NOM

My thought process was a meticulous four step process that went like this: 1. Creation 2. Evolution 3. ??? 4. Belief Though really you have to pin down just what the church's doctrine is on the subject. There are statements by leadership that pretty clearly put church doctrine at odds with accepting...

The problem in the church with scouting has always been that the church never let the program function as intended. The church constantly tried to make it adapt to their own structure of what groups the young men fell into. Secondly we tried to make scouting mandatory. Mandatory leaders through chu...

What I love is there are stories like the above, and similar ones about tithing, and then if you don't get financially blessed and wonder why you'll have people look down their noses at you in disdain while tutting, "Nobody promised you that you'd be blessed financially, just that you'd be blessed."

Yes, as per the definition given in the temple. Of course, you're expected to answer yes prior to going to the temple to learn the Law of Chastity.

#4 Do you sustain the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apo...

NOWmormon wrote: ↑

Fri May 19, 2017 4:45 am

Do you have a testimony of the restoration of the gospel in these the latter days?

Nope.

NOWmormon wrote: ↑

Thu May 18, 2017 4:39 am

2 Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?

No. Of course given my answer for the first question this shouldn't be surprising. I'm curious who would give a Yes/No or a No/Yes? Just what fish is question 2 trying to catch that question 1 missed?

#1 Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost? No. I kinda sat here staring at the screen trying to elaborate, but the short of it is that I don't. You might as well be asking my former believing self if I had faith in or a testimony of ...

It's different for everyone. Usually it takes both an emotional and intellectual crisis at the same time. A person can know about loads of dirty laundry, but if they still love the church then they can make it work. Hardcore apologists are often in this category. A person can be annoyed or hurt by ...

I love the double standard concerning doubt. If it's an investigator who is doubting say the Catholic church that doubt is good. Mormons wouldn't dream of telling said investigator that they should restrict their questions and investigations to talking with their priest, the Bible, and the catechism...

I am so far gone- the only thing that would change my mind is a visit from Jesus himself. +1, I'd need a "Paul on the Road to Emmaus"-type of experience. Even if I was convinced that Jesus visited me and he was my Lord and Savior that doesn't take me to Mormonism being true. So I'd have to be both ...

His killing was extralegal making it murder. As far as martyred it's going to depend on if you use a more general idea of being killed because of his adherence to beliefs or use a more specific concept of voluntarily going to one's death as a witness. I think a case can be made for the former sense ...

Honestly, unless it's someone using it in an aggressively smugholish way chances are good that it's just the phrasing they've picked up through osmosis and it's not a reflection of a conscious thought process where they considered stopping loving you because of your beliefs but then decided to power...

My first crack, or at least conscious crack, was reading a scientific paper and evaluating the evidence for the hypothesis when the thought occurred to me, just what evidence does the church have for it's claims? If I encountered these evidences in a context outside of the church, say a scientific p...

However, over the course of this long conversation, it became apparent that no change was acceptable to her. I got so frustrated I finally asked if she could imagine a small concession that even a lot of faithful Mormons make (I gave drinking caffeinated beverages and R-rated movies as examples). S...

Did she go through something real? Yes. Is it remotely comparable to what I’ve been through? Uh, no, I really don’t think it is. Am I being petty? Yes, yes I am. That is all. You're not being petty. She's telling you that your experiences are comparable, you're saying you don't think they are. I su...

What are your thoughts about this tendency toward such obsessions? I think it's a natural outcome for a religion that focuses on perfection, obedience, and appearance (and often conflates the three) to have Pharisaical obsession over minutia like Pam or vanilla extract. It's really not a surprise t...

She proposed reading the Book of Mormon together to begin “bringing me back to the light” (my snarky words but confirmed by her). After further discussion, she emphasized that she wanted it to be positive and uplifting. Her emphasizing that she wants it to be a positive and uplifting would be a bit...

Spokane Washington under Clark.

The Book of Mormon sais the purpose of plural marriage is babies--raising up seed. Period. Section 132 goes down the same lines and is a purely misogynistic document. And, people don't read it or ask questions? Yep. What's funny is apologetic or anti (if you'll excuse the term) the way Smith practi...