How I lost and regained my faith

[_Sanctorian]

Not sure if someone posted this but I thought some might find it interesting

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865619596/How-I-lost-and-regained-my-faith-LDS-man-shares-18-lessons-he-learned.html

[_son of Ishmael]

This is the typical bullshite that the church loves to throw out." See? It's all your fault. You just want to sin, or are prideful or aren't spiritual enough."

[_mentalgymnast]

This is the typical b***s*** that the church loves to throw out." See? It's all your fault. You just want to sin, or are prideful or aren't spiritual enough."

Apparently you didn't read the whole article. This is an individual we're talking about. Real life. Real experience. Of course, the "church" and others are happy he returned...why wouldn't they be? But he came to all of these realizations/insights/lessons on his own. No one forced him to. I liked this:

I’ve learned that church isn’t just a gathering for the righteous or wannabe righteous. It’s also a hospital for the sick. And if you let the way someone treated you keep you from living the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are missing the whole point.

“I’ve come to realize that these people are the ones who need the gospel the most. So it’s a good thing they are at church, and hopefully the teachings will sink in a little deeper over time. Instead of worrying about myself, I have learned I need to turn outward and serve these very people. I need to love them, reach out to them and help them. What is it that is going on in their lives that is making them act this way? They need the love and healing power of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives just as much as anyone.”

Good article...and worth reading the whole thing...not just watching the video. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

Also this:

LDS churchgoers are often viewed as naïve and closed-minded.

“But from my personal experience, the opposite is true. The irony is that most people, not all but most, I’ve come in contact with are less educated about my faith and way of life than I am about theirs. It’s not that LDS members are naïve (a high percentage have served church missions in foreign countries/cultures and spent every single day talking to different people about their individual beliefs); it’s that for the most part, LDS members have seen what the world has to offer and made a very calculated and even logical decision based on lots of information that what the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer is superior to all others and brings the most long-term happiness.”

Granted, this insight is a personal one. And others may disagree. But this fellow does have the advantage of having been on the other side of the tracks. So calling him naïve might be a bit disingenuous. He has come to this conclusion after having been through the "trial by fire", so to speak. But to each his own, right? There will be those here that will ask for "proofs" and/or posit that this same realization can come to someone in regards to coming back to their own faith tradition, etc. No argument there. But nonetheless, this individual's words should have greater value than that of someone who hasn't been through what he has.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

And this:

Riding the fence never helps you actually come to a solid conclusion and never allows you to see the full potential benefits. You’ve got to commit, jump in with both feet before you can know one way or another. In school, you can show up to class and sit through it, ‘ride the fence,’ but never actually get anything out of it. And it all starts with your attitude. If you go into a situation with a bad attitude, you’ll likely leave thinking your time was wasted. But a positive attitude and open mind will produce the opposite effect.

“The same is true of the gospel and church. I know lots of people who went to church, either at a young age, or maybe they’re still going to church now. But their attitude was or is negative. They’re just going through the motions, riding the fence, but never have actually committed. It’s no surprise that these people see very little value in living the gospel or going to church and usually never have a shortage of negative things to say about their experience. This pains my heart more than anything because these people ultimately end up leaving the faith (usually at a young age) without ever really giving it a chance. And by doing so, they leave not truly understanding what they’re leaving behind.

“I can’t tell you how many people I’ve had conversations with who profess to having had a bad experience with the LDS faith but have never truly lived it or tried it. It’s no surprise that they got as much out of it as they put in.”

Granted, there will be those that feel that they HAVE paid the price...and so forth...but still, there might be something here to consider.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

Lesson 16:

“Show me the person who has the answer to every question in life. They don’t exist. Why? Because NO ONE knows the answers to some of the questions we have. Not even that really smart professor at that one university or that really smart person who’s written a lot of books. They don’t know. I don’t know. We don’t know. Nobody knows. And it’s OK. I’ve come to realize there are questions that will likely never be answered in this life. And that’s the way God intended for it to be. I believe there are things not even the living prophet knows the answers to right now. Does he know more than us? Yes. But he’s got to learn and progress like the rest of us.

“Try and wrap your head around the vastness of the universe. Mind. Blown. It’s impossible for our finite brains to comprehend. I truly believe there is knowledge and answers to questions that God holds from us (at this time but will be revealed to us later) because we’re not ready to hear or know it currently. Milk before meat, as they say.

