Mute

My father used to do that but perhaps not to the extent you are saying your parents are now. That's a tough situation to be in. Even the LDS faith believes in not forcing someone to be a part of a religion. Satan's plan was to force people to go along with it. They're not allowing their own son to make this choice. They're trying to force him to go along with a belief he does not hold. You have to give people the opportunity to be their own person. That is how we grow. Let me put it this way to you. Even if God came down and said to me face to face that the lds faith was true, I wouldn't be a part of it if I was forced. I would avoid it just to make a point. Because that's not a correct method of doing it. It's kind of like love in a way. The only thing you can do is your part to love them. You can't force them to love you though. If you try, it will only make them not want to be near you. I hope you parents change their minds on the way they're acting. If not, then you should be the example. Talk to your brother and be the one there for him while he goes through this.

As long as your brother is still technically a member, then it's possible your parents may feel that there is a greater hope of him eventually changing his mind. I remember hearing many stories given of where a child has unbelief in the lds faith for a time only for them to come back to it later with a strong belief in it. Two of my siblings are examples of this. I had a brother who thought religion was all a bunch of non sense. After moving out, he became close to a girl in the state of Washington. After knowing each other for some time, they decided that he should meet her parents. In the conversation, the mother brought up religion and asked if my brother was religious at all. Religion was a topic that him and his girl friend had never talked about. So my brother told her that he was lds. The next time he met the mother, she said she had a movie for him to watch. They all sat down to watch this mystery film and on pops "The God Makers". From that point on, it was her mother trying to get him to leave the lds faith. She had arranged for a preacher to show up at their house in order to help convince him of the "evil" of Mormonism. Now my brother had no reason to care about the lds faith. Yet when the mother started accusing him of believing things he didn't and accusing the lds faith of believing/teaching things he knew it didn't, it caused him to become very angry at her. As a result, he took the time to read the scriptures and pray which started increasing his belief in the lds faith. He shared his feelings with his girl friend and she too thought that her mother was drastically over reacting. After several months, he told his girlfriend that he believed the lds faith was true and that he planned to serve a mission. From her own study, she also was arriving to the same conclusion. My brother has been a strong believer in the lds faith ever since. They never did marry but they remain friends to this day. By leaving him alone and letting him make his own choices, it had the desired outcome that my parents wanted for him all along. You can do more harm than good by feeling it is your responsibility to try and fix the problem. Sometimes the best help is just being able to listen and being a friend.

What was your brother's relationship like with your parents before he left the lds faith? Had I of been closer to my parents and more comfortable with being open around them prior to my name removal, many of the hardships I experienced both before and after may have been prevented. Also did he actually leave the lds faith as in remove his name from the church records or just announce that he had unbelief?

