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I found out today about a friend who is choosing to stop coming to church. I had an hour long conversation with him. I believe that he is following the dictates of his conscience. I have confidence that it will all work out in the end with God. http://richalger.blogspot.com/2017/08/enhance-my-gospel-learning-and-find.html I love that statement in our Articles of Faith. I think ot is a wonderful summary of the concept of grace that gets overlooked too much. May your friend find a soft landing. Quote:I love the church. I love the family and friend connections I have because of my association in it. I believe that the church is still undergoing a restoration. That the most bitter branches are being cut off to make room for the sweet fruit. I want to be a part of that process.
I enjoy and respect this sentiment.
I wish us all luck. After more than a decade of having a life that is surrounded by deeply close people experiencing the same thing as your friend, I have concluded neither side, nor any of the sides, can really understand the other.
I thought for years that comprehension could be developed. As I watch the experience repeat itself 4 or 5 times over with family, relatives, and close friends I am convinced it can not. At least not in the present situation.
I used to wish specific things for stories like yours and your friends. Some alliance, some unseen blossom of joy for each side. I don’t anymore. Maybe it will come in some future generation when most of us are far older and our voices and lives no longer count.
Either side waits with baited breath for the other side to “get it”. To experience the same conditions and get the same results. I hear it from the pulpit, the classroom, and online. We have met the enemy and he is us.
The full transition runs deeper than Rough Stone Rolling.
I no longer want answers. I now just watch with deep curiosity. This tide is no brief period in time. Restoration or not the losses will cut deeper than we imagine. I wait to see where it will take all of us.
Good luck to you and your friend.
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