My fear: being wrong about whether the church is true or not

[Guest]

For me when I read an insiders view of Mormonism by Grant Palmer - it seems the truth was fading in and out of my mind. I think when you review the basic issues there it becomes clearer. You should also sign up and watch what happens at the MAD board. You can also compare books at signature books with the faith promoting materials and you see what is going on. When I started seeing this the only thing that became clear is that I have a limited time on this earth with no surety of an afterlife.

Grant Palmer is a very poor historian.

who, in your view, is a good LDS historian?

Just one? How about a few?

Leonard Arrington, Richard Bushman, Davis Bitton, Jan Shipps, James Allen, Richard Lloyd Anderson, Dean Jessee, oh, and of course, Sandra Tanner.

[_LifeOnaPlate]

For me when I read an insiders view of Mormonism by Grant Palmer - it seems the truth was fading in and out of my mind. I think when you review the basic issues there it becomes clearer. You should also sign up and watch what happens at the MAD board. You can also compare books at signature books with the faith promoting materials and you see what is going on. When I started seeing this the only thing that became clear is that I have a limited time on this earth with no surety of an afterlife.

Grant Palmer is a very poor historian.

who, in your view, is a good LDS historian?

I know what name he will never think to list...

You don't count, antishock. Silly!

[_Coca Cola]

Hi, CocaCola! :)

Welcome to the board!

My perspective is a little different than some here. I'm what some would call a New Order Mormon, or a Cafeteria Mormon. Boaz affectionately refers to me as a Jack Mormon. LOL

I still attend Church, and I do believe in God and in Jesus. However, I question many of the specific LDS tenets of the gospel. I choose to worship Christ by attending the Church I grew up in, and play the piano for Primary. I'm doing what works best for me and for my family situation.

I think that everyone has to do that.

My point is, if your decision to leave the Church is truly a decision which you feel good about..a decision which is best for your emotional situation, and for your family, then, in my opinion, (which may or may not be worth much...lol) if there is a God, he will be understanding of your choices. I tend to believe more in the New Testament God than the Old Testament one. ;)

God knows the desires of our hearts. If we are being good people, then God will see that. So, even if you have left the Church, if you are still being a good person and living a moral life, I don't think you have anything to fear from God.

With your permission, I would like to move this thread to the Terrestrial Forum. It is definitely on the topic of Mormonism, and you will gain more posts that way.

Again, welcome to the board.

:)

Thank you, Liz. And that is fine. I'd certainly like to hear from anyone else who had/has these fears and how they deal with them.

After a lifetime of belief in the church I feel like my whole foundation has been ripped out from under me, and I don't know where to turn. I feel the need for something to fill the void to "explain it all" to me.

I need some kind of replacement belief system. So far - secular humanism is the closest I have found.

That's what I really enjoyed about the church - it explained life for me. And now - I feel so lost and adrift.

Normally I don't feel anger against the church but I do feel anger towards the early founders of the church who knew they were carrying out a great deception. But when i start to think about how I have made major life decisions based on religion -- then I start to get angry.

The recent books I have read about polygamy have made me angry.

[_Coca Cola]

Keep in mind those are two completely separate propositions. God's existence is not dependent on the LDS Church being true.

Most people I find tackle those one at a time, and at least some cling to some hope or belief in a supreme being even if they've discarded the LDS version of it. Eventually, many also discard belief in God (for many, this is so intertwined with having learned about or encountered "God" in Mormonism they have difficulty separating the two).

I think if you consider yourself a "spiritual" person, feel free to ask for some sort of divine guidance, even if it's just meditating to get to the center of your own consciousness, in order to sort out your journey. You might arrive at a point where you've discarded everything you previously held to be true, or believed in, or you might arrive at a point that you've separated Mormonism from belief in God and retained one and not the other.

Good points.

You know, I don't even know how to comprehend a non-Mormon God.

Although I have been an obedient Mormon, and have often thought I have felt "the spirit", my nature is more more matter-of-fact - and I have never explored any alternative paths to human spirutality. I have always dismissed that as kooky.

Perhaps I am more open now to trying something different.

[_the road to hana]

[
I need some kind of replacement belief system. So far - secular humanism is the closest I have found.

Secular humanism works for many who leave Mormonism. Some check out places like Unitarianism. I've met plenty others who've gone in and out of various other faiths, Protestant, Catholic and even some Jewish, along the way. I'd just say that my own observation is that you go through a process that's evolutionary in the years after you leave the church and it doesn't necessarily stay exactly the same, so allow yourself some freedom to explore or just be, and don't tell yourself you have to have all the answers right this minute.

For example, you could be engaged to someone and find out they're really an incredibly bad person or wrong for you. That doesn't mean you have to go out next day after breaking up and find Mr./Ms. Perfect. It's a two-step process. Shed yourself of what seems wrong, incorrect, bad, false, whatever. Leave yourself open to determining what does or does not work for you following. Some people continue to hold onto Mormonism in a looser fashion as something of a New Order Mormon. That wouldn't work for me, but it works for some.

[_Coca Cola]

I know what name he will never think to list...

D. Michael Quinn?

[_Coca Cola]

[
I need some kind of replacement belief system. So far - secular humanism is the closest I have found.

Secular humanism works for many who leave Mormonism. Some check out places like Unitarianism. I've met plenty others who've gone in and out of various other faiths, Protestant, Catholic and even some Jewish, along the way. I'd just say that my own observation is that you go through a process that's evolutionary in the years after you leave the church and it doesn't necessarily stay exactly the same, so allow yourself some freedom to explore or just be, and don't tell yourself you have to have all the answers right this minute.

For example, you could be engaged to someone and find out they're really an incredibly bad person or wrong for you. That doesn't mean you have to go out next day after breaking up and find Mr./Ms. Perfect. It's a two-step process. Shed yourself of what seems wrong, incorrect, bad, false, whatever. Leave yourself open to determining what does or does not work for you following. Some people continue to hold onto Mormonism in a looser fashion as something of a New Order Mormon. That wouldn't work for me, but it works for some.

This is really, really helpful advice.

And thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to respond.

[_CaliforniaKid]

For me, a key step has been finding people who are making a similar journey. If you can gather even one or two such people around you, then it doesn't seem quite so lonely or crazy anymore...

[_LifeOnaPlate]

I know what name he will never think to list...

D. Michael Quinn?

Color me underimpressed by Same Sex Dynamics.

[_Coca Cola]

I know what name he will never think to list...

D. Michael Quinn?

Color me underimpressed by Same Sex Dynamics.

Oh, come on! This is the 21st century. A person's sexual orientation doesn't have anything to do with their intellect, painstaking research, or body of scholarly work.