DiscussMormonism.com

Vengeful, partisan, petty.
Are these natural tendencies of God, or are they human projections?

Admittedly, I am afraid. I'm afraid our God is not omni benevolent.
So is it through faith that I remain active in the LDS church, sucking up throughout my life for security?

Or would it require faith for me to trust in the benevolent creator, and realize that such a God does not exist in any dogmatic "religion"?

Kudos to all who have ever taken a true leap of faith.

How you define your faith is up to you. You can adhere to an off the rack faith or go with a personally tailored faith.

Turkey wrote:Vengeful, partisan, petty.
Are these natural tendencies of God, or are they human projections?

Admittedly, I am afraid. I'm afraid our God is not omni benevolent.

Who is "our" God and what do you believe the consequences are for choosing incorrectly? Were you given the rules? If you think you were, what evidence points to your decision being wrong? Why?

Turkey wrote:So is it through faith that I remain active in the LDS church, sucking up throughout my life for security?

What part of you continues to place faith in magical seer stones and the pagan book of the dead translated incorrectly? You know the truth (an assumption), so why would you fear choosing to ditch faith in things you don't really believe in?

Turkey wrote:Or would it require faith for me to trust in the benevolent creator, and realize that such a God does not exist in any dogmatic "religion"?

What I find flawed in your logic is the assumption that there is some sort of consequence for choosing incorrectly. What part of life as an experience to the soul doesn't make sense? In other words, what if everyone makes it to heaven, there is no hell, and the process of living was the intended plan? Step outside the box... why fear being wrong? Do you actually believe Satan is going to poke you in the ear with a red-hot rod for all eternity for failing to believe in Joseph Smith's truth claims? How reliable is Joseph Smith as a man?

Turkey wrote:Kudos to all who have ever taken a true leap of faith.

Faith isn't manufactured... you either believe in what you've logically concluded or you do not. Fear of choosing incorrectly is a byproduct of what you've been taught to believe.

More faith to stay or go? To stay.

To go simply takes reason and logic, the antithesis of faith.

It doesn't take an iota of faith to reject god or religious fantasies at all.

It may, however, take faith in yourself to have the integrity and intellectual honesty to disagree with the communities and culture you grew up in, but that's about it.

sock puppet wrote:More faith to stay or go? To stay.

To go simply takes reason and logic, the antithesis of faith.

Agreed. It also takes more courage to leave - more courage than I have at present. Staying is the easy road.

Turkey, It takes more faith to leave. It's cowardice that keeps doubting Mormons fulfilling callings they don't want to have. It's the inability to confront others when abuse is present that keeps Mormons coming week after week. I was constantly in trouble, for about a two year period of time. Back in the mid 80's, prior to leaving, I'd regularly ask questions that nobody could answer, or want to. After I'd been stuck in the nursery for 18 months I stood up in a meeting and asked how many of the brethren had held that position. Some penis hood holder tried to talk down to me, and blather for five or so minutes, giving me the answer I needed. And let's be honest. It's not a real nursery. Go to another kind of church and look at their facilities. You may see actual running water, and things specifically set up for that age group, not just some class room where you are stuck with someone else's kids ad nauseum. And yes, you should get paid for doing that screwed up job.

Buffalo wrote:

sock puppet wrote:More faith to stay or go? To stay.

To go simply takes reason and logic, the antithesis of faith.

Agreed. It also takes more courage to leave - more courage than I have at present. Staying is the easy road.

I find that it's not a lack in having the courage to acknowledge the religion is something you no longer believe. That bits absolutely fine. It's having the courage that the people around you, the important ones, won't reject you if they knew.

jon wrote:I find that it's not a lack in having the courage to acknowledge the religion is something you no longer believe. That bits absolutely fine. It's having the courage that the people around you, the important ones, won't reject you if they knew.

This is the tragically sad part about Mormonism that lies in the knowledge you'll be shunned by some of the people you hold dearly. It's a cult mentality that teaches people to ostracize those that ask the "wrong" questions or fail to pretend they actually do believe in magic rocks.

When it comes down to it, those that refuse to ask or answer the questions find bliss in ignorance. The truth about the LDS version of who Joseph Smith was is far different than historical fact dictates, which is why the LDS church hides the rock-in-hat translation method. Joseph Smith was just a man, and the false persona painted in Mormon lore is what keeps people from learning the truth. Once one acknowledges the truth, the logical conclusion is obvious. Labeling historical fact as "anti" is simply a mechanism to maintain ignorance.

I've found that after being out of the faith for 24 years, the people who rejected me didn't have the kind of character needed to sustain a decent relationship. I had difficult times during and after I left, and nobody drops you like a bunch of self righteous Mormons. Life is better without that nonsense.