Faith Interviews

Hi, I know people have looked at this thread and there is too much to read at the links, so let me just point out what was meaningful to me.

Some of the links discuss Fowlers stages of faith with additional information which I find very interesting, but maybe I should have just added all this to the thread on Fowlers stages of faith.

Anyway, here are a few of my thoughts and some questions:

Joseph S. Maciejko, a practicing psycologist writes about an interview Phil Donhaue had with a famous Catholic Priest Andrew Greely. Donhaue seems to be getting upset because he cannot understand why more Catholics, who do not agree with the Pope or church doctrines, are not leaving the church. Dr. Maciejko then makes this point:

The relevant point here for our discussion is that for many, proclaiming a

them.

I thought a lot about this statement being raised in the lds faith. I have left the church a few times, but am always drawn back to it. Even though I question and struggle with certain teachings of the church, I feel hard-wired Mormon. I love the Church and the concept of eternal progression and becoming like my Heavenly Father and Mother. Yet, I am a truth seeker and have also sincerely prayed that if the church is false and I should leave, that I want to know. So, far I have always felt God wanted me in the lds church.

Last week, one of my hair salon customers came in and was a wreck. Her health was horrible, she had lost her job, finances were bad, she was so lonely and divorced. She told me that she has been crying for weeks. She said that she felt she needed to go back to church and put God back into her life. She said that the first person she thought of when it came to religion was me because I had been so kind to her all these years. But, she said, I am just not into Mormonism and so I really do not want to go to your church. I told her that was fine and asked her what church she had been raised in or most familiar with. She said ‘Baptist.” I then told her that Grandview Baptist church was just down the street from her and I had been there a few times when my daughter went there and it seemed to be a very friendly, loving church. She then said that she had been baptized in the Grandview church 20 years ago and feels like God inspired me to tell her this. I then asked her if she would like me to go with her this Sunday as I know it is kind of awkward and lonely to go by yourself. She was so touched and said she would love that. So, this past Sunday, I missed stake conference and took this lady to her church. A beautiful spirit was there and loving Christian people who surrounded us with fellowship. She was happy, I felt the spirit of Christ, yet I knew inside I belonged in the Mormon church. My experience has been that God takes us where we are at and guides people to churches that are right for them at that time. What have been your experiences and thoughts on this?

Hey Heber,

Thanks for your comments. I used to be the type of person that would have normally reacted by your first reaction. But since I have struggled so much with my own faith and do not feel so sure anymore that what is right for me, would be right for someone else, I just followed my gut reaction. The way she said it made me feel she really did not want to hear about Mormonism. So, doing the Christian thing felt more right than doing the Mormon thing in this incidence. I have found when I have done this in the past and the person hears negative stuff about Mormons later, that they end up standing up for Mormoms. In fact, one of my customers in Oregon, did just that in the middle of her church when they were bashing Mormons. She simply said, “My hairdresser and other Mormons I have met are some of the finest people I know and God says, “By this shall all men know ye are my disciples…” Our example is so powerful.

I did have a customer once who did the strangest thing. I had just pulled her hair through a frosting cap for a heavy highlighting. I rarely tell anyone my faith because I want them to ask me by seeing my actions. Anyway, this customer, whose hair I had been doing for years, suddenly says, “Ooh, I look like a Mormon.” At first I thought she said ‘Moron.” But asked again and she pulled the strands of her hair through the cap and said, “I look like a Mormon.” I then asked, “Why do you say that?” She said, “because everyone knows Mormons have horns and are a devils cult.” I then asked her where she heard that. She said in her church. (This was when I lived in Tampa Florida and they had been advertizing full page spreads to come see the “Godmakers” movie on Christmas Day!!!) So, then I causally said, “Wow, you know, I have been a Mormon all my life and I never knew that.” Of course, she was embrassed and apologized. But, I then asked her if she would go to a Lutheran to learn about the Catholics? She said no. I just said that if she wanted to get to know about someone or a church I would go to the horses mouth (an active Mormon) to find out what they say they believe. So, it seems God gives us these opportunities, and inspires us how to use them.

