Grunt

They have, thank you. Sometimes it is difficult for me to ascertain the practice from the scripture, though. They don't always seem to coincide and/or I don't always find the answer I'm looking for. Often I'd just prefer to hear it from the point of view of someone who practices it. If this is unwelcome here, I can look elsewhere. I have a literal plethora (can that be a thing) of websites I read, plus I'm up to Mosiah in my reading. This is the only forum I've found, though.

As a non-member, I have a question. If you don't feel guilt for the act, but you do feel guilt for breaking God's law, can you still be repentant?

Thank you. it appears LDS has an app for everything.

Not to derail the discussion, but is there a place I can read this doctrine and its meaning?

I don't see how there can be any current proof of anything, except through Christ and prayer.

No. Like the Marines, but I can read. Kidding!

I don't view online discussions as friendships. I also place very little weight on discussions I have online with real friends. Online is impersonal, and people behave differently. You probably do as well, even if in a small way. I have family and friends I won't be "friends" with online due to this. However, we get along fine in person, and can even hold the same conversation amicably in person, even though we couldn't online. I choose my online "friends" based upon their actions, behavior, and whether the online relationship adds to, or subtracts from, my life. My online friendship with people doesn't really impact my offline relationship with them, though I do wonder why the respect disappears.

Given my profession, which you can probably slightly guess by my handle, I've seen some incredible acts of what I consider service. However, I'm not a member of LDS, so I don't know if "service" might mean something different to you. The community I live in is one big act of service. Not a day goes by, literally, that I don't drive by a farm or homestead and see a neighbor helping a neighbor. Sometimes I get to be on the giving end, sometimes the receiving. I love that we have a community like you read about from days gone by. Last weekend my neighbor cared for my animals while we were out of town. The week before that I spent the weekend helping his family pitch hay. The week before that was a BBQ at the farm down the road. I'm blessed with the life I have. I don't know anyone to tag, unfortunately. Feel free to offer some up for me.

I've been cheating a little. I have a long commute and I've been listening to the Book of Mormon on podcast as well.

Where's the argument? Any pineapple that appears on a slice of pizza is clearly lost.

Thank you. I've decided to continue reading the book of Mormon before I move on to other books, with the exception of essays or teachings on Scripture that help me better understand what I'm reading. I'm only on 1 Nephi 19, but until today I spent more time being sidetracked with reading Wikipedia and websites than what I should have been reading. Thank you for getting me back on track. I'm enjoying it thus far, and I'm glad I decided to focus here. You probably don't realize it, but you helped considerably. Oddly, I also received a text from the "online" missionaries and a call from my local ones. I will say, Nephi says "and it came to pass...." a lot. Must have been the vernacular of the day.

That was just ignorance on my part. I wasn't aware there was a difference.

Thank you for that. Would it be inappropriate to reach out to the Temple? Do you feel that will help? I will absolutely read everything people took the time to link to or suggest, but I'd like to keep reading the Book of Mormon as well.

Thank you very much for your responses. I apologize for not being specific enough. I'm just trying to tread lightly because I sincerely want to know the answers, so I don't want someone to take my words the wrong way and not respond. When I told someone at work I was reading the Book of Mormon they laughed, so I imagine you get more than your share of that. God seems to be a joke to most people these days. I never understood ridiculing another's faith, though, even if it doesn't agree with your own. I have prayed on this, though I've not even come close to finishing the Book of Mormon. Thus far, it rings true to me. I just struggle with the manner in which Joseph Smith RECEIVED and translated the plates. This happened in modern times, so while I accept the explanation I was given by the missionaries as to why there isn't a better record of the plates and their translation, the stories I've read about how they were kept, hidden from people, translated through a stone in a hat, and the witnesses said they had a vision of the plates, not physically saw them. Maybe that isn't even the true story, but something I read from a naysayer and I took it to be from a Mormon source when it wasn't. It can be confusing. I have no idea how I found this forum, but I read it for almost a week before creating an account and posting. Maybe I should accept the fact that thus far I accept he was a prophet, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and not get hung up about how it came to be? Unfortunately, I don't know any Mormons my age that I could speak with. The missionaries were great young men but seemed very nervous about getting deep into an explanation.

I'll include my backstory to apply some context, but if it's too long for people to read please just skip to the end. I attended Baptist church as a child, then moved away and stopped practicing. As an adult, I've always defended God against non-believers but always struggled with my own faith. A few weeks ago I randomly met some missionaries. I gave them my contact information and they followed up to request a visit. We obliged, and they came a few days later. In the meantime, I researched the LDS and found their values, if not their beliefs, to be very in line with my own. We spoke about values and religion, and I've since been looking more into the church. There is a lot of information available from current and former Mormons, and it's hard to tell fact from fiction. I understand and agree with 99% of everything I've been told, but I struggle with the story of Joseph Smith. Not because I don't believe he could be the prophet and receive a further word of God (it always seemed odd to me to be told that God DIDN'T continue to speak to us through prophets), but because the story of the plates is difficult for me. Some of the things I've read say it's difficult for some Mormons, too. I don't know if that is just hogwash written by naysayers or if it's accurate. I also don't know if I might not understand it properly. I've reached out to the missionary chat and the missionaries who came to my house but haven't received much of an explanation. Most say that they are young and I should talk to the experts, but I don't know who these experts are. My questions are: Does anyone struggle with aspects of LDS? How do you reconcile that? What is the best way to get more information from people who may be older and/or more informed? Am I just at a point where I should end my quest for information due to the fact that I struggle with the cornerstone of this religion, so it will never fit for me even if everything else rings true? I hope this doesn't appear insulting, because I put it forth sincerely.