DiscussMormonism.com

Growing up, I was aware of some peers who were shipped off to Utah or Samoa for "reform." I was never scared of this, but if my parents ever had an inkling of shipping me off to some internment camp for Mormons who misbehave, I would have been terrified.

One thing I was fearful of was being seen around town with my friends. No matter what I did or where I was, it seemed that there was always a Mormon around to report back to Mom & Dad. I took to sticking to the back roads and round-about ways because, even though I wasn't up to anything bad, I felt like it wasn't anyone's business what I was doing and I certainly didn't care for speculation by random busy bodies in my stake.

zeezrom wrote:During your teenage years in the church, in what did you fear the most in relation to your religious experiences?

Mine were:

1. People noticing that I did not submit my mission papers to COB right around the time of my 19th birthday (a.k.a. Mission fear)
2. People noticing that I did not partake of the sacrament (a.k.a. Sacrament fear)
3. People noticing that I missed the youth temple trip (a.k.a. Temple fear)

I wasn't afraid of any of these. For the record, I didn't submit my mission papers until I was almost twenty. I was somewhat of a self-righteous jerk when I was a teenager, so I never seriously considered that I might need to not take the sacrament or that I might not qualify for a temple trip. Although as an adult I've refrained from taking the sacrament two or three times; I hope that reflects a departure from that self-righteousness!

The thing I did fear was God's disapproval of my choices for leisure time activities, and that extended into my adulthood. During my lunch breaks on my second real job, I would cringe and plead with God to please, please, please let me read a novel I'd brought with me to work.

At the time I was seeing a psychiatrist who was an ardent atheist. We'd go round and round over whether there really was a deity or not. But when I told him about my pleadings with God over the novel, this psychiatrist asked me why God would even care about whether I read the novel or not. That helped a lot, and I don't cringe in my prayers to God any more.

KevinSim wrote:...The thing I did fear was God's disapproval of my choices for leisure time activities, and that extended into my adulthood. During my lunch breaks on my second real job, I would cringe and plead with God to please, please, please let me read a novel I'd brought with me to work.

At the time I was seeing a psychiatrist who was an ardent atheist. We'd go round and round over whether there really was a deity or not. But when I told him about my pleadings with God over the novel, this psychiatrist asked me why God would even care about whether I read the novel or not. That helped a lot, and I don't cringe in my prayers to God any more.

I'm glad this helped, Kevin. I'm not a believer, but I can't imagine a Deity who wouldn't endorse reading.

Blixa wrote:

KevinSim wrote:...The thing I did fear was God's disapproval of my choices for leisure time activities, and that extended into my adulthood. During my lunch breaks on my second real job, I would cringe and plead with God to please, please, please let me read a novel I'd brought with me to work.

At the time I was seeing a psychiatrist who was an ardent atheist. We'd go round and round over whether there really was a deity or not. But when I told him about my pleadings with God over the novel, this psychiatrist asked me why God would even care about whether I read the novel or not. That helped a lot, and I don't cringe in my prayers to God any more.

I'm glad this helped, Kevin. I'm not a believer, but I can't imagine a Deity who wouldn't endorse reading.

It's not reading, per se, that generates fear. One is encouraged to read 'good works.' The problem is literature as art. I've always thought that Mormonism distrusts secular artistic expression as being frivolous and possibly subversive. Not to mention 'of the world.'

What other religion has a scripture warning against 'idle thoughts'?

Morley wrote:

Blixa wrote:I'm glad this helped, Kevin. I'm not a believer, but I can't imagine a Deity who wouldn't endorse reading.

It's not reading, per se, that generates fear. One is encouraged to read 'good works.' The problem is literature as art. I've always thought that Mormonism distrusts secular artistic expression as being frivolous and possibly subversive. Not to mention 'of the world.'

What other religion has a scripture warning against 'idle thoughts'?

Quite. But I was trying to give Kevin a more...expansive perspective? : )

Incidentally, I don't think such a viewpoint is unique to Mormonism (or some flavors of it), Morley. Your remarks reminded me of a passage in Richard Wright's Black Boy, specifically, the trouble he had with his Baptist grandmother who believed that writing fiction was "telling lies" and thus, sinful.

Blixa wrote:
Quite. But I was trying to give Kevin a more...expansive perspective? : )

Incidentally, I don't think such a viewpoint is unique to Mormonism (or some flavors of it), Morley. Your remarks reminded me of a passage in Richard Wright's Black Boy, specifically, the trouble he had with his Baptist grandmother who believed that writing fiction was "telling lies" and thus, sinful.

I thought as much, but couldn't resist commenting, mostly because it just seems so starkly and morbidly wrong: the denial of imagination and beauty in the name of God.

I'm familiar with Wright's Black Boy, but haven't read it, and can see I need to add it to my list.

Blixa wrote:I'm glad this helped, Kevin. I'm not a believer, but I can't imagine a Deity who wouldn't endorse reading.

You clearly haven't met the Deity Marg and Why Me worship, have you?

H.

Blixa wrote:....or some flavors of it....

You were right to note this.

Morley wrote:

Blixa wrote:....or some flavors of it....

You were right to note this.

: )