Posted by:
SusieQ#1
(
)
Date: August 09, 2014 01:35PM
Get your ticket to the CK!
I used to come out of church with the sense that I had just been in the Big Tent after being given my ticket by the "barker": step right up and get your ticket to the Celestial Kingdom!
All you have to do is:
have a testimony and bear,
live all the commandments, (be perfect in as many as possible),
pay an honest tithe,
pray morning and night (unceasingly)
hold Family Home Evening,(refuse calls on Monday night)
attend your meetings,
never turn down a "calling",
magnify your callings,
dress modestly (for women that's a long list)
preach the gospel-find converts,
welcome the missionaries and feed them,
attend the temple regularly,
read the scriptures,
testify to the Book of Mormon,
do your Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching,
and ..... follow the prophet...etc.
and most of all, follow the Priesthood, (especially in your home)
and never, ever forget your place as a woman,
(Fill in the blank..there are more!)
If any of this is a question for you, get on your knees and stay there until the Lord confirms it.
Yes. I changed my mind and left the LDS Church.
There were a lot of reasons.
In a nut shell:
I could no longer believe the claims by Joseph Smith Jr (visions-maybe) but the whole thing was so cleverly concocted and not even plausible or factually reliable that I could no longer go along with it. It became clear that there was no valid covenants, or promises, or commandments that I needed to be concerned about ever again.
In addition, I realized I could take my power back and own it and never again be subjected to what I called a lot of silly nonsense by the priesthood--men who often had their "halo askew," as I often said. Even when they made horrible, gross mistakes, they would not correct the mess they made. (Lots of stories about those kinds of things that led my husband to think I only left because I was "offended"...!)
Fortunately, even though I was fully immersed and a believer in those days, I had a sense of humor about a lot of it.
So did one of my daughters who had a great deal of FUN with some of the things they were taught.
One of the best things that came out of that experience were the thousands of teaching experiences both in the core doctrine and the polices and how they differ, the "intent" of the commandments, etc, and clarification of their claims and why they believed them. I had the opportunity to associate with and work with people in the LDS Church in the Church Education System (CES) in the Institute program where I listened to hours and hours of discussions on the "true" meaning that was to be taught.
The other important part of my experience was learning there are multitudes of different personalities, different understandings in what Mormonism teachings mean, and how it is lived. I often said there were as many different kids of Mormonism as there were Mormons.
I have written dozens of small articles and parodies and satire on my personal experiences and how they impacted a young adult convert, married to a returned missionary in a year, initially living in Utah in BYU Wymount Terrace married student housing for several years. And the rest of the story that took about 30 plus years.
Mormonism is not an emotional issue for me. I can accept it as the choice of friends and loved ones and hope we can all live The Golden Rule. I endeavor to treat others the way I want to be treated.
I am no longer concerned about my role as a woman in the Mormon church, commandments, rules, policies, acceptable dress, how I use my time, what I eat or drink, what movies I see, what books I read, and on and on.
It is total freedom to disconnect from the bonds of a religion that was like wearing a dress that didn't fit. It was very uncomfortable as the waist was too high, the sleeves too tight, cut me off in the wrong place, the skirt was too narrow, and on and on --no total freedom of movement.
No matter what I did, and I tried for many, many years, that dress would not fit me properly and be comfortable.
Now, I am free. I live my life owning my own power, using my thoughts and time as I choose. I am captain of my ship.
And that's amazing.
This post is a repeat. It was my thoughts at the time and posted several years ago.
Addendum: I have often said that I kept positive attitude and sense of self because I never let go of my: self respect, self confidence, and sense of humor. I also did not engage in emotions that sabotaged me or my good sense. I knew who I was as a convert, and realized I could never learn to think like a "born in the bed" Mormon. I knew I could trust myself, after all!