Quote:
Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon
Sounds like the real problem is the judgmentalism from the Christian community. If prejudiced thinking is required in order to qualify as "mainstream" then I don't know why anyone would want to be a part of it anyway. Makes me sad that this is the impression some Protestants are leaving upon LDS members.
|
My time in the mission field (sic) left with a much more pugilistic sense of our place next to evangelical Christianity. Add to that all of the grief that we are fixin to collect from the mainline Protestants (on account of our being in the new so much, with Mitt, etc.) and I have been having very un Christian thoughts and feelings towards a lot of other faiths (which I know is unfair and immature, because it is a product of reactionary thinking. But hey, I don't get to drink fine wine to help me get over it, I need an indulgence here and there).
Which leads me to say that attempts at conformity suck. No matter how image conscious we are both as a church and as individuals we will still always be seen as odd ducks. So, I am with Waters, I think our differentness is what has allowed us to persist and thrive, to the extent that we have. While we owe ourselves a duty to try to fit in as best we can it should not come in the form of underplaying our distinctiveness, but as the person you quoted indicates it should come in the form of emphasizing shared values.