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I would like to add that it’s a very well written book that covers a lot of territory. If you want a good summary of the issues related to the Book of Abraham, the first vision and priesthood restoration it’s not a bad place to start. It seems to me that a lot of material at Mormonthink.com appears to have come from Grant Palmer. Korash
I was at an MTC missionary fireside where Sterling W. Sill (how’s that for an age givaway?) was talking about patriarchal blessings. He asked, “How many of you were told in your patriarchal blessing that you would be one of the two prophets who would be killed in the streets of Jerusalem and be resurrected just before the second coming?” Several hands went up. “Don’t you believe it!” he yelled, “Sometimes patriarchs just get carried away!” Korash
Wow, this is a loaded topic. My wife has a friend who has often asked me to give her blessings for spiritual guidance. She expects a fortune-telling session that will spell out exactly what will happen and what she should do. My wife sits nearby with a pen and pad, taking dictation. Talk about pressure. There have been times when I felt truly inspired and other time when I knew I was just phoning it in. I finally explained to my wife what a weight it is to have people expecting you to be a prophet at the drop of a hat. She understood and finally told her friend that she needed to go to her bishop and home teachers for blessings. My wife also stopped asking for blessings from me as often as she used to, so maybe I burst her bubble to some degree. Korash
How about those reserved seats at General Conference for families of GAs? We always try to get tickets for the annual Christmas Concert. Sometimes we make the cut, sometimes not. I always look down from the nosebleed seats at all of those empty reserved seats for special people who didn’t show up. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. Korash
Though it may be difficult for many to find the balance, I think there are some excellent examples of people out there who live the middle way and have achieved a high degree of enlightenment doing so. I went the the Mormon Stories conference and came away with the impression that Carol Lynn Pearson, for instance, is a shining example of this. Korash
I think President Hinkley gave us a pretty good idea of how the prophets and apostles interact with the godhead when he talked about the revelation of lifting the racial ban on the priesthood. He said they prayed and there was a “good feeling” in the room that left no doubt that the priesthood was available to all worthy men in the church. That is the only revelation that has been announced in my lifetime and it did not involve a visitation. In other words, the apostles have basically the same type of access to God that the rest of us do. Korash
Since my recent coming out (about my testimony) I have found that people have very few tools to deal with me: 1) Sorrow: How could you be deceived and wander off in darkness? I pray that someday you’ll find your way back into the light
2) Anger: Quit being selfish and get a grip on yourself. Who do you think you are, anyway?
3) Disbelief: I know you have a testimony if you would just open your heart and accept it (possibly followed by an admonition to bear your testimony until you believe it)
4) Fear & defensiveness: I don’t want to hear you anti-mormon views (possibly followed by a passionate testimony bearing)
5) Any combination of the above
In general there is a perception that you have fallen and are lost in darkness, and possibly the recitation of a certain slant on free agency: you are free to choose for yourself, but watch out, you’re asking for trouble. You cannot possibly debate or even explain your point of view to a TBM because, even though you feel like you have bravely opened your eyes to difficult truths, regardless of the consequences, they think you have sold your birthright for a mess of potage (and their imaginations might run wild entertaining what sins that might entail).
I do not try to debate or convince anyone. It’s not my place to attack what they hold sacred. I accept that they are trying to make sense of me as viewed through a very narrow tube that will not permit them to accept that what I’m feeling could possibly be more enlightened than what they are feeling. As a consequence I am unable to discuss the issues openly with any of my friends and loved ones. And that really makes me sad.
Korash
Yesterday was the day I was dreading. I knew I had to come clean with my bishop and the men I work with in Young Men and ask to be released from my calling. I pulled each one aside and explained my situation. I was surprised how understanding and supportive they were (unlike my best friend, who I confided in last week, and who pretty much treated me as a traitor and offered me the fit-the-mold-or-hit-the-road ultimatum). All in all, it was the most spiritual Sunday I have had in a long time. Korash
