Has your view of the church

[Tex]

Originally Posted by CardiacCoug

This is ridiculous.

The Church changes. People who criticized the Church in the past (over a myriad of policies and beliefs) have frequently been proven correct when the Church eventually came around to their view.

A close relative of mine harassed President Kimball (in a nice way) for years about the Priesthood ban and guess what? She was one of many who helped change the Church into her "own personal image" -- the image of tolerance in place of the image of ignorance and bigotry.

People who are supremely confident that they can easily distinguish the wheat from the tares are either purposefully ignorant or stupid (or both). It's not that easy.

Cardiac says "myriad" and then what's the example? Blacks and the priesthood.

Good thing Kimball finally listened to his close relative. I wonder if she got credit in the footnotes.

[CardiacCoug]

Originally Posted by Tex

Cardiac says "myriad" and then what's the example? Blacks and the priesthood.

Good thing Kimball finally listened to his close relative. I wonder if she got credit in the footnotes.

Do I really need to list all the large and small ways that the Church has changed over the decades?

Polygamy (from eternal, celestial law to abomination resulting in excommunication -- talk about a 180 degree shift!)
Temple ceremony (no more violent penalties)
Word of Wisdom (from simple non-compulsory advice to one of the most basic standards of worthiness)
Interracial marriage was bad (now it's not)
Women couldn't pray in Sacrament Meeting (now they can)
Women couldn't speak in General Conference (now they can)

I could go on. There were members of the Church who didn't like these things and eventually things changed for the better. Who was right? Who was wrong?

[Tex]

Originally Posted by CardiacCoug

Who was right? Who was wrong?

I guess the possibility of "neither" has never occurred to you.

[CardiacCoug]

Originally Posted by Tex

I guess the possibility of "neither" has never occurred to you.

Seems a bit relativistic of you to consider that possibility.

Don't those who think they know better than Church leaders represent the tares who need to be sifted from the wheat?

That was Indy's point and I think it's a ridiculous argument for anybody with an appreciation for how the Church has evolved over its history.

[MikeWaters]

Newsflash: the church just evolved on their position on the sale of alcohol in Utah.

[SeattleUte]

I have learned there is a small subset of Mormons who essentially believe as I do but like to torment themselves with continued activity.

[CardiacCoug]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I have learned there is a small subset of Mormons who essentially believe as I do but like to torment themselves with continued activity.

Every church has problems, as you know. So the "torment" (an overstatement, surely) would be there in pretty much any other church, too.

One of my wife's friends came to visit us recently. She goes to some type of generic Christian church in Tennessee.

She said about half the congregation has stopped coming to church recently because they didn't like the way the church leadership was letting a gay guy participate in services (things like passing out the communion).

I don't think participating in LDS (or any church) services is right or beneficial for everyone. But when I weigh the pluses and minuses for me personally, I still think it's right for me.

If I stopped going to church, I wouldn't spend that time doing anything better.

The people I find inscrutable are those who claim to believe wholeheartedly but at the same time slack off when it comes to Church duties and commandments. They seem like the most irrational subset of Mormons to me.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by CardiacCoug

The people I find inscrutable are those who claim to believe wholeheartedly but at the same time slack off when it comes to Church duties and commandments. They seem like the most irrational subset of Mormons to me.

They are probably more thoughtess than irrational. Unexamined lives. They don't participate becuase it's not fulfiling and they don't examine why it's not fulfilling.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I have learned there is a small subset of Mormons who essentially believe as I do but like to torment themselves with continued activity.

I just coughed so hard that I threw up three times. Literally.

[CardiacCoug]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

They are probably more thoughtess than irrational. Unexamined lives. They don't participate becuase it's not fulfiling and they don't examine why it's not fulfilling.

Yeah, that sounds right.