Hi, My name is Will T. and I'm new here

[seeker_william]

Hello everyone! My name is Will, I'm 23, a college student, and a spiritual seeker. I live in a small town in eastern North Carolina, but hope to move to a larger city when I transfer to a four year university. I grew up in a very religious Protestant home. My dad grew up in a Pentecostal/Independent Baptist family, and my mother grew up in a strict Southern Baptist household. I grew up in the Southern Baptist church until I was about 12 or 13; we then went to a Missouri Lutheran Church-a very conservative branch within the Lutheran faith. My parents joined and I was baptized into that church. When I was around 16, we left the Missouri Lutheran Church and my mother became a member of a more liberal branch of Lutheranism-the ELCA, otherwise known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Prior to this I was searching for the right faith for me. Before I was baptized I became a born again Christian, however, I never felt "saved". By the time I was 16, I was very interested in becoming Jewish. I love the rituals and the ancient, yet modern beliefs that Judaism teaches. Although I would love to be Jewish, it would be very hard to leave my Christian faith.

Then when I was around 18 I decided that I wanted to be Catholic. I had always loved the Catholic faith even as a teenager ever since I had seen Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story. I loved the rituals, sacraments, prayers, and culture of the Catholic church. I was confirmed into the Roman Catholic church when I was about 19 or 20. I attended Mass, said the occasional rosary or prayers, but I wasn't a very good Catholic. I was feeling empty; this feeling always seemed to creep upon me after a while. To better explain it, I lose my peace and comfort, I become jaded and mean to others. So I visited a more modern church where the music is on the screen and a rock band lead the music. Let's just say that was not for me; I got a headache after the second song. So I drifted between intense religious periods of prayer and months where I rarely acknowledged God, except for listening to spiritual music. After many months of searching, I began attending an Episcopal church. I like going and I seem to get something out of it, yet somehow I feel empty again after going for a while.

Enter the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While deciding whether I wanted to join the Catholic church, I began looking into the Mormon church. I listened to Gladys Knight's inspirational album, Many Different Roads, and began researching the Mormon faith. I always found inspiration in the testimony of Marie Osmond. I always felt her testimony was true. As I researched, I found some of the teachings very interesting and some made me scratch my head and wonder. However, I always felt that the Mormon faith had some truth to it. Earlier this year I decided to buy a set of scriptures from Desert Book. I have been reading the scriptures on and off since then, but I am allowing myself to seek out the truth from all areas. I read not only the Standard Works, but the Torah, the Bible, and books from spiritual teachers like Pema Chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh. So here I am, still searching for peace and comfort in a not so peaceful world. If you have any advice, insight, wisdom, or just want to say hello, send me an email.

[JudoMinja]

Welcome, seeker! It sounds like you are following the counsel of D&C 88:118 "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith", which is something we as members of the church are all encouraged to do. We seek out truth in all things, and strive to pull from the "best books" and other media sources every bit of truth we can.

If you ever have any questions during your searching, I am sure you will find ample conversation here. We have a mix of people on this board- many members of the LDS church, but also members of other faiths- and we all share our views and opinions on a number of topics, both religious and non. I hope you find us helpful and informative in your search for truth, faith, and knowledge. :)

[pam]

Welcome Will

[ChooseTheSun]

Welcome, and good luck with finding your spiritual way. Maybe attend an LDS service to get some in-person time beyond the scriptures -- those can be overwhelming all by themselves, at least it would be for me. After the Sacrament meeting (1st hour), there is a class called "Gospel Principles" for anyone interested in learning about the Church of Jesus Christ and beliefs. Each week is a different topic, like about the Holy Spirit, service, salvation... You might find a class like that interesting and/or helpful. Also, mormon.org has lots of information for people like yourself -- looking for answers and comfort.

Welcome:)

[Forget-Me-Not]

I have always admired the drive and determination of seekers. Bless you in your spiritual journey. :)

[prisonchaplain]

Your spiritual journey is most interesting, and I encourage you to continue seeking God. The Old and New Testaments, and surely the scriptures of LDS are concur on this point--those who seek God with a sincere heart will find him. Since you mentioned Judaism, but not wanting to leave Christianity, I thought you might find Messianic Judaism an interest spirituality to research: What is Messianic Judaism?

[sister_in_faith]

For some reason while reading your post I felt prompted to encourage you to research temples. I think that if you were to be able to strive for and enter the temple you would find a lot of comfort there. If you can, go to a temple grounds and walk around it. The grounds are a wonderful place to find comfort, peace, and a place to pray.

Just look into it. Good luck on your journey!!!

[Blackmarch]

Welcome welcome!

[TheKitsuneFox]

Welcome to the site! Good luck on your spiritual journey.

[Guest baolb]

Straight to El Clasico

With a team of almost all the stars are high style as Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuain ... (except for Alonso not play), "white vultures" easy to master the game right from the first minute (Real held 66.4% in half a ball). And to combat the terrible strength of the team the Spanish Royal Family, the home team used a majority of the defense, ready to make mistakes when necessary. Despite the 35 minutes of the match, after the ball left trying to complete, Di Maria has brought goals and score for Real with a definite phase angle shot in utopia.

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