mandii

Thanks for all the kind replies. You guys are awesome. I should be clear that while I am financially dependent on my parents, I do not forsee them "cutting me off" for any reason, even if every aspect of my life went against everything they believed. They love and support me no matter what; their love is unconditional, but their acceptance of my actions is not. I'm not worried about being alienated, as I have been the oddball of the family since birth. I just don't think like them, and I am okay with that. They aren't really. They like to mock me and poke fun at my differences because they find it humorous... and it is to an extent I suppose. I don't fit in with them, I never have, and I probably never will. I am okay with this and okay with the fact that they think I'm a little crazy. I guess I'm more worried about THEM than myself. They will be hurt by my decision to join the church. They will think I'm crazy and will probably not want to include me in family activities because of it. It will cause them a great deal of confusion and quite possibly anger. And here's where my problem comes in: I would feel like it's all my fault. How do you live with something like that? I hope this makes sense... they really do love and support me, but will not necessarily AGREE with me, and the disagreements will break their hearts.

Warning: This is going to be a looooong post. I'm sorry. If you want a "long story short" scroll down to the stars and then begin reading. Let me start off by sort of explaining my situation. I was born and raised Protestant... well sort of. We went to church most Sundays until I was about 12... then we would drift in and out. When I was 14 (I am now in my 20s) we stopped going altogether. I have not been to church, other than on Christmas Eve, since I was 14 years old. That said, I read the Bible nightly and pray often and feel that I have a very solid relationship with Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. I haven't returned to Church because the denomination I was a member of seemed very hypocritical to me. What was preached is NOT what was practiced. I was told that we believe the Bible but ever since I started reading it in depth (at around age 14 because I felt guilty for not going to church lol) I realized that basically my church picked only parts of the Bible that were convenient to believe. I went to a few other Protestant churches of other denominations with friends, but they all seemed the same. Just not very Bible-based. Out of this situation I just decided to label myself as "non-denominational Christian" although I wasn't thrilled about it. I have always been searching for a Church that I can really believe is true... all or at least most of the doctrine. A few years ago I looked into Catholicism (I was dating a Catholic lol) and it seemed okay. I thought about converting... but I just wasn't convinced, you know? Then about a year or so ago, I stumbled across a new blog (I'm an avid blog reader, not writer though) of an LDS woman. I was under the impression that I knew everything and I mean EVERYTHING about Mormons. After all, I watched Big Love and then did a wikipedia search... what more info did I need??? But then, because the church-related terminology was over my head, I started hardcore researching. I found out what a priesthood holder is, words of wisdom, etc. In the process I also realized that the LDS church teaches a LOT of concepts I have always believed such as premortal existence, etc. and is also the most Biblical church I have ever come across. So for the past few months, I have been what I guess you would call an "investigator". I am very interested in the Church and hope that it will give me the sense of peace (as a result of truth) that I am searching for. *************************************** I am reading the BoM and honestly, I want it to be true. I think it could be true. I find it very uplifting and do not think it conflicts with the Bible in the least. But for some reason, every time I think about converting I get a lump in my throat. It makes me sooo nervous and I think that the reason I can not bring myself to admit that the LDS Church is true is that my family would think I am CRAZY. I mean insane. My father is agnostic and apathetic about all matters of faith, but my mother and only sister literally think ALL other churches, including other Protestant denominations, are just plain wrong. Even though they are what I would consider "lukewarm" in their faith and no longer attend church, they are very convicted of this. Oh... and don't get me started on what they think about Mormons. My sister used to date an exmo who I guess was really bitter because he told her things about the Church that I have found are flat-out lies. Mormons can't dance? Mormons can't drink caffeinated soda? Erm... I don't think so. Maybe those are things his family abstained from, but obviously they are not things that one HAS to abstain from as a member of the Church. (And... as an aside... is it THAT weird to abstain from dancing and soda??? Those things are definitely NOT a part of my daily life...) So basically I knew that they had misinformation from that situation (AND watching Big Love... what is up with that show??? Obviously they aren't LDS because the practice polygamy but the show makes it seem as though they are and portrays all the LDS aspects in an exceedingly CREEPY way... no wonder they think Mormons are weird.) but I didn't know just HOW misinformed they were until a local college team played BYU the other day and they were watching the game with some friends. WOW. The things people think about the LDS Church. It is literally insane. I'm not going to repeat it because most of it is very offensive, but it was wrong, wrong, wrong. So here's my dilemma... what if the LDS Church is everything I've been looking for but my family is vehemently opposed to my joining? I know I have to do what is right for me but I am still in school right now and still live with (and am VERY financially dependent upon) my parents. I have tried explaining to them what LDSaints actually believe, but my attempts have been met with scorn and disbelief. Should I wait until I am on my own to join and/or start going to church? I can't imagine waiting any longer but I am fearful that I will have to be on my own before a) anyone will let me attend a church that is not the denomination I was raised in and/or b) I can even allow myself to admit that this is for sure where I belong. Any advice is much appreciated.

