HappyGuy989

Funny, but seriously I wont be praying to him at all. At least as long as I'm not being tortured into compliance. As some respondents have said will happen. Edit: Well, what your doctrine says will happen.

Atleast you admit your closed mindedness.

What you consider reasoning isn't what I consider reasoning. It's interesting, what you consider reasoning is ineffective in changing my views, what I consider reasoning is ineffective in changing your views. Lets just agree to disagree. If anything I will be stroking gods ego. :) Isn't that what we all do in the end? Those that swallowed his teachings get the best reward? Those that don't end up with a lesser eternal state?

Well I guess that infers you have no inclination to listen to people that don't accept your own beliefs.

I suppose the millions of children worldwide who have starved to death or are currently starving, who are suffering in a combination of other ways including some who experience organ failure at the hand of infectious disease are paying their lot? Ooo! They should be happy they get an instant ticket to the celestial kingdom! What a cop out. I'm willing to wager there are countless people who have suffered to a greater degree for longer periods of time than what Jesus did. Oh it doesn't really compare they weren't perfect!! Jesus isn't the only one who has endured grave injustice. About you comparing people who receive the telestial degree to slugs. There are atheists I'd rather spend time with that are far more intelligent, worthwhile, and of greater morale fiber than the people I've met face to face so far in the church. A people who accept anything a church tells them in the face of evidence and logical reasoning to the contrary? Spending eternity with such a people is not a desire of my heart.

One of the reasons I don't want to be a member of your church. You apparently believe anyone who doesn't do the things you do or come to the same conclusions you have will be excruciatingly punished in the afterlife. Like pretty much every other faith. The thing is I don't even believe the godhead exists anymore or that your theology is a sound ground to draw reasoning from. Imagine still being like that though, to feel so insulated and comfortable in the belief that your church and way of life are the only means to find happiness in this life and the next. Your position is arguably worse than mine. The father has sanctioned mass murder, slavery, and infanticide amongst other atrocities if the standard works are accurate. I'm sure you'll all draw much further enlightenment from his worship.

If anyone is interested/wondering I've decided I'll be at some point asking for my LDS membership to be rescinded. I've come to believe LDS theology is littered with absurdities and am no longer comfortable with being a member. I do appreciate the efforts people have made to answer my questions, and wish you all the best for the future. (Just a quick note; I wasn't able to access the forums for the past few days, I thought I was banned.)

Your sentiments are extremely condescending. I am not acting on the tendencies. The whole crux of the argument was based on the idea that having the tendencies doesn't justify acting them out which I've already accepted. To repeatedly reemphasize that to me suggests you don't believe that, which I find personally insulting.

There's a difference between being SSA and indulging in sin and temptation.

I'm glad you find it so amusing.

(Pretends he didn't already know)

You missed my point in that post, if it was gods will for me to have this trial for some purpose why would he want me to circumvent that?

I admire you for your evident personal strength and conviction. I hope you find happiness in this life if you haven't already and the next.

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with basically everything you said in that post. EDIT: Except the replacing god part lol.

You make it sound as if my future is bleak spiritually. How can you be sure the Godhead would even want me to be free of this trial in mortality, it might be serving some grander purpose for me??

Did someone delete Rydney's responses? I couldn't see his posts yet people responded to further comments from him. EDIT: I notice it now says banned on his profile??

I find this insistence that sexuality is changeable baffling. Apply the notion to yourself and you'll probably realize how ridiculous it is. You compare my sexuality to a curable disease? Call me proud, but I find that a little demeaning. Likewise with your assertion that I'm less righteous than my brothers. You said you turned your back on the lord?? EDIT: And I'm not given the same opportunity as my brothers, they can marry unopposed in mortality, and I have to hold my breath until the next life.

