On the LDS Church and Mormon Tradition

It’s the reason why Hatrack River Publications doesn’t publish missionary stories. It’s because I won’t publish one that lies and says it’s all rosy but I also won’t publish one that tells the truth because it will interfere with the ability of missionaries to do their work.

I once started a story that was based on my mission and I’m going to mine some of the ideas out of it because it was one of the best stories I have ever thought of. When I got 50 pages into it using a missionary character following through what happened to me–and it wasn’t hostile to the church; it depicted mission life too accurately–I realized that if this book were read by non-members they would then, whenever those guys in white shirts came to their door think, “I know what’s really going on with you guys.” I would harm the work. The manuscript doesn’t even exist anymore because I won’t do that. It’s the reason why Hatrack River Publications doesn’t publish missionary stories. It’s because I won’t publish one that lies and says it’s all rosy but I also won’t publish one that tells the truth because it will interfere with the ability of missionaries to do their work. So I’m silent on that. Now that was my personal choice. I don’t judge anybody else for your personal choices. I’m just saying you have to think of the consequences. Art actually does change the world, whether you think it does or not. And so when you create it you have to be aware of what it’s going to do and your first loyalty is not to your career. Your first loyalty is to the Church of Jesus Christ. If it’s not then you have a problem, and it’s not between you and me.

movies masturbating teensmovie thai stars femalemovie soundtrack titanicpark boys movie trailerthe voyeur moviemovies xxx lesbianyoung girl moviesmovies adult made home Map

After following the entire Richard Dutcher departure story and the response by Kieth Merrill, as well as the bloggernaccle for the last couple years, I am wondering: are Mormons relaxed?

It’s the reason why Hatrack River Publications doesn’t publish missionary stories. It’s because I won’t publish one that lies and says it’s all rosy but I also won’t publish one that tells the truth because it will interfere with the ability of missionaries to do their work.

(Note: Comments are very welcome here–what is the Church really like? What have LDS leaders compared the Church to in the past?)

A dear old friend came to visit me recently–I will call him “Brother Smith” for the sake of anonymity.

We met in one of the great and beautiful cities of Germany, and while wandering through lane after lane of baroque architecture, discussed my departure from the faith.

I shared with him my “issues”, complaints, discontent. He listened–far better than any LDS leader has ever done. And had to conclude that he had read similar things, had similar thoughts, etc. But, he said, (paraphrasing) “At the end of the day, I have seen this Gospel change lives. I have experienced miracles, and I cannot think of any other place I would rather be.”

I asked, “So, do you know the Church is true?”

He said, “Well, in terms of absolute, fundamental knowledge, that is hard to say. I have seen the fruits of this Gospel in the lives of people and miracles happen and I believe very strongly in its truthfulness.”

This guy is rather ususual in my experience (please forgive me, all of you “educated LDS”), because he loves Shakespeare. He reads Goethe in the original German. He loves ballet, opera, and symphony.

And, if he believes the Church is a great source of good in his life, who am I to criticize?

I would just say one thing: for me I left the Church, and the mental confines I was in within it, I discovered a whole new universe. Almost literally.

There is so much more theory, thinking, art, etc. etc. in life that I would have never experienced if I had not allowed the thought into my mind (which I almost didn’t), “What if it isn’t all true?”

When you leave, you have time to consider these things, and you have the ability to see that which may have conflicted with your worldview previously (which was previously filtered out by you). I know this doesn’t seem to make much sense.

I will have to revise this.

I just read the first few paragraphs of Jeffrey R. Holland’s interview about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I wonder why, if he is a prophet, seer, and revelator, he goes into intellectual explanations of its truthfulness when he could simply say, “God has personally appeared to me and testified that the Book of Mormon is true.”

