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I would like to express my views on tithing. I don’t have a problem with paying tithing because my husband and I have paid tithing all of our lives and so it’s a habit we really don’t even need to think about. The second reason is because I want to have a temple recommend. Two of my adult children are totally inactive but two are active and I’d like to be able to attend the temple with them for special occasions when invited. It’s like paying a membership to belong to a club. I think it would really bother me though if the bishop were to call me in if I didn’t pay tithing. And to be asked to meet again in another month is being way too pushy in my view. When leaders are pushy I tend to back away more. I think I’m more rebellious now than I ever was a teenager. My attitude now with church is that if I want to do something I will try to do my best and be dependable but if I really don’t want to do something I will say no. SilentDawning wrote:
@Catlady — has it been established what caused him to take the 1/2 bottle of tylenol? If so, is it something you feel you can share? I am very interested in knowing what the cause might have been, particularly since all indications were that he was happy.When I was on my mission, my biggest problem was lack of self-esteem. I took challenges to my leadership really hard, and personally as if it was all my fault. I suffered from personalization, taking everything as an afront to me personally. Counseling helped me see that it was due to problems with other people and that conflict when in leadership is inevitable.
As far as I know my grandson was suffering from depression/anxiety. I know this is a vague answer and I’m not sure what triggered the tylenol episode. I do know that his 2nd transfer was to a very small town in Arkansas (3,000 population) and it was difficult to find people to talk to and P days were boring to say the least. It was opposite of his first area (Memphis, Tennessee) where there was always lots going on and he could go the the church meeting house every P day and play basketball with other missionaries. In the 2nd area there was just a small branch and no place to play ball. Plus the the only other missionaries there were sister missionaries. As I mentioned before he didn’t think that it was o.k. to talk about his emotional struggles. My grandson got along o.k. with his companion even though they had nothing in common and he didn’t have problems with church stuff (as far as I know). Since coming home he’s been attending counseling sessions and is in a good place now.
Thank you all for your comments and your concern.
Thank you so much for all of your comments and thoughts. There were many wonderful suggestions and things to think about. I’ve been working on my talk and I do have a personal experience that I can use. I also have a grandson currently serving a mission and his last letter told of some relevant experiences that I would feel comfortable sharing. There is a conference talk by Elder David Evans -10/2017 on the subject of truth. He talks about having had a lot of questions about the church in his youth growing up. He relates talking to his mother about these questions and she would say “that is a good question. While you are searching and reading and praying for the answer, why don’t you do the things you know you should do and not do the things you know you should not? ” I really like that. AmyJ wrote:
catlady wrote:
About this time I learned that there were several accounts of Joseph, Smith’s first vision. I remember I was sitting outside of the Bishop’s office at church waiting for an appointment. I looked up and saw the painting portraying Joseph’s first vision and I had the strangest thing happen. It was like a huge shift of perspective in my brain. I no longer saw things the same way. It was weird and it was real.
Are you comfortable sharing with us what changed in your perspective please? Why are you defining it as “weird”?
This is a personal sore spot/uncomfortable itching spot (metaphorically) for me because thinking about Joseph Smith’s different versions is not something that I can emotionally understand, and it is not a comfortable (though more comfortable) fit for me intellectually. I think that I can learn from your experience, if you are willing to share it.
I will try and answer your question although it is kind of hard to explain. It was a sudden shift in my perspective as I looked at the painting. All my life from Primary up through Seminary and Sunday School classes I had been taught about Joseph’s prayer and “The first vision”. About the year 2013 I learn about the other versions. This was disturbing to me. I mean wouldn’t all those different details be somewhat important? And then that sudden shift came as a thought “what if…….this whole thing isn’t true?” I used the term weird because it was so sudden, like a eureka moment, you know?
:crazy: I’m an idiot. I completely lost my comment after I reviewed it. In a nutshell I said that yes the faith crisis was real and painful for me also. And it still is at times as it has left a hole. I’ve been dealing with this for several years. The softening has come through time as I realize something can be good and worthwhile even if it isn’t the same as I once believed.DarkJedi wrote:
catlady wrote:
I do really like the use of the phrase “faith transition” rather than “crisis of faith”. It is softer somehow and feels hopeful.
I agree. But it should also be pointed out that while for some people they’re the same, for others the crisis is a very real and often very painful process, and very very much a crisis that precedes a transition. For some the transition is away from religion.
Thank you all for your welcoming comments. I’ve read them several times and what you say resonates with me. It does help to know I’m not alone. I would like to make some replies to individual comments but I haven’t yet figured out how to do the quotation thing. I do really like the use of the phrase “faith transition” rather than “crisis of faith”. It is softer somehow and feels hopeful.