This may seem strange, but the reason I first began to investing the LDS church is because a lot of the blogs I read are written by members and I was not understanding a lot of the church-related terminology. Now that I am fairly well-versed I understand most of what I am reading. I know that in order to attend the temple one must obtain a temple recommend. I also know that there are a number of things one can do to lose a temple recommend. On one of the blogs I read, the writer mentions that she and her husband are no longer worthy to attend the temple (although does not explain why) but that they are trying very hard to get back. However, she has posted many recent pictures of herself in which you can tell she is not wearing garments because she is wearing immodest clothing. So my question is, when you lose your temple recommend do you also have to stop wearing garments? If this is too much information to divulge, I completely understand. I was just curious because as I understood it, you make covenants in the temple involving wearing the sacred garments and I figured that if you were trying to get back to the temple you would be trying to keep those covenants. However, I thought that perhaps losing a temple recommend makes one unworthy of wearing the garments. I am just curious and I completely understand if this is a matter too sacred to discuss. As someone who grew up outside the church I am not entirely certain which topics are off-limits. I definitely don't mean to offend anyone at all.

Ah, I looove Tennessee! I have family there. The only negative is that there's no beach there haha.

The sunshine state. The northern part to be more precise. I love it here, but people tend to be a bit single-minded, religously.

Um no... dang I thought I was being all clever and original! FAIL. Lol.

Ok just to clarify, this is just something that I'm curious about having been raised Protestant and not completely understanding the voluntary church service thing fully. I am seriously considering joining the LDS church and the answer to this question, no matter what it is, will not sway my decision either way. So I know that all church service is voluntary (bishopric, etc.). However, I wonder about the Prophet. His job within the Church is extremely important, and a full-time gig if I'm not mistaken. Does the Church pay him? Or is it like a Mission President type thing where they give you money for some living expenses but you have to fund the rest from your own personal savings? Like I said it's just something I've wondered and couldn't find the info anywhere else. Being raised Protestant it's sometimes hard to wrap my head around people not being paid for church service, although I like the idea of it. To be honest, I wonder the same thing about the Pope...

Hi everyone! My name is Amanda. I'm new so I just thought I would introduce myself. :) An advance warning: I write EPIC posts. I can't help it. I'm long-winded. See? Just can't stop talking. Basically I was born and raised in the Bible Belt. I was raised Protestant (of course... does any other religion EXIST down here? ). So basically I believe in the Bible and all that good stuff. However I recently have begun to research other Christian religions because, well, mine isn't really working for me. Not only does it fail to inspire me, but I have lots of doctrinal issues with it. There are so many aspects of it that are not taken from the Bible and so many things I find important in the Bible that are not addressed in the Church. So, as you may have guessed, I am here because I have some questions about the LDS religion. Just so you know, they aren't loaded questions, I genuinely want to know the answers because I am seriously considering joining. :) The questions won't be too basic though, because I've done pretty hardcore research already. I know who Joseph Smith is and all that good stuff lol. I actually think I have more questions about the Church and how it works than actual beliefs, although I may have a few questions about that too. Anywho... sorry I wrote a novel. If you're still reading, you're amazing. I look forward to "meeting" all of you!