Posted by:
woodsmoke
(
)
Date: July 13, 2013 05:49PM
Since I was a little kid and I first heard this story, I've done this whenever I was upset. When I get overwhelmed by certain emotions or problems, I go to the nearest bookshelf, think about the problem, close my eyes, open up the book that feels "right," and try to use whatever I find when I open it (the nearest phrase, word, sentence, story, idea, image, etc.) as "advice." I don't place real stock in it, but it's comforting. It's a superstition I've carried on since childhood. The other day I did this in my very large bookshelf at home. I let my fingers skim the shelves until I picked out a book that felt right to me and would help me with my problem and provide an answer immediately (obviously I don't actually believe that, but it helps me for some reason, and it usually gives me a quote or two for some reflection).
...It was the Book of Mormon. I actually laughed out loud. Every TBM I know would have a FIELD DAY. A freaking field day. I think this is how "faith" gets built. If this had been my only experience and on separate occasions I hadn't also pulled out books about sexual positions or psychedelics, PLUS I really really really really wanted to affirm my faith, I probably would have concluded that the BOM was TRUE TRUE TRUE and so was God's holy all-white male-dominated boring-as-fuck church. I would have assigned MAJOR importance to this event and told everyone I knew for fucking ever and my faith would be So. Strong. In. That. Moment! This is what every Institute class felt like to me, retellings of these kinds of stories (and even less impressive ones, if that's possible).
Have you had any of these "faith-affirming" types of experiences when you were trying to continue being TBM?