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Introducing myself


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Hey all, 

I'm not a member of the church anymore, but I am fond of church history and discussion and want to make sure I am looking at all sides of the issues. I figured it would be a good idea to join the board. 

My favorite part of church growing up was in one of my small branches in Texas - every fast sunday we would have a big potluck meal after church to break the fast and us kids ran around like hooligans and families chatted and bonded and it was a great experience. I always loved it in my later years when a Bishop would allow that. 

What are your favorite things about Church life?

Jonathan Streeter

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Welcome Jonathan! Your name sounds very familiar. I'm inactive for the most part and I enjoy this board because I also read other boards that aren't that pro LDS, so I love balance and need both sides. This site is easy to read and we usually get quick responses, which I love, just the thought that they give me attention is amazing! I don't deserve it, lol. 

I miss the social end as well, now in my inactivity, I have a hole that needs filling that I need to figure out. 

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Hello there Good Sir!!  Welcome!   I don't post a lot on the board,  but I do come everyday for a bit to read what others are thinking!  Boy, there are a LOT of people out there thinking!!  I find this board to be very fun!  I hope you enjoy your experience here!!

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13 hours ago, Jonathan Streeter said:

........................
What are your favorite things about Church life?

Jonathan Streeter

Hi Jonathan,

Hope you find it nice here.  Kind of like showing up in Church and not getting harassed by well-meaning and pushy people.

Thing I like about Sacrament mtgs is that crying babies are welcome, and no one complains.  I also enjoy the ward and stake dinners several times a year, where no one gets angry, and there is genuine fellowship.  Of course, here in Utah County, nearly all my neighbors are LDS (active or not).  So are all my doctors and nurses.  Even the cops and firemen are LDS.  All of Utah Valley is a throwback to the 1950s.  People actually get married and have children here.  Lots of them.  8)

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8 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Hi Jonathan,

Hope you find it nice here.  Kind of like showing up in Church and not getting harassed by well-meaning and pushy people.

Thing I like about Sacrament mtgs is that crying babies are welcome, and no one complains.  I also enjoy the ward and stake dinners several times a year, where no one gets angry, and there is genuine fellowship.  Of course, here in Utah County, nearly all my neighbors are LDS (active or not).  So are all my doctors and nurses.  Even the cops and firemen are LDS.  All of Utah Valley is a throwback to the 1950s.  People actually get married and have children here.  Lots of them.  8)

Which can make a non member or inactive like me, feel awful lonely. :(

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1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

Which can make a non member or inactive like me, feel awful lonely. :(

I kind of like being surrounded by family-oriented people.  I found the 1950s so normal and non-threatening and like it here as well (I'm a transplant from California).  I know people who have left the Church who show up for LDS social activities, and no one gets on their case.  A lot of love and tolerance.

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43 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I kind of like being surrounded by family-oriented people.  I found the 1950s so normal and non-threatening and like it here as well (I'm a transplant from California).  I know people who have left the Church who show up for LDS social activities, and no one gets on their case.  A lot of love and tolerance.

Well they're not who I'm talking about, I do have a couple of neighbors that fit that bill. And then not so much with another neighbor. But yes, it is a nice feeling.

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On 8/27/2019 at 4:10 PM, Tacenda said:

Which can make a non member or inactive like me, feel awful lonely. :(

I'm living in a city now for the first time, and it is different and it's always a bit lonesome to go to a new place, but even more lonesome when you've been somewhere a long time and feel like you don't fit in. :(

 

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2 hours ago, Meadowchik said:

I'm living in a city now for the first time, and it is different and it's always a bit lonesome to go to a new place, but even more lonesome when you've been somewhere a long time and feel like you don't fit in. :(

 

Image result for quote about loneliness by robin williams

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I have attracted the collective indifference of the female of the species in its entirety.  No small feat, that! ;)  My single state notwithstanding, I have decided to give myself permission to enjoy the family aspect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Though I must exercise caution, lest I be deemed A Dirty Old Man (Shhhhh! :o), I enjoy people-watching, especially when Cute Little People are involved. 

As the inimitable, incomparable Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, speaking of what we could "remember" about the Savior during the Sacrament once said, "We could remember that Jesus found special joy and happiness in children and said all of us should be more like them—guileless and pure, quick to laugh and to love and to forgive, slow to remember any offense."

