LDSGator

Beautifully said. 

I love your compassion for her, that speaks very highly of you  
You ask “what are we to do” but then you mention that you don’t believe in therapy or medication. These are common remedies, and the church has no problem with them. 
 
Have you listened to Elder Hollands talk, “Like a Broken Vessel?” An AMAZING talk by an amazing man. Deals with mental illness issues. 
 
I’m praying for your friend, and for you. Mental illness is so, so hard. 

To be fair, a large minority (or, at this point, maybe even a slight majority) of LDS under 40 wouldn’t care. Offline and face to face, people tend to be much more polite and less blunt/confrontational.

So even if someone did care, they’d either be quiet about it or, much more likely, they’d open their mouth, and be called out for their behavior by other members. LDS are usually extremely polite, Rudeness or any kind wouldn’t be tolerated. 
 

That’s awesome.
And imitation is the highest form of flattery, so thank you. 
 
:: takes a bow ::

Look at this plagiarism. What, do you write for the New Republic or something? 
 
(seriously everyone, Google “Ruth Shalit” . Major drama there in the 90’s)

@NeuroTypical, thank you. Your response was incredibly insightful. You, my friend, just showed all of us what Christlike empathy and understanding is all about. 

Are you trying to teach me a lesson by claiming that an R rated movie has merit? Because that’s what it sounds like. 

Literally no one despises anti vaxxers more than I do, but to be fair, I’m not sure that refusing the Covid shot makes you one of them.  

On second thought though, it can be a red flag. Like those people who say “I’m not a racist.....” then start using slurs. Maybe you are right, I guess. 
 

We agree on something!  

@LDSGator is the pink one in his right hand.
 

Dude! My wife and I stumbled across a vintage toy expo at our local mall last week. It’s such a cool hobby! 

Maybe not praised.  But I gotta admit, since I've been going to ARP meetings I've learned a lot about sharing my thoughts, feelings, weaknesses with others.  There is something cathartic and healing about identifying and voicing them as well as hearing from others with similar circumstances.  Plenty of things I share I wouldn't be brave enough to say in public because I'm too scared about how others would react and treat me.  A big part of addiction lies in the secrets, the hiding.  Sometimes (I'd argue almost always) losing the shaming is a good thing.

Dude! My wife and I stumbled across a vintage toy expo at our local mall last week. It’s such a cool hobby! 

Which one is you?

It's not an obsession and I can quit at any time.

That, and now we have another Brony in here so @NeuroTypical won’t be so alone. 

What sin are your referring to? Maybe I missed that part of the speech? All I saw was someone who introduced herself as a YW President, a daughter, a sister, a returned missionary, a person who loves to go to the Temple and a queer. "And above all of this, a daughter of heavenly parents who strives every day to be a disciple of Christ".

I’d shut down the thread for political discussion, but first I want to hear more about @LDSGator’s Beanie Baby collection. 

Dude, that's awesome. lol 

This is part of the issue. 
But it's not the key part of the issue.
Missionaries and members open up to me. They talk to me unlike how they talk to their leadership. Their words, not mine. I'm special like that. 
And, amazingly, I had someone message me the morning about this very topic. I showed someone on this forum the actual message, with names redacted. 
The world has gotten much, much smaller. In 1950, you could go your entire life without meeting an open gay person in Utah (again, their words, not mine). Now, since LDS youths know gay people and like them as friends, they simply ignore the church teaching on LGBT sexuality issues. It’s the same with their Catholic friends, atheist friends, etc. It's good, because LDS and Catholics no longer hate each other because they've gotten to know one another. It's bad, because now I know Peter, who is gay, and he's become a good friend. So what do you mean he can't get married? What? He’s going to Hell? No he isn’t. 

The Baptists and the Catholics are dealing with this too, so LDS are not alone. 

Happy New Year!

I’m sorry you had to deal with that. It’s a heartbreaking and frankly, unchristian thing to say to someone. Shows a chilling lack of empathy. 

And here y'all are learning why I have my screen name.  For whatever reason, I'm surrounded by people with all the interesting stories, people who are struggling to approximate normal despite incredible odds and unlevel playing fields.  But here I am with no such excuse.  It would be cool if I could explain my undesirable mannerisms on the autism scale, but no luck.  Or the hard time I had in school on this or that learning disability, but nope - I was just wasn't too bright or motivated.  About the best I can do, is blame my ulcer at 18 on stress caused by my crummy home life.  Still up to me to keep it treated so it doesn't bug me.

I love your compassion for her, that speaks very highly of you  
You ask “what are we to do” but then you mention that you don’t believe in therapy or medication. These are common remedies, and the church has no problem with them. 
 
Have you listened to Elder Hollands talk, “Like a Broken Vessel?” An AMAZING talk by an amazing man. Deals with mental illness issues. 
 
I’m praying for your friend, and for you. Mental illness is so, so hard. 

I love your compassion for her, that speaks very highly of you  
You ask “what are we to do” but then you mention that you don’t believe in therapy or medication. These are common remedies, and the church has no problem with them. 
 
Have you listened to Elder Hollands talk, “Like a Broken Vessel?” An AMAZING talk by an amazing man. Deals with mental illness issues. 
 
I’m praying for your friend, and for you. Mental illness is so, so hard.