Over the last 10 years, even though I am an LDS member, I have spent more time attending other churches.

Rix, this is interesting. Do you still go to other churches very often? How do you determine where you go?

I think it is cool to check out other churches, but with my kids being small, I go with my family to our church every week, and then usually aren’t good enough to want to go to more church in the afternoons, other than the church of the NFL.

Hey Heber,

Thanks for your comments. I used to be the type of person that would have normally reacted by your first reaction. But since I have struggled so much with my own faith and do not feel so sure anymore that what is right for me, would be right for someone else, I just followed my gut reaction. The way she said it made me feel she really did not want to hear about Mormonism. So, doing the Christian thing felt more right than doing the Mormon thing in this incidence. I have found when I have done this in the past and the person hears negative stuff about Mormons later, that they end up standing up for Mormoms. In fact, one of my customers in Oregon, did just that in the middle of her church when they were bashing Mormons. She simply said, “My hairdresser and other Mormons I have met are some of the finest people I know and God says, “By this shall all men know ye are my disciples…” Our example is so powerful.

I did have a customer once who did the strangest thing. I had just pulled her hair through a frosting cap for a heavy highlighting. I rarely tell anyone my faith because I want them to ask me by seeing my actions. Anyway, this customer, whose hair I had been doing for years, suddenly says, “Ooh, I look like a Mormon.” At first I thought she said ‘Moron.” But asked again and she pulled the strands of her hair through the cap and said, “I look like a Mormon.” I then asked, “Why do you say that?” She said, “because everyone knows Mormons have horns and are a devils cult.” I then asked her where she heard that. She said in her church. (This was when I lived in Tampa Florida and they had been advertizing full page spreads to come see the “Godmakers” movie on Christmas Day!!!) So, then I causally said, “Wow, you know, I have been a Mormon all my life and I never knew that.” Of course, she was embrassed and apologized. But, I then asked her if she would go to a Lutheran to learn about the Catholics? She said no. I just said that if she wanted to get to know about someone or a church I would go to the horses mouth (an active Mormon) to find out what they say they believe. So, it seems God gives us these opportunities, and inspires us how to use them.

Wow, Bridget! That is quite a story! I’m like you; I don’t tell people my religion but hope they will find something in me that impresses them enough to ask. What I want to know is did she ever go back to you, or was she so embarrassed that she didn’t want to ever have to face you again?

Doesn’t it just irritate you to death to think that people are actually taught stuff like that in their churches? I mean what kind of Christian ministers would stoop so low?

Chrisitan bookstores have whole walls with anti-Mormon, JW, 7th Adventist, and Cathoic books, and phamhlets.

Oh, I know! We’re always in the “Cult” section. Imagine a “Cult” section at Deseret Book. Pretty hard to do, huh?

Anyway, afterwards we stayed and talked to the woman and her husband who sponsered this movie. They were wearing the temple garb with the apron’s.

You know, when I hear something like this, I can’t help but think that these are the kinds of people that the statement “and God will not be mocked” refers to. If this couple were former members of the Church who were endowed, I feel really, really sorry for them. I’m kind of assuming they were. When a person makes a promise to God, as is done in the temple, a change in beliefs down the road does not justify breaking the promise. The promise is that we will not reveal that which we will be told in the temple. Anyone making that promise does so of his own free will and choice. If I were to ever leave the Church, I can’t even imagine daring to break such a promise, even if I no longer believed in the things that I once believed in. To break a promise of that magnitude is pretty serious and is, in fact, mocking God.

This whole thing actually backfires on them as they find many of their members turned off by this kind of thing.[/quote]I know. There really are people who can see through that kind of thing. I’m sure there have been quite a few converts to the Church whose first exposure to it was through “The Godmakers.”

If our church were to show a movie on Christmas day about the horrors of the Catholic church and popes during the dark ages, I would never come back to church again.

I’m with you 100%.