jon wrote:jon, in my case that is a wrong assumption. Call me a "Whitmerite" if you like; it probably fits better. What the Church leaders say or think isn't necessarily "gospel", in my opinion.
Ray, in a different thread you posted the above paragraph to explain to me that you weren't an active believing Mormon.
In this thread you seem to be taking a different position?
I'm not, and have no intention of ever being active or on the rolls again. I'm a Universalist, so go figure. This might help you:
I believe in the fundamental Truth of all great religions of the world. I believe they are all God given and I believe they were necessary for the people to whom these religions were revealed. And I believe that if only we could all of us read the scriptures of the different faiths from the standpoint of the followers of these faiths, we should find that they were at the bottom all one and were all helpful to one another. - M K Gandhi
I'll frankly say, that though I was once sadly a part of it, I personally feel that the negativity and Mormon-bashing on this board has had its day with
me. I have decided to refrain from encouraging, or taking any further part in it, but I understand that many need this "outlet" (I once did). That's just me. I'm at another stage, sort of like "the man in the middle" (remember that, because I'm
not Mormon), and think I understand how both ex-Mos and Mormons feel, but I think it's rather pointless to overdo the criticism on just about everything thinkably Mormon. It gets tiring, but I think I know the answer - read less, and post less (and this will be my only post today).
I once told the late Eugene England, many years ago, that I could never rejoin the "Mormon party", which made him a bit sad. Likewise, I can now never rejoin "the ex-Mo" party, but all of you are entitled to whatever floats your boat.
With that long-winded explanation out of the way - Have "fun", and take care. Life is short; make the most of it and contribute positively in all the productive ways you can. Ciao.