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Agreed. I think if you are so drunk you can’t walk, then you might want to skip that Sunday. But short of that, go to church to help balance out your imperfections! The pews would be empty if we required perfection (or even close to it) to attend. I also think you should try some things, like some activities that are good ways to meet people but you don’t have to feel like you are ready to go to the temple before getting involved. Come as you are is good advice. I also think on the lds dating sites you might find people who are not all what you might assume mormons are. Others go through similar life struggles. Some dating leads to meeting very very strick mormons, some not strict at all and may not be right for you…but don’t assume all single mormons are the same. Get out and meet some and see for yourself if your assumptions are valid or not.
I hope the church is for people like you and me. It should not be so restrictive that we don’t feel we belong.
See I’m not anyway looking to date, I have my own personal things I’m working through. Moving to Seattle and not traveling anymore being the biggest one. But friends help make it a lot easier to be comfortable in the church, unfortunately friends also make it easier to stop going to church, I just had a lack of friends in one area, and an abundance in the other. Thats why I’m trying to change that, but its really hard to make friends in person, when you move all the time, eventually I just gave up trying Welcome. It certainly sounds like the main issue is your transient lifestyle. That can be great for some free spirits but is certainly not for everyone. I recommend finding a place to settle that will give you opportunities to make relationships/networks/friendships. This too shall pass and soon enough you will be in the next phase of your life. I really do enjoy being transient, I do. I just fear that with the lifestyle I have I can”t be as active in the church as I feel I should be. I mean I have started doing my personal studies, but I never feel like thats enough. I feel like in order to be a “good” active mormon I need a calling or something. Other than that haha traveling is awesome! I love seeing all the different cultures and stuff. Even in the United States it’s diverse. Gingerbat wrote:I really do enjoy being transient, I do. I just fear that with the lifestyle I have I can”t be as active in the church as I feel I should be. I mean I have started doing my personal studies, but I never feel like thats enough. I feel like in order to be a “good” active mormon I need a calling or something. Other than that haha traveling is awesome! I love seeing all the different cultures and stuff. Even in the United States it’s diverse.
Perhaps you need to do some separating of the church and the gospel. They are not one in the same. You might also benefit from standing on the desk so to speak (like in Dead Poets Society). Looking at things from a different point of view might help you understand that there are different ways to be a “good active Mormon.” Let go of the church-induced guilt – seriously.
There’s a difference??? I’ve always seen it as all being related… Related, yes. The same thing, no. Well I knew they weren’t the same, but I guess I’ve always been taught that you can’t have one with out the other, probably why I feel like a horrible Mormon Anyone can live the basic Gospel, if they understand the basic concepts and principles, even if it is in different terms. Look at my signature line. The Church is a structured organization that helps teach the Gospel and helps people live it. It works for many; it doesn’t work for others. I love the Gospel; I love Mormon theology, as I interpret it; I like many aspects of the LDS Church; I don’t like some things; the culture is a crap shoot that depends way too much on geography and local leadership.
I am trying to think of something in the gospel that REQUIRES the church. Hmmm…struggling to think of some. Most things seem to be separate to me. Tithing to the LDS church to be a full-tithe payer is the way the church teaches to live the gospel principle of donating and offering and sacrifice. You can donate/offer/sacrifice without paying tithing.
Perhaps there are definitions of gospel and church that need to be clarified.
Heber13 wrote:I am trying to think of something in the gospel that REQUIRES the church. Hmmm…struggling to think of some.
Most things seem to be separate to me. Tithing to the LDS church to be a full-tithe payer is the way the church teaches to live the gospel principle of donating and offering and sacrifice. You can donate/offer/sacrifice without paying tithing.
Perhaps there are definitions of gospel and church that need to be clarified.
You could make the argument that the church is needed for ordinances, in which case it’s really the priesthood as opposed to the church. So does the church need the priesthood or the priesthood need the church? IMO, the church needs the priesthood, not the other way around, and the gospel exists without either – but depending on your perspective, the gospel might need the priesthood (from my perspective it does not). I have a hard time with thinking of why the gospel needs the church as well. I’m not saying the church is a bad thing, I think it’s a very good thing. I dislike it when people refer to the church as the gospel, and under proper circumstances I have been known to make that subtle correction – to which I generally get kind of a blank stare (although there are a surprising number of mature souls who recognize the difference). Although missionaries do encounter people who are unaware of the tenets of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are usually spreading the church, not the gospel.
I do like the observation made by some here that the church is a tool for helping people navigate the path (perhaps like a walking stick), but it is not the path. Generally speaking I think the same could be said for all churches.
I think Elder Poelman once tried to make such a distinction between the gospel and the church, and while his edited talk still does make a distinction it is not as clear as the original (both of which can be found using Google). I also think some current general authorities make the distinction subtly, and I don’t hear them using church when they should be using gospel.
DarkJedi wrote:IMO, the church needs the priesthood, not the other way around, and the gospel exists without either
I would agree with this too…if we establish the church needs more than the priesthood. Church really needs women to run it, not the priesthood alone, but that is another tangent.
The gospel seems bigger than the church. The church is just the scaffolding, to use that analogy.
Heber13 wrote:The gospel seems bigger than the church. The church is just the scaffolding, to use that analogy.
Not to belabor the point, but I see the gospel as much bigger yet much simpler than the church. Several of the Q15 have made reference to the gospel being so simple that a child can understand it.
Welcome to our group. Ray said: Quote:If you want to attend, please don’t let your drinking keep you away.
This is especially true if you’re traveling. I used to like going to new wards (or branches) when I traveled for business.There is no history with the members there. They usually welcome you with open arms thinking possibly you’re move into
the area. The is no pressure, expectations or responsibilities.
There is nothing worse, in my opinion, then sitting in a motel in a strange land, trying to pass the time.
Keep coming back. We’ll help you pass the time “on line”.
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