dahlia

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Posts posted by dahlia

  1. I was surprised to learn that a good number of converts don't stay converted. Some anti-Mormons use this info to refute the Church's membership numbers or that people finally 'wake up' and realize that Mormonism isn't what they thought.

    So my question for today is twofold: Do you think it's true that many converts leave, and if so why? It takes a lot to change one's religion; why would one go through all of that just to leave the Church? I guess I'm looking for possible landmines.

    Second, considering how America-focused the Church is, to what do you ascribe the growth of the Church world-wide? Why would an African or Latin American want to be a Mormon? As a former Catholic, I find it amazing that so many in the Catholic countries have left the Church and become Protestant. When I was growing up, we used to pray for the conversion of the world back to Catholicism; it is very hard to imagine people leaving in such large numbers to become Protestant, and yet they do.

    So with this in mind, and referring back to my original question, do you think people with such backgrounds and without connections to the US and the pioneer history are more likely to revert after conversion?

    Do you see the Mormonism changing with so many members outside of the US?

    Thanks again.

  2. I'm no longer in the DC area, but I am close to Nauvoo and really hoping to go down there. I'm not a highway driver, so I'm trying to convince my son to take me. That's not going too well. : ) So far, the only tours I've found online are for arranged groups. I don't even think I can take a Greyhound, but I'm still going to look around. About a year or so ago I saw a show about the Nauvoo settlement and temple-building and was fascinating. I'm a history buff, so even without being an investigator, I'd still like to go check it out.

  3. The Washington DC temple was built in the early 1970s, and was the only temple in the eastern United States for a decade. It had to be big enough to take care of all the members wishing to serve in the temple for half of the United States.

    Well, you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info. I have to tell you, when we'd go past the Temple, it always struck me as being like pictures I'd seen of the castle at Disneyland. I've never been where you could see the base, just this humongous white shining thing off of the Beltway. Now that I'm older and a lot of big things from my youth have started to look smaller, the DC temple is still awe-inspiring.

  4. OK, I've seen videos showing the inside of temples. I've read about baptisms for the dead, endowments, and sealings.

    What I don't get yet is, these places are huge. I used to live in the DC area and the temple in the Maryland suburbs is just massive. How many people go through a Temple to justify the size? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just think, how many people are going to get sealed or get an endowment at any given time? Are these places filled with people every day (except Sunday:) )?

    I've read profiles from some Mormons in which they state how much they like to go to the Temple. Why would you go that much? What are you doing? Plus, if you aren't temple worthy, you can't go in and I would imagine a good percentage (20-40%?) of people aren't temple worthy, so they aren't going in, which would reduce the numbers of available temple goers even more.

    I'm just trying to put what I'm reading together with what I see on videos of the temples. And having seen the inside, with all the seats, etc., I just have to wonder how many people are getting endowments, etc. at any one time, especially in areas where the temple is meant to serve a geographically dispersed membership, like maybe Bismarck, ND, where you just don't have that many people close enough to come to the temple all the time.

    Thanks.

  5. I was just wondering are you the Dahlia from the radio talk show?

    Oh, no. I didn't know there was one; now I'm intrigued. Where is the show and what kind of show is it? I hope it's nothing weird or I might have to change my name.:)

    I used to live on a 'Dahlia St' and I was looking for a short name I'd remember.

    eta - I just saw the reference to 'Delilah.' Don't know who that is, either, and I thought I knew a lot of the national shows.

  6. I came because I want to learn more about the faith. I was not raised to think ill of Mormons. On another board, whenever Mitt Romney's name came up, some members would just go off on his being Mormon, that it was a cult, etc. I'd never heard such vitriol (well, maybe against the Catholics). :) So, I've been trying to learn more for awhile. Watching 'Big Love' also made me curious and when I found that someone I knew had converted, I just thought I needed to deepen my investigation.

    I really enjoy the official LDS sites, but I think this one is quite good because you have people who aren't 100% in agreement with the church, or who have been inactive, etc., so you hear different sides without getting the anger on the ex-Mormon sites. Whew. Some of those people have real issues and I don't think they were all caused by being LDS.

  7. There is Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship - Home which you may find useful in your quest for exploring the more intellectual aspect of the Church ...

    Thanks for the reference to the Institute. I was just cruising around a little and clicked on 'books,' then 'A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography.' I expected to see a book description and a price, a la Amazon, and was surprised to see that it was all online! As I stated on another thread, the LDS really have their act together regarding using technology to get their message across. Not only is the info free, but I can get it right now as I listen to the BOM online! Very nice.

  8. OK, please correct me if I have the heirarchy wrong. Every LDS male can become an Aaronic priest, right? Some are Melchizedek priests, correct? So,

    1) What is the correct title for the head of a ward or branch? Is that personal always called a 'bishop'?

