Hi there

[Keyoshi]

Hi, I'm Kristin; you can call me Keyoshi if you prefer to use usernames.

A bit about myself. I'm a Baptist, but have recently started dating a Mormon and have become very interested in the religion. I have started to read The Book of Mormon and have asked many question. I still have so much to ask... and I would love to go to church with him some time. It's a big part of his life and I want to learn all I can. I really feel like it's the right thing for me to do when I'm sitting a reading... it just... makes me happy. Does that make sense.

Anyway, chat, talk to me, ask me something. I'm open minding, which is why I'm here. I want to learn. : )\

[Connie]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. It's nice to meet you.

[Melissa82]

Hi Kristin,

I'm pretty new here too. I classify myself as a hopeful agnostic and am also very open-minded. My husband is Christian and I've been on a journey of faith in general for quite a while. I have found Mormons to be especially helpful.

Nice to meet you! :)

Melissa

[Keyoshi]

@Connie

Thank you for the welcome :3

@Melissa82

I have found that Mormons have been helpful as well. I had a good friend in high school that was/is a Mormon and she didn't really set a good example, so I ended up getting a very bad view of the religious group. But now that I'm dating a Mormon and am asking question, I see what it's all truely about. It's very interesting. I actually plan on going to church with him and his family next Sunday. : )

[Melissa82]

One of my good friends is Mormon and I actually had the opportunity to attend the church a few months ago when her son received his blessing. I liked it a lot. I think the structure gets down to the core of what is important. No paid pastors. No showy band trying to upstage the main reason you are at the church in the first place. No let's make the service short so people can get out of here. I LOVE that the service is participative (but not required). It's different people of the church who speak and when I was in Relief Society they would ask questions and people would share their experiences. I think that's what God/ Heavenly Father would want. I haven't been to a ton of churches, but I have been to a few. The church I go to with my husband is better than others that I've been to, but a lot of times, church has felt more like a boring history lesson than a self-bettering experience. I've been to a few services that abstractly analyzed certain Bible verses to the Nth degree and I couldn't help but question how the sermon was helping anyone. The thing I love about Mormons is that they all have read the Book of Mormon and they pretty much know what they believe. This allows them to focus on subjects that help them grow into better people overall. I went to a Mormon event called "Time Out for Women" with the same friend and REALLY enjoyed it because I felt the discussions were very useful. There were things that went over my head (ex: I had to ask my friend what a Beehive is), but overall I thought it was great. I'm actually sad because there isn't one really close to me this year. I would check that out if they are having one in your area. :)

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[Keyoshi]

reply

I was supposed to go to church with my boyfriend this past Sunday.... but apparently work changed my schedule without telling me... so I ended up having to work instead... which really made me sad because he had a Talk that morning which I really wanted to be there for. But I was able to go to church with him later on that night... and it was very nice. It was the first time in 7 years that I had see and actual choir and piano played in a church. I didn't realize how much I had missed that.

I can strongly agree that church has felt like a boring history lesson. I never liked going to church because of that... and also because I never felt like I was accepted. But when I went to church with him I had people walking up to me, thanking me for coming and being interested. Mormon's are so devout in their religion and it makes me want to cry because I'm so happy to see that. If I had been to a church like this when I was younger, I would have be so much better then I am now. But now that I have started to read the BoM, I have actually noticed a change in myself. I'm happier, and closer to God then I have ever been in my life.

I actually had the privilege to speak to two Missionaries last week, and by the time I was driving home, I started crying because I was overcome with this unbelievable feeling of joy and acceptance. I truly believe that it was The Spirit that I felt that night. I had only felt it once before... and was so happy to have felt it again.

Also, I will have to check that out. As far as I see it... I"m going to be joining the church and converting. I already love it so much... and I'm so much happier now that I am reading God's word and bettering myself to follow the path he wants me to walk.

Anyway, sorry to have rambled on. And sorry I didn't respond sooner, I have been horribly busy. ^^;

[JimmiGerman]

Hi, I'm Kristin; you can call me Keyoshi if you prefer to use usernames.

A bit about myself. I'm a Baptist, but have recently started dating a Mormon and have become very interested in the religion. I have started to read The Book of Mormon and have asked many question. I still have so much to ask... and I would love to go to church with him some time. It's a big part of his life and I want to learn all I can. I really feel like it's the right thing for me to do when I'm sitting a reading... it just... makes me happy. Does that make sense.

Anyway, chat, talk to me, ask me something. I'm open minding, which is why I'm here. I want to learn. : )\

Ohayo gozaimasu, kohi o nomimasu ka? Regards from Hamburg, Germany.

Addition: I don't remember where I've found the transliterated sentence in Japanese, and in fact I'm not so sure if the sentence is really correct. The meaning is: Good morning, do you drink coffee? It was only for fun, because I guess that coffee is not a traditional beverage there in the Japanese cultur... as far as I know they prefer green tea. My favorite tea is also green, but it's peppermint tea, and you might call peppermint tea a traditional kind of beverage here in Northern Germany. I like it strong and cold.

