KevinSim wrote:...snip...
Let me drop my cynicism for a few moments...Honestly, I think Mormonism is a good fit for some (very few) people. Many people need checklists, structure, built-in community, perceived answers to universal questions, possible rewards for good behavior, a feeling of superiority that comes with being part of the god's one true church (j/k), etc. If it works for you, why do you need an alternative? If you have found your participation in the LDS church to be a net positive in your life and you feel like you can connect with "god"/the universe/etc. better by participating then why are you questioning it? Mormonism makes some pretty bold claims and if your goal is to achieve what Mormonism offers (eteranal life, eternal family, heir to elohim, eternal joy in gods presence, etc.) I am not sure you are going to find these same promises/possibilities in other religious/non-religious organizations or alternatives. I think this is why many former Mormons turn to agnosticism/atheism, what other churches offer, at first glace, pales in comparison to what the LDS church offers. The problem is that you have to essentially shut down the rational part of your brain to buy into what the LDS church is offering/claiming which makes many people, like myself, incompatible with the organization...
That said, the fact that you are asking for alternatives leads me to believe that, like many of us, maybe you don't consider the LDS church to be a net positive in your life and that the LDS church is actually a source of frustration... I love not "knowing" answers to impossible questions and trying to rationalize impossible claims and beliefs. Coming to the conclusion that the LDS church is no "truer" than any other church has been a huge relief to me. I get to decide what is "good" for me and I have had to come to accept that everyone is on their own, very personal, journey to decide what is "right" and "good" for them...The concept of "sin" has just become silly and I have had a chance to see life and the world in a completely different way and actually explore new interests and causes and reevaluate questions that I thought I had all the answers to. I no longer care about any potential eternal reward that may or may not be waiting for me after this life - My goal is to enjoy what I have now and make the best of it.
"your reasoning that children should be experimented upon to justify a political agenda..is tantamount to the Nazi justification for experimenting on human beings."-SUBgenius on gay parents
"I've stated over and over again on this forum and fully accept that I'm a bigot..." - ldsfaqs
