- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
The closer I draw to my Savior, the more I see those areas of apostasy in both my own life and in the way we administer the gospel in the church. By apostasy, I simply mean a less than Celestial path. Recognizing that the organization of the church is merely scaffolding (Lee) has done at least three things for me:(1) Allowed me to distinguish between the Lord’s will and institutional expediency.
(2) Allowed me to recognize truth from culture, policy, or practice.
(3) Freed me to bask in the love of God, who, as it turns out, is much more awesome than I ever learned in church classes or General Conference.
Th ironic thing is that the closer I’ve drawn to the Lord and the happier I am, the more my leaders seem to worry about me. LOL. My outward practices haven’t changed (in terms of religious observance). I’m more peaceful, joyful, charitable, patient… all markers that I am becoming more like Christlike… and some of my church leaders seem nervous because I am approaching my faith and my religious with my eyes wide open. You’d think the fact that I can acknowledge all the imperfections and still find beauty and faith in my religion would be affirming rather than disconcerting.
After one bishopric member expressed some concern, I called my brother (who’s in a bishopric in Utah) and said
“You won’t believe this but my leaders are worried because I’ve found joy in Mormonism. They’ve never seen this before. They think I must be apostatizing!”We laughed and laughed! Both of us recognizing the sad truth that many people live their religion out of fear of consequences rather than love of God. All duty. No beauty. This is from mercyngrace’s post in Alex’s thread. I would love to hear more about this, but if no one’s inclined, or it’s not kosher to steal a quote to start a new thread, let me know.
What do you think you’re doing or not doing that gets you “noticed” by your leaders? I ask because, for me, the joy of discovery has been greatly offset by the dread of not belonging, of knowing that my honest thoughts would set off the alarms. Thanks for the post.
Don’t worry. It’s kosher to quote from one thread to start another discussion. :thumbup: We do it somewhat regularly here.
🙂 Ann wrote:…the joy of discovery has been greatly offset by the dread of not belonging, of knowing that my honest thoughts would set off the alarms. Thanks for the post.
Yes, yes, a million times Yes!
Things I do which I feel raises an eyebrow from time to time?
I wore a cross to church for a while.
I quote all kinds of religious leaders from other denominations.
I teach from the Bible. A lot. Maybe mostly.
I emphasize grace. ALWAYS.
I vocally downplay cultural norms like the emphasis on piercings, tattoos, facial hair, and white shirts.
I challenge traditional interpretations of scripture and doctrine when I feel it’s not accurate or Christlike.
I talk about taboo issues like women and the priesthood when opportunity presents (I don’t just bring it up out of the blue, though.)
I refuse to attend tithing settlement. Actually, haven’t done it in about 10 or 12 years (for a number of reasons).
When worship starts to feel like work, I take a Sunday off.
I skip class when I feel like I might be too vocal and offend someone who is a little more rigid in their beliefs than I am.
I don’t do any of these things because I have any sort of agenda. They are just who I am. They reflect what I earnestly believe. To say that some of church history disturbs me would be an understatement. To say that there are no cultural norms that offend me would be to lie. To pretend that I believe that all church practices and policies are divine would be to imply that the telestial institution of the church was somehow perfectly aligned 100% to God’s will. If it were, we’d have been translated, right? So basically, I am who I am and others either appreciate and tolerate that or they don’t. I’ve never been a gifted faker, regardless of the social pressure to conform.
The good news is that whoever you are is good enough for me. I’m not going to judge you if you show up smelling like you closed the bar last night. I’m going to slide down and make room for you and I’ll probably hug you to boot. After all, none of us belong in God’s kingdom. That’s the message. The corollary is that He’s bound and determined to get us there anyway. Might as well get used to one another.
mercyngrace wrote:I don’t do any of these things because I have any sort of agenda. They are just who I am. They reflect what I earnestly believe. To say that some of church history disturbs me would be an understatement. To say that there are no cultural norms that offend me would be to lie. To pretend that I believe that all church practices and policies are divine would be to imply that the telestial institution of the church was somehow perfectly aligned 100% to God’s will. If it were, we’d have been translated, right? So basically, I am who I am and others either appreciate and tolerate that or they don’t. I’ve never been a gifted faker, regardless of the social pressure to conform.
Maybe it’s hard at any age, but to suddenly feel odd-man-out after more than half a life in the church is strange. I don’t know that I was a gifted faker, but I was a contented belonger who didn’t delve or give much credence to my own thoughts.
Curious about the cross. I can understand what would lead you to wear it, but what led you to stop wearing it? I’ve read a little about the development of our taboo and wondered if wearing one will end up feeling “right” for me.
Why I stopped wearing my cross? I’m not really a jewelry wearer (don’t even wear my wedding rings) and I just misplaced the cross – it’s probably in a drawer somewhere…
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.