Uncomfortable at church - any suggestions?

[hope_for_things]

7 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

I’ll drop out of this discussion. You get have the last word.

First, for what it’s worth, if we’re going to cite credentials I have participated on this board and it’s predecessor for decades -  since the beginning, and I have interacted with all kinds of folks.

There is another alternative to your two scenarios, one which better represents my intentions, and the one you have consistently ignored. I have no motivation other than to express legitimate concerns about a person who has consistently and emphatically announced his disaffection with the Church, it’s doctrines, scriptures, members, leaders, and practices, and often takes positions that reflect those of critics of the Church. You have expressed doubts about your own motivations (your word  - disingenuous) and wondered what gives you the right to teach your perceptions rather than what the the Church prescribes in its curricula. I am trying to understand how and why one would express a preference to teach Primary children rather than adults, given the antagonism regularly expressed on this board and in this thread. I firmly believe that someone who has lost faith should not be put in a position of using the precious few moments my children spend in official Church instruction to further his agenda, intentional or not, that would in any way undermine what I teach them in my home. You seem to disagree. I would like to know why.

I remind you of this comment:

This is at the heart of my concerns and you have yet to explain. After multiple requests, please enumerate those unorthodox “things” you think you should expose our children to away from adult scrutiny. I would welcome your efforts to explain. In my world, no one has the right or obligation to take that upon themselves.

I disagree with your painting me as a person who wants to harm or censor heretics, as you call them. In my decades of participating here I have never done that. I would appreciate being shown comments that were the intentionally misunderstood, misquoted, or unfairly interpreted. 

I have continually and unsuccessfully requested not to be misconstrued, and I repeat that request once last time. I have not called you a heretic, I have not called for you to be ejected or silenced or harmed in any way. I have not “painted” you with anything other your own conflicting words and asked for your clarification. 

I bear you no ill and wish you the best in your search for understanding and peace. I’m certain you will find it. 

I tried to be vulnerable about my situation which is difficult to do and in taking that risk I recognized there was a possibility that someone would try to question my motives or critique me personally.  I tried to be patient and engage with you because I recognize that having a respectful disagreement is important to learn to do, but unfortunately I think I need more practice at doing that, because no matter how hard I try, your responses come across to me as very judgmental and I find it difficult to have a discussion on those terms.  

I wish you well, and hopefully we can both learn something from this messy interaction.  

[mfbukowski]

On 5/9/2018 at 6:28 AM, stemelbow said:

Of course not.  The opposite, in fact.  last year I was asked to teach in Elder's Quorum.  I was asked to teach on President Uchtdorf's talk from the previous conference.  

We talked about what were the source of our fears.  Without realizing it soon everyone in the quorum had identified the Church as a main source of their fears.  Their fears for things like, talking about difficult issues, or having someone who is not correlated teaching their children was because the Church put that in them.  It was a good chat until fear overtook the EQP who stood up about half way through and with tears in his eyes expressed his fears about the fact that we had identified the Church as a main source of using fear to manipulate.  

Amen to the.....  nevermind.