Have any of you participated in other religions or religious communities?

[BriansThoughtMirror]

In a response to my post yesterday, Asa mentioned having attended a heavily Baptist public school, which I misread as Asa having attended a Baptist school. This got me thinking- have any of you participated in any other religions, especially if you have done more than attend as a visitor? Have you really engaged with any other faith? What have your experiences been like? Positive? Negative?
I've tried visiting other churches in the past, and have even stayed afterwards to talk with the pastors about their beliefs, but I got pretty disillusioned pretty quick (not their fault, that's just where I'm at these days). And, of course, on my mission, I talked with just about every kind of religious person. I've also read some Buddhist stuff that has at times resonated with me, but I don't agree fully with some of it. I'd love to hear what you guys are doing, and why.

[redjay]

Have been to two worship services of other churches. One pre-mission, one during my mission. I sat there 100% confident that I possessed the truth and they only had a poor impression of the gospel.

[No Tof]

Visited Mennonite meetings and wedding. Nice people but the doctrine was hell fire and damnation between nice music.

I think the Catholics win the architecture prize.

Nature has become my church. It always inspires and never shames or guilts.

Happier then ever before.

[Silver Girl]

I grew up in other churches and have attended them again after resigning my short incarceration in the LDS church.

I'd suggest contacting the churches during the week (unlike the cult, other churches are actually open on weekdays). Pastors will have more time to talk with you when it's not on a Sunday, and you can ask specific questions, etc. I researched several congregations when I resigned and visited some buildings & learned quite a bit. Most of the mainstream congregations have "branches" that can be more liberal or more conservative. This is important to know when you're looking for a good fit.

My preferences were for a church that had women in the clergy, and that did not condemn LGBTQs (I have an adult trans child). Even the churches that didn't agree with my thoughts were, without fail, courteous, kind, welcoming and in no manner pushy or making an effort to convert me. The LDS church is all about numbers, and regular churches are all about serving. Yes, it takes a budget to manage a congregation, but mainstream churches have transparent budgets.

Most large congregations will have more than one worship service scheduled and you can choose which to attend (how novel!). Many now have services with contemporary music as well as services with traditional music, and some even have services that are a bit hybrid. Their goal is to bring Christ to the people, and they've begun realizing there are many people who better relate to things in one way vs another.

If you visit and tour a building, you can ask about how the worship service proceeds, what the drill is for communion (this is helpful to know, since there are different ways they can serve it) the dress 'code' (usually casual these days), and what programs they have for children. Pastors will truthfully answer your questions about the denomination's history, its beliefs, how it spends money, and how it is organized & managed.

Yes, buildings of other churches will feel "different," but not in a bad way. LDS chapels are cookie-cutter and sterile - I began realizing they're almost soulless, because they're lifeless during the week. You won't get that feeling in other churches - they are full of activity all week long. Talks (or sermons) in regular churches are based on real theology and usually include contextual information such as the culture at that time, or bits of history, etc. This is so, so helpful in recognizing the way humans have processed concepts about God and Christ over the years.

I shared with a few pastors that I'd been in the LDS church, and I admit that at first I was scared and embarrassed to do so. It's still embarrassing (probably always will be), but I was gratified to see the responses were not condemning at all, and it was clear the pastors I spoke with would be happy to have talked about it if I ever wanted or needed to do so.

All mainstream Protestant churches understand and teach the Atonement (I'd like to smack the LDS people who claim only the cult has that blessing). All mainstream congregations have ways members can serve their communities - these are never with "strings" attached to get people to join, and they don't use them for PR purposes. No yellow shirts. They are simply ways to serve humanity, and it's so gratifying to be in a community of people who do that.

Those are just my experiences - I'd be happy to share more information if you need it. I highly recommend the main Protestant denominations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian). I found the liberal branches of those to be a good fit for me more so than Baptists, etc.

[Hermey]

I church hopped during my journey down the rabbit hole, and the by-product of that journey is that now I look under all the rocks. I generally don't like what I've found. At the end of the day, I have no need for organized religion. It doesn't bring me fulfillment.

[wtfluff]

No participation in other religions or religious communities.

When I want to feel the emotions that religion has hijacked and re-named "spirituality" I immerse myself in music, or nature, or a number of hobbies I participate in that can elevate my emotions.

[Jeffret]

Attended UU for a while. It was pretty nice. I liked the inclusion. Everybody welcome. Interesting thoughtful sermons. Lovely music and fellowship.