Joseph Smith said it. Wouldn’t that cut through all the controversy like a hot knife through butter? Then, either we believe this man, or we don’t. No need to analyze texts or search for other possible sources. His words:

“So I disregard the idea that Joseph Smith could have written it. I certainly disregard that somebody more articulate or more experienced in ecclesiastical matters could have written it, like [Smith's close friend and adviser] Sidney Rigdon. Rigdon doesn’t even come to the church until the Book of Mormon is out and in circulation for eight or nine months. …

Now, in terms of more modern theories, there are those who say it’s more mythical literature and spiritual, and not literal. That doesn’t work for me. I don’t understand that, and I can’t go very far with that, because Joseph Smith said there were plates, and he said there was an angel. And if there weren’t plates and there wasn’t an angel, I have a bigger problem than whether the Book of Mormon is rich literature. … I have to go with what the prophet said about the book, about its origins, about the literalness of the plates, the literalness of the vision — and then the product speaks for itself.

I don’t think we’re through examining the depth, the richness, the profundity, the complexity, all of the literary and historical and religious issues that go into that book. I think we’re still young at doing that. But the origins for me are the origins that the prophet Joseph said: a set of plates, given by an angel, translated by the gift and power of God. …”

–Jeffrey R. Holland More here . . .

“. . . don’t trifle away your happiness by involvement with someone who cannot take you worthily to the temple. Make a decision now that this is the place where you will marry. To leave that decision until a romantic involvement develops is to take a risk the importance of which you cannot now fully calculate.

… Keep yourselves attractive, maintain high standards, maintain your self-respect. Do not engage in intimacies that bring heartache and sorrow. Place yourselves in a position to meet worthy men and be engaged in constructive activities.”

- Ezra Taft Benson, President of the LDS Church 

For you as the average 30-something woman in the LDS Church, marriage is a dream, be it close or far away, and the prophets of God have told you how to prepare for that dream.
Of course, you should keep yourself sexually pure anticipating that day when a righteous priesthood holder will take you to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity.

But, what is that righteous man doing right now? Having sex with his wife, who must either eventually divorce him or die to make room in his life for you. And if he isn’t having sex right now, he probably does a couple times a week or so. And he may have children through this that will come to be with him and you after his first wife passes away.

If he is righteous, he probably married her in the temple, which means that she is his for all eternity. He can also be sealed to you as well, giving him two spouses in the eternities to share his time and love with. Of course, a virtually unlimited number of additional spouses may be available to him after death as well.

And you are saving yourself for this man.

There is another type of man that may be your future eternal companion. He is the one who could not convince any sister to marry him while he was in his 20’s or was not righteous enough to pursue that path up to this point.
If he is staying sexually pure, it is because he has no opportunity to marry or has no desire to follow the Prophets of God.

Now, are these the men you really want to be saving yourself for?

Here is a great article about the necessity of “firing” the worst 10% of your clients for your business every year. While this makes great business advice, it isn’t necessarily great missionary advice.

While I was on my mission to Germany, we were in a little tiny town of 18,000 people. In a town like that, and in Germany where not a lot of people even open the door, the city was literally “doored-out” every 2-3 months. This means that every three months, every single person in the entire city had had the missionaries ring their doorbell or knock on their door. I bet you are thinking about how popular that must have made us!

And, if they weren’t home: No fear! We had little folding cardboard sheets where we wrote down all the streets we doored and everyone’s responses. So, if people weren’t home (or pretended not to be home) the first time, we would go back , thus giving them another shot at eternal exaltation.

But, though this topic brings me many maudlin memories, I don’t want to talk about that today. What I really want to talk about is the time we “fired” all of our “bad” investigators.

So, in this little town, there is not a heck of a lot to do. A lot of door to door. Some street contacting. Visiting the members once in awhile (this is before I figured out how to “use” the members for missionary work effectively). But mostly a lot of door to door.

But, we have two sweet little angelic old widows who would invite us over every week for the most incredible home-cooked German food in the world. We always try to convert them, invite them to Church, get them to read the Book of Mormon, etc. But basically, they smile and nod, pray with us, enjoy having us over and “mothering us” and sending us out with full bellies and frustrated faces at not being able to move them closer to baptism. I can only imagine what they thought about us now.