Do you take a strong stance on every theory you hear? I don't. Why do you need to take a strong belief on something if you don't know the answer? If you asked me if I believed there were parallel universes, I would tell you I don't know but I believe we may find out in the future. If you tell me there are parallel universes and that I'm going to regret it later if I don't strongly believe as you do that there are parallel universes with your individual and particular details of belief (which are not the same as others who happen to believe in parallel universes), does that mean I need to hurry and take a stance on it? I still don't know the answer any better than before and I have no reason to believe anyone else does other than the fact that they said they did. If I have found no conclusive evidence to support one way or the other, why would I take a strong stance saying yes I believe or no I don't believe? Perhaps I have reasons to think it is both possible and impossible but I have found nothing to conclude one way or the other. It reminds me of Indiana Johnes and the Last Crusade but only slightly different. Pick the right invisible cup or face the consequences. I would say no unless you are basing your beliefs off of what other members believe. I'd rather someone tell me they don't know or are unsure on what they believe than tell me they do know if they don't. Honesty is always the best answer. I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean is it possible for them to be totally unsure one way or the other as to whether the lds faith is true? Yes absolutely. Do you mean is there a way for a person to reach celestial glory if they are unsure as to whether they believe in the lds faith and are unwilling to commit to such beliefs? If there is a just God and if the lds faith is true, then yes, I would believe they could. You could always try the Epistle of James from the New Testament which reads "5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Maybe you'll get an answer. They should stay LDS if they believe the lds beliefs are true and that it is a good set of beliefs to live by. If they don't believe this, then I would say they should not be lds. People are unsure of their beliefs for a lot of different reasons. Ultimately, they need to either stay or leave depending on what they feel is the best answer for them. There are sooo many different factors that can play an effect into why they may not be sure as to what they believe. You need to be able to look at this from the individuals points of view (which is someone who is unsure) and not from the point of view of someone who is a faithful believer in the lds faith. To this person, it may not seem any more logical to stay in the lds faith anymore than it would be to stay in any other. Unless they feel there is more of a chance of the lds faith being true than any other faith/religion, why would the worry about facing damnation or the hope of being rewarded in an after life matter to them? The best thing you could do for someone who is going through this is just to be a friend while they make up their own choice. You can tell them what you believe and why you believe it but I would be very careful in how you help them find the answers they're looking for. It's not an easy thing. You have to be willing to let them make up their own mind. You can't decide this choice for them. No one can but them. People can not grow and learn if you make the choice for them. What you can do is be a friend, be a support and be there for them while they go through this and continue to do so after they make their choice. If your doubts get the best of you, then chances are you will either become an atheist, agnostic or investigate other religions and find one you believe in / like.

Yes you do have a right to know you're accusers. I would find it highly offensive if they called me in and accused me of something and then would not tell me where they even heard it from. They have no right to accuse you of something without giving any reason as to why they are. It's one thing to ask questions to try and find out if you had an affair. It's another to flat out accuse you of it without giving a reason as to why. I don't think you're in the wrong at all for wanting to face your accuser.

And where is that?

This is something I have wrote about in the past regarding faith and works. It was intended for a different audience and I did not change what I wrote to address your post personally but it should answer your question. So where does faith come from? Romans 10:17 "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" Faith in Christ comes from hearing the word. The Holy Spirit witnesses to us, as the word is read/heard. That witness manifests as faith/belief. What is faith? HEBREWS CHAPTER 11 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Do works matter to get to heaven? This is one of the subjects that many people seem to conflict over. Many former lds members have used this as a reason to why they left the lds faith or a reason attributed to why they left the lds faith. Other faiths have accused the LDS of attempting to work their way into Heaven. Very few seem to understand faith and works. Even those who know this is not the LDS motives continue to say it anyways. Faith and Works is a belief many protestants have disagreed with and attacked the LDS faith over time and time again. In my talking with members of protestant faiths one response was: "The works that any Christian does, is because they are born again, and want to do as God has asked. Our obedience is because we love God and are born again, not to receive Salvation or keep it." To be born again is to be baptized. ST JOHN CHAPTER 3 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Now, I know some believe it doesn't matter if you are baptized with water or baptized at all so long as you just accept Christ into your soul that counts as baptized. Judas had faith. He was also born again which means to be baptized. Is he going to Heaven? If someone says they are born again and don't do good works, then do they have faith? If they don't have faith, are they saved? If there are two people and they both claim to have faith but only one of them is doing good works, would they both be saved? Would the one that is not obeying the commandments be saved even though he believes he has been saved? Can you get to heaven with dead faith? Can you be saved by grace if your faith is dead? Faith without works is dead. JAMES CHAPTER 2 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. You can't earn Salvation by your works. You also can't obtain it by not doing anything. It's still a gift in the end. It would be like someone saying I'll give you a car and I'll fully pay for it but I want to make sure you'll drive it safely. It's still a gift and no matter what you do to show that, you are not earning the car. It is still a gift. But if you do not show that you will drive it safely or just ignore his instructions all together and keep driving unsafe, then he is not going to give it to you. You're not expected to be a perfect driver in this life but that is what you're striving to become. If you are unwilling to obey the rules of the road, then there would be no reason for you to receive this car and be able to drive it around town. Some people think some rules are unfair or stupid and I'd say the same thing. I don't agree with every rule. Now should you beat yourself up if you make a mistake driving or are not a perfect driver? How much should you try to pay absolutely perfect attention? That's a difficult question. However there is a verse that does help to try and clear that up. Mosiah 4: 27 27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order. That still does not tell you how much you need to do though or what is acceptable but lets continue. Do you get more depending on how much you do? Will every single person get different amounts? ST MATTHEW CHAPTER 20 1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. The LDS do believe works matter. LDS believe that Jesus Christ paid for our sins and that there is no person that can do that for themselves. There is an overwhelming number of versus that talk about faith without works is dead. There is also a lot of versus that talk about Salvation coming by grace. Salvation comes by grace through faith which is dead without works. If you do not believe anything is necessary after you are saved in order to reach heaven, then that would of course provide you more time to research other religions and look for ways to show they're false. ST MATTHEW CHAPTER 7 21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. JOHN CHAPTER 2 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ST JOHN CHAPTER 14 15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments. LDS do believe salvation comes by grace. They just believe works matter too. 2 Ne. 25: 23 23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. To summarize EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. JAMES CHAPTER 2 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Salvation comes by grace through faith which is dead without works. So show your faith by your works but don't over exert yourself. Just take it one step at a time. The important thing is you're going forward.