Attended Unity Church a couple of times. Kind of like the name describes. Lots of searching for unity. More a collection of spiritual people than a typical religion.


The earlier comment about the Catholics having the best buildings doesn't quite ring true to me. I think there are two parishes in town. One is a lovely old building. Very "Catholic". The other one is where my scout troop is hosted. Other than the lack of basketball hoops and carpeted walls, it could almost look a new design for a slightly nicer Mormon building. A little less utilitarian. They are raising money (something like $12 million) to re-build significant portions of the building so maybe it will become more notable. The Education wing, where we meet, is supposed to largely remain as is.

[MerrieMiss]

I've not participated meaningfully. Last month I went to my first non-LDS service, a catholic mass as well as a non-mormon funeral. It was interesting. My husband was making fun of the catholics who were selling hot dogs right after mass and I pointed out that after a temple session, you can buy tapioca. DH also mused over the happy and upbeat nature of the non-mormon funeral we went to. He said that with the LDS belief system, you'd think they'd be a little less dismal. The pastor directing the funeral also mentioned how we would all meet with the deceased again in the hereafter...

When I was in college I had a roommate who was very involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. I went with her several times. The music was very upbeat.

Other than that, I have never been to other denominations and have told my husband I want to "search out" other churches and their beliefs, just like Joseph Smith. I want my kids to see what others believe. I want to have understanding of other people, and I want our family to come away seeing how other churches and people aren't really that different.

[Give It Time]

I sang in choirs from ages 6-18 and singing at other denominations is standard. I used to act and, if my character was deeply religious, I would attend at least one service to get a better understanding of what made that character tick. I've attended out of curiosity. What, exactly, is Palm Sunday? Do they give each other high fives? What are jazz vespers?

I've attended other services in search of other denominations in my search for a new spiritual home. I've been to a couple of mainstream Christian churches and I loved the music devotional time. I loved that they served coffee. I loved that it wasn't unusual to see women officiating in some capacity. I didn't like the doctrines that I am absolutely worthless and a waste of space without Jesus. Just. No. I've been to a Buddhist loving kindness meditation session. The bells were very loud and the speakers were not. Plus there were no microphones. If I'd worn hearing aids, the bells would have still drowned out the speakers. This particular temple was just as assertive about chasing down possible converts as our own church. The lama in charge of recruitment and I had a nice chat. He was a real live Tibetan Buddhist monk from Tibet. Very cool. He told me something I frequently repeat, "we all have a seed of compassion, but it regularly needs a little boost". Amen to that. However, I'm mad at Buddha, so I will be drawing boundaries around that denomination.

My most recent foray was to hear a Daoist priest speak. I had to travel to go hear him. In the time before the trip, I listened to some of his lectures and read some of his blog. He actively advocates physical abuse. As in, if your child is acting up, take a bamboo cane to them. I almost cancelled my trip. I looked around and found I couldn't conveniently create a similar experience. So, I went and I did attend his lecture. There was incense burning. My asthma has not done well with scented candles and I wasn't optimistic about the incense. Turns out, it did make me headachy and drowsy. So, here's this poor man speaking. I'm sitting on the front row so I can hear. He started off talking about good and evil. I was a little disappointed, because it's my understanding Taoists don't really do good and evil and if I wanted to hear more about the topic, I could have stayed home and listened to conference. Then he skewed into TCM and how it can help us be healthier. He kept looking at me and I do think he tailored his remarks for me, which is fine and I found interesting, despite the fact I was nodding off. Anyway, the wisdom of Tao predates him by a couple of millennia. He won't be my spiritual guide, but I'm glad I went.

Those are my adventures on the open spiritual sea.

[GoodBoy]

I attended a lot of different churches after losing my faith to try to figure out if I wanted to be a part of them instead. The bottom line is that they don't have the truth either. Everybody is guessing.

People go to church because it is their tribe. For me, I decided that Mormonism was my tribe, and if I wanted to attend church for social reasons, I would attend the Mormon church. Not everybody enjoys the Mormon tribe and feels more comfortable in the Catholic tribe etc. Do what works for you.

[deacon blues]

I have attended a Presbyterian church regularly for a couple of years. I enjoy the more open views, and mainstream scholarship that the pastor and some members have. I have noticed that those who become full fledged members make some vows that I'm not ready to make. The temple thing has made me leery of vows and oaths anyway. I pay some money (not a full 10%) because I feel its a worthy organization.