Maybe in making this thread I was asking things I didn't want to hear the answers of. My life experience tells me that atleast for me it's unchangeable. I'd be very skeptical at reports that people have changed as well for a number of other reasons. I learned of the gay reparative therapy that goes on and about how ineffective, harmful, and bogus the programs are. So I'm not about to actively try to change my sexuality. You'd need to be fairly desperate to want to do that though in my opinion, especially in the case of resorting to supposed psychotherapy. I've decided I don't want it to change. Sure I might have been better off if I was straight but I've been made a different way and I have to deal with it. I have to vent the offense I feel at the notions that in the next life non-straight sexuality will non-existent, that it's not consistent with gods plan for the happiness of his children and that it's a physical imperfection to be suppressed. If those are truths I find them to be very hard (can relate to figures in scripture who felt the same way in general about the truth being hard). To think that something that's been a part of who I am as long as I can remember is going to be completely erased. It actually makes me feel resentful and slightly angry. Again I might of been asking things I didn't really want to hear the answers of. How can I vest my whole life on the assumption that everything the LDS church tells me is truth? As I've thought more about various LDS doctrines, the more they've seemed bogus to me. Like the plan of salvation for example, pre-plan all of us are in the presence of the father, post-plan one third of us are destined to hell and the rest are very unlikely to reobtain living with the father. It seems the plan falls short of its intent, our progression(EDIT: I said this in my previous post). Also, concerning the devil, why would lucifer knowingly propagate the plan of salvation? By tempting adam and eve he in effect set it in motion, and by himself and his angels providing mankind with adversity and temptation they provide much of the basis for our earthly existance. Why would a being as supposedly cunning as the devil play right into gods hand like this? Also, shouldn't there be extensive archaeological evidence of the civilizations and peoples talked about in the book of mormon? Why haven't I heard about the ancient nephites or lamanites at any point during my secular education? Also how is the vast amount of physical evidence supporting evolution and suggesting recent human ancestors explained? And the dating methods that suggest humanity is far older than purported in the bible? Following from that why would god only interact with humanity for the past 5000 to 6000 years of its history? I'm beginning to believe that the notion that we're literal offspring of the ruler of the universe to just be a relic of human arrogance, not unlike the old beliefs that Earth is the centre of the universe and that the sun revolves around the earth. When I try to consider how vast the universe is I'm awe-struck. Watch this video on the scale of our planet compared to our galaxy, and consider that we know of hundreds of billions of other galaxies in the visible universe alone. YouTube - The universe - How big are you? For me it only amplifies the perception that we're far less significant in creation than we make ourselves out to be.(If these questions have been brought up before apologies, and apologies if anyone is offended by the nature of the questions, I am questioning the very foundation of the churches religious doctrine). The only reason I don't completely turn my back on the church is out of fear. The church is quite clear on what it considers sexual morality and what is an acceptable relationship in the eyes of god, sexual immorality is a sin next to murder. For the past decade I've suffered from depression, I've felt shame, guilt, and internal conflict. I don't understand what it is to have a personal relationship with Christ or how that would make me feel better. I'm supposed to feel good that he suffered excruciatingly and had his life cut short for our benefit? All that makes me feel is ashamed and guilty, on top of the shame and guilt I've already felt over my sexuality. I can only conclude being born into the church has not been a positive influence on my life. I got baptized at the age of 8, something I now regret. I think the age of baptism should be increased, you're entering into a covenant with God, at the age of 8 you're not sufficiently mature to be making that sort of decision. So if I reject the atonement I'll suffer for 1000 years in outer darkness before being granted a place in the Telestial kingdom? Given the era in which I've lived, and what I've gone through in life so far, that doesn't seem just to me.

Hi, thanks for the responses so far. I read the pamphlet suggested. It evoked mixed emotions in me because it's something very personal. I find it frustrating that I can't pursue marriage in the church like my brothers have. Both of my brothers have married, 1 of them with children. I find and have found jealously and frustration creeping into to what should be complete happiness for them. I'm expected to remain celibate my entire life assuming my sexuality doesn't change(as far as I know sexuality is unchangeable)? Having a partner would make life so much easier, someone to share lifes burdens with, and yet I'm denied this if I want to remain a part of the church? I suffered quite a bit in high school because I hadn't learnt yet to conceal my sexuality. I didn't have any problems in primary school, I think because I knew all of my year level from a very early age (the high-school I went to was in a different area). So all of that makes it even more personal. So..socially I'm disadvantaged because of it, I can't pursue a relationship with another guy if I'm to continue associating with the church I was born into, I hear about the violence and discrimination inflicted on others like me across the world on the basis of something they had no control over, ect. Any advice on combating the increasing bitterness I'm feeling? I'm beginning to feel as if the plan of salvation is somewhat flawed. Like simply considering how the vast majority of heavenly fathers children are worse off because of it. I mean, pre-plan all of us are in the fathers presence, post-plan one third of us are destined to hell, and the rest are very unlikely to re-obtain what they had(living in the presence of the father). I just had to vent, only a handful of people I know know I'm going through this challenge.

Hi, I was born into an LDS family in Victoria, Australia. I've been a bit conflicted throughout life between my sexuality and faith. I'm 23 years old, male, gay, and single. I thought these forums might be a useful avenue of inquiry as I don't often discuss these issues with other church members or even my family. Here are some of the questions I've been wondering about: 1. Am I expected to attempt to enter an eternal marriage in this life? 2. Is mortality the only window of opportunity one has to form an eternal marriage relationship? 3. Does gods decree to have children to replenish the earth apply to me as a gay man? 4. When I'm granted a perfected body when I'm resurrected does that partly mean I'll no longer be same sex attracted or does that depend on my level of righteousness in mortality? I look forward to any insights provided.