.
Alyssa explained that Mormons follow a health code called The Word of Wisdom, which was essentially a scripture given to Joseph Smith when he was organizing the church in what was supposedly a health code given to the saints to follow.
While the former member said there was a movement to reduce the “very rigid set of rules” the church enforces, she said the religion itself would always focus on one set of rules and an obsession with purity.