I don't know what it was that you felt but there are a lot of factors that can play an effect in how we feel. The tone of someone's voice, a word or phrase, music, a story, a book, a show on tv, a random thought or past memory, the weather outside, our diet, the amount of sleep we have, any medication we may have taken, our over all health, our enviroment and so much more can play an effect in how we feel. If you want to test out if this feeling was the holy spirit or not, you can possibly find that out by doing a "simple" test. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that talks about the vineyard. Alma chapter 32. It talks about this feeling that will come. 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. Pay close attention to your feelings as you read the Book of Mormon. Is this the same feeling you felt earlier? Is it a new feeling or do you feel nothing at all? If it is the same feeling, then continue to read and see if this feeling grows over time. I would recommend you continue to read for a period of around 1-3 months for a regular amount of time each day. See how you feel after 1-3 months. Has this feeling increased at all? If it has, then continue reading and see if it continues to increase further. If it continues to increase, then it should also continue to enlighten your understanding to where maybe you will eventually know if it is the spirit or not. If this feeling continues to increase, then that is a good reason to continue to read and keep with it in order to possibly find out what it is. Now if this feeling simply persists but does not continue to enlighten your understanding as the verse says it will, then I would be tempted to say it is not the spirit. The reason I say this is because there are activities that have given me particular feelings for long periods of time every time I have experienced them. Some movies have caused the same feelings every time I have watched them. Some games have caused the same feelings every time I have played them. Some places have given me the same feelings/thoughts every time I have visited them. Simple excitement or feeling uplifted/inspired by something does not necessarily mean it is the holy spirit. I felt rather good about the speech in Braveheart. I was inspired by it. Would I say that is the holy spirit confirming to me that we need to fight for FREEEEDOOOOMMMM!!!!? I would not say that just as I would not say me feeling loved by others is the same as me feeling the spirit because the spirit is described as love. GALATIANS CHAPTER 5 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. If this feeling you feel is a different feeling than that described in the verses of Alma, then I would be tempted to say the feeling you felt may not be the spirit but another feeling caused by other factors. If you don't feel anything from reading the Book of Mormon, there are a few possible factors you could still consider. You could try doing your best to live what the lds faith believes to be righteous living. I would recommend that you do your best to live righteously for a period of about 3 months first without actually reading scriptures. Now why am I suggesting you do this for 3 months before reading any scriptures? It is to eliminate the possible factor of you simply feeling a good feeling because of changes in your life style. If these changes cause you to be more outgoing and as a result you do better in say your career, love life, physical health etc, these could all cause you to feel good feelings. So by becomming familiar to your feelings by simply living righteously, you can elminate the possibility of you mistaking a good feeling from reading the scriptures as the spirit that may simply be caused by a change in your life style. If you don't feel anything from reading, there is another factor to still try. One way to possibly eliminate the question of whether or not you can feel this feeling while not trying to live righteously is to simply try praying while not living righteously. Then see how you feel. Do you still get a burning in the bosom? Do still get all the characteristics of this feeling regardless of your actions? That is of course assuming you are not living righteously and weren't when you noticed this feeling. You could also try praying and see if this causes the feeling. However, you should keep in mind what your intentions are for wanting to know. Is it simply out of curiosity or is because you have a desire to act upon the knowledge if you were told the lds faith was true? MORONI CHAPTER 10 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Epistle of James chapter 1 verse 5 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. There is also the factor that you are not baptized and that may be a reason for why you may not feel this feeling constantly but you shouldn't have to be baptized to at least test this feeling. Just because you would not have this as a constant companion does not mean you wouldn't be able to feel it at all. If this feeling is indeed what the Book of Mormon says it is, it should still increase your understanding and cause these swelling motions regardless of whether or not you are baptized. Else how would they expect anyone to test this? There is also the possability of unknown factors that I have not thought of. Be honest with your feelings. You may be feeling excited or hoping this may be the spirit. It is fine to hope and it may be that this feeling is the spirit but it is important to remember that it may also not be. It is important that you are willing to accept that and not be quick to rush and believe something is the spirit if it is not. I'm not saying you shouldn't believe but just be careful in what you are quick to believe. Be patient with it and I hope you find the truth you are looking for. Good luck in your search. Over all this feeling should be something that eliminates all doubt in your mind that this could possibly be anything else or at least give you reason to believe that it could indeed be the spirit and not something else. If this feeling increases as the verses in Alma say it would, then that would eventually let you eliminate all other possibilities of this being anything else other than the spirit. Thus you would eventually "know" if the lds faith is true or not. You are demonstrating faith by keeping with it and you are not simply acting upon blind faith. You are testing it out. I would also ignore anyone trying to tell you what you feel. Only you know what you feel and it no ones place to tell you what you personally feel/know.

