I have always wondered about that. I am from Virginia (USA), but went to work in Utah for a little while. Everyone seemed to be living in a bubble there. I kept wondering how it was possible for them to be so xenophobic with so many people returning from missions to various places and cultures. It seemed that, for the most part, many of them never absorbed anything from the experience. There
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I had a friend once who described a very similar experience.
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I like the idea of living again after I die. I like thinking that no matter how messed up this life becomes, maybe in another life I will have a chance to do the things I never could in this one. For that reason I am inclined toward a belief in reincarnation. Is it real? I do not know. Do I believe it? I am still looking for the answers.
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That is one of the things I struggled with at times. The church puts enormous pressure on people to fit the mound. One of my mission companion's father left his mother because he "found out" he was gay. I put that in quotes because the man probably knew all along, and only married in order to fit what he had been told. Everybody gets hurt in the end. My companion hated his father,
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I had great experiences too. I loved my mission for example. I was able to experience cultures I never knew existed. I learned to accept new ideas and ways of thinking. I ate foods I never imagined people would eat (some of which I still do not know exactly what they were). If not for those experiences I certainly wouldn't be living in China today. I may not have moved out of my parents hou
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Speaking of the 15, I wonder how much they know. I met a member of the presiding bishopric on my mission. I can remember everyone talking about how amazing it was going to be (spirit filled meeting). There was nothing spiritual about the meeting. The guy was talking about "spiritual" topics, but it was pretty empty. My gut told me "this guy is a fake, a liar". Shaking hi
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That nagging feeling of "what if I am wrong" has been there at times. It was also there while I was still a TBM. I would pray about something important, feel I got an answer, and then came the thought "what if this is all wrong?". I would always think of this guy I met that was Hindu. He believed in his religion as absolutely as I did in mine. That always provoked some de
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It's amazing what we are capable of when we simply start paying attention to the world around us.
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Well said. I think you are absolutely right where my ancestors are concerned. And Optimus Prine would never turn evil, that's the beauty of a fictional character :)
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accepting the truth about the history of TSCC is proving a very difficult process. It is obvious that it is not at all what it claims to be, but that means everything I have believed my entire life is wrong. My family has been part of the LDS church for generations. The fact that it is not the only true and living church means that my parents, grandparents, and their parents and grandparents w
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I like to look at my exit from the church as having taken place in stages. My first doubts emerged in seminary, that oh so wonderful place I had to get up at 5AM to drive 15 miles to every morning. I will never forget the day we learned about the discovery made by early church members of a white lamanite that Joseph Smith said had the name of Zilf or something like that. My immediate thoug
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