Hi! I'm not sure if any of you have read my bio. But I was converted about 5 years ago. However, I didn't exactly fall for the whole BOM thing (never read it) Anyway I'd like to say Hello to everyone. I'm spending this Friday evening on here as my family decided to have a Friday the 13th Marathon, and frankly Jason scares the bananas out of me. I'm already having enough nightmares, really don't need more. So, sippin on some pink moscato and browsing the web. Hoping to get to know some of ya'll

Well...since "Friday" for everyone else is "Monday" here (in other words: Friday is the first day of the work week), I am working...specifically: keyboarding seemingly endless pages of several hundred bibliographical references (which will be published as part of a biography).

At the moment, I am trying to get to the end of the "Short Fiction (Including Screen Stories)" section...so I can then get on to the NEXT section I need to keyboard.

Welcome to RfM!

We are happy you joined us! :)

Well Hello Tevai! I'm so sorry you are working on this very fine evening. Happy FRiday 13 to you anyway! Atleast you get to hang with us tonight ;)

Nothing remotely interesting.

Ron Burr

You should play ding dong ditch or somethin' - spice up your friday :)

Sorry FP...not familiar with that one (video game?) I don't do video games, I have almost zero apps on my phone (I hate apps too) and I don't text so can't amuse myself with that either. I'm just boring.

Ron Burr

Oh Ron, you silly silly lol ding dong ditch is definitely not a video game, nor an app. You go outside at night, dressed in all black. then sneak up on your neighbors houses and ring the door bell then you run and hide and watch and laugh as they try to find you. You must not get caught! Its funner with friends, and maybe wine.

Gotcha....and my nearest neighbor is a mile away....and he's a cop...so I don't think so. LOL

Ron Burr

Yeah probably not a good idea. They probably wouldn't suspect you though.

Hi fatpanda. Not doin' much, just waiting to watch some shows with the fam.

Welcome.

I was sort of lurking to see if there was any chance Friday the 13th turned into some sort of profoundly unlucky day for the morg-shmorg-ass-borg. So far it seems to be just another one of their typical sort of unlucky days, just like every day ... a slow but sure entropy. Shmarf!

Pardon me, but the scotch tastes extra good tonight, and I may have over-poured. Oops, I'll try and behave ... I pwawmis. :)

I'm hiding the post button now...

Hello Torturednevermo! Scotch is a bit strong. I think there should come a warning with it. "Dont scotch and type!" lol I'm just playing. Its always fun to be able to speak freely :) I'm almost done with my bottle of $3 Moscato. Very tasty! What are you watching tonight?

We're watching desperate houswives. Don't laugh, its just the latest set of dvd's to bond over. :( We already watched all the other good stuff ... lol!

No judgement here! I've never seen Desperate Housewives. (atleast it's not Kardashians) I do like Nashville and my husband has got me into the Gotham series on Fox. It's pretty good

Just took my dog for a walk. Ping Pong chatting with you charming and feisty people... :)

Aw beautiful! Ex-sis Sinfulshoulders. Dig your name btw. I love the feeling of bare shoulders. Especially on a summer day. What kind of dog might Ping Pong be? We have a german shephard, 2 siamese kitties and 4 crazy miniature humandoids - actually 1 is bigger than me :)

None of them or their parents have anything to do with mormonism, we got out long before we could do serious indoctrination of our children. Although I imagine this cousin sleepover is exactly the sort of thing we would have done had we stayed mormons. Only we do it with no baggage of eternal family. These are some very nice children and we love being their grandparents. Simple as that!

msmom, Hello! So how long ago did you resign and how long were you active? Just curious. Are you going to another church? I'm contemplating a lot of things right now. I"m at a very important crossroads in my life. I do believe in God and Jesus and of course the Holy Spirit, I'm just not sure I really want anything to do with religion at this point.

Welcome fatpanda. This board is awesome and there are a lot of great people here. Some have helped me out so much.

I left the Mormon church 5 years ago,and didn't attend any church for 1 year. I started attending one of my older daughters nondenominational churches,and I was hooked. 100% different than the Mormon church,and so refreshing. I don't attend church very often now,and I am very okay with that. And I also got a different Bible than the Mormons use. I had never studied the Bible,it was always the Book of Mormon that was pounded in my head. And about church...I will never join another religion,but I like the relationships I find at non-denominational churches. The Pastors are so down to earth.

The best of luck to you. Be strong. It sounds like you know just what you want. And your kids will thank you for not raising them in the Mormon church. My 2 youngest were 6 and 8 when we left,and my 8 year old hated the Mormon church. He loved the new one because it was fun!! LDS don't really know how to have fun.

Working out of town, sitting in a motel room. Sorry I'll miss Valentine's Day with my sweetie, but we've agreed my return Sunday night will be soon enough. I promised to buy her double candy rations from the marked down candy on Sunday.