If an after life does turn out to be true based upon a Christian or Muslim beliefs, I dare say I might want that. The reason I say this is because many Christian and Muslim faiths believe that all those who are not part of their particular faith will be literally tortured for eternity. If your faith turns out to be wrong and another turns out to be true, you would go through the same punishment I would. Would you honestly want to live an eternity like that simply because you did not join a "correct" religion? If I did not have the power to stop a God from doing that to me or even have the ability to fight it or prevent it from happening to others, then why would I want to exist? I can't imagine that as a way I'd want to spend an eternity. Eternity is a long time to comprehend.

I actually wondered if that was a guy right when I first started watching the video. The fact that they didn't sound very good when they sang lead me believe there could be no other possible reason for linking the video. Then the voice turned into a really deep man voice. Looks like I was right in my assumption.

That's an interesting question. I have never read anything in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price or Doctrine and Covenants that states it is possible to end one's existence. THE BOOK OF JACOB THE BROTHER OF NEPHI CHAPTER 6 9 Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God? 10 And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment. The fact that the word unquenchable is used leads me to believe the LDS belief is that you can not end this. May I ask why you are asking this?

That's a good reason to believe there may be a supernatural force out there. If I had a similar experience that happened as you say yours did, then I would quite possibly believe or at least try to figure out why I had that happen.

I want a talking donkey. How cool would that be if it were like the donkey from Shrek? A donkey that sings songs, fights dragons, saves princesses from tall towers and sometimes flies. If it is to be taken literally and did indeed happen, I wonder if it sounded at all like Eddie Murphy. That would be awesome! And just like in Shrek the donkey saved the main character's life by giving perfect advice.

