Looking for inspiration ???

I don’t know if it will be helpful but all I can do is share my own truth. I am not trying to be light or funny:

I have found peace and meaning in the fact that life is a total confusing mess. The highs of mortality are defined by the lows, so without hard times there can be no joy. Love is the answer, Elder Uchtdorf said something like it is the means and the destination. It takes effort, and that work creates the reward. Everything worthwhile comes from love. The truth is love. 1 John 4:8

I stop seeking truth about the plan of salvation, and concentrate on living a good life. At the same time, while maintaining a healthy relationship with the TBM people in my life…

We all know the basics of what God wants from us.

Those basics are the same in every major religion and every major culture: Do no harm. Strive to help others. Do not speak or think unkind thoughts of others. Aid our neighbor and aid the needy stranger — whether they appear deserving or not. Do not look for fame or acknowledgment for our good deeds. Let our actions speak louder than our words. Avoid all excess. Keep our pants zipped and our skirt down — unless we have committed long term to that relationship.

Take time to be still. Let God direct us. Less prayer .. And more calm to let ourselves just feel.

The DVD is good too. You can get it on amazon for less than $10. Titled: New York Doll.

(2 thumbs up)

I have been where you are now…. This is an old book review of “Believing Christ”. I read it as though I were seeing the gospel freshly for the first time.

Like Rix, much of my reaction to this book is influenced by where I was mentally and emotionally at the time. So this is not so much a review of the book as a description of how I ricocheted off of the book in my own faith journey.

Prior to reading “Believing Christ,” I had been struggling with the visualization of “enduring to the end” as a perpetual handcart journey. Where only if I pulled until I literally fell over dead would I measure up.

I wrote in my introduction:

Roy Wrote:

In reading, I have been seeking “The Answer.” When I read “Believing Christ” I was floored with “The Answer.” 💡 “Wow, of course God doesn’t expect me to be a saviour for those dearest to me- He loves me in my weakness and accepts my offering as long as my heart is in the right place. Why didn’t I know this before?” 💡

I had been working out my relationship with God. “Believing Christ” comes along and confirms many of my “God loves me in my imperfections” feelings/revelations and presents these theories as core (if underemphasized) Mormonism. Here I was wondering if my new beliefs were compatible with the church, and suddenly – through this book – I felt that my new beliefs were the new true doctrine.

I could now interpret that to “endure in faith on his name to the end” (D&C 20:29-30) is an exercise in maintaining a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” This was much easier for me to swallow as my heart was never in question, just my fortitude.

It was one last grasp at binary thinking. This lasted for two or three weeks and then came the second portion of my introductory post:

Roy wrote:

In attempting to answer some questions by a very sweet and sincere missionary as to how I could believe in “easy grace,” I looked up some of the relevant scripture verses in my institute manuals. I found that the interpretation and emphasis given these verses in the institute manual are not the same as that given in “Believing Christ.”

I looked up “grace” in the bible dictionary and found the following definition:

It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”

Now I was back to my visualization of the perpetual handcart journey only now “grace” seemed to be that extra little shove to keep you going when every muscle is screaming at you to stop…until of course, you fall down dead in mid-step. 😥

I was not so sure of myself to think that the church authorities quoted in these institute manuals and the editors of the bible dictionary were somehow in error while I was enlightened. Nor could I dismiss the differences as S. Robinson seems to dismiss those differences in his students’ understandings as being “a function of age and maturity” or being “soft in the middle.”

In the end the viewpoints presented in “Believing Christ” fell from the pedestal where I had placed them. Instead of being “the way,” they became “a good way.” In the end I received a healthy dose of hope at an important time, some permission to forgive myself, and at least a realization that this is a tenable position to take in the church and not an apostate or degenerate one. I am very grateful for these footholds.

In summary:

Roy Wrote:

What I have found in my searching is a breadth of answers from lay-members to General Authorities. I have been intrigued in pondering what these answers mean for those individuals and what makes them resonate for them. I have also found that we, as LDS, are not so different in this regard as people of other faiths, each seeking answers that add meaning for them.

There is no sure footing that I have found. There is an ebb and flow of ideas. This is at once terrifying and wondrous. It does get better. Your “sea legs” will come to you in time.

2a. Don’t let other people tell you when you are and when you aren’t happy. If you’re happy and you know it :clap: .

I have found peace and meaning in the fact that life is a total confusing mess. The highs of mortality are defined by the lows, so without hard times there can be no joy.

I like that. I also like the quote “Relax. Nothing is under control.” Feeling as though things are out of control can bring comfort or discomfort, depending on the context. I try to increase the amount of contexts where it can bring comfort.

As I walk the path of my faith crisis I have become overwhelmed and somewhat confused .

I don’t know whether it will be of any comfort but that’s a good sign. I think we’re supposed to feel that way.

I have really been trying to live a Christ centered life but my disallusion with the church continues .

Disillusionment with the church can be hard to overcome. I try to remember that Christ was around well before there ever was a church. My relationship with Christ doesn’t have to be held back or held up by the church.

The more I seek truth the more adversity I find .

Hey, keep seeking. Either you’ll run out of truth to seek, thus ending the adversity, or the adversity will dry up before the truth does. Either way adversity has an end.

There are so many opposing views of everything church related I don’t know when it will end !!

At least it makes things interesting. Why is Sunday School so boring? Because there aren’t any opposing views.

What do the rest of you guys/gals do when so confused ?

I usually post something on StayLDS.

I have prayed for answers but none seem forthcoming.

I hear you. I’ve gotten to where I don’t pray anymore. I don’t stop contemplating, reevaluating, studying, pondering, etc. I just take a more informal approach to achieve what I believe produces the same outcome as prayer.

I think i have found answers and peace but then something else comes along and derails it , I know we will not ever have all the answers in this life but I just wish I could find peace in what I believe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know the feeling. I was hard wired to find peace in static, dependable, things and in things that were certain. It’s an adjustment to find that inner peace because we know that we aren’t always static or dependable and we are not perfect… but we are doing the best we can with what we’ve got. Can’t really do any better than that.

It’s okay to be obsessed and even angry. Sometimes fighting the fire is futile and the fire won’t go out until all the fuel is consumed. In those cases, let it burn?

In my experience it’s a process that can’t be rushed or willed forward but it helps to get things out in the open Good luck..