9 stories from those who returned to the faith

[Red Ryder]

In this months edition of the Liahona, the famous monthly publication formerly known as the Ensign, there is an article titled How we came back: Nine Stories from those who returned to the faith.

The article starts out …. “in a world that often magnifies loss of faith stories, quieter journeys of returning to faith sometimes go unnoticed, but reconversion stories illustrate how brothers and sisters in the gospel, overcome their doubt, even after leaving the church.”

Here’s one of the cheesy stories.

After a while, Dan began having spiritual experiences and finding answers to some of the questions that bothered him most. One day, while at a library, he felt prompted to go down a row of books and pick out one. In it, he found insightful counterarguments to the book that initially shook his belief in the Bible. While this experience didn’t resolve every question, it taught Dan some important lessons: “First, I needed to be humble about how much I could really know on my own. And second, other ways of finding truth, along with reason, exist: spiritual impressions, positive outcomes from fruits of the Spirit, and ideas that foster mental breakthroughs, all of which led to much stronger convictions and faith than I had before.”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... h?lang=eng

I’ll let you all read the article and see if it helps you find your way back to church.

And for your enjoyment, you can read my return to church story that I’ve now submitted to the Ensign for publication. Oops, I mean Liahona.

After leaving the church nearly 20 years ago due to organizational dishonesty, patriarchy, doctrinal problems, cultural issues, and hiding sexual abuse, I found myself wandering the aisles of Total Wine and More. I had been prompted to stop by the store to acquire a fine bottle of red to gift the hosts of an upcoming dinner party I was to attend.

As I pursued my gift, I noticed an old acquaintance blushingly looking over their shoulder as they pushed their cart filled with ginger ale and star berry soda. Almost as if they were trying to be invisible.

I walked up and said Hey Brother Lewis! As the color in his face flushed out, I gave him a side bro hug and asked how’s your family? He mentioned that his youngest daughter just had a baby and that this Sunday was the baby blessing and family get together. He was tasked with making his family famous strawberry ginger ale punch. The secret to the recipe was the star berry soda. It was always on sale at Total Wine and More.

I quickly reassured him that his secret (and family recipe) was safe with me. He invited me to attend the old ward for the baby blessing. I felt prompted to attend! It had been years since we lived in the old neighborhood and Bro Lewis was our old home teacher.

The day of the blessing, we attended church for the first time in years and felt the spirit as the baby was given a name and blessing for the records of the Church. Suddenly, my faith felt like it was that infant baby and I realized I needed to nourish and strengthen my faith by suckling on the teet of testimony just as that baby would latch to his mother.

Suddenly I felt an urge to read my scriptures, attend church, go home teaching or ministering or whatever it’s called now and into the future. As I did so my testimony grew and I found my way back onto the covenant path. My concerns still exist, but I just ignore them, cover my ears, and loudly proclaim La La La La La….. I can’t hear you!

[Ghost]

We might start with a simple belief as a child, but at some point that childlike faith faces questions and concerns. While our untested faith may have served well as a spiritual foundation, we must now move from simple faith through complexity to mature faith that is able to withstand future challenges.

Isn't childlike faith the ideal? And what does this "mature" faith look like, exactly? Do you just have to convince yourself that you have it?

Abandoning the faith might seem easier, almost like a relief, but rich rewards accompany the journeys of those who turn to God and continue nourishing their seeds of faith.

Yes, it's such a relief to realize that most likely this life is all we get so we won't ever see friends and family who have died again, and we have to just make up meaning because there is none outside the stories we tell ourselves. The "easier" comment indicates that the speaker hasn't experienced a crisis of faith of the type I'm familiar with.

Instead of trying to resolve every relatively minor question, Samuel decided to study important questions—those critical to a solid foundation in Jesus Christ. Accompanied by prayer and scripture study, Samuel’s search, like Alba’s, taught him how much he still had to learn and brought him to more mature beliefs.

Okay, so mature faith involves studying the "important" questions. Funny, that's exactly how my apparently immature faith evaporated in the first place. Nothing against Samuel and Alba (or anyone else quoted in this article). If I met them I'd be sincerely happy for them that they arrived at a better place.

One day, while at a library, he felt prompted to go down a row of books and pick out one. In it, he found insightful counterarguments to the book that initially shook his belief in the Bible.

They seem to have left the title of this book out of the footnotes. Too bad, as I'd like to read it.

For Zac Marshall from England, the simple step of watching an educational video about the Book of Mormon opened his mind to the possibility that the book might be plausible.

I wonder if upon returning to church this person bore a fervent testimony that there might be a possibility that the Book of Mormon is plausible.

“I just wasn’t happy and had a skeptical outlook. Cynicism about anyone would negatively impact a relationship, and I lost my faith and relationship with God.” Years later, Don began working toward hopefulness and gratitude in his personal life.

He also began examining studies about the mental and physical health benefits of organized religion. “I couldn’t deny those studies,” Don recalls.

What does "hope" mean here, exactly? Pretending, so to gain the benefits of religion? Maybe there's something to that, as there are real benefits. And I'm convinced that we all do this sort of pretending with various things anyway, even if not religion.

“My testimony withered,” he explains, as he went through a period of “loneliness and dark despair when I struggled to pray.” One day Leo felt impressed to contact a Church history professor. He not only encouraged Leo to reconsider his path of doubt but also became a close friend. Leo’s testimony gradually returned with the help of Leo’s mentor and years of hopeful study. In time, he found answers to many questions.

