Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I would say if they have asked not to be contacted, don’t. I have been there for awhile now and my ward has done a good job at respecting my wishes. However I just recently contacted the bishop discussing possible return and ended up with the youth over tonight doing service. Related you think? Had a nice visit though. I know that many may view it that way, but the way I view it is that all of the articles of faith explain what we as a church believe. There is no distinction between only those inside the church or those outside of it. I see everyone as my brother or sister, not only those that have become members of our church. Everyone is on a spiritual path, but many of us are just further along. We are instructed to help all equally, regardless of where they are in their journey. In order to achieve that I feel that often times we have to respect others views and simply ask Heavenly Father for help, all the while realizing and accepting that in the end, it may be ourselves that need to change. This is how I handle being a part member family. I must say that it took me awhile to come to grips with that, but since I have, I’ve been happier and i feel that I have grown into a more Christ like way of seeing things. Thank you for your kind words. I base my thoughts on our 11th article of faith which states “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” I think this gets overlooked at times but I live this article of faith daily. My son and I are the only members of the LDS church in my family. The rest of my family are members over every denomination from Baptist to Catholic. Even though I do not agree with many of the ways they see things or interpret certain scriptures, I feel in the end, we will all have parts we are incorrect on and I choose to concentrate on our similarities rather than our differences. I am open to anyone’s opinions on all matters that face us or the church and will always respect differing opinions from my own, however in the end, my relationship with Heavenly Father is just that…mine. For those of us with children of our own, I think this concept is easy to understand. My relationship with my son and my daughter are both similar while at the same time very different. But that doesn’t mean that I love either one of the less, I love them both the same. I pray that as I become active again in the church I find other members that think like we do. We can all grow in Christ through open and respectful dialogue.
Yeah, I guess that is what I am doing as well, trying to gain a testimony of it. As a reformed smoker of 15 years prior to joining the church, I do have a strong testimony of that part and can even see the alcohol fairly easily as well since the effects of alcohol abuse is kind of cut and dry. It’s the coffee and tea bit that I have issue with, but I’m working on it. Often times at church it is hard to look past the seemingly perfect appearance of ward families and see people just like myself who are most likely struggling with something. Maybe it’s debt, tithing, scripture reading, etc that they fall short on, you never know. What I’m sure of though, is I’m not the only one! Thanks for the reply SilentDawning. One thing that I have learned growing up in a Protestant household and attending a baptist college, is there are extremes in every church of every denomination. In my previous ward we had a lot of what i would call hard liners. Our views on something like what it meant to keep the sabbath holy varied a great deal. I remember getting into a rather heated argument one day with an older gentlemen in regards to watching football on Sunday and how that matter did not fall into an activity that was allowed on Sunday. Needless to say I had differing views, however I respect his opinion and interpretation of the scriptures and have no problem with him taking that approach with his family, however it surely is not something that is doctrinal and not something that I should be judged for. But I’m sure with a quick poll over at my college web forums, I could find plenty of people there that would agree with his thinking. I guess my main problem with our church and all the others is that far too often we take the avenue that so many things are this way or no way, when in reality we really do not know and will not know until we are on the other side of the veil. I feel that many of the churches have part of it right, but i find the most to be right at the LDS church. Like you have stated, the best way may be not to rock the boat so to speak and enjoy the good things in the church while lifting up questions we may have to Heavenly Father Himself and through fellow members at the forums. I must say my ward understood well my feelings on home teaching when I joined the church. I explained to everyone that I would be happy to teach a couple families with a companion due to my limited knowledge being a new member, but I would not allow anyone to come to my house due to my wifes feelings on the church. Turned out my home teacher was the eq pres and we would talk a bit after services on Sundays. They were always really quick and did the trick for all involved. Like many things, I believe more could be achieved by being more flexible with the members. There will be no trip to the temple any time soon for me. I would want my wife to be a member and join me. She has became more open to the church but has no desire to go to or join any church. Many people don’t understand that, but I respect it and knowing of her childhood experiences with a few holy roller types I can’t blame her. Maybe she’ll come around some time. I enjoy church and want to return to further my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus. I know there are many members that have problems. All of US are struggling with something. Jesus has been our only member to be perfect. Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I look forward to getting know everyone and join in with the conversations here. I am planning on going to church this weekend. I will be sure to post my feelings about my first trip to my SC ward. I am looking foward to seeing the difference between wards on different sides of the country. And I would like to know the answer to the questions posed above as well. Can I be a Mormon and have a coffee here and there, not go to the temple and have a wife that is not a member? We shall see.
