End goal?

[_BishopRic]

While I do not know your background, I do know there are a lot of people who falsely claim to have been Mormon a Mormon bishop or even a general authority then make very untrue claims about what we believe. I get emotional because I think that is mean.

I think you might be referring to me...just a guess. To be clear, I am NOT a current LDS bishop, nor have I been one for 15 years. I have never been a GA or in a Stake Presidency.

I was a 1st Councilor in the bishopric, and an acting bishop for a few months as my bishop was recovering from a serious accident. I was also a dry (I mean high) councilor for about a year before that. I was the SL Valley South seminary president in 1976, served a mission to Kobe Japan 77-79, temple married (of course in '79 -- made it before the year was up!).

Divorced in '01 after about 6 years of internal spiritual struggle, study, counseling, and finally a year long "sabbatical" from my medical profession as a wilderness guide/drug rehab counselor in So. Utah. I have yet to officially resign from the LDS church, not having a compelling enough reason to do so, considering the horror stories I've heard from those that have.

Am engaged to the beautiful Tori, and will be married in June this year.

And I think many of us exmos probably understand the LDS church doctrine better than most members. We tend not to be limited to studying only books published by Deseret Book.

[_krose]

It is always interesting to me that two people who know the same things can come up with different interpretations. I have been involved in apologetics for several years. I know all the arguments agaisnt the Church. All the complaints against Church leaders. All the history issues. The Book of Abraham criticisms. Etc.

Charity, did you know all these things before joining the church, and joined in spite of them?

[_dogmaster]

Well I have been a member since birth. My mother and father died in a car accident while I was attending college which made it hard for me to remain active. I know I was selfish and angry at God. I got married in the temple and recently my wife had twins. I have been much more active since becoming a father. I hope I can contribute. I just want to make sure I do not come off as another angry Mormon. I want to understand why I believe in the church while others do not.

[_malkie]

Hey, Runtu, what's going on here? I mean, not only are you and I both technical writers, but we are both high priests and have both been elders quorum president, executive secretary, and assistant to the High Priests Group Leader (though not all at the same time - at least in my case). And I've also met a few knuckleheads in my lifetime.

Are you following me, or am I following you?

I thought you were one of my sockpuppets. What gives? ;)

Damn it - and all along I thought that I was an independent human. Looks like us sockpuppets can really get carried away.

Anyway, if you're the real thing, and I'm just one of your/our alter egos, would you mind picking us up something for supper on the way home? My / our wife (ooops, is this polyandry?) wants chicken.

[_ozemc]

Dogmaster, as with most issues, there is no one answer that fits all.

Yes, there are those who want to destroy the Church. One person here has repeatedly said that is his goal. These people are anti-Mormons.

Yes, you will see anger and bitterness. It can be explained as Some Schmo and the style guy have described. They think they were deceived. And that makes them angry. I am sure this happens to some people. There is another explanation. There are individuals who are being deceived out of the Church and having to fight against knowing deep down that they should be staying. Trying to criticize the Church is the only way they can do this. These are the people that Elder Maxwell described as "they can leave the Church, but they can't leave the Church alone."

It is a complicated issue. However, there is one thing to remember. All things good come from God. All things evil come from Satan. Those who fight against the Church, for whatever reason they think or feel themselves, are being deceived.

Well, I guess it is a lot easier to wave off reason, logic, evidence, and facts to just say "GodDidIt".

[_Runtu]

Well I have been a member since birth. My mother and father died in a car accident while I was attending college which made it hard for me to remain active. I know I was selfish and angry at God. I got married in the temple and recently my wife had twins. I have been much more active since becoming a father. I hope I can contribute. I just want to make sure I do not come off as another angry Mormon. I want to understand why I believe in the church while others do not.

Well, charity will tell you it's because we're deceived/stupid/evil, and you're not. ;)

I'm glad you're here. Believing members are quite welcome here, and several believers post here. There is good and bad on both sides. Stick around. You might like it here.

[_Blixa]

Well I have been a member since birth. My mother and father died in a car accident while I was attending college which made it hard for me to remain active. I know I was selfish and angry at God. I got married in the temple and recently my wife had twins. I have been much more active since becoming a father. I hope I can contribute. I just want to make sure I do not come off as another angry Mormon. I want to understand why I believe in the church while others do not.

Well Ok then!

You may also want to check out some of the board blogs---some deal with people's personal lives (sometimes in relation to Mormonism, but sometimes on totally other topics) more than they tend to get into on the message board.

Personally, one of my original reasons for reading/posting here was to hear from non-angry Mormons. People who were still LDS, yet didn't spout the black/white judgemental authoritarianism found on apologetic sites.

[_BishopRic]

Well I have been a member since birth. My mother and father died in a car accident while I was attending college which made it hard for me to remain active. I know I was selfish and angry at God. I got married in the temple and recently my wife had twins. I have been much more active since becoming a father. I hope I can contribute. I just want to make sure I do not come off as another angry Mormon. I want to understand why I believe in the church while others do not.

I am sorry to hear of your parents' tragedy. I am sure you have had much mourning and sadness over the incident. I think (although it would be extremely arrogant of me to assume I can relate to this) it can be a challenge to get answers to why such an event occurred. Religion offers one means of hope to help one through tragedies, and if it works for you, I wish you the best.

[_Scottie]

I am a somewhat active member of the church. Someone gave a talk about Mormon message boards. Then this whole topic came up at BYU. It seems strange people are so angry. Why are people so angry? Is there similar feelings from people who leave catholic methodist or even islam? And is there an end goal? Do people here want the church to shut down?

No, but you have to understand that Mormonism is unlike most other religions out there.

In most religions, you belong to the religion. In Mormonism, you ARE a Mormon. It is at the very core of what you are. When you find out it isn't true, it goes much deeper than most religions. People try very hard to hold on to their faith.

Without some of us critics, many of those who are questioning would only hear the apologists side of things. It is deeply gratifying to get a PM from someone saying that I made a lot of sense and had helped them better understand some of the issues. Most people questioning will simply read the message boards and never post. It is my duty to make sure both sides are fairly represented.

Plus, a very minor few of us participate on message boards.

And, it's entertaining for me.

Pay no, and I mean absolutely no attention to what this individual says about the Church. I see no evidence that he has ever been a Mormon, nor have I ever seen evidence he comprehends its doctrines or culture.

I actually LOL'd at this.

Just for clarification, I was BIC and was a more or less faithful Mormon for 32 years...barring a couple of rebellious periods that most kids go through.

I did not go on a mission, but I was married in the Mount Timp temple. I've held callings from nursery to Elder's Quorum 1st (or maybe it was 2nd) counselor.

So, Cogs, you are WOEFULLY mistaken.

[_malkie]

Well I have been a member since birth. My mother and father died in a car accident while I was attending college which made it hard for me to remain active. I know I was selfish and angry at God. I got married in the temple and recently my wife had twins. I have been much more active since becoming a father. I hope I can contribute. I just want to make sure I do not come off as another angry Mormon. I want to understand why I believe in the church while others do not.

Sorry to hear about your loss. My mother died when I was in university, just before my finals. Although I'm not usually a very emotional person, it was an severe blow to me.

IMHO, understanding why you believe is a totally worthy goal. You'll find loads of material here to help with your understanding. But remember the old axiom: "If you don't like the answer, you shouldn't have asked the question." Be prepared to have your faith seriously challenged.

Several posters on both sides of the faithful/non-believer line make solid, thought-provoking posts. And the board's almost invisible moderation policy ensures that you see whatever people want to say.