Thanks/Gracias/Merci/شكرا

[Anonymous]

Haven’t posted here for quite some time, but have been reading posts from time to time. I just wanted to say thanks to the forum in general. It has been of great help in my faith transition. My first post was in 2011. I was really in the middle of my crisis not knowing what to do with my faith. One thing that someone posted was “this is a journey and you will come out at the other end better” or something to that effect. Here is what I have learned:

1. It takes courage to look at the church through an objective eye when you are going through a faith crisis. We call it putting issues on the shelf, nuance, stages of faith, etc. These terms were really all new to me. I learned from everyone the vocabulary to put into context what I was going through. I didn’t know any of this before. I just know I was hurting and didn’t know what to do.

Thanks.

2. I was angry for a long time at the church and spent time on anti-Mormon sites and the anger was real. I felt I had been lied to and wanted everyone to know it. All this did was make me an angry person and potentially damage my marriage and relationship with the believers in my family. There were great posts I read on this forum in that regard. One from On Own Now, that I read helped quite a bit. I was the one that had changed and not my wife, for example. I was the one that was letting go and I was the the one that had to learn to live and support the believers on their path. I had to let the anger go. It is not productive. It is ok for me to be an unbeliever and support believers. I don’t need to go around and “win arguments” about the church. Why do I need to trash their beliefs? If they are having problems with the church, I have plenty of information. Otherwise, if they are happy then great.

Gracias.

3. I now follow a path where my knowledge leads me. I can’t ignore all of the evidence around me. I will just say that Cadence, your approach to facts were always interesting posts. I don’t profess to “know” anything anymore. There may or may not be a God. The church may or may not be true. For me, the evidence is to the contrary. I don’t attend church anymore, pay tithing or have a calling. For me personally, it has been liberating. When I look at a person now, I see a human being. I don’t care if they are Mormon, Catholic, Hindu or whatever. I am almost ashamed to admit, but before if you were not LDS then somehow you needed to be “converted” or, whatever your views were, I would politely listen but I knew I had the truth. Now I believe that I know very little indeed. Guilt serves very little purpose. For me, the church is what the church is. I’m not going to change it. As has been said on other posts, once I concluded that this was all man made, then it made sense. Almost like flicking on a light switch.

I attended church for the first time in several years. I just felt like going. I can now take it for whatever value it has to me. Of course, there were some talks about obedience, pay tithing, etc. In the past that used to make me cringe. Those things don’t bother me anymore. More importantly, they don’t make me angry. Many of you have achieved this. Back when I first posted, I would read your comments, and shake my head. I didn’t understand that approach. I do now.

Merci.

4. For people that are still struggling, use some of the advise on this board. Be patient. Know it is a journey. One thing is for sure, you will not be the same person. Hopefully, you will find enlightenment. That is the word that comes to my mind for me. Also, I can say that I am in a much happier place now. My life is richer and I see things so much more clearer. I tend to be more of a Deist now but then again, the journey never really ends does it?

شكرا

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update, ElCid. There is some really powerful stuff in it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks ElCid. I like especially #4.

[Anonymous]

ElCid!

So good to hear from you. I loved hearing about what you’ve accomplished spiritually/emotionally. I’m so happy that this site has been able to help you, as it has helped me. I’m glad you are able to be at peace with where you are and where your family/friends are. My best wishes to you and your family in all this.

Thank you for reporting back. It means so much to know that the things we talk about here provided help in a time of need.

[Anonymous]

The journey never ends brother, I believe in eternal progression, even if I don’t comprehend what that means after earth life.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Thanks back to you.

It’s great to be able to hear about the journey you’ve followed. It’s reassuring to know you’ve found peace and meaning and positivity. I think it’s so valuable to reach that sweet point of not being angry any more. I that’s really important. Life’s too short. People matter too much.

I love this forums primary goal of helping people find positive ways to stay LDS. I also love this forums secondary goal of helping people find peace if they choose to no longer be LDS.

[Author]

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