This helps to explain why you left the lds faith but I'm still curious about the previous statement. I'm just trying to understand the reason that teacher was a reason that contributed to you leaving. I'm not trying to judge you or say that shouldn't be a reason for leaving. Your reasons are your own. It's just not an answer I've usually heard for a reason that would make you doubt, question, or not believe the lds faith was true. From the impression I'm getting, it sounds like you're saying that it just annoyed you but wasn't a reason for you not believing in the lds faith but rather just a reason that contributed to you wanting to leave it. Is that a right assumption?

Maybe the Joseph Smith translations would help for SOME of your questions regarding the lds faith's belief on what is to be taken literally or not in the scriptures. It's been roughly 7 years since I've read the Bible and to be honest I never even read the Joseph Smith translations when I read the Bible. I really don't think you're going to ever find anything clarifying all of these questions that would be considered an official lds belief and not just an individuals interpretation/opinion. I've always understood it in church when I learned about Lot's wife turning into salt that it was to be taken literally as well as Christ being born of a virgin and Moses parting the Red Sea. Either way, the Joseph Smith translation is my best guess for you possibly being able to find some of the answers you seek. You may find nothing though but it's worth a shot.

It's not a question of whether it's true or not. The LDS believe it is all true. However, they don't believe the Bible is perfectly translated and I happen to agree with that. A big one is the trinity. Many Christian faiths believe God the father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are one physical being existing outside of time and space. When Christ said be one as my father and I are one, the lds believe he meant one in purpose. They believe they are all one in purpose but not one physically. Can you name a specific example? I really doubt you're going to find a detailed description of everything the lds take literally in the Bible. I've asked the same thing before. I never found an answer to the question. Generally, I've found practically all lds believe things are literal like Moses parting the Red Sea. The question of was the Earth made in 6 days, I've heard a lot of lds say they believe it was in 6 periods of time but not 6 24 hour periods. You're going to have to give examples though of what you want clearer answers.

That teacher shouldn't have been doing that. This isn't what normally goes on in sunday school. If you don't mind me asking, why is this one of the reasons you left lds faith? I mean is this teacher's actions one of the reasons you stopped believing in the lds faith or is it just something that annoyed you and you no longer wanted to be around?

They go in my tummy. They're delicious.

So he did. I took it the wrong way. I read it as him saying lds in general insisted that the Earth was 6,000 years old.

Are you sure the lds faith teaches the world is only 6000 years old? I never heard that when I was at church. Considering how virtually all faiths argue over what is to be taken literally or not in the scriptures and if the word day is indeed translated into the right word from it's original text, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if someone could just say the word day doesn't necessarily mean 24 hours but rather periods of time.

What is the topic of this thread now? I am rather lost. Is it about anti religious books or it a debate between proving evolution and Christianity?

