Are member's testimonies changing?!

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stuck
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Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by stuck » Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm

I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?

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Not Buying It
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Not Buying It » Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:17 pm

stuck wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm
I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?
You will probably hear more of these kinds of testimonies as more and more members gain secret doubts and others become more open about expressing them. But I expect the Brethren to tamp down on them if they become too common - can't have members expressing anything but 100% orthodoxy in our meetings, other members will get ideas. Hear too many of those kinds of testimonies and the Brethren will start to get all uptight about it in General Conference.
"The truth is elegantly simple. The lie needs complex apologia. 4 simple words: Joe made it up. It answers everything with the perfect simplicity of Occam's Razor. Every convoluted excuse withers." - Some guy on Reddit called disposazelph

Reuben
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Reuben » Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:27 pm

Not Buying It wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:17 pm
stuck wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm
I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?
You will probably hear more of these kinds of testimonies as more and more members gain secret doubts and others become more open about expressing them. But I expect the Brethren to tamp down on them if they become too common - can't have members expressing anything but 100% orthodoxy in our meetings, other members will get ideas. Hear too many of those kinds of testimonies and the Brethren will start to get all uptight about it in General Conference.
But the more they tighten their grip, the more star systems will slip through their fingers...
Learn to doubt the stories you tell about yourselves and your adversaries.

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Culper Jr.
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Culper Jr. » Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:41 pm

Image

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Just This Guy
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Just This Guy » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:34 pm

I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invitation only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.
Last edited by Just This Guy on Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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moksha
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by moksha » Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:13 am

I think the gulf between professed beliefs and actual beliefs has probably gotten wider. I mean when you stand up in Church you've got to use the Mormon-standard code words to show you are part of the team, but when you are by yourself, and not subject to self-hypnosis, you can contemplate the preposterousness of what you are supposed to believe and how you are supposed to behave.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

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græy
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by græy » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:40 am

Just This Guy wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:34 pm
I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invasion only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.
Sounds awfully aggressive to me. :shock: :D
Well, I'm better than dirt! Ah, well... most kinds of dirt; not that fancy store-bought dirt; that stuff is loaded with nutrients. I can't compete with that stuff. -Moe Sizlack

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græy
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by græy » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:48 am

There are some days I think the contagion of truth is spreading, despite the brethren's earnest efforts at inoculation. But then I hear the messages coming out from primary and youth leaders touting ordinances by priesthood authority as the ONLY way we can be happy and that we must follow the prophet to have those ordinances. They speak about the truthfulness of the BoM and how they are so grateful for those great prophets who lived so long ago to show us the way.

Material that shows nuance is more common than it used to be, but children are still being raised and indoctrinated on the pure correlated message. The local leaders doing the indoctrinating aren't spouting that off because their testimonies have evolved. So far as 90% of the members are aware all is well in Zion, and we should continue to push everything that has "made us so happy" :lol: onto the next generation in every way we are capable.
Well, I'm better than dirt! Ah, well... most kinds of dirt; not that fancy store-bought dirt; that stuff is loaded with nutrients. I can't compete with that stuff. -Moe Sizlack

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Just This Guy
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Just This Guy » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:08 am

græy wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:40 am
Just This Guy wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:34 pm
I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invasion only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.
Sounds awfully aggressive to me. :shock: :D
Doh! that's what I get for posting late at night. I need to get to bed earlier.
"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

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Hagoth
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Hagoth » Wed Oct 14, 2020 6:56 pm

stuck wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm
"I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus".
Boy, that kind of talk used to automatically set off an alarm for the inquisition.
“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” -Mark Twain

Jesus: "The Kingdom of God is within you." The Buddha: "Be your own light."

Thoughtful
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Thoughtful » Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:58 am

Spouseman was in a conversation with an active TBM lady week and they volunteered the thought that, "the church is really a mess right now. Their aggressive stance against everything LGBT, women, and race is just spiraling into crazy."

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Corsair
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Corsair » Sun Oct 18, 2020 4:19 pm

Thoughtful wrote:
Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:58 am
Spouseman was in a conversation with an active TBM lady week and they volunteered the thought that, "the church is really a mess right now. Their aggressive stance against everything LGBT, women, and race is just spiraling into crazy."
We can all hope that things calm down in a few weeks. I'm hoping that the end of the election settles a few things.

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Deepthinker
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Re: Are member's testimonies changing?!

Post by Deepthinker » Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:04 pm

I think overall they are changing. I've heard some similar ones that focus on Christ, not the church. It's what I did during my transition further away from orthodox Mormonism.

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