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A year ago I was very positive about the Book of Mormon. It was my go-to book for most questions or inspiring thoughts, and was the book that made me feel the most spiritual when I read it. Then, enter all the frustrations and doubts and my recent trial of faith (related mostly to local administration and cultural/temporal ideas in the Church), which made the Book of Mormon “guilty by association”. And then I began feeling less positive about it, although still liking it since the alternatives to it seem to be less inspiring overall. Now, when I turn to it, it’s with less enthusiasm, and sometimes even doubt.
I was about to pay to download the BoM to ereader software, and questioned if it was worth it due to the forgoing…..and, then a Stage 5 thought occurred to me — not to let the current aspects of the Church that are troublesome to me get between me and the spirituality I used to feel when reading the Book of Mormon. Much of what the Church is today is certainly not the way Joseph Smith originally thought it would be, I’m sure. Nor is it necessarily a direct link to the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is NOT the general handbook of instructions either, and of all the latter-day works, it’s the one that focuses more on general principles and personal spirituality than specific policies and practices, along with the Pearl of Great Price.
I sometimes feel spiritual when reading fiction, or personal experiences people share, whether they are embellished or not….so….why not just read it and enjoy it? It doesn’t have to be viewed as an extension of all the negative Church culture and policies to be uplifting. This has helped me want to turn to it again.
How do you feel about the Book of Mormon, no matter where you’re at right now spiritually, and what place does it have in your life since your trial of faith?
SilentDawning wrote:I sometimes feel spiritual when reading fiction, or personal experiences people share, whether they are embellished or not….so….why not just read it and enjoy it? It doesn’t have to be viewed as an extension of all the negative Church culture and policies to be uplifting. This has helped me want to turn to it again.
Great attitude SD! Just let yourself feel what you feel, and allow yourself to be inspired (in a broad sense) by a comforting and familiar text. It is also OK to feel frustrated at times and set something aside, if that is what we need to do. Life is a ride upon the wave of constant change, so we should not expect a certain book of “scripture” to always speak to us in the same way. Sometimes is speaks to us. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes we delight in the surprise of seeing a brand new, and different, message.
This subject came up on a different thread a little while ago. As I said then the truths in the book are basic Christian beliefs and not much there to disagree with. It’s the lack of belief in the historicity that makes it hard for me because in church that’s not a matter for discussion. It’s just one more way I have to always be on guard to stay under the radar and doesn’t make church all that enjoyable anymore. As an aside I do enjoy the trinitarian passages as it makes me feel more at home when I attend a local episcopalian church.
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