Originally Posted By fkurucz >><< "What can we do to get you to come back to church?">> Would they throw in a BMW? ;-)<< I'm sorry, its just that it sounds like car saleman's pitch.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>"What can we do to get you to come back to church?"<< The funny thing is, I'd probably go back and participate if doubt and disbelief weren't such anathema to Mormons. I like the community, but you don't get invited back because they value you for you and think that you enlarge the community and bring talents to the table. You get invited back so you can see the light like they have and start to look like you came off the Mormon assembly line. Of course, they do this with genuine concern for you and believe it's in your best interest. But they're usually utterly clueless as to how this comes across. It's a bit like telling a family member that you'd love to have them over for dinner, but don't bring that girl you're dating, cut your hair, dress a certain way, and don't talk about your life at all. It's hard to believe they're really all that interested in you.
Originally Posted By ecdc I left due to an overwhelming sense of not belonging. I'd sit in the pews and sadly realize that these are no longer my people. It was like being an anonymous Michael Moore at the Republican National Convention. No one might yell at you, but you don't hear anything you agree with all that often.
Originally Posted By PetesDraggin "It's a bit like telling a family member that you'd love to have them over for dinner, but don't bring that girl you're dating, cut your hair, dress a certain way, and don't talk about your life at all. It's hard to believe they're really all that interested in you." It's funny you said this because this is almost exactly how things were for a while with my family. There are still some people in my family that resent me and my other siblings that have left the church. It's very uncomfortable, but I've grown to deal with it and it's actually a source of entertainment at family gatherings. It's great to see the horror on people's faces when you talk about your favorite wine or the R-rated movie you just saw the previous weekend.
Originally Posted By jonvn I can sort of relate. I got a lecture once because I was having a sandwich with a glass of milk. The guy says to me "Milk and Meat?!" I said, so what? He said "Well, I wasn't raised that way." So...um...I replied. It wasn't brought up again.
Originally Posted By PetesDraggin "Anyway, why DID you leave?" I just didn't believe in most of the stuff being preached all the time. I grew up going to church every Sunday for at least 3 hours, going to activities and dances, and visiting other members of the church at their homes. It was the only thing I knew and never really questioned any of it. That's why I went on a 2-year mission and was extremely dedicated in every way. But it was just too much for me. Like ecdc said, if you have a little doubt or disagree with something, it's really not accepted within the church. If you don't know that everything is true, you feel out of place. The people are great and very friendly, but they treat you as if something is wrong with you if you don't have a thorough conviction that everything is true. It's hard to explain the feeling of not belonging due to anything less than 100% certainty in everything, but that's how it feels.
Originally Posted By Mr X lol. Funny you should mention that..when I was at Universal Osaka visiting with friends of a friend who were Mormons (SUPER nice guys, all around) we talked a lot about religion and especially the mormon no booze/no coke thing. We all agreed that the worst "punishment" in the religious world was the fact that those poor Jews could never enjoy a CHEESEBURGER!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <We all agreed that the worst "punishment" in the religious world was the fact that those poor Jews could never enjoy a CHEESEBURGER! > Yeah, and I guess bacon cheeseburgers were totally out of the question.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf I left the church because I was some things did not make sense to me. So I started doing some research and I dug as deep as I could go. Then I understood why things did not make sense. So I left. I have found that if one does not question anything, Mormonism is the perfect religion. If you question some things, traditional Christianity may work out. If you question everything, jonvnism might be your calling.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal Judaism questions almost everything as well. In fact, the word "Israel" means "one who wrestles with God." Intellectually speaking, of course.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf the term "jonvnism" is all-inclusive of such questioning belief systems And jonvn is wrestling god on the next celebrity death match - tuesday at 10:30pm. (my money's on jonvn)
Originally Posted By Mr X On South Park they had a prize fight between Satan and Jesus. Satan bet heavily on Jesus, and threw the fight. That's probably what Jon would do.
Originally Posted By jonvn There was a Southpark episode called Imaginationland. I downloaded it onto my xbox the other day because i heard there was a bit of a tribute to Dreamfinder in it, which there is. Anyway, in this cartoon they go to Imaginationland and all the imaginary characters that people have thought up live there. Including Ronald McDonald, Luke Skywalker, and Jesus. Pretty funny. Very very sick.
Originally Posted By EighthDwarf I'm pretty sure if you took all the scripts from South Park, inscribed them onto plates of metal and buried them under a rock somewhere they would be regarded as holy scripture by someone some day after they are found.
