In no particular order, former church associates, friends and family said: 1. You can have your doubts but if you ever teach anyone about them, you know what I’ll have to do. 2. In your studies, be sure to give equal time to the scriptures. 3. Why couldn’t you just pretend? 4. You’ve thrown your life away. 5. You left a hole in the family. 6. How could you doubt Joseph Smith af
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In the summer of 2003, I was driving home from Salt Lake City and listening to a program on NPR about Sally Denton's book "American Massacre : The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857." It was the first time I had ever heard about the Massacre, Blood Atonement, and the extent of Joseph Smith's polygamy. I don't remember if there was a caller or someone on the program who mentione
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I originally posted as lost in the forest of doubt and lost no more in the final months of 2003. I’m grateful for the resources available then as my initial doubts germinated and grew. I’m fortunate that I got to meet some posters IRL, thanks to the exmo conferences in SLC. One of my former students conducts a post mo group in Ogden. He was surprised that I was an exmo as his teacher. I guess
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Wish I would have known. I would have bought you two dinner at Red Iguana, elderolddog and saucie. ¿Hasta la próxima?
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I have no answer regarding a superior force or law (Uniform Code of Military Justice) compelling us, but I will say that my Army contemporaries (in our 50s and 60s now) are the salt of the earth and we do share that feeling for each other and our country expressed in song, "I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today."
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Southern California, early 60s: our first grade teacher made the same kid stand in front of the class on different occasions and admit he'd been spanked (I assume by the female principal). Hawaii, mid 60s: our fifth grade teacher told us that we were getting too big to spank (she was a little Japanese American lady) so she would just call our fathers if there were problems. Back in Califor
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After I retired from teaching in Utah, I worked retail part time for about a year and a half. For the most part, the Millennial generation and I got along swimmingly. In the 80s, after my mission and attending the Y, I did one enlistment in the Army. In the military, everyone, regardless of age, learns to work together. There is no I in TEAM. Cuz X
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I would probably be a nondenominational Christian. I would have had a very different career. I would have formed a very different family. I would have lived in a very different state. Alas...
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A photography friend was at a party recently. As an introvert, she wasn't really keen on being in the crowd but she brought her camera along and it literally broke the ice for her. She was able to take several pictures of people there, relax, and enjoy herself. I got into landscape photography as a serious hobby the year I stopped believing. Sundays became my time to get out of the stuffy chur
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In 2007, three years after my resignation, I updated my profile on mission dot net as follows: "I left the Mormon church. Three years ago, I got to studying the history and doctrine on the Internet and learned things I never knew about the church. I resigned my membership in 2004 and would characterize myself as an agnostic at present..."
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Elder Old Dog, your mission was exactly ten years earlier than mine. Our weekly mission reports in Argentina had a space for golden questions and lessons taught. About half way through my time in country, I remember asking a bus passenger if he wanted to know about the church. He turned and said, "querés una piña?" (Do you want a punch?). I reevaluated my proselytizing goals from that
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Three true stories that happened to me circa 1975-1976: 1) We were still in bed one morning at our pensión (apartment) when a group of armed soldiers and plain clothes dudes came into our room. They wanted to see our documents (identifications) and to know what we were doing in their country. They didn't detain us but it was pretty intimidating. During my entire mission, I only had a receipt
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I only have two stories trying to proselytize drunks. The first incident happened while riding a colectivo (bus) in Chubut. I had set a goal to ask a certain number of "golden" questions each day. I asked a guy in the seat in front of me if he wanted to know more about the gospel or something similar. The drunk guy turned around and asked me, "Querés una piña?" He wasn't
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We were doing a service project, helping to paint a member's house in the valley, as I recall. We were teachers (14-15 years old) in the AP. On the roof, we painted a large peace sign visible from the road. I don't know how our leaders missed that one. I know. I was a terrible kid. Cuz X
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Memory is a fickle thing but here we go. 1) On a scout trip to Ensenada,we lit firecrackers on the beach until the federales showed up. It's a good thing one of the leaders was a Spanish teacher too. On the way back, one of the leader's cars was stopped and searched at the border and he got fined for having illegal fireworks. Then he got a ticket for speeding on the I-5. 2) We used to cut
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About 42 years too late because it excluded most of my in-laws from enjoying their daughter’s, sister’s and aunt’s wedding. Shameful practice
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The thread about greatest moment of your life got me thinking about random moments of happiness that one can feel with clarity years after their occurrence. Here are some of mine: Waking up in my old room after returning from the mission, being so glad to be home with no demands or expectations on my time and looking forward to the next stage of my life, feeling somewhat in control after two
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olderelder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- the only reason you should ever be > with the person you’re with is because you > simply love being around them. It really is that > simple.<< > Thank you for sharing these points, olderelder. Each one makes perfect sense now after nearly forty-two years of marriage. Looking back, I was REA
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Done & Done Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Don't let the cash register of your mind continue > to charge you for bills paid long ago." Thank you, Done & Done. I like that a lot. In the process of trying to pin the source down (still working on that), I found these others that spoke to me today: "Let go of the attachment,
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On the way out to the lake yesterday, where I frequently go to find some peace for my soul, I heard "The Boys of Summer" sung by Don Henley, and the words resonated: "I thought I knew what love was What did I know? Those days are gone forever I should just let them go..." Cuz X
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"Don't let the cash register of your mind continue to charge you for bills paid long ago." Thank you, Done & Done. I like that. In the process of trying to pin the source down (still working on that), I found these others that spoke to me today: "Let go of the attachment, keep the lesson." - L.J. Vanier "It was time to move on, to dance with life again," -
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By the way, the song was 10cc's "I'm Not in Love," which came out after I was safely on my mission in Argentina when it was released in the US. If not for the "Awesome Mix" in "Guardians of the Galaxy," I probably never would have heard those lyrics that haunted me forty-four years later.
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Comparing your recent experience to the organization I grew up in, I don't even recognize it. You made a very timely exit, mel.
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The struggle is real, Summer. Hang in there and keep your eyes on the prize.
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I can see the wisdom in accepting ones choices made based on the information available at the time. There are wonderful people and experiences I would never have known, if not for taking a certain turn at a particular junction. I don't remember the "Tapestry" episode of TNG but it sounds like a good example in the context of our discussion. You stirred a memory of another TNG epi
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Thank you for your advice and observations, exminion. I'll definitely work on that "mindfulness" aspect to help dispel my 40-plus-year-old demons (the should'a would'a could'a thoughts) and perhaps take my photography hobby to a new level. Recently, a friend wanted one of my pictures for his father's funeral and then he surprised me with a metallic print of the same. His gift really flo
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Thank you, Cheryl. One of the things I've beat up on myself lately was retiring at 60. On the positive side, I have oodles of free time and less stress than I did for 30 years in the classroom. On the negative side, I think how much more my pension would be if I'd stuck around for another 5-6 years but maybe my overall health would have suffered. Essentially, I made a time over money choice and w
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I've been officially out of TSCC for fourteen years and four months. My short exit story is that I was listening to a program on NPR about the Mountain Meadows Massacre as I was driving home from SLC. I don't remember if it was on the same program but I heard talk about blood atonement and the origins of polygamy. These issues shocked me to the core and got me studying. In a very short time, perh
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Senator Rubio urges the President to put the Pentagon in charge of recovery. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article175867361.html
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We were on a summer vacation in the early 70s. As a young teenager, I met some religious folks on the beach. I even went to a meeting with them that evening. One of their leaders asked if I'd ever read "No Man Knows My History." What if I'd done a little research then at 15-16 years of age? That one question could have changed the course of my adult life, perhaps giving me thirty years
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