Grunt

This is where I am. I agree with prohibition based on doctrine, but don't accept the "because you can become an abuser" argument.

The ward I go to is small, but many of the men have beards.

Wait, you had a braid? That crosses the line. Were you listening to Sinead?

What is that?

Why don't you just focus on yourself, your family, your shortcomings, your addictions, and your faith? Why are you so concerned about all these side topics? In my opinion, they are distracting you from getting your life straight. It's almost like you NEED the spotlight. You need to be controversial. You need to post a million topics about issues that are fringe to the meat of your story. You feel the need to worry about these obscure topics when you don't even have your foundation built. I seriously don't get you.

Start going to church and they won't be strangers. It took about 15 minutes of talking to the teacher before I felt fine.

Interesting. Are Mormons typically not inclusive? My experience has been the exact opposite.

Saying my premise is faulty isn't the same thing as showing fault with my premise. I completely disagree and I stated why.

Like I said, I think Church is a place you go to bolster faith, not cast doubt. I wouldn't be interested in hearing your talk. I'd find it odd and out of place. If I heard that talk at my first visit, I probably wouldn't go back.

Sure. First, it's a testimonial, not an anti-testimonial. People go to church to pray, commune, and support each other and the church. Not to have someone stand up and say "hey, I'm not really buying what you're selling". That's the OPPOSITE of why people go to church, unless the Mormon religion is different than other religions. I also can't imagine someone would be called to give a talk titled "I don't know if this church or the Book of Mormon is true". Granted, my experience with LDS is limited, so maybe that's normal. I would CERTAINLY think that if someone else in the audience was having doubts, you talking about yours wouldn't help them. Someone giving their testimony might, though.

Yes.

A computer monitoring program IS necessary. You're making excuses to yourself to not take the steps you need. You're an addict.

I would think the church is a place to bolster the faith of others through yourself. Not cast doubt. Your talk sounds like it belongs in confession or support group, not on the dais.

Yes. Faceplant.

If he takes over my ward I'll give up processed ham and get baptized.

This was the post I was referring to. It certainly led me to believe you weren't LDS.

Is this the same group as the Faceplant group by the same name?

Kudos to you, @Midwest LDS . THAT is commitment. It must have been very difficult to take that step. Seriously, that is pretty admirable in my opinion.

Thanks! My imagination led me to "on March 3rd, Grunt was caught sipping gin behind the air conditioner after sacrament". Your answer makes more sense.

The church keeps a "personnel file"? What type of things are in it?

On the note of polygamy, doesn't the BoM state unequivocally that taking multiple wives is bad? How could polygamy have been accepted at all, then?

I LOVE that movie.

What is "receiving your record"?

Your posts are confusing to me. In one post you say you're looking for the true church and don't have a testimony, but in this post, you say you know this to be true and do have a testimony. Which is it? I'm not a Mormon, so you should probably only listen to half of what I say. It would seem you DO know the truth, so you will be judged more harshly than a fool such as myself. It almost appears you are trying to convince yourself that you don't know the truth so you can avoid accountability. It's too late for that. You can kick this, though. Have you spoken to your wife about this? Gone to a counselor? Attended a group? The bad news is you'll likely struggle with this for the rest of your life. The good news is this is a constant reminder of your commitment to God and He notices your struggle. You are a man. You aren't expected to be perfect. I don't believe God only rewards those who are 100% successful in following His law. If he did there would be nobody in the Celestial Kingdom as you understand it. Nobody. I believe he rewards us for our belief, commitment, and sincere struggle. After all, isn't that part of the experience? This is not insurmountable. Most addiction recoveries involve a declaration of intent, family support, and outside intervention. If you're sincere this time, you can accomplish it.