I would never personally try to persuade someone to not have a religion but I would say there are many things that I consider a comfort to me personally in not having a religion. In my personal opinion, being agnostic can give you a lot of peace. I'll give you an example of what I mean. My brother died in a car accident when I was very young. The roads were icy and the driver of the truck coming the opposite direction was intoxicated. The truck collided with my brother's car and as a result my brother died while the truck driver was relatively unharmed. My mother felt bad about that day for many years later. She told me that she wanted to go with my brother that night but she couldn't find her purse. She wonders if perhaps she wasn't supposed to go or maybe it would have been prevented if she had gone. There was also the question on her mind that maybe God needed him for something. For me personally, I don't have to worry about the question of was there a divine influence involved in my brother's death. I don't have to worry about the question of did God just let my brother die? If so, should I be angry? Why didn't he save him? Did he need him for some greater work? Was my family not living righteously enough to be deserving of my brother? Was this a test? Was it punishment? Was it to help my family grow closer together? There are countless divine factors that I could worry about and question but I find I usually get the correct answer if I leave those divine possibilities out. For one, the other driver was drunk and the roads were icy. The driver made a mistake and one that was very costly to my family and me but I have forgiven the person who ran into my brother. I do not blame God and I do not want to worry about if there was a divine influence in my brother's death. I don't feel a need to look for answers some other place when they're right there in front of me. I just accept that bad things happen sometimes and we have to make the best of it in our lives. I try to do better in the future and move on with life. So it's a load off when I don't have to worry about those things. Many of the positive qualities people like in religions such as in Christianity can be found without having a religion. For example, you can still be just as kind and loving towards others as you were when you were religious. For most people, your morals don't simply go away. If you're a good person, chances are you will continue to be one. Many people don't try to do what is right simply because they believe a God will punish them if they don't or reward them if they do it. They do it because they feel it is a good way to live. They believe it will make them happier in this life and they feel it will make others happier. All of those beliefs of do not judge others, forgive others, etc are good because they make you happier. You don't have to have a religion in order to follow this. I'm not trying nor would I try to persuade you to be agnostic. I'm only saying that I find positive qualities for me in being such. There were also many qualities which I found very comforting in believing in God.

I think you should do what you want to do and not what you feel expected to do. If you want to serve a mission, do it for you. If you do not feel ready, then perhaps you should wait until you do feel ready. There is a chance that you may not want to go later if you do not do so soon. A question to ask yourself is would you regret it if you did not go. Is that something you would be ok with personally? If the answer is yes, then wait a bit before going. See if you feel ready in a few months. If you still don't, then maybe the army would be a good choice for now. Remember, just because you don't serve a mission doesn't mean you can't still teach others about your faith. You could teach a lot of people in the military about your beliefs and had you gone on a mission, you may not have that chance to teach those individuals there. So do what you feel is right for you. That is my advice.

I haven't watched too many John Wayne movies but I love Clint Eastwood. I'll have to watch more of John Wayne.

The church does not name specific pieces of literature. You have to use your own discretion but if you find yourself reading something about the lds faith and it distorts the truth in a very hateful atmosphere, then I would avoid it. There is a very big difference in the way anti Mormon literature is written and the way an opposite point of view is written. Let me give you an example of what I mean. There are many sites where people know full well the true meanings yet they choose to give false meaning. An example is saying the upside down stars on some of the temples are actually there because the lds worship Satan. They know full well that that is not the reason why those symbols are there but that doesn't stop them from saying it. They don't tell the truth in what they say. Another example is them stating Satan and Jesus are brothers and implying there is something sinister about it. As if they're the tag team match up of Ryu and Ken and that Satan is the evil twin brother of Jesus yet they fail to mention that the lds believe all people are brothers and sisters. That you and I are no more Christ's brothers than Satan is. They don't try to give you the correct impression. That is what I mean by distorting the truth. Their only goal is to make you hate the lds church and give you the worst possible impression of it. Another thing is they quote hear say as facts and many times they don't have anything to back up what they say. Many of the accusations towards Joseph Smith are not from first hand accounts. They're from 3rd and 4th hand accounts. If I were going to give you an opposing view point of why you shouldn't be in the lds church or why I felt it was evil (which I don't feel that way), I would do it honestly and I would provide the information I have accurately and clearly so you could see every reason why I believe that way. If the lds church was really doing something bad, I shouldn't have to distort the truth to make it seem evil. I should have over whelming evidence to show others hey this isn't a good place to be. They don't have that though. They just make bleep up and get really really angry. There is a very big difference in how the lds missionaries promote their beliefs than how those who seek to destroy it do. The lds missionaries tell about what they believe in and they have something to sell. Other people seem to just want to run it down and give it a bad image. That's a very bad sale technique. They don't have anything to promote their own product so they run down the lds faith so people won't go to it rather than their own church. If their own church was worth a bleep, they wouldn't have to do that. I have no respect for churches who do that or encourage others to do that.