Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Why did I not see this before?
For so many years, I plodded along in the Mormon Church because it was where I was "supposed" to be. I finally got tired of that and two years ago, I chose to go inactive to give myself a need break from the culture of the church, which I hate. During that time, I began to read about the history of the church and found some things that opened my eyes to a completely different side of the church then I had ever seen before. My whole life, I believed in the basic teachings of the church but never had a great "with every fiber of my being" testimony. I always though something was not right about the Golden Plates and some of the visions Joseph Smith had. It seems that my doubts were valid. I have found so many things that go against what I have always been taught. The purpose of this blog is to give me a forum in which I can express my views of the church and its doctrine. This is not an anti-Mormon blog. I remain respectful of the church and those in it and I think they do tremendous good throughout the world. It is however a place for me to point out valid points of conflict I have found through my studies. I believe in looking at both sides of an argument and letting people come to their own conclusions. I hope you find what I write insightful and informative. Please feel free to comment and share with me your thoughts.
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Let me see if I can guess what happened here?
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in the Mormon Church. You considered yourself to be active and have a testimony that the things you understood were true and correct. You may or may not have served a mission. Overtime, you started to miss Church a couple of times per month. Soon, you started justifying missing Church so that you could focus on doing things with your family on Sundays, afterall, the Church teaches the importance of family. Soon, you started to have thoughts and questions. To answer these question, yahoo or goole search was used. This led to some Mormon and some anti-Mormon websites. The anti-Mormon websites were interesting and drew you in. You found yourself visiting these website and they sparked even more curiosity and questioning. Eventually, you found and read someones recommended book. It wasn't long until you felt that there were many things that were never taught to you before. Since at this point you no longer attended Church, you felt a little distant from God and searched to fill that void again, turning to the Bible. At this point you searched the Bible to try to prove Mormon doctrine false.
Now you feel confused and wish to release your feelings to anyone who will listen and to seek comfort from others in similar standing.
Am I close?
No, not really. I think if you read the “Why I Blog” post it gives a pretty good explanation as to the purpose of this blog and where I am coming from. It apparently has struck a nerve with you because you seem intent on attacking my character. You make assumptions about my disaffection that you could not possibly know. Your understanding of how and why people leave the LDS church is comical and not surprising. You are only regurgitating the same tired and ill-informed ideas fed to you during General Conference. LDS leaders continue to ignore the issues and facts that bother a large number of disillusioned Mormons. Instead, they plug their ears, close their eyes, and just keep saying, “Because of sin, anti-Mormon propaganda, alternative life styles, and laziness.” (Repeated three times)
ReplyDeleteMy reason for leaving is purely doctrinal, historical and ethical. I do not agree with many vital points of doctrine, I see how church history has been distorted or whitewashed, and many teachings and actions of the church go against my own personal ethics. Reading what I write should make it clear what parts of Mormonism I do not agree with.
You will notice that none of my information here comes from questionable sources. I am very careful when I do my research to make sure I get my information from respected books and people which primarily consists of those in the Mormon community. I have, on more than one occasion, refused to use something because I could not verify the source or deemed it to be from someone who was not trustworthy. I don’t believe something just because someone told me it was factual. I take the time to find out for myself.
Have you taken the time to read what the church’s history books actually say? I think if you did, you would be more understanding towards me and others who have done so and come to the conclusion that the church is not what it claims to be.
I hope you continue to visit and share your thoughts. I just ask that you do it respectfully and intelligently.
I have been around it and I have seen it first hand (Reference to people leaving the Church, but not leaving it alone). Usually the stories are similar. Also, you claim I am "regurgitating" information fed to me. I study the doctrine and teachings of the church just as you study the doctrine and teachings contrary to that perspective. You and I are very similar, except on opposite sides of the issue. I see your commentary as "regurgitating" the ideas of anti-Mormon groups. So we have similar views of each other.
ReplyDeleteDo you plan to take your quest deeper and find that the Bible is not true? There are a lot of websites that "prove" the Bible to be false. Or do you simply end your conquest with Mormonism? Is Christ really who the Bible says he is? At what point, and why does one stop the intellectual study of Doctrine?
Since I am Agnostic, I don’t see the point in going beyond the beliefs of my past. Who Jesus was is really not that important to me at this point in my life. I have been Mormon all my life and therefore, only feel qualified to speak about the religion I grew up in and know. I use the Bible on occasions because the LDS church also believes in it and Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, said that there “should be no clash in the principles revealed in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants.” Much like the Book of Mormon, I think the Bible has many things that point to it not being factual, but there is far more evidence in favor of it then there is for the BoM.
ReplyDeleteI don’t “leave Mormonism alone” because I see it as a deceptive and untruthful organization and I feel the need to speak up about my experience in the church and why I left. This was not always my intention but the more I uncover, the more constrained I am to write. If I can help someone out there to get up the courage to do what I have done and educate themselves, then I have accomplished my goal. I could really care less if someone wants to be a Mormon. That is their choice. I just want to make sure they have as much information possible to be able to make an informed, educated decision about it. All my life I was taught the side of Mormonism the leaders want you to see. Now, I am showing others the side they try to get people to forget.
Members have no problem with the idea of missionaries going out and knocking on doors, trying to convert those “lost sheep”. But for some reason, they take great exception to those who write about the less then attractive side of Mormonism. Personally I don’t see a difference, with the exception that you choose to come to me and read what I have to say. In order to find this blog, you have to make an effort to search for it because there are very few places you can go to find a link. I don’t go door to door, asking you to listen to my message.