I recently posted this on another thread, and thought it would make an interesting stand-alone topic:
Liz wrote:Understand that I grew up a faithful Latter-Day Saint. I specifically remember envying non-members. It honestly seemed to me like they had the "best of both worlds". Since they did not have the "blessing"/burden of the gospel, they were ignorant of many of their sins. They would be taught the gospel in the Millenium, when Christ was reining personally upon the earth! How easy would it be to accept the gospel then? Their sins would automatically be forgiven, washed away with baptism, and then they would be eligible for the Celestial Kingdom because they would then be perfect! I, on the other hand, having been "blessed" with the gospel in this life, could die in my sins if I'm not perfect, and be separated forever from my family.
For those of you who are members...did anyone else feel this way? Buffalo mentioned that he felt this way as well.
If you did, how did you come to reconcile these feelings?
The way I reconciled those feelings is by realizing that the LDS Church is just another man-made religion, and that the pronouncements from the echo chamber of the paid gerontocracy are nothing but their own neuroses, personal aesthetic tastes, and an ever-increasing length of arbitrary Mormon cultural norms that are simply contrived rule-making masquerading as having something relevant or profound or interesting to say.
You like theater, Liz. Let me recommend a play that might help explain modern Mormonism to you. It's called "Waiting for Godot."
liz3564 wrote:I recently posted this on another thread, and thought it would make an interesting stand-alone topic:
Liz wrote:Understand that I grew up a faithful Latter-Day Saint. I specifically remember envying non-members. It honestly seemed to me like they had the "best of both worlds". Since they did not have the "blessing"/burden of the gospel, they were ignorant of many of their sins. They would be taught the gospel in the Millenium, when Christ was reining personally upon the earth! How easy would it be to accept the gospel then? Their sins would automatically be forgiven, washed away with baptism, and then they would be eligible for the Celestial Kingdom because they would then be perfect! I, on the other hand, having been "blessed" with the gospel in this life, could die in my sins if I'm not perfect, and be separated forever from my family.
For those of you who are members...did anyone else feel this way? Buffalo mentioned that he felt this way as well.
If you did, how did you come to reconcile these feelings?
I think eventually I had to drop some of the dysfunctional attitudes that I was taught in church. I learned to go a little easier on myself, because otherwise I'd have gone insane. I had to basically start ignoring the most egregiously dysfunctional teachings that I was getting from church manuals.
I didn't drop it all, though, until I actually stopped believing.
Parley P. Pratt wrote:We must lie to support brother Joseph, it is our duty to do so.
I really didn't envy my non-member friends that much at all. They were the ones living life and not knowing the reason why we are here. I was the one blessed enough to be born into a family that had the truth. I always thought it would drive me insane not knowing why I am here and where I am going. Now that I don't believe anymore I realize that it hasn't driven me insane and I am actually pretty content.
The only thing I envied was my non-mormon friends having sex before they were married.
Oh and masturbating without guilt would've been nice.
I always envied what I perceived as "a normal life" among non-members. I didn't like being part of a strange people. I wished my parents were cool like some of my friends' parents were and didn't believe all the shaming hocus pocus of Mormon focus.
The best thing about leaving the church for me was the feeling that I was joining the real world.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
bcspace wrote:I freely admit; blissful ignorance is sometimes a tempting thought. But I think we often forget about the consequences when under such temptation.
Unfortunately you labor under an agonizing form of ignorance. My sympathies.
Parley P. Pratt wrote:We must lie to support brother Joseph, it is our duty to do so.
Yes I always felt that way. For me I have to believe there exists an advantage to living the gospel and enduring the ways in which it detracts from ones quality of life. But most Mormons would not agree with me on that therefore socially I never could resolve the question. While for me it's a crucial belief that I hang on to tightly, I have to keep it to myself and maintain the faith in it myself. You're not going to get any social/churchmember support believing that. That's why for me, I don't see much value in the church community. My faith is personal and I have to maintain it myself.
And when the confederates saw Jackson standing fearless as a stone wall the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
Then being told my dick was a factory and should I touch it, I might turn into a homosexual - and oh here is some rope, tie your hand to the bedpost at night... Well, life after that wasn't the same.
And then after that, The church made sure to back a truck up and dumped a whole heap of guilt right into my life. Everything was a sin, and here is some more sin, and here is a heaping helping of guilt with a side order of guilt.
Then when I left the cult and found out Joe did pretty much most of things that would get a member excommunicated, well, it changed things. And when I saw more damning evidences against the church and saw it for what it was - a complete fraud, I realized that all of the shame and guilt was about one thing.
Control.
And now I control my own life. And I'm guilt free. Sin is a word used by religions to control and label. I'm guilt free and sin free. And with it, depression is gone and true freedom is here.