[Martine]

Interesting. One of my brothers is more or less a TBM, but definitely has a healthy dose of skepticism. He once pointed out in Mormon 8, how it talks about Mormon seeing us and our day, and that the church of god has been corrupted, see verses 34 – 41. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/morm/8” class=”bbcode_url”>http://scriptures.lds.org/en/morm/8 Whether you want to interpret ‘church of God’ as ‘LDS church’ is up to you.

I could be misreading it, but it seems pretty clear that even in the church there is, or will be, widespread pride and corruption. I’m not saying at the highest levels, but…who knows? I’m sure I’m not the only one that has seen it at the Stake level, so why not higher? Although I sincerely hope not. If it ever comes to the point where we feel leery about prophetic direction, I think it will be like everything else – the prophet says x; then we ask for personal confirmation. Or more simply, what does your gut tell you? The prophet gives general direction, but I’m the captain of my soul.

[Martine]

I actually really like giving blood (as much as one can…) because it’s a relatively effortless way to give back and then you get juice and cookies. This is also why I liked primary. All blood is needed, so if you can, donate! I haven’t been able to lately as I was living in the UK for a few years, but I’m eligible again in a few months.

I found it interesting when donating in the UK that they only have a 4-6 week wait period between visits as opposed to 8-10 weeks in Canada. Also, their snacks were better. Here’s to the NHS!

As an aside, the first time I donated as a little 19 year old, I was first completely bummed that a person can’t donate if they’d been to prison (they must know horrible things happen there…) and then trying not to laugh when a nurse with a heavy Newfoundland accent asked me the sex/drugs questions.

Clarification: I haven’t been to prison, I just found it sad that they officially recognize whatever horrifying things go on.

[Martine]

Funny, I was actually going to post on this – how to teach in church when your ideas have shifted and are no longer 100% in-line with all doctrine. I have two teaching callings in my ward, RS and GD (I have no idea how I got so lucky…) which has caused some difficulty when I have a lesson where I don’t agree with everything in the manual. I like what Ray said about getting to the core principle in each lesson and then leading a discussion. That’s pretty much what I try to do, and if there’s a section of the manual I don’t agree with or don’t feel comfortable teaching, I omit it. Eg) one of the GD lessons earlier this year had a huge section on how we shouldn’t date non-members, and I cut the entire section out. It made for a disjointed lesson, but I would have been a) a giant hypocrite b) lying and c) lacking integrity if I’d taught as outlined in the manual. Go with your gut, and if something is too difficult to teach, gracefully delegate! Your approach also seems really humble, and I find that inspiring.

[Martine]

Old-Timer wrote:

Quote:

which “laws” do you think are necessary for becoming like Him?

The ones that deal with internalizing love, including some that aren’t obvious at first glance. Probably not much else.

This jives with my line of thinking. Like a few have said, it’s both more simple and then more complex than we mere mortals understand at this time. I get the feeling that it’s all about love, and the more temporal laws/commandments are there to help, but not to be focused on. Eg) if you’re not following the first two great commandments (love God and your neighbor) but follow the WoW to the letter, you’re probably on the wrong track. IMO.

[Martine]

This totally makes sense, and I’ve had similar thoughts. The way I see it, prayer doesn’t change God’s will. Like you say, he’s going to do what he’s going to do. But I think prayer has more of an effect on us. There’s a line from the film ‘Shadowlands’ about CS Lewis where he says something to the effect of “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes me.” I think it helps us to realize our place in the universe and that we are not in control as much as we’d like to think. Prayer can bind families and communities together as they pray for someone/thing; it can turn our hearts towards others and diminish selfishness (for me, anyway!). It can be really frustrating when we pray so sincerely for something and don’t see an answer or blessing, but maybe the blessing is in the asking? I don’t know.

And I love your ‘in the moment’ prayers of gratitude. I think that’s a good place to be in. Best wishes to your mother.

[Martine]

Thanks for the welcome, all.

Rix, you’ve further expounded on what I’ve been feeling. I may not have articulated it very well due to concerns about being long-winded, but the very nature of God is exactly what is at the centre of my struggle. The God I was taught about my whole life seemed to change, and if God is unchanging, then what? So yes, I’m reformatting what I believe God to be. Currently, I view God as a two person, male/female entity (I haven’t dared to say this out loud to anyone) and it’s working for me, but like most things, it’s subject to change. I take a lot of comfort in realizing that I don’t have to have all the answers and that I could be wrong about everything. It’s liberating!

Anyhow, cheers!

[Author]

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