We were out of town traveling this past weekend and my wife asked if I would go to church with the family so I said yes. It was only sacrament meeting, nobody coming up to me telling me how much they missed me, etc. Not too painful I thought, so I said yes. It was my first time in about 6 months.
The theme was missionary work. A few observations:
1. The youth speaker spoke about obedience. Pay your tithing and you will be blessed with money, no financial hardships.
2. A missionary serving in the ward who was about to go home told stories from his mission. My favorite involved teaching a woman who used to be "hardcore anti". But now she was old and senial and forgot why she was anti. So they taught and baptised her. He said that just goes to show that no matter how far apart from the church someone is, the Lord will eventually soften their hearts so they are ready to receive the gospel. Even my TBM wife had to shake her head at that one.
3. The ward mission leader spoke. He went through the usual steps in how to share the gospel with friends and neighbors, invite them over for dinner and have the missionaries there, etc. He told a story of some GA who had given a copy of the BoM to someone to read. They later saw him and thanked him. He rebuked them saying that if they had actually read it they would have done more than just told him that they read it, they would have had questions, would want to know more, would have felt the spirit. So they went back and read it and then came back to him with questions and were eventually baptised. The message there according to the WML, if you give someone a BoM and they don't come back with questions wanting to learn more then they didn't actually read it.
Even when I attended church these kinds of meetings made me uncomfortable, I was never good at being a member missionary. But now that I've been away for a while it was all that much more unsettling. It was reassuring in a way though, reminded me that I made the right decision 6 months ago.
You've been away from Church for 6 months. I will bet that you: 1. Feel happier 2. Feel less stress/angst 3. Have more time 4. Have more money 5. Are a nicer person
1. The youth speaker - talk about rubbing lemon juice into the wounds of those struggling with economic hardship.
2. This makes me sick. As a missionary, I also baptized people I should not have. Seriously, the sheer number of mental incompetents and children baptized to increase membership rolls is appalling.
3. This doesn't surprise me. "Missionary work" has to be all about being "bold" aka ignoring social mores and being impolite in the name of God. I am grateful that most members don't take this kind of crap to heart. Most people would be kind to a friend who thanked them for the BoM, not chastise.
re 3: I can imagine the follow-up conversation now- "Hey, buddy, I got 10 pages into that book you gave me, and read about Nephi cutting someone's head off because god told him to. WTF?"
I still go to church once in a while w/ DW and the children. It is a head-shaking experience everytime, no matter what i hear.
LDS are brainwashed into thinking the BoM will really impress their friends, if they will just read it. Little do they know that most people with a brain will see it as vapid.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2011 11:19AM by rogertheshrubber.
The other thing that really struck me as odd that I never really thought twice about before was rasing the right hand to welcome new members. Just a bunch of people mindlessly rasing their hands to welcome some new members to the ward who weren't even there. What's the point of doing that?
the more the whole belief and culture just seems weird to me. I mean really weird. Growing up LDS in a non-LDS environment like I did, I was always keenly aware of how different we were.
You better believe thatreading the BoM will raise questions.
"So...beheading is kosher? And then he put on his victims clothes?" "So...were there precious ores in the BoM lands?"
2nd Nephi 2 15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores which were in great abundance.
16 And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple.
And maybe most importantly "WTF? Did you seriously think I'd find this crap inspiring?"
onlyme Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 2. A missionary serving in the ward who was about > to go home told stories from his mission. My > favorite involved teaching a woman who used to be > "hardcore anti". But now she was old and senial > and forgot why she was anti. So they taught and > baptised her. He said that just goes to show that > no matter how far apart from the church someone > is, the Lord will eventually soften their hearts > so they are ready to receive the gospel. Even my > TBM wife had to shake her head at that one.
Wow. Converting a woman who was obviously impaired. Man, them Mormons are good, honest people, aren't they? Add that God took away some marbles upstairs in order to "soften her heart?" Sick, sick, sick.
> 3. The ward mission leader spoke. He went > through the usual steps in how to share the gospel > with friends and neighbors, invite them over for > dinner and have the missionaries there, etc.
THIS is why they can never have real friendships. There is always a hidden agenda with them.
When Jake gave me a BOM to read...all I could say was WTF is all this about. My questions would turn the bishops hair white if it wasn't already. How stupid.