Tall Man,Short Hair That is a grand idea. VDay is too commercialized anyway. We cook a nice meal, have a dessert and give a lot of love to one another. We make our own valentines for the kiddos, and try not to buy into the whole thing too much. Heck, everyday is VDay in my house :)

Hi fatpanda,

I may not be the person you're looking for, but I would be glad to engage in a conversation about crossroads. Although I am nevermo, I did grow up in a One True Church and transitioned out about 30 years ago. No kids at the time.

You can get more of my story here:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1477178

What do you think your next steps might be?

JAR

Hello Justarelative,
Thank you for reaching out. I'm not sure exactly what to do next. I'm enjoying myself and my family and taking things as they come. I've decided to continue prayer with my kids, both at night and at meals. I think it's important for them to know the difference between spirituality and religion. We've never quite fit the mormon mold anyway. So I'm not worried about a huge transition. I just don't want this to effect them anymore than it already has. I'm not too concerned with the older ones, as I have taught them to question things and seek their own way.

As with most people coming out of an OTC, the focus seems to be what we DON'T want. Finding what we DO want seems to take a lot more time. It was that way for me, anyway. Like 5 or 6 years.

What is DH's attitude? (I read your bio but I can't remember.)

And that baptism thing from the other thread -- if there is any way to avoid that...do.

JAR

I'm not familiar with all the lingo. So what is OTC and I'm assuming DH means spouse but what does it stand for? Also the other ones. I have no clue what they are. My husband is very supportive. He is not your typical Mormon. He is very active, but doesn't hold a recommend. We only followed the Word of Wisdom for a year or so. He wants to believe the church is true because that's what his family believes. Parents,grandparents, etc. He knows that I have a very wandering mind and I'm not very easily pacified. He supports what ever I want to do, but wants me to try to work it out with my VT, the Bishop, etc. Ask questions, get my answers,etc. I've already tried this and ended up worse off. I just want to get out. I'm not going to force my thoughts on him. He believes, I just have to let him see things for himself. As far as the baptism goes. I'm not sure what to do. He is excited about it. I am going to try to talk to him about it but I really don't know what to say.

Oh, sorry.

OTC = One True Church; DH = Dear Husband

As for very wandering mind, yeah, that's becoming apparent in just one evening. You're all over the place all over this board. But if that's your way then more power to you.

I guess I tend to make individual decisions based on how it fits with a broader framework. But that requires having a broader framework which in turn requires knowing what you believe in.

How is that going for you -- knowing what you believe in -- you said earlier that God, Jesus, HG are still in your picture -- is this solid or in flux? Wait, you were a convert not that long ago, right? From what?

[Forgive me if at some point I bail out of this conversation; we're not in the same time zone.]

JAR

I was raised Catholic, My parents divorced when I was 13 and then there was nothing. I met my ex husband when I was 17, he was non-denominational Christian. I began youth group with him and began that. I have always known there was a God, I just wanted to find him. We were married for 8 years. I wanted to divorce him after two years due to domestic violence, the church leaders told me that it was not God's will and I would be committing adultery if I remarried. They said the only way I can is if he is unfaithful. Then I would have my "release" They also said I must have done something to make him be violent. It was obviously my fault. I endured for a few more years, he tried being violent again, I kicked his ass and we both went to jail. My case was dismissed with self defense and I filed for divorce. I was single for 4 years.

Wow. Lots of drama. So sorry. And the saga continues.

I'm fortunate to have been spared those specific issues. Though I've had others. Just celebrated 40th anniversary of first date with best friend / wife. Four kids also, one still at home. So life is starting to slow down for us. Finally. THANK YOU.

Sounds to me like some form of Christian spirituality is in your future, possibly church attendance, possibly not.

So you pray with the kiddos. Just curious, what about the Bible? Were you ever into it? Read it now? With the kids?

I guess one of the reasons I ask is because it took me 25 years after leaving OTC to be able to read the Bible without feeling psychological pressure. Now I'm making up for lost time and very into it.

The Jesus of the Bible is like a totally different person from what I thought before. And that's a good thing.

JAR

I've read the Bible a few times. But after getting involved with the LDS I haven't read at all. It's almost like I was afraid to. My Mom bought me a NIV Bible for my birthday one year. I looked through it and kept it close, but never actually read it. I was going to read revelations the other day and I couldn't find it. It literally just vanished. It was in my bedside table and now it's gone. I have no idea where it is. I want to read it again, Especially with the kids. The littles especially. And for the record, I refuse to have any more drama in my life.. I'm here to experience life, laugh, learn, love and be happy

Well, it's not that hard to find a Bible, somewhere. NIV is good. I find that NLT is even better with the younger ones.

"I'm here to experience life, laugh, learn, love and be happy"

Good for you. Maybe you (and others) could infect me with that.

OK, Cinderella turns into a pumpkin now. Talk to you later.

JAR

Good night, sleep tight Cinderella

I just got rid of a weird McAfee virus on my computer. Every time I tried to scroll down a menu, this notice came that it wanted me to allow it.

Funny how the anti-virus people are the ones most eager to take over your computer.