Edited March 19, 2013 by JimmiGerman
Thinking about Japanese and tea...

[bcguy]

Glad you are investigating. Are you working in a industry that is non service related? eventually some day, you may switch careers to where Sundays will be available to you most if not all the time. We have had members stop attending because of work commitments "sad" and it was never like that in Canada.

The nice thing about the faith, is it is a non pressurized faith and you can learn at your own pace. There is lots of material online at lds.org so if you have questions you can refer there or to us.

[pam]

We have had members stop attending because of work commitments "sad" and it was never like that in Canada.

Canada doesn't have anyone that works on Sundays?

[selek]

One of my good friends is Mormon and I actually had the opportunity to attend the church a few months ago when her son received his blessing. I liked it a lot. I think the structure gets down to the core of what is important. No paid pastors. No showy band trying to upstage the main reason you are at the church in the first place. No let's make the service short so people can get out of here. I LOVE that the service is participative (but not required). It's different people of the church who speak and when I was in Relief Society they would ask questions and people would share their experiences. I think that's what God/ Heavenly Father would want. I haven't been to a ton of churches, but I have been to a few. The church I go to with my husband is better than others that I've been to, but a lot of times, church has felt more like a boring history lesson than a self-bettering experience. I've been to a few services that abstractly analyzed certain Bible verses to the Nth degree and I couldn't help but question how the sermon was helping anyone. The thing I love about Mormons is that they all have read the Book of Mormon and they pretty much know what they believe. This allows them to focus on subjects that help them grow into better people overall. I went to a Mormon event called "Time Out for Women" with the same friend and REALLY enjoyed it because I felt the discussions were very useful. There were things that went over my head (ex: I had to ask my friend what a Beehive is), but overall I thought it was great. I'm actually sad because there isn't one really close to me this year. I would check that out if they are having one in your area. :)

Melissa, I don't want you or Kristin/Keyoshi to get the wrong idea.

Not to rain on your parade, or to pull the bloom off the rose, but Latter-day Saints are sinners- and we can be every bit as pretentious, boring, abstract, and obtuse as any other denomination.

Yes, we try to keep our services short-and-to-the-point, and we try especially hard to focus on the basics.

That having been said, you've yet to sit through the twenty-minute travelogue from the good sister who's family just finished vacationing in France, Italy, Spain, and Arkansas.

You've yet to sit through the forty minute talk by the Stake High Councilman who uses his battle with bunions as an analogy to illustrate Gospel truths.

We won't even get into the idiot who babbled for fifteen minutes about how the Temple was like his grandmother's house (muddy boots and dirty faces need not apply)....gotta revise that talk one of these days.

There are also those who complain that our focus on the basics- the milk, as it were, prevents us from exploring the loftier concepts (the meat of the Gospel, to continue the analogy). I, for one, have never found that to be true- but the complaints are there nonetheless.

Yes- there is much beauty, great simplicity, and eternal Pearls of Great Price to be found amidst an LDS congregation.

You will also find the venal, the pedantic, the clueless, and the thoughtless amongst our ranks.

Be prepared to take the good with the bad, and keep your focus on the Savior and upon HIS will for you, rather than what Sister Such-and-such believes about hemlines, or that Brother So-and-so believes that rooting for any team other than BYU is a sin tantamount to denying the Holy Ghost.

The bottom line is that you will take home from Church what you put into it, and perhaps a bit more.

I promise you- if the seeds you sow are those of earnest worship of the Lord, of forgiveness, meekness, long-suffering patience, and charity unfeigned, your harvest will be bountiful beyond all measure.

Edited March 22, 2013 by selek

[Melissa82]

Oh, I completely agree that LDS sin too and can be just as boring as someone rambling on in circles and not making sense trying to explain a Bible verse; however, it has just been my experience that LDS follow through more so than other Christians. It is my understanding that calling yourself "Christian" means you follow Christ's example and serve others as Jesus did. People never cease to amaze me with how much they don't get that. Here I am, a non-believer who would love to believe in something, but has yet to fill that spiritual void, and I get it. Yet, so many people who do and CAN believe take it for granted... Ok sorry, I'm kind of rambling! But, like I said, my experiences have shown Mormons to be more dependable and more aligned with what I think a "Christian" should be. Maybe it's because I live in Southern California and everyone goes 100 mph, so any kindness at all shines through. Who knows.

I do appreciate your honesty though! :) The CPA I work for is also Mormon and she told me there are some really bad speeches/testimonies, but there are also some really good ones. I'd take the good over the bad anyday if it meant hearing various points of view. The same people (at other churches) can only really say so much from their point of view before I stop finding church helpful.