I do not recognize the Church anymore. Church used to be fun and a place to have deep gospel conversations. People used to be fun and enjoyable to be around when I grew up in the church. Over the past 20 years this is what I see.
1. I go to Church and few people speak to me. I make sure I go and talk to many people. But I do not see many saints talking to a lot of people
2. Bishoprics seem to be very cold and distance. And I travel a lot. I see this lots. Very few members of the Bishoprics come up and greet you when you visit a new ward.
3. The focus lately has been on youth. The wards I attend seem to be ignoring the older members. Its like there is nothing for them to do. (Maybe clean toilets)
4. Class discussions are the same old, same old. No one presents any new ideas. In The EQ the missionaries bring new investigators so the lessons are geared down to explain to them what we are talking about.
5. I see lots of missionaries on Facebook trying to present deep concepts in a simplified way. Using the BoM quotes that most people in the world do not know anything about. Yet them seem sincere but come across as doing the LDS dirty work of trying to attract people to teach.
6. Nothing new from the top in General Conference. 70 years ago I thought by this point in my life we would have had more revelations of the degrees of glory, our place in the eternal realm of things, a better understanding of Heavenly Father, etc. Instead they are cutting back with the essays.
7. If JS was told to join none of the churches why is the LDS Church trying to be like them and model their programs after those churches.
8. When I was younger I used to go to Church and get something out of the meetings. Now I go to Church and come home feelings empty most of the time.

I could go one. Please let me know it is me. I am honest and live a spiritual enlightened life. I love the gospel and love Jesus the Christ but I can't do the Jesus stuff I see and hear at Church. I grew up and we held these things sacred. I do not get a sense that members hold these things sacred anymore when its Jesus this or Jesus that. I seldom hear any talk about returning to Heavenly Father anymore.

The ward I am in is baptizing all sorts of people every week. But 6 weeks later we never see them again.

I guess you could say I am going through a Faith Crisis or Church Crisis. Why would Jesus Christ who is suppose to be the head of the Church let this stuff go on? I am seeing less and less TBM long time members attending.

For a church that beleives in a god that never changes, and hence, god's gospel never changes.....the one constant is that the church hasn't done much beyond really changing for the last 195 years.

Just curious about this comment...."I love the gospel and love Jesus the Christ but I can't do the Jesus stuff I see and hear at Church."

What kind of jesus stuff can you do? And if you can't do mormon jesus stuff, but can do some other kind of jesus stuff, what do you need jesus for? You can do it all without him, no?

It is nothing like the church of the 1960's. Some of that's okay, since they did away with institutionalized racism. But things like mandating temple recommends for anyone in any position no matter how small, taking over the once-independent Relief Society to allow priesthood meddling in women's affairs, complete dissolution of any activities that promised enjoyment, getting rid of Boy Scouts for BSA allowing women in leadership and allowing gay kids to participate, embracing far right fringe politics, victim-blaming of women and girls who are sexually abused or raped, and... Well, on and on, I suppose. For me, the first sign was when David O. McKay died, and was replaced by the sniveling Joseph Fascist Smith.

I think the thing that sucked the life out of church was correlation and a stratification into an aristocratic leadership corps on the top and unwashed masses on the bottom. They treat you like you're stupid because they think you're stupid. And, if you accept their leadership, they may be right.

Since you are asking about the last 20 years, I would include the decline of the middle class. The church teaches a prosperity gospel that is not paying out, so nobody believes it. This will get worse as their high hopes for their man in Washington gradually fade.

There may have been a sea change in how the scriptures are viewed. They used to literally true. Now they are metaphorically true, as evidenced by the cancelation of the Palmyra and Manti pageants. The BoM just does not work as a non-historical document. The literal ancient record schtick was its entire value proposition. Without it, Mormons aren't special anymore.

So, although there is sentiment to fix the church, it cannot be fixed.

Still, your dedication to the Christ through all of this is a good thing if you realize Jesus as a metaphor for your ideal self. Which is more real, an archetype or an individual?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2025 12:17AM by bradley.

Are you saying Jesus gets in the way of the Mormonism you are used to?

I joined ChurchCo in ~ 1963 in Duluth, MN; that was just as the local members were building their first chapel. Lumber & other goods were shipped in from the Mother Ship; they could have established good community ties by buying locally.

At least then my Branch President was not a SL, Utah, or IMW robot, he valued Honesty, Kindness, Respect for others which is rarely if at all valued or mentioned today (at least that I'm aware of)

eta: One distinction I've noticed is that GA talks, esp. GC, seem so highly scripted now...

My read is that Mormons were much better Christians then as compared to now, with some exceptions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2025 12:08AM by GNPE.

> My read is that Mormons were much better
> Christians then as compared to now, with some
> exceptions.

That is an interesting observation.