Where would we be....

[_dilettante]

Religion tends not to ride up with wear, so making your own fit is sometimes crucial for your wellbeing.

Not to mention your belt and tie.

[_ajax18]

GIMR, I completely agree with choosing your own religious path. Even once chosen it should come up for periodic monitoring and evaluation and once a religious path is chosen, one does not have to take everything off the rack either. You should be able to pick and choose in order to custom tailor exactly what you want. Religion tends not to ride up with wear, so making your own fit is sometimes crucial for your wellbeing.

And even if they won't admit out loud, most sane Mormons I've met do exactly that. I couldn't agree with you more. What you said seems to be a gem of wisdom in my view. For the most part I can do that in Mormonism, but there are stages, like the mission, where it just becomes impossible. So for me, in a way the Church will never have that kind of power and influence over me again so I have no reason to make a complete break, but I'm not sure what to do either when it comes to raising up a child in the religion. I probably won't have any say in it anyway if I want to remain married, which is another big if.

[_Polygamy Porter]

We have JWs in my family, Muslims, my younger brother's mom was Catholic, I used to be the token Mormon, one half of the family is Jewish, the other Southern Baptist and other forms of fundamentalist Protestantism.

....your younger BROTHER's MOM?

Would that be your step brother? or are you talking about your own mother?


I was shocked they other day when I found out my father in law had been SLEEPING with my dear wife's mother.. for thirty some odd years!!! In his own wife's bed no less!

[_The Nehor]

We have JWs in my family, Muslims, my younger brother's mom was Catholic, I used to be the token Mormon, one half of the family is Jewish, the other Southern Baptist and other forms of fundamentalist Protestantism.

....your younger BROTHER's MOM?

Would that be your step brother? or are you talking about your own mother?


I was shocked they other day when I found out my father in law had been SLEEPING with my dear wife's mother.. for thirty some odd years!!! In his own wife's bed no less!

See, and you call Mormons perverse :)

[_Sam Harris]

Dilettante, are you actually going to say what YOU think the world would be like if the situation I proposed were reality, or are you going to continue to try to parry with me using one-liners?

I really would like to know what your opinion of the question is. If you don't have one, then don't bother. If you ultimately don't care, then so be it.

Actually, I thought I did give you my opinion, but I think I am becoming the butt of your ridicule. My opinion is that you should not force your children into your world view. If you would rather pick a fight, I think there are other forums that you would prefer.

Um, ok. Ridicule because I asked you to simply answer the question instead of replying to one line that had "Christian" in it with, "you gave it away"? That was not an answer. I asked you for an answer, and it took about six posts to get it. Your opinions are welcome here, just give them plainly the first time instead of trying to curl witticisms around things that perhaps you don't agree with.

Cheers!

[_Sam Harris]

GIMR, I completely agree with choosing your own religious path. Even once chosen it should come up for periodic monitoring and evaluation and once a religious path is chosen, one does not have to take everything off the rack either. You should be able to pick and choose in order to custom tailor exactly what you want. Religion tends not to ride up with wear, so making your own fit is sometimes crucial for your wellbeing.

Mok, I wonder why so many people are against this? I have friends who seem absolutely miserable within their religious paths, but swear that it has to be this way until they've "perfected" themselves enough to fit within the religious strictures they adhere to. It causes much pain, as I remember going through it as well.

It also can foster a sense of self-righteousness, because those who are trying to change who God made them to be to fit a man-made institution can sometimes feel anger at those they percieve to be "living loosely", or "tailoring their religion" to suit their needs. We had a lot of people speak about "feel good religion" in one of my classes when we discussed postmodernism. They made it seem like the ultimate goal was just to do what you want.

A spiritual journey is never easy, it involves the must vulnerable parts of ourselves. Why does the theistic community, especially conservative Christianity insist on this one size fits all mentality? It just doesn't work.

[_Sam Harris]

GIMR, I completely agree with choosing your own religious path. Even once chosen it should come up for periodic monitoring and evaluation and once a religious path is chosen, one does not have to take everything off the rack either. You should be able to pick and choose in order to custom tailor exactly what you want. Religion tends not to ride up with wear, so making your own fit is sometimes crucial for your wellbeing.

And even if they won't admit out loud, most sane Mormons I've met do exactly that. I couldn't agree with you more. What you said seems to be a gem of wisdom in my view. For the most part I can do that in Mormonism, but there are stages, like the mission, where it just becomes impossible. So for me, in a way the Church will never have that kind of power and influence over me again so I have no reason to make a complete break, but I'm not sure what to do either when it comes to raising up a child in the religion. I probably won't have any say in it anyway if I want to remain married, which is another big if.

Someone on this board pointed out that many Mormons are, whether or not they realize it, cafeteria Mormons. They choose what is acceptable to them theologically. They may not be as vocal about it, but they choose nonetheless. I think some people may even be ashamed about this, because they're taught not to do this.

Mok is definitely a wise one, and what strikes me as funny is that some TBMs are very vitrolic towards him, thinking he's anti-mormon, not really knowing his "status" within the church.

But we all love him here.

[_Sam Harris]

We have JWs in my family, Muslims, my younger brother's mom was Catholic, I used to be the token Mormon, one half of the family is Jewish, the other Southern Baptist and other forms of fundamentalist Protestantism.

....your younger BROTHER's MOM?

Would that be your step brother? or are you talking about your own mother?


I was shocked they other day when I found out my father in law had been SLEEPING with my dear wife's mother.. for thirty some odd years!!! In his own wife's bed no less!

Sounds weird, doesn't it? My papa was a rolling stone. I have three brothers, and we all have a father in common. My older brother and I have a mother in common, and the younger two have different mothers. For some reason fidelity was a problem with daddy.

The woman in question was my father's companion for ten years. She kind of popped up one day, a couple of years prior to my parents' divorce. Dad timed his liasons well, too. The oldest is 34, I'm 25, then the brother whose mom I referenced is 17, and the youngest is 9. Motley crew we are.