Scott Lloyd Posted May 14, 2012 Posted May 14, 2012 I was sort of with you up until the end there where you started writing about deceiving your bishop or stake president.I stand by my statement, but if you are not among those endeavoring to deceive your bishop/stake president, then obviously it doesn't apply to you.I'm interested now in how you would judge me, just for curiousity sake.Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, as I have neither the authority, contextual knowledge or inclination to pass judgment on you.
Storm Rider Posted May 15, 2012 Posted May 15, 2012 If I were to move some place where there was not even a branch or another member, I would feel a distance from the church community not being able to share the sacrament, the Sunday experience, to be hometaught and to visit teach, etc.That distance would not stop me in the least from being a disciple of Christ. Long before I understood what it meant to be Mormon, I understood and loved knowing what it meant to be a follower of Christ. That is what my mother taught me first and that is how I see myself, first and foremost, a Christ-follower. That the Church allows me the best vehicle to do so is a big plus for me, but I could still seek the Lord with all my heart and soul without it....and many people do and have over the years. If it were not possible to do so, then God would be an unloving and unmerciful Lord to keep the Church from the earth for so long.I do not know if this is what Stormrider feels, just explaining how I can differentiate living as a disciple of Christ and living as a faithful LDS.We think alike; thank you for further elucidating the point I was trying to make.
CV75 Posted May 15, 2012 Posted May 15, 2012 Discuss.I can see peer pressure and ostracization issues in retaining membership; ethnicity not so much. For one, while Judaism (for example) seems to encourage ethnicity with a significant “chosen seed” doctrine, I can’t see Mormonism encouraging it largely due to its “adoption” doctrine.The LDS global, cross-cultural mission is completely divorced from common heritage (not all are American or pioneer descendants); the common culture is a “Zion culture” where not keeping covenants would be irrelevant to the culture; there is no shared language or dialect (except jargon or doctrinal terms); the LDS ethos / ideology does not stress a distinct common ancestry or race (we are all children of God and descendants of Adam). Only the religion is held in common. This makes a very weak foundation for any kind of ethnicity.I’d even be hard pressed to see the “Utah Mormon” as an ethnic group since they don’t actively self-identify or actively promote an ideal as such.
CV75 Posted May 15, 2012 Posted May 15, 2012 I've always like the term "lapsed Catholic" to describe someone who has ceased practicing the Catholic faith by attending Mass but may still identify as a Catholic, and I think it is a more descriptive term than "inactive" or "less active."
phaedrus ut Posted May 15, 2012 Posted May 15, 2012 From the statistics I've seen the inactive but still on the books membership outnumbers the active membership by 2 to 1. So with 9 million inactive Mormons I'm sure there is quite a range of beliefs. As someone from Utah I'm often asked if I'm Mormon and I respond "Yes technically I am, but I'm not a practicing Mormon". Phaedrus
Scott Lloyd Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 (edited) Insisting on an accurate definition of the covenant people of God and equating it with the Church of Jesus Christ should not be misinterpreted as pushing people away or drawing elitist boundaries. The contrary is true. Surely the invitation is extended constantly for all to come and enter into the covenants (or live them more fully) and partake of the associated blessings. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland put it succinctly in his address at the general conference in April:So if you have made covenants, keep them. If you haven't made them, make them. If you have made them and broken them, repent and repair them. It is never too late so long as the master of the vineyard says there is time. Please listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the fellowship of His labor. Don't delay. It's getting late. (Emphasis in original.) Edited May 16, 2012 by Scott Lloyd
mfbukowski Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 I've always like the term "lapsed Catholic" to describe someone who has ceased practicing the Catholic faith by attending Mass but may still identify as a Catholic, and I think it is a more descriptive term than "inactive" or "less active."How about "past due" and then "delinquent" or "subject to disconnection" instead?
justdreamin Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, as I have neither the authority, contextual knowledge or inclination to pass judgment on you.Thank you for your reply. And thank you for choosing not to judge me. As cynical as I can be sometimes, I want to believe that most people have well intentioned hearts and that they do the best they can with what they've got. For what it's worth, I frequently wish that, even for a day, I could have that gift of faith, a strong testimony, and ability to believe that I see in memebers whom I admire. At this point though, I have to admit I don't try as hard as I once did...
volgadon Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 How about "past due" and then "delinquent" or "subject to disconnection" instead? Is this a fragment from the lost Gospel according to Telecommunication Companies?
mfbukowski Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 Is this a fragment from the lost Gospel according to Telecommunication Companies? But you know it is kind of interesting how the vocabulary of telephone billing status almost applies to those who have "lost touch", isn't it?
Scott Lloyd Posted May 16, 2012 Posted May 16, 2012 Thank you for your reply. And thank you for choosing not to judge me. As cynical as I can be sometimes, I want to believe that most people have well intentioned hearts and that they do the best they can with what they've got. For what it's worth, I frequently wish that, even for a day, I could have that gift of faith, a strong testimony, and ability to believe that I see in memebers whom I admire. At this point though, I have to admit I don't try as hard as I once did...Then I recommend the April general conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from which I quoted earlier.
Recommended Posts