“Don’t allow the fact that you don’t have the answer to every single question that goes through your head keep you from acting on and following things you do know or have felt. Life requires faith. Every person on the earth must live by faith, period. Which leads us to our next lesson.”

As I've said before on this forum, it does come down to faith. Yes, faith can be misplaced. Yes, faith can involve choosing between greater and lesser "goods". Yes, faith may have components of shelf building and maintaining that shelf. Yes, faith may entail opposition. Etc.

But no one can disagree that in order to live in a world without direct evidence for a creator/God it does take faith/hope. The million dollar question is whether or not it was designed that way.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

Comment section is worth the read too:

Here's one:

MAYHEM MIKE
Salt Lake City, UT
@Thinkman: As an attorney, I employ for clients, I hope, some logic combined with experience and a smattering of wisdom. As a devout member of the LDS Church, I believe I "think for myself" and never "blindly follow" the advice of Church leaders. I exercise my agency to pray to the Lord and seek confirmation that my life path and decisions harmonize with His plan for me. Am I aware of the so-called objections others have to my faith? Of the mortal imperfections of our leaders? Of mistakes made as the Church and its people matured? Of course! As some have noted, the Church can be likened to a "rough stone rolling", imperfect at first, but gradually becoming more smooth as it grows and its leaders seek inspired counsel for contemporary needs. Anti-LDS charges have been amply countered by faithful members much more intelligent than I, and can be studied by anyone sincerely interested in the truth of the matter. As someone once mentioned to a lapsed Mormon, "If you had spent as much time studying why the Church was right as you have studying why it is wrong, you'd be a faithful member, today."

The message here is time, patience, and balance. Of course, it is really up to each person whether or not they have or haven't paid the price of discipleship, patience, obedience, study, faith, etc.

Regards,
MG

[_honorentheos]

Comment section is worth the read too:

Here's one:

MAYHEM MIKE
Salt Lake City, UT
@Thinkman: As an attorney, I employ for clients, I hope, some logic combined with experience and a smattering of wisdom. As a devout member of the LDS Church, I believe I "think for myself" and never "blindly follow" the advice of Church leaders. I exercise my agency to pray to the Lord and seek confirmation that my life path and decisions harmonize with His plan for me. Am I aware of the so-called objections others have to my faith? Of the mortal imperfections of our leaders? Of mistakes made as the Church and its people matured? Of course! As some have noted, the Church can be likened to a "rough stone rolling", imperfect at first, but gradually becoming more smooth as it grows and its leaders seek inspired counsel for contemporary needs. Anti-LDS charges have been amply countered by faithful members much more intelligent than I, and can be studied by anyone sincerely interested in the truth of the matter. As someone once mentioned to a lapsed Mormon, "If you had spent as much time studying why the Church was right as you have studying why it is wrong, you'd be a faithful member, today."

The message here is time, patience, and balance. Of course, it is really up to each person whether or not they have or haven't paid the price of discipleship, patience, obedience, study, faith, etc.

Regards,
MG

Hmm. I've heard more variants of this statement from @Thinkman than I'd care to count: Anti-LDS charges have been amply countered by faithful members much more intelligent than I

Because he's done his own thinking, you see.

[_Quasimodo]

As I've said before on this forum, it does come down to faith. Yes, faith can be misplaced. Yes, faith can involve choosing between greater and lesser "goods". Yes, faith may have components of shelf building and maintaining that shelf. Yes, faith may entail opposition. Etc.

But no one can disagree that in order to live in a world without direct evidence for a creator/God it does take faith/hope. The million dollar question is whether or not it was designed that way.

Regards,
MG

Faith and hope are not the same thing. Not even close. Hope is probably a good thing. Faith is the the thing that allows you to devote your life to a myth. Faith is not required to have a happy life. In fact, it works against it.

Faith is what charlatans sell to separate you from your money. Faith is what people use to feel good about flying planes into buildings or blow themselves up in crowded busses. Faith is greatly overrated.

My sig line and Mark Twain's clever line: "Faith is believing something that you know ain't true".

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

This was an excellent article. I actually took some notes.

That said, was there anything uniquely Mormon about what he said outside of the Book of Mormon is real?

- Doc