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Today I am thankful for those who courageously blaze new trails for those behind them to benefit from. In the context of what is going on with the church at present, it makes me grateful to those historians and others who worked to bring truth of the church out in the open. No doubt that they were walking a thin and lonely line to perform this service. But I think over time, we will all benefit from it. And since it is Sunday and I am handing out accolades to those who blaze new and better trails, I’m thankful to the many of unnamed parents of adult children with disabilities who have worked hard to enrich their lives. My own daughter with some significant disabilities will age out of the school system early next year, so my wife and I have begun in earnest to look for positive activities and programs she can participate in and experience fulfillment in her life. For the last few days, I’ve googled, searched, emailed, and researched. I’m touched by reading the blurbs on the “About Us” links on their websites to learn that it so often says stuff like the following:
“
was started by a group of parents who wanted their grown children to have a fulfilling experience as adults. At the time our program was organized, their only options were to keep their children at home, or to put them in a state institution.”. I’m grateful to the folks that have fought for funding and societal attitude changes to bring these kinds of services to fruition. Jamie is only 22 years old, but believe it or not as recent as her birth, the advice of someone at the hospital at that time was to give her up to the state and enjoy her twin instead. Really?? I am thankful to have her in my life. Though her “graduating” from school will bring some significant changes and possibly a forced move from the rural area in which we live over the next year, I wouldn’t give up experiences, like pushing her along in a giant stroller in a 5K race or singing Eric Clapton’s unplugged version of “Before Your Accuse Me” on the guitar for anything
Ray, I’m glad you posted this and I want you to know how much I appreciate your efforts to keep this forum positive. There are so many negative discussions out there and this is one of the very few places I can go and feel true support. I know I speak for others in saying that.
Generally, I try looking at all your comments as a participant and only as a moderator when you explicitly state it. You have a very balanced perspective on the gospel and the church which has been very helpful to me as I seek understanding.
ConfusedMolly, I grew up in the Mormon Corridor too and can truly relate to the teaching here that you should only get information about the church from the church and that anything negative is the world fighting against it. It makes me feel kind of dumb that I was so trusting now. But hey, I am in the one and only true church, so why should I doubt their judgement. I don’t think you can go through this whole transition experience without coming out knowing that leaders have their limitations. I’ve come to believe that when they say they won’t lead us astray, it’s more of a wish they are expressing than anything. They do care about us and want that idea to be true.
As for me, I’ll listen to the talks and ask God what I need to be following from them.
Amen to the “Live a good life” quote. Excellent, simple advice to live by. Focusing on trying to be good and think of others in the here and now helps me feel closer to God than such things as genealogy or other things we are taught by the Church. In my head, that must mean something.
Hi 1gentlespirit. Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your story. Hope you get a lot out of participating here as it sounds like you have had your share of challenges. Welcome, Cedar! I’m glad you found us. You’ve just summarized most, if not all, of the issues I have struggled with as well. I think you will find solace here and perspectives that will assist you on forging ahead.
Sorry you had such a bad day SD — those are definitely tough. Hopefully things will improve for you soon. DarkJedi wrote:What makes this a good thing that happens is that this came from a very highly respected member of the group who most view as very orthodox.
Definitely a good thing!
Lunch with Dan Wotherspoon today. He is as pleasant and positive in person as he is on the podcasts over at mormonmatters.org. So glad I had a chance to meet him and just chat. As it turns out, my daughter ran track with his when they were in high school. Small world. Great choice! I’ve only heard that song a time or two, and it has a super message. Glad you went through the whole hymnbook to find it. Hi Charity, For one, keep on coming here to read and post – this is a wonderful supportive community working hard to accomplish the purpose of staying LDS. Unfortunately, at this point, much of the support for me comes from the online community, but that’s not a bad thing. It is just the way it is. So many in the Church have been taught that you must “know” the church is true, though I think (I hope) this is changing. At present, it means for me and others here that doubts have to be held close to the vest.
I am in the High Priest Group leadership now, so I must attend those lessons every Sunday. I really try to focus on Christ and what he would do, so now when I share things, it focuses more around what He would do and not what the institutional church expects of us. It’s a gentle way of sharing with others and virtually nobody can argue against a teaching of Jesus. I just try not to let some of the hard core teachings get to me and in Sunday School, there have been times I am just quietly reading something else on my tablet.
Although it can kind of project a bit of an “us” versus “them” mentality, I love the iron rod and liahona analogy given by Richard Poll (
http://www.zionsbest.com/people.html ). I sounds like your bishop is looking at you and your husband to be the rescuers of the doubters. But I think your talk is a wonderful opportunity to teach those “normal members” in the congregation that you cannot necessarily “fix” the doubters. Be loving and supportive and accept them as participants in the Church. We all have different levels of “testimony”.Thanks for sharing this — there is absolutely no doubt there are many people in the church doing what they can to help others not only cope, but thrive. It is very important to remember that. Thanks for posting this Ann — it definitely makes one think and feel some of the anguish this young woman has experienced through a lifetime because of this church doctrine :sick: . To me, polygamy was just one doozy of a mistake and I guess I expressed that sufficiently on the other thread.On the positive side though, I am glad the Church did finally say something about such a forbidden topic. The essays they posted would have gotten someone disciplined not that many years ago. I hope that they will continue moving forward and someday reach a point where people can get some relief. It’s just baby steps on this round, but at least it is something.
I don’t think they are apologists either, for basically the same reasons that SBR has mentioned. They just seem to lay their thoughts on the table while still being faithful in the church. I read RSR earlier this year and Bushman for the most part just lays things out that happened — quite historical in nature. I don’t think he nor the Givens have ever hammered on the idea of “but this is still the one and only true church” like apologists do. But then again, maybe my definition of “apologist” is more narrow than your friend’s
