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I’m just checking things out here right now until I figure out where I stand. I’ve spent some time on NOM (which I like) and FLAK (which is a bit too pungent for my taste) and I think it’ll take me a little while to see where you all stand in terms of finding one’s place within the church and the kingdom. I supposed I’m closer to a NOM than anything else. I joined the church in the ’90s as an adult, so I never had those b-i-c experiences. Maybe that had some role to play in my eventual drifting off. I moved around, left the “Morridor” for a few years, didn’t put down roots anywhere and so the church just stopped being that important to me. Now my life has changed again, I’m older, more knowledgeable, more understanding of others and maybe ready to get back involved again but I want to do it at my own pace and in my own comfort zone.
I have some pretty strong feelings about various topics (don’t we all) but I can let a lot of stuff slide in the interest of conviviality.
Hmm, looks like I need an avatar too.
Welcome Limhah. We are similar to NOM in some ways, but also very different in the fact that we explicitly filter for a positive view of Mormonism (and religion in general), even if we are not “faithful” in a traditional sense. NOM allows a much wider range of expression than we do. I am a huge fan of NOM, don’t get me wrong, and totally love people over there. We are focused on a narrow subset though of the internet mormonism community, and serve a specific purpose.
Definitely take some time to read through the material in our “Rules and Policies” forum section:
http://forum.staylds.com/viewforum.php?f=7 😆 😆 Again, welcome. We’re glad to have you with us for the ride.
Welcome, Limhah. Quote:maybe ready to get back involved again but I want to do it at my own pace and in my own comfort zone.
That pretty much sums up this site.Thanks for the info. I guess as an adult convert, I always felt like an outsider to the culture. That was something I’ll have to deal with as I go along.
I actually don’t agree with a lot of stuff on NOM right now. I went there hoping for a more balanced viewpoint, but it seems to be veering into a lot of negativity lately and it gets tiresome chewing over the same old problems over and over. I want to use church to help me grow, not get stuck on old obstacles.
Welcome Limhah, I think what I have found unique and positive on this forum is the support for being able to voice opinions freely here, but most importantly learning from others how they deal with it. Not just venting, but reconciling…not just finding fault in the church, but choosing to grow personally despite them.
I look forward to learning from your views as you share them on topics you wish to discuss. Welcome!!
Welcome, Limnah! Based on your description of your current experiences on NOM, this sounds like the right place for you. Many of us have also posted there over time, and you will find that folks here are plenty opinionated, even if we are interested in finding a spiritual path in Mormonism rather than a way out. I think the types of issues people tend to have who come to the site are:
1 –
Cultural. They dislike aspects of Mormon culture, may feel they don’t fit in, or may simply not want to fit in. 2 –
Historical. They find aspects of our Mormon history unsavory (even faith-shaking) and white-washed or misrepresented (and sometimes have been unpleasantly surprised due to only having known the uplifting “correlated” version). 3 –
Doctrinal. They disagree with certain doctrines of the church or the interpretations of those doctrines they’ve encountered. 4 –
Personal. They have had a personal issue (marriage, abuse, interpersonal conflict, depression) that has caused dissonance with the church. Sounds to me like you fit into #1 probably. Is that right?
@ hawkgrrrl 1 – There are some aspects of the culture I don’t feel comfortable with or actively dislike, but mostly the issue is that I just don’t feel like a part of it. I want to research my family history and find out if some ancestor ever joined the church or was involved way back when, so I can feel a connection there. My predecessors only came to the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century, and to the east coast, so I doubt if I have any forebears in the church. I feel the church is very much a clan-based network.
2 – The history doesn’t bother me much, you can find the same or worse things with almost every religion that’s been around a while. Some religions have benefited from the long passage of time where a lot of bad press may have gotten buried in the sands of time.
3 – The doctrines are really up for grabs and subject to every individual’s interpretation.
4 – No personal issues at this point. I never really got to know anyone all that well.
Limhah wrote:2 – The history doesn’t bother me much, you can find the same or worse things with almost every religion that’s been around a while. Some religions have benefited from the long passage of time where a lot of bad press may have gotten buried in the sands of time.
I like the way you worded this…very rational and mature.
I think it is disappointing to many who have expectations that the LDS church has restored truth and should be different than other religions, only to find out there are still similar trends and happenings in LDS church history to what other religions and the members of other religions go through.
I think it becomes a paradox, that I believe there was truth restored to Joseph Smith, and there are also historical issues in church history, and that other religions have truths. We are a different religion, but still share some traits along with other religions.
Anyway, you said it better than I did…I just wanted to respond that I agree with your statement#2 above.
Quote:I feel the church is very much a clan-based network.
Yeah, there’s some of that for sure, and I find it buggy too. Same boat here, since both my parents are converts and there’s no church connex prior to them.
Heber13 wrote:I like the way you worded this…very rational and mature.
Don’t worry, I’m overdue for a vitriolic rant any time now. I save it up.
😆 hawkgrrrl wrote:Quote:I feel the church is very much a clan-based network.
Yeah, there’s some of that for sure, and I find it buggy too. Same boat here, since both my parents are converts and there’s no church connex prior to them.
I guess I could make something up about some 19th century ancestor who sailed across the Atlantic on a handcart to Navuoo then put the wheels on it and pulled it to Salt Lake just in time to hear Brigham Young say “This will have to do.” (Or words to that effect.) And along the way maybe he took a side-trip to Missouri and did battle with some mobocrats.
“This will have to do” 😆 Or probably something like “this place is as good as any.” I suppose it was in a way!!!
I have no known family connections to the church, but I suspect that by family search I may have distant relatives in it… More surprisingly, I have considerable circumstantial evidence to suspect that I have common ancestry with at least one post-war prophet, from the old country. Probably in the 17th or 18th Centuries. His ancestors came from two parishes on either side of the one I know mine came from, and shared some of the same surnames. In fact, if we don’t have common ancestry, I’ll eat my hat. Difficult to prove as the records are scanty…
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