    2) If the bishop is a regular person, is he considered a member of the clergy for legal reasons? For example, is anything told to him confidential and he cannot be made to testify to it in a court of law?

    I guess my question comes from trying to compare a Catholic priest or Protestant minister, who has been through seminary, been anointed, and (big assumption here) has been trained in the legal ramifications of his duties. I just wonder if your usual layman drawn from the congregation would have an understanding of privacy and confidentiality and, since any worthy male can be called to head the ward, does that person have the legal standing of other members of the clergy?

    Thanks again.

  9. If I may ask a question - who gets to wear garments? I haven't quite found a clear answer in my readings. Can any baptized person wear them? Are they only if you have a temple marriage? I read that couples get garments before the wedding; I might have misunderstood. Do you have to be worthy of a temple recommend, so that if you don't tithe or aren't active, you don't wear the garments? Thanks.

    We have BYU TV on our cable lineup and sorry to say, I've been looking at everyone to see if I can tell if they're wearing garments. : ) I can't, so I'm wondering if many people, especially young people, aren't wearing them.

  10. I was Catholic for the first 30 years of my life.

    Don't know if I'm making any sense.

    Sure you are. I was Catholic longer than you. My friend who is now LDS was also Catholic, so I was a little surprised when I learned he converted, but it is good speaking with him because we both come from similar backgrounds and yet both find something attractive about Mormonism.

    Regarding the humility thing in another post, of course you can learn from everyone. But let's be real here, some kids who has had a year of college, who has not engaged in debate and argument because they've been raised as Mormons and accept the teachings of the Church, just cannot provide the intellectual satisfaction that I need in my search. I think I would feel better talking to the bishop.

  11. Thanks all of you for such considered (and polite!) responses. I hope I did not come off as a jerk; I'm actually a pretty nice person. : )

    I hadn't read about the introductory Bible classes, so that is something to look into. I thought it was just one class for everybody.

    To WmLee - Although we weren't Mormon, we had 'family night' and I only took jobs that let me spend a lot of time with my son. I had a parent who was too busy to be involved with us and I knew I didn't want that for my child, so I did everything opposite when it came to child raising! It was interesting to read how your mother has changed over the years.

    I like this very much, “It is my duty to know the mind of the Lord concerning myself,” I absolutely believe this and think this is why I am drawn to learning more about Mormonism. Thank you for this quote.

    If you guys don't mind another question, how can a couple of 19 yr old missionaries adequately address the searching of a middle-aged person with a child older than they are and a heavy-duty academic background? I really admire the missionaries, but they are younger than many of the college kids I teach and I'm afraid I wouldn't get much from them, especially if they were raised Mormon and not used to comparing and contrasting other religions.

    Thanks again, Dahlia

  12. Hi. I've been reading this forum with interest for awhile and finally worked up the nerve to post. I'll just get to the point with my questions:

    1) If I go to church, will they keep trying to get me to come back?

    1a) If I go to services, will people be offended if I don't go to Sunday school? Bible reading is not part of my religious past and I think I need to work up to it.

    1b) What if I only want to go to church once a month or so? I just don't see a need to go every week and wonder what is the percentage of Mormons who actually go every week?

    2) What if you never get a temple recommend - can you still get married, that is, will people want to marry someone who can't go to the temple? I am still struggling with the idea of tithing and can see that as a big block to a full conversion and a temple recommend.

    3) I'm not sure how to put this, and I'm not trying to put anyone down who is more emotional about this than I am, but do people convert because of an intellectual decision that Mormonism is right for them, or that they agree with most of the practices?

    Let's just say that my job requires a high degree of intellectualism. I'm published in my field. I don't do much that isn't based in the intellect. I pray, but for someone to tell me to 'pray on it' isn't going to fly with me when it comes to finding answers. I don't think that it's wrong or disingenuous to engage in an intellectual investigation into a belief system.

    So, does anyone know of converts who came to Mormonism after a thorough investigation, perhaps accepting the tenets of the church, rather than 100% belief in them? Do you see the difference I'm getting at?

    Well, I hope I haven't turned everyone off. Thanks in advance for any replies.

  13. Hi, I'm Dahlia. I've been lurking for a month or so and getting some really good info on Mormonism here. I'll go over to another forum to ask my questions about the religion, but I thought I'd stop here and say 'hi.'

    I'm a middle-aged person who is pretty happy with things, but also think things could be better. I don't belong to a religious community here and have been thinking something is missing from my life for awhile. I've been (and am) reading about Mormonism for awhile and trying to learn as much as I can. I like this site because even though it is pro-Mormon, it seems that people aren't afraid to state some problems that they've had as well. Very balanced, I'd say. I also like the convert posts.

    I found out an old friend of mine (with a similar religious background) had converted to LDS, so I've been even more intrigued about this church.

    So, 'hi' everybody.