I wonder whether something like this might have made a difference for me. There was a point where I wanted nothing more than to talk about belief with someone faithful and knowledgeable, but I didn't know who that might be or how I might go about it.

[Red Ryder]

I wonder whether something like this might have made a difference for me. There was a point where I wanted nothing more than to talk about belief with someone faithful and knowledgeable, but I didn't know who that might be or how I might go about it.

You bring up an excellent point. At the peak of my faith journey where I wanted nothing more than to be fully understood and have good answers, they just were not there. Nobody I was talking to could meaningfully answer my questions.

I was told to just believe.
Satan is attacking you.
Have more faith.
Read your scriptures.
Attend the temple
Pray more.

All platitudes. No real answers. I eventually concluded there weren’t any. That realization became the shelf break.

Articles like this are offensive to me. They simplify the process of finding faith again. They ignore reality. They are baseless and more of the same platitudes.

But I will give the church credit for actively recognizing they have a problem with people leaving. Just printing this article admits people are leaving.

[Not Buying It]

Put up or shut up Liahona. If you aren't going to provide details about exactly what the concerns were that caused them to leave and exactly why those things shouldn't be concerning, then your article serves no purpose other than providing misleading and false reassurance for people who don't know what the issues are that people who leave the Church generally come back.

Oh, wait, that was your intention all along, wasn't it?

[Linked]

These articles are so hurtful to those of us trying to maintain relationships with TBM family members, friends and neighbors. It justifies their awkward hope for my return to faith instead of dealing with our differences. It reinforces their worldview where I am evil, stupid, lazy, or all three.

It's interesting how it ties into the lack of trust in the media and the big bad world with the "in a world that often magnifies loss of faith stories" line. The only way to make room for their BS beliefs is to destroy the ability to believe what you hear.

It would be fascinating to see the real stories that these "returns" are based on. I bet they would have more ellipses than a 2000's Sunday School manual.

It's great to have NOM back!

[sparky]

Put up or shut up Liahona. If you aren't going to provide details about exactly what the concerns were that caused them to leave and exactly why those things shouldn't be concerning, then your article serves no purpose other than providing misleading and false reassurance for people who don't know what the issues are that people who leave the Church generally come back.

Oh, wait, that was your intention all along, wasn't it?

Exactly. The target audience for these types of articles is never the people actually experiencing faith crisis or people who have gone through them and made it safely to the other side. The target audience is the currently committed, stage 1 faith people, and the goal is to convince them that faith crisis is an unnecessary diversion from "the covenant path (TM)", because see? You'll just end up in the same place anyway, so why bother stepping outside the lines in the first place?

[nibbler]

We might start with a simple belief as a child, but at some point that childlike faith faces questions and concerns. While our untested faith may have served well as a spiritual foundation, we must now move from simple faith through complexity to mature faith that is able to withstand future challenges.

Where one of the larger challenges that a person will face is trying to share their more mature faith in a culture than only tolerates strict adherence to orthodoxy/childlike faith. Many people end up leaving because they can't have open and honest conversations at church. Why continue to participate at church where the authentic you isn't tolerated?

One day, while at a library, he felt prompted to go down a row of books and pick out one. In it, he found insightful counterarguments to the book that initially shook his belief in the Bible.

The version of that story that I'm more familiar with is when the spirit guided someone down a row of books to find a name that could be taken to the temple. The spirit likes finding keys and sending people down rows of books.

While this experience didn’t resolve every question, it taught Dan some important lessons: “First, I needed to be humble about how much I could really know on my own.

Do people that leave the church have a monthly meeting dedicated to public affirmations of things that they "know" to be true?

Humility is a nice trait for everyone to develop but I think one of the things driving people away is cultural arrogance. At church there are very specific things that one is expected to "know" and there are specific things that one isn't allowed to comfortably "know."

The individual always needs to be humble, but if they want people back the culture needs to become more humble by leaps and bounds.

Also, Dan's story ends with him saying:

...all of which led to much stronger convictions and faith than I had before.

Stronger convictions. Where'd that humility go?

[Hermey]

"Alex, I'll take 'nine stories that never happened' for a $1,000 please."

[Cnsl1]

What would be more interesting, to me at least, are 9 stories of people who don't believe some or all of the things, how they reconcile not believing some of the important things that most Mormons believe, and still stay in the faith. I think it would go farther for the church to promote that it's ok if you just can't believe it all, you can still stay around and be part of the group. Or maybe it's ok not to believe any of it but damn it's nice to sit in the chapel with your friends and hear some music that stirs the soul or a talk that makes you want to be a better person.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We're true or maybe not, it's up to you. Services at 11. All are welcome. Pot luck lunch and games at noon. BYOB.

[Hagoth]

I was told to just believe.
Satan is attacking you.
Have more faith.
Read your scriptures.
Attend the temple
Pray more.

When I tried to talk to people about it, the following happened:
"Yes you DO have a testimony. I have felt it. Why would you deny it?"
"You know a testimony is found on your feet, brother, in the bearing of it."
"Just keep it to yourself, leave the church alone and go off and be an atheist or a Buddhist or whatever you think you are."
"Please don't tell me something that's going to hurt my testimony."

And that was it. No one ever wanted to talk about ANYTHING. That last comment, by the way was from my bishop who I just found out recently left the church.