Leaving (And Returning To) Church Is Not Just A Mormon Phenomenon

[CASteinman]

One of the tactics of anti-Mormons is to highlight discontent of members who then lose their faith.

This problem is not distinctly a Mormon problem. It may even be less of a problem for Mormons than other religious groups.

But, this account appears to sound familiar:

http://religion.blog...pite-my-doubts/

I like her observations that

1. My doubt belonged in church.

   
   

2. My doubt is actually part of my faith.
   

Edited May 15, 2012 by CASteinman

[Buzzard]

The only real difference between disaffected LDS and non-LDS is that we do make some pretty bold claims, and thank goodness that we do. It's what sets us apart. One can decide that they like the company of mellow Methodists rather than over-the-top Baptists, and very few of their Baptist friends would accuse them of apostasy. That would not be the case if they joined-or left-our faith.

I wonder what the percentages are of young people who wander away based on losing their tesimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon vs. those who just decide this whole church thing isn't for them right now, and what the reactivation rates are for each group. I'll bet Salt Lake has at least an inkling. My personal experience has been that often the latter group meets a young woman who makes it clear they are only available for marriage to someone who can take them to the temple. If he gives in, then we have a newly minted family for church activity. If it is she that makes the compromise, then not so much. I've rarely seen an inactive young woman run into a guy that presents her with that choice, there are always a surplus of guys happy to not be pressured into doing the church thing again.

Those who make the call that JS didn't tell the truth seem to have a lower rate of returning at some point to activity. My sample size is antecdotal, so not statistically defensible, but I have been around the horn long enough to see more than a few cases of each type of wandering.

[KevinG]

So investigating and gaining a testimony of the Gospel is "giving in"?

I agree that no one should convert to marry - but some of those conversions are very genuine.

[Buzzard]

So investigating and gaining a testimony of the Gospel is "giving in"?

I agree that no one should convert to marry - but some of those conversions are very genuine.

Well, I have seen some convert/reactivate just to get the gal, but a surprising number of these have turned out pretty well in the long run. Guy get a calling, has to read scriputures to prepare lessons, before you know it, he has a testimony. Sometimes that even happens before they get hitched-all the better. I think a lot of times, they don't even lose their testimonies when they go inactive, but the church just gets moved down the priority list in favor of work, sleeping in, hanging with their buds on weekends, etc... So they just need the right loving kick in the pants to get them on the right path. A pretty girl with standards often does the trick quite admirably.

[altersteve]

My doubt is actually part of my faith.

I kind of like that.

[CASteinman]

Here is something more that she says, that provokes thought. She first describes what she says is a sort of classical prodigal child story of realizing the errors of your ways and then coming back to Church. She says that is not her story and goes on:

In reality, I left the church more because of my own internal discontent than the lure of so-called secular life. When I came back, I still carried that same discontent . I was confused , and still bothered by questions and doubts. I stayed in the back row and didn’t sing or pray. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to be there.

And yet I sat there, Sunday after Sunday, listening to the pastor and the organ pipes and trying to figure out what was going on in my dark, conflicted heart.

I suspect at least some people who return to the LDS Church after a spell of doubt or apostasy or rebellion often go through those same feelings. Maybe, upon return, there is a great helping work to be done to support the weak hands and uplift the broken and downtrodden heart. I would pray that we might not simply take a person's return to the Lord for granted and know that they may still be nurturing deep wounds.

Edited May 15, 2012 by CASteinman

[cinepro]

1. My doubt is actually part of my faith.
   

It's a nice sentiment, but hardly compatible with LDS teachings on faith...

Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith.

- President Monson

[CASteinman]

It's a nice sentiment, but hardly compatible with LDS teachings on faith...

Only incorrect if you cherry pick and insist on an uncharitable reading. If you read, understand and fully grasp the teachings of the Gospel on Faith and Discipleship and Progression, you will find that the teachings are that Faith takes time to be made whole and perfect. And this is according to the plan of God and the way things work. A charitable reading of her words then makes it clear that until she has a perfect faith she must accept this weakness in herself.

If you believe that the Gospel teaches us that we can never be weak, you are mistaken.

[Damien the Leper]

My doubt is actually part of my faith.

In his speech The Sacrament of Doubt, Paul James Toscano claims that "doubt and faith are twin offspring of genuine spirituality."

I'm good with this statement.

[CASteinman]

In his speech The Sacrament of Doubt, Paul James Toscano claims that "doubt and faith are twin offspring of genuine spirituality."

I'm good with this statement.

I am not sure I would agree with that statement as a definition of true spirituality, but they are both part of the process by which we become perfected through the Spirit.