Anyway, someone at the office gets a brilliant idea that we should stop wasting time with all of our “eternal investigators” as we called them in Germany. “If they aren

adult video movie trailersgalleries blowjob movieclips throat movie deepmovies girls ebony buttnude celeb free moviesmovie galleries free sexsquirting movies freemachine fuck moviesteen movies kacey kaceymovie lesbian free download

“Not long after our friend Carolyn Rasmus joined the faculty of Brigham Young University, a group of her new teaching colleagues invited her to join them on a Saturday hike in the mountains above Provo. Carolyn was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but she had felt particularly welcome in her new circle of associates. She eagerly joined them for the climb.

As the sun steadily rose, so did the hikers on the mountainside. Then, as the ten o’clock hour approached, the group began to find places to sit down. Carolyn thought, “This is wonderful. How did they know I needed the rest?” and she, too, looked for a comfortable spot to stretch out. But the participants seemed unusually earnest about this particular break, some pulling out pencils and notebooks while one intently dialed a transistor radio.

What then happened would be a turning point in her life forever. One of her friends said, “Carolyn, we need to explain something. This is the first Saturday in October, and for us that means not only lovely weather and bright fall foliage, but it also means a general conference of the Church. As Latter-day Saints, wherever we are or whatever we are doing, we stop and listen. So we are going to sit here among the oak and the pines, look out over the valley below, and listen to the prophets of God for a couple of hours.”

“A couple of hours!” thought Carolyn.

–Jeffrey R. Hollland

Well, *tearing up* the beautiful end of the story is that she joined the Lord’s True Church! *Sniff* *Sniff*

#1–I am glad they don’t tell the story of friendships destroyed or friends suddenly “dropped” and ignored after refusing such tactics by either the missionaries or the member. Of course they don’t. How wonderful that would be.

#2–How would the Mormons like to be invited hiking with Moslems and then be invited to pray toward Mecca with their “new friends” for four hours? Would these BYU professors consider that disingenuous?

I absolutely love the LDS Church*. I enjoyed much of my time in it. I have wonderful friends who are members of it. And I see it doing good things in some places. I even enjoy participating in some of its activities.

I don’t necessarily agree with the leadership of said church, but I do love the Church and wish there was a way to be a part of it on my terms or be with those who thought as I do about it.

Finding a new religious tradition (or none at all-not acceptable for me) is such a difficult thing. Until you have learned the worldview and the jargon to fit into the group, well, is it worth it to learn their worldview? I checked out Reform Mormonism recently. Seemed very interesting. When will we have enough to make a branch here?

John Dehlin’s whole focus is on finding ways for people to stay “in the Church” (what does that mean? Have a calling? Attend?). I must admit that every time I have attended services lately, it made me crazy. I wanted to stand up and shout “Look people! We need to change!”

*sigh* Yeah, I’m sure I would get real far with that approach.

—

In other news, thanks to all those who have provided comments lately. One said, “I’m never coming to this site again.” Well, I touched a chord there, didn’t I.

And, a couple TBM’s have provided information about things that I had wrong, so I appreciate that. Nothing like your “enemies” to keep you on your toes and honest!

Thanks everyone and have a great week!

-Ryan

*Remember the definition of “church”!

loan payday online colorado 7 5loans 5000 signature credit badpayday advance 7 loan cash usaloan savings in account paydayloan short savings term accountleave loan cash comment advanceadvance riverside loans cashaustralia payday advance loansunsecured credit adverse loan ukunsecured loans uk adverse credit

10 loan 1002nd bad credit loan mortgageadvance loanbad car alaska loan creditloan advance cash michiganwith no credit loans checks $5,000loan 123loan advance settlementalabama title loansonly 125 mortgage interest loans loan