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It seems like there are always 3 or 4 guys who always feel the need to say something. Sometimes it was a quote from the scriptures, which is fine. Other times these people would basically give their personal opinion on something but say in a strong argumentative style as if it were a true matter of fact.
That’s exactly why I stopped participating in lds.net.
If we were building more in Missouri and fewer in Draper (where they are like six miles apart), it would be easier for me to believe in the Latter-days (or latter days). Utah isn’t Zion; it’s a temporary camp. Random thoughts on the topic, mostly from reading this forum. So, a good place to start is with the recent Pew Research report (released 24 July and that was not a coincidence) which gives some idea of where the church is. Much more Utah-centric and less dynamic than I would have thought from my own observations. And it seems to me that both trends are likely to continue.
StayLDS is interesting to me because it seems to be bucking one of the other trends that I’ve seen in my lifetime: the tendency to get rid of faithful Mormons with slightly (and sometimes not quite that slight) different ideas on the gospel. I think of the academics not that long ago and some personal friends. When people who were born in the church are forced out instead of being somehow accommodated, the church shrinks (obviously) and become even less dynamic.
I expect the church to come to better terms with homosexuality fairly soon. I see two trends here. The first is that it’s easier for gay people to come out, even Mormons. The second is that general authorities are getting slightly younger and at some point they will be in close touch with grandchildren and children who are gay. Think about VP and Mrs Cheney. From where they stand on most issues, you’d expect them to be violently anti-gay, but they have a gay daughter and they know that she does not conform at all to the usual right-wing rhetoric about homosexuals so they do not go along with it.
Otherwise, I see the church becoming more and more like other Protestant churches. I left SLC and the church when I was 18 and came back when I was 40. Big shock! All the wonderful stuff that I loved (but didn’t believe) was now no longer “emphasized”. See that here as well. The really interesting, unique, and peculiar doctrines are sliding away from our collective attention.
There is a big battle in the offing when the existence of the “Internet Mormons” comes to the attention of the “Chapel Mormons.” Big gap there. Could be either an accommodation or the people who believe in a limited site for the Lamanites and that the Book of Mormon is inspired but not necessarily true are going to be hitting the road.
You probably need to know that I’m a life-long skeptic (well, since 4 or 5, anyway) born in the Church, the end product of nearly countless generations of polygamy. Quote:I mean being in a ward seems to define ones life. It tells you who your friends are.
Might try staying LDS by getting some friends that aren’t in the ward and that stay friends regardless. By becoming a Naturist, I made many friends, both here in UT and on the Internet, both Mormon and not, who stay friends. Do you have interests that would work that way? Bobbin Lace? Writing?
Quote:HTer who pretend to care but who don’t actually remember what you said two minutes ago.
Having the right Ward Teachers is a key. I’ve had the same Ward Teachers for the last twenty years plus (although it’s like the ax that came across the plains in ’47: had to change the handle a couple of times — and the head once). But they are also my friends and we never do the lesson — talk about local and family history and stuff. Except, they got re-assigned in June and I haven’t seen any replacements yet (and tomorrow is the last day of the month) and I just don’t know how that’s going to work out. But, even though I attend very rarely, I like to see Lloyd and Kent every month, I can tell you.
Quote:Wanna get out of Utah. Wanna explore the world and the meet the people and listen to them and soak them in!
I think that’s a key to Staying LDS for many. My church activity is proportional to the square root of my distance from the Center Stakes of Zion. Branches are a lot more fun than wards. Even some “good” Mormons make it a point to stay away from Utah. My little brother turned down chances to teach at BYU. Preferred to teach in the East. Closest he could stand was New Mexico.
Quote:Perhaps I have PMS or really need a vacation.
Maybe take a little vacation from being some active. Maybe you need a three month staycation where you just go inactive or less active. Don’t have to turn into a drinking, smoking, swearing Jack Mormon, but just take a break.
Naturally,
R.O.
Quote:Is it more logical to think that the Christian God started the Big Bang …
Although the Big Bang Theory is now well-established, it is, relatively speaking, recent. When I was a youth, Mormons who had any notions of then-current cosmology favored the Steady State Theory. The pre-existence, eternal progression, the whole “as God once was” business fitted rather well with it. CalTech was then the last redoubt.
I find it ironic that my little brother, as faithful a Mormon as ever lived, went to CalTech and helped put the last nails in the coffin of Steady State with his Ph.D. dissertation. Of course it didn’t dent his beliefs in pre-existence, eternal progression, or “as God once was” one bit.
Naturally,
R.O.
