Posted by:
MovingOn
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Date: January 13, 2014 07:14PM
Yes, I did.
Actually, I was "converted" by none other than Ken Clark. Yes, THE Ken Clark. (If you happen to be reading this, **Hi, Ken!!** :-) )
I came from a disfunctional family. I married young in part to get away from the disfunction, in part to qualify for financial aid to college (parents wouldn't even sign the financial aid forms and I was determined to go), and in part because I was young, completely in love, and wanting the family I never had.
So we get married and move to attend the University of Idaho. End up in married student housing, where everone *else* was Mormon.
I found most of the Mormon couples to be vacuous, check-your-brain-at-the-door-and-pop-out-kids recently-returned missionaires who kept trying to sick the regular missionaries on me. We avoided them.
But then there were the ones that, to this day, I wonder why they were Mormons. Both the husband and wife were in school, they were intellectual, open-minded, goal-oriented, and had big plans for life. I figured that, like with any religion, there are all kinds. I didn't know that I just found the "fluke" croud.
So there's an institute on campus. One of my friends tells me about this great professor, Ken Clark, who teaches Mormon religion classes, but also philosophy and religion for the UofI. I take one of his classes. He was a PHENOMENAL professor! I start taking his other classes, including the institute classes. He did not teach them the way some of you on this board describe things like seminary or classes at BYU. He encouraged people to use their brains.
You know the part of Ken's story where he talks about teaching people about Joseph Smith baptising African-Americans? I think I was either there, or there was another incident that was very similar. (Ken, if you're out there, it was either the 92-93 or 93-94 academic year, on the UofI campus, and the "teacher" of the lesson that Sunday was a law student at UofI. I know the person's name but wouldn't want to put it out on the internet like that. Do you remember this one?) The "lesson" made an impression on me by the reaction of everyone in the class. Everyone, save the "intellectual fluke" croud, was ready to lynch the teacher. You would have thought he personally raped each and every person in the room, the way they were responding. It was scary-tense. Anyway, at the linger-longer after, our "clique" hung out together, wondering "what the heck is wrong with these people--it's documented by the church," while we got glares from everyone else. That was my first realization that, no, TSCC does NOT appreciate knowledge.
But, basically, I joined because 1) the emphasis on family--I didn't have one, I wanted one, and I loved the focus and attention of "family first;" 2) community--again, didn't have one growing up, and I was hanging out with the thinking crowd and enjoying the activities, hanging out at the institute building where I did my homework, visited with friends, did crafts, etc.; and 3) because of teachers like Ken Clark, I didn't think it mattered if I didn't drink the kool-aid. When the stake president did my baptism interview and asked if I believed JS was a "profit," I answered, "I don't think it matters whether he was or not--I believe in the values of the church and the importance of family and community and doing good works. Isn't that enough?" Apparently it was, or it was a slow year for baptisms or something, because they dunked me with that answer.
I didn't know how restrictive the church was, because here was this great guy named Ken Clark encouraging people to think and read and learn and grow...so this is what I thought the church was. It also helped that the bishop was a kind-hearted convert who just loved everyone and was the least judgemental person I've ever met.
I didn't care if TSCC was true or not...it was just one of those flukes in Mormondom that I fell into.
And, yes, I had my first child the summer in between my undergrad and grad program. Returned to school full-time four-weeks after having my baby. Planned to do grad school for toddler years, then work (as a teacher) while my kid was in preschool, thus never using child care.
After graduating we moved to another state, where we attended a "real" ward and saw that, no, it was just a fluke. We just stopped going. No one ever cared. No love bombing, no one ever tracking me down...I just completely fell off the radar.
Believe it or not, I am still very close friends with two of those families I met in college. Neither couple cares that I'm not a member of the church--well, they'd probably be happy if I went back, but they like me regardless. I still wonder why they are Mormon, lol!