tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post1301041693877179425..comments2022-03-25T14:26:07.431-07:00Comments on Saganist: Diverging willsSaganisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12935512878581351503noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-42109783519360630012011-05-17T07:01:03.380-07:002011-05-17T07:01:03.380-07:00"Faith attunes this recognition and upon cons..."Faith attunes this recognition and upon constant obedience to it, increases and opens the door to further such personal revelation."<br /><br />Brainwashing! I had been feeling like being at church, reading scriptures, etc. wearing me down. I tried an experiment where I only went to church once a month for a while (beginning of January of this year). During that time, I did feel a lot of guilt for not "doing what was right," but it was also what helped me wake up from the brainwashing. I began describing it as such. When we sat our kids down to talk to the older ones about some of the troubling history of the church, my oldest aptly said, "I feel like I've been brainwashed my whole life!"<br /><br />I can't speak for how I'd be feeling now had I continued to read conference talks, read scripture, go to church, go to the temple, read the Ensign, but I do know that it feels like the whole world is opening up to me now that I don't do those things. What we currently know about the universe AND life on earth is so much more exciting to me than anything I've ever heard from prophets or read in scripture.<br /><br />I can't imagine my morality changing much. I no longer believe morality comes from the churches anyway. It comes from society.<br /><br />Cindi (moonflower)GumbyandPokeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12618133692385105430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-56222163397581957012011-04-18T12:02:23.777-07:002011-04-18T12:02:23.777-07:00I couldn't even make it through four paragraph...I couldn't even make it through four paragraphs of the link. It was like reading in a different language. I was trying to figure out what the writer could possibly be going for when I realized that it was written without any semblance of logic.<br /><br />After I made it known to my immediate family that I no longer considered myself "in the fold" they watched me very closely to see how long it would take before I became an alcoholic, addict, or rapist. This was years ago and I don't think any of them have yet considered that it may not be about "indulging the flesh".Burkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18137830836186267653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-42704836163909484552011-04-17T23:59:23.496-07:002011-04-17T23:59:23.496-07:00"The second is a once believer who stopped re..."The second is a once believer who stopped recognizing, appreciating the spirit.....The ability to recognize the spirit, and willingness to follow are lost in the flash fires of the flesh. So also is that precious commodity, freedom."<br /><br />What I hate most about articles like these is that they delegitimize anyone's conversion from Mormonism to a more authentic life. The caricature of the unhappy,spiritually dead apostate gets old fast. Thanks for sharing.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11575022102729608360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-52227823505602128382011-04-17T14:07:16.805-07:002011-04-17T14:07:16.805-07:00Thanks, everyone! Sabayon, you make a very good po...Thanks, everyone! Sabayon, you make a very good point. Trip, you made me laugh out loud!Saganisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12935512878581351503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-13072554063027847682011-04-17T13:09:17.253-07:002011-04-17T13:09:17.253-07:00Very, very well said. Bravo.Very, very well said. Bravo.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07636304888031546405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-75198230804207922492011-04-17T12:17:16.871-07:002011-04-17T12:17:16.871-07:00Hmmm, I think by "once-beleiver" they me...Hmmm, I think by "once-beleiver" they mean "heroine addict". Those are basically the same thing right?<br /><br />What struck me about this article is not just the divisive caricature of apostates, which you so astutely call out, but also how little it wants the faithful to expect from their God. "The first is a non-believer whose despondency turns him toward conversion — not the conversion of Paul who saw a light and heard a voice — rather the quiet conversion of finding kinship with God". Well why the hell shouldn't one expect the conversion of Paul, what makes Paul so special or you so unworthy? Paul was in the middle of an attempted genocide of early Christians, yet God supposedly felt him deserving of grace, but a doubting reader of this article is not allowed to expect such things for themselves. <br />The amazing thing is how quickly this article manages to diminish everyone.Varinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09514410260798360800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-60924766941375988492011-04-17T11:49:30.199-07:002011-04-17T11:49:30.199-07:00If your aim is to keep people in the religion, you...If your aim is to keep people in the religion, you're not going to tell them, "you should be Mormon ... but you'd probably be just as happy not being Mormon."<br /><br />Still, really got my blood boiling. Argh.Carla Schmidt Hollowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947846629735463824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-42272491351778903632011-04-17T11:32:39.098-07:002011-04-17T11:32:39.098-07:00"Are any of you consumed with self-loathing? ..."Are any of you consumed with self-loathing? Seeking out increasingly dangerous indulgences to satisfy your insatiable primal urges? Do you dread the evil denouement you know is coming, and wish you could command the rocks and mountains to fall upon you to hide you from God's judgment?"<br /><br />Well, you know, I *would*, but who has the time?Triphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02466410000277764872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-87341355922825777272011-04-17T10:48:50.833-07:002011-04-17T10:48:50.833-07:00Black-and-white thinking I think may be one of the...Black-and-white thinking I think may be one of the deepest damages of my experience with Mormonism. I struggle with it constantly. We're told the Church is either all good and true, or all evil and false and numerous other with-us-or-against-us false dichotomies. Life is so much more complicated than that.Leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08129509609170344883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-17805072072007271862011-04-17T10:44:10.359-07:002011-04-17T10:44:10.359-07:00Articles like this make me feel the constant need ...Articles like this make me feel the constant need to defend myself against the angry, bitter, apostate stereotype. It gets tiring.Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09949046862732299218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8668668779597398465.post-53869746102281203792011-04-17T10:36:50.950-07:002011-04-17T10:36:50.950-07:00We are kindred spirits. I share every thought you ...We are kindred spirits. I share every thought you put out so plainly. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com