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In some ways I don’t really belong here because at this stage of my life I am in pretty good spiritual shape with a very firm testimony, but (there is always a but isn’t there?) I don’t belong in my ward either. I have been an outsider in my ward for almost 30 years, I love the people, I serve them as best I can, but except for immediate personal extended family and my wife I just don’t fit and there is no one to talk to about all the head turmoil ( Like doesn’t the Church understand that the language they have been using in their “gay offensive” to protect “the family” is so very close to what people were saying about the Mormons in the late 1800s and their disgusting practice of polygamy? Or, since we are there, What was Joseph thinking about marrying women who were already married????? Wasn’t it crystal clear that it was waving a red flag in the face of the larger community? OR How can it be that most Sunday School teachers in the Church are willing to go along with a 6000 year old creation when the actual time frame is more like 13.5 billion years??). Anyway, I’ll stop before I get going too much further. I have my own personal solutions to most of these and my testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith is strong enough to pull through the rest. I have never really broken with the Church but have spent two sessions in my life where I didn’t go to Church for well over a year at a time, I just couldn’t stand the level mental rigidity. So I guess my problem is that I feel that I am starting to come to another one of those times where just not showing up would be SOOOOOO peaceful. However my wife is very faithful and very loving and when I don’t go to Church it is a huge pain for her but she is SOOOO Stage 3 religious, content, passionate about the gospel, no questions, work hard, accept whatever calling comes along. So here I am, looking for someplace where I can at least talk.
Enough for tonight. I look forward to talking to all of you.
Welcome Bill. I think you will enjoy it here. Ditto, Bill. Welcome. I hope the hiccup on the other thread doesn’t drive you away. I think your contributions here would be wonderful.
No problem Ray, as I indicated I kind of expected it and I am in fact comforted by the fact that as a board you really do the moderating. You did it in a very caring thoughtful way and I appreciate that, I hope to find a place here, I have been looking for one for well over a year. Welcome, Bill! Based on your intro, this forum could be absolutely perfect for you. You mentioned the “mental rigidity” that you found so annoying at church; well, here at staylds, I’d say it’s the absolute opposite of that. “Mental flexibility to the max” is probably the best description, so… it’s fun, safe, and educational. What else could you ask for???
So, welcome!
Welcome Bill, I look forward to learning what allows you to work through the doubts and problems you have. Good to have you. Welcome. We all go through phases of that mental and emotional ache. I hope you can work along side us to make peace. The peace is within us, or it is not (and most often somewhere in between). It’s easier said than done, but we can not depend on others for that tranquility. They (we) are all doing the best that we can.
Welcome Bill! Bill, Stuggling with the “warts” of the history of the restoration is something that a lot of us go through and that shows courage on your part to confront it.
I don’t think God wants us to be a bunch of non-questioning droids. He put us here to struggle through this mess and to become stonger for doing that. You’ve found a good website, and I hope a whole lot more, to escort you on your journey.
Throw your doubts out there and I’m sure they’ll be addressed. There’s enough diversity of ideas here that you may come away with something that can really help.
May God bless you and yours.
Thanks to all of you who have responded here! I have been lurking around the Bloggernacle for better than a year trying to find a spot where I could work out things and share with others. You have made me feel a sense of peace so thanks for that.
This is probably as good a place to ask questions as anywhere: some of the threads cover topics that I want to engage with but they have like 10 or more pages of posts. I have started working through those but it seems to me obvious that there isn’t much sense to want to reply to a comment done even 3 months ago, is that right?
I have very little experience with message boards and their processes so I would appreciate any help that you can give.
So for a direct example the Joseph Smith thread is a place where I need to do some serious work, however I feel like I need to read all 16 pages before I start any posting so that I am not repeating something you covered in detail 5 months ago. Is that the way to go? Or should I just hop to the most current set (say the last month) and start in?
Again thanks all.
Judging by your advanced stages of thought, you might be best served to read through the whole threads. It’s not as bad as it sounds, usually moves quickly, and the insights are AMAZING! (except for the swimordie ones 😳 )@Bill A lot of it depends on how various users browse the forums. For example, I use the “view your posts,” “view new posts,” “view unanswered posts” links and that allows me to see who has made new comments no matter how old the thread is. Hence, if you were to answer the Joseph Smith thread, I would see it. As a tip, one thing about this forum (phpBB) is that there are many many very small and subtle links that do important things. The big things on your screen on the individual forums, but keep an eye out for small subtle links that do very interesting things. For example, way down at the bottom of any forum screen, there is a link called “Subscribe topic.” This is a handy feature that allows you to receive an email any time a new post, or comment is posted in that particular forum, or topic. It’s very useful.
Also, although we have talked about Joseph Smith a great deal, I am not opposed to you starting a new thread in that vein if you have a slightly different question. Part of going through this process is being willing to talk about things over and over again with new people. This is a forum, not a reference encyclopedia. We are starting such an “encyclopedia” but it’s not to the point yet where we can refer people. So in the meantime, I’d be happy to discuss Joseph Smith with you in a new thread.
Welcome Bill. I think anyone who is searching for truth and not wanting to bash church members or church doctrine will fit in well here. While you don’t need to raise the same questions that have been posted 3 months ago…the topics are there for discussion. After reading the sections that interest you (or you can even use the search feature to find topics you are studying), I think it is good to add your own thoughts and views. With new people visiting and joining this site all the time, I think that is fair to do. It may be beneficial to spend time working through the prior posts (even if 16 pages of them) to see if your questions have already been addressed, but usually every individual has a unique perspective on things and I enjoy hearing individual stories and experiences on it, even if we’ve covered it before.
I look forward to reading your posts!
I’ll say it this way: I would rather have and read one thread with 200 comments than 10 threads with 20 comments each. That’s just the way my mind works.
If, however, the central theme is different – then, I am totally fine with different threads. Please, just reflect that new theme in the title. I personally don’t want two threads both titled, essentially, “What about Joseph Smith?”
Thanks all, that helps a lot, I will keep in that Joseph Smith thread once I’ve had a bit of time to do some of the reading and I do agree with you Ray that a rich full thread has a lot to offer. Jmb thanks for hints on using the other ways to view the list I had found my own “see your own posts” but not the other stuff. Looking forward to discussing Joseph (do you have the same sensitivity as I do?? I don’t mind Joseph Smith or Joseph but I do get upset when someone says Joe or Smith, I guess that is part of the respect do you think?)
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