(In TSCC)and 'come out the other side stronger'. I've been there. I knew how to rationalize for quite a while both to myself and to other people. Now, I'm not saying my rationalizations to other people made complete sense, and I probably sounded a little crazy some of the time, but it seemed at least to be plausible to myself when I was rationalizing how the Church really could be true. Eventually the cookie crumbled though. I get so ticked when someone gets on their pedestal and starts talking about how they 'got through it' and now 'they are stronger'. They aren't stronger! They are just delusional! I was at one time too! I wanted to stay in a safe, comfortable place, but then I got real and put on my big girl panties to deal with the real world!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2013 09:48PM by dogeatdog.

I am finding this ultimately disgusting. To be arrogantly proud of justifying your ability to accept lies, or worse, finding disgustingly vile behavior by so-called prophets acceptable, is more than I can stomach. They pronounce that their faith is ever stronger because they choose to accept the unacceptable. This is the part where the brainwashing has become self-administered. Clever.

I have heard many times the same thing from my parents: "The details don't matter because the spirit has witnessed to me. Period."

It brings to mind an ostrich with it's head in the sand being "rear-ended" by Monson.

Their attitude makes me love and respect everybody on RFM all the more. Up with integrity!

"To be arrogantly proud of justifying your ability to accept lies, or worse, finding disgustingly vile behavior by so-called prophets acceptable, is more than I can stomach. They pronounce that their faith is ever stronger because they choose to accept the unacceptable. This is the part where the brainwashing has become self-administered. Clever." Good way to put it!

She had a faith crisis. Spent the hour telling me how it made her stronger And that it was possible. Right at the hour mark she pulled out her scriptures and read some crap from the D&C. I told her I wasn't coming back for more "counseling" because she literally just repeated the crap the bishop spouted. I was there for professional help and got church instead.

She didn't understand my concern.

I get nervous about going to a counselor partly because I don't want to hear any Christian/Islam BS either. I hope you didn't have to pay for it.

I get irritated with an aquaintance of mine who claims she had a faith crisis in her late teens, early twenties. However, her "crisis" was more about partying, sex and alcohol than it was about doctrinal and historical issues. She never doubted in the church. She rebelled and then came back to raise her kids. Hence, she likes to think I left because I wanted to drink coffee and wine. Argh!

Yea, that's annoying. Plenty of Mormons do that. That doesn't really involve any challenging cognitive stuff.

dogeatdog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... They aren't stronger!
> They are just delusional! I was at one time too! ...

Last year I observed from the sidelines as my neighbor,
three doors down, went through his divorce -- after having
been married 15 years and having two kids.

He truly believed his wife was honoring her marriage vows
during all those years. But last April she up and split,
taking the family bank account and leaving the children.

He didn't tell me much about it, but our mutual friend
relayed the salient points to me -- the wife had been
spending time with her old boyfriend in secret, while
acting out a fake "loving wife and mother" at home. When
she finally left, my neighbor had no warning -- just a
missing spouse and an ever growing stack of unpaid bills
in the mailbox. He caught a glimpse or two of her Sundays
at church, then he stopped going. The divorce was
conducted long-distance, through lawyers.

A few weeks ago the divorce became final and my neighbor
is a changed man. For a long time he looked disoriented,
possibly even suicidal. I saw him yesterday, while we
were both taking out the trash. He said something to the
effect of how much he loved his kids and was grateful to
have them, etc., etc. I just nodded in reply.

I'm pretty sure that what he went through was the proverbial
"crisis of faith." He trusted nobody, damned God and the
Baptist Church, and generally had that "thousand yard stare"
in his eyes, that showed an almost total dissociation from
people around him.

I suppose he has become an atheist -- I've never asked. But
I'm fairly certain that he has regained his faith in love
and life. He's become a real person again.

UD

Excellent post, I feel much the same. It is really hard to admit the truth, because we want to believe! We want to believe that we have the answers to the big questions in life. It is really hard to say, "I thought I knew, but I don't"