Sometimes, they get out of sorts and fuss and cry—but it never lasts for long.  "This, too, shall pass!"  I try to tell myself that when I have to face something unpleasant.  Or, I tell myself mentally, "I know exactly how you feel, Cute Little Person.  I only wish it were socially acceptable for me to howl so demonstrably in protest!" ;):D

As much as part of me might feel to ask, "Lord, why hast Thou dealt with me thus?", my attitude about aspects of the Church or the Gospel of Jesus Christ that have not yet fit into my life in the way I might have hoped they would is, "Don't stop talking about the ideal simply because, for whatever reason, it hasn't worked out for certain people the way it might have for others."  If that were the standard, we couldn't preach the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ at all: We all face such less-than-ideal circumstances in one way or another and to one degree or another.  We're all fallen.

I want to have hope in the various aspects of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, even those which haven't yet worked out for me as I might have hoped.  I would tell anyone who is reticent to preach the whole, undiluted Restored Gospel for fear of offending me in my various less-than-ideal circumstances, "No!  You keep preaching it, because I want to keep believing in it!"  And in the next life, when you've finally realized any blessing that might've been denied you during your mortal life and when I've finally realized any blessing that might've been denied me during my mortal life, we'll embrace one another and shout, "Hallelujah!" :D

(I don't post here a lot, but, when I do, dang it it isn't the place where I come up with some of my better prose! ;):D)  Jonathan, sorry I derailed your welcome thread!  We now return you to your regularly scheduled, on-topic programming! :D

Edited by Kenngo1969
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On 8/29/2019 at 12:55 PM, Meadowchik said:

Hi Jonathan, do you wish you could have done the hoax differently, now, or is that something you still stand behind?

Sounds like you know him...

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22 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

What hoax, what am I missing here?

Google Jonathan Streeter and hoax. It was in the news last year. I remember many of us spending considerable energy trying to mitigate the pain the hoax caused at that time.

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3 hours ago, Meadowchik said:

Google Jonathan Streeter and hoax. It was in the news last year. I remember many of us spending considerable energy trying to mitigate the pain the hoax caused at that time.

On 8/29/2019 at 4:55 AM, Meadowchik said:

Hi Jonathan, do you wish you could have done the hoax differently, now, or is that something you still stand behind?

Thanks Meadowchik for exposing  this charlatan... I thought about participating in this question on what we enjoy about the Church, until I googled his name...

GG

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32 minutes ago, Garden Girl said:

 

Thanks Meadowchik for exposing  this charlatan... I thought about participating in this question on what we enjoy about the Church, until I googled his name...

GG

I wouldn't call him a charlatan and I believe his questions can be genuine. If he used his real name as his screen name, he's not being duplicitous at all! I wanted to clear the air regarding the hoax.

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48 minutes ago, Meadowchik said:

I wouldn't call him a charlatan and I believe his questions can be genuine. If he used his real name as his screen name, he's not being duplicitous at all! I wanted to clear the air regarding the hoax.

Perhaps he isn't a charlatan... but a hoax is a hoax, and apparently this one did some real damage or pain to some people... at least according to the 21+ response entries online...

GG

Edited by Garden Girl
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11 minutes ago, Garden Girl said:

Perhaps he isn't a charlatan... but a hoax is a hoax, and apparently this one did some real damage or pain to some people... at least according to the 21+ response entries online...

GG

Yes, it did do damage, and I think it was a mistake. But Streeter has also done some good, in my opinion. I won't write him off, but will take the chance to discuss the hoax with him here if he wants.

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10 minutes ago, Meadowchik said:

Yes, it did do damage, and I think it was a mistake. But Streeter has also done some good, in my opinion. I won't write him off, but will take the chance to discuss the hoax with him here if he wants.

There's almost no way to verify that this is really him, though.  Could be ME, with a newly created sock puppet! 😄  It isn't, but it could be!!

Incidentally, there's actually two people on the forum who've met me in real life, so I, at least, could get a confirmation about my identity as a real person, if it came to it.

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21 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

(I don't post here a lot,

You don't? Then how can I find your august prose everywhere I read on this site? :D 

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2 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

There's almost no way to verify that this is really him, though.  Could be ME, with a newly created sock puppet! 😄  It isn't, but it could be!!

Just use one of the OLD sock puppets, sheesh.  You don't even know who you really are, as it is, do you?

2 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

Incidentally, there's actually two people on the forum who've met me in real life, so I, at least, could get a confirmation about my identity as a real person, if it came to it.

Do they regret that? 😜

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