[Mad Jax]

When I was in Okinawa a Navy Corpsman friend of mine showed me his brand of Buddhist worship and I went to a few worship sessions with him. I'm not sure what the exact name of this sect is but it's based off the teachings of someone named (and I know this is spelled wrong) Nichiren Daishonin. I never took to it.

Later on for therapeutic reasons I used Buddhist meditation practices to calm my mind, but I didn't attend any temples or shrines in a group.

[Raylan Givens]

I have attended a Presbyterian church regularly for a couple of years. I enjoy the more open views, and mainstream scholarship that the pastor and some members have. I have noticed that those who become full fledged members make some vows that I'm not ready to make. The temple thing has made me leery of vows and oaths anyway. I pay some money (not a full 10%) because I feel its a worthy organization.

There is a Presbyterian half a block from me. I plan on renting some community garden space from them, perhaps I need to stop by on a Sunday.

[BriansThoughtMirror]

Thank you all for sharing! Some of you have gone out on a limb more than I have. After telling my wife about my faith crisis, I wanted to explore other churches too. I randomly picked some near our apartment in Salt Lake. I first ended up at a Presbyterian church. I sat near the back, but I still gave a dollar when they passed around the plate, which was an odd experience for me. The service seemed really traditional and liturgical, which I had never experienced. They also did communion that day, but I didn't participate. I don't remember what the sermon was about, but everyone was very nice, and it felt good to explore. I also stayed afterwards and talked with the pastor. I told him a little of my background and asked him about all sorts of stuff like the afterlife, how salvation works, why he believes what he believes, the meaning of life, human evolution, the literal historicity of scripture, and Adam and Eve. He obviously wondered about a lot of the same things and didn't have a certain answer for a lot of my questions. For example, when I asked about the afterlife, he just said he believes God is preparing us for something, but he didn't know what, and didn't think anyone else really did, either. That stayed with me.
I attended an Evangelical Lutheran church next, and did roughly the same thing. Their service was a bit more casual, though they still sang traditional hymns. The sermon seemed pretty liberal, and had a love one another kind of feel. They also did a formalized greeting, which seemed like it must be a tradition- at a point in the service, the pastor had us all stand up and shake hands with the people around us. They did some sort of prayer circle, too, which I did not join. Afterwards, during the coffee and mingle time, I talked with their pastor. He emphasized the liberalness of the church, and that they accepted all sorts of people. When I started asking a lot of specific doctrinal questions, he seemed suspicious of me, like I was not sincere or something. That was a turnoff. I also found that their organist is Mormon, and talked with him a bit. Turns out he plays organ for a lot of churches. I thought that was weird and cool.
I didn't find what I was looking for there, either. Keep in mind, at this point, I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exhausted from years of a simmering faith crisis. I wanted to find some certainty, and I wasn't finding it from these liberal churches. So, I went to a Baptist church. All the Baptists I'd ever known seemed very sure of themselves. I misread the service time and got there really late, but the pastor still took some time to talk with me. I asked him about what he and his church believed, and it still seemed fuzzy. He didn't make any hard qualifications about what a Baptist must believe. I said something like, "Well, at least they have to believe that Jesus is the Savior, right?", and he responded with almost a laugh, saying something to the effect that most probably do, but even that might be kind of fuzzy. I was shocked.
After that one, I went out and sat in my car in the parking lot and cried. I felt like probably no one had the Truth. Probably no one even really believed any of this stuff. That was an emotional reaction, but that's what I felt. I didn't know what to do after that, and I was too tired to keep going. I had prayed and prayed to be guided to the truth. Where was my guidance? What else did I have to do?
Now, I'm sure it's just dumb luck I ended up in such liberal churches. If I kept looking, I'm sure I could find some people who feel just as certain as Mormons do. I'm in a much different place now, though. It's interesting- I've been asked by Mormons what I FEEL about God and church (but not by many), specifically instead of what I think. I've told some, including my wife, if I had really followed what I felt was the Spirit, I would probably be some kind of born again. I've felt like Nicodemus before, because I just couldn't drag myself out of Mormonism for so long to follow the real "truth". I had felt at one point that God was guiding me to the truth, but I was just too scared to follow him. This messed me up for a long time, and it probably still is messing me up.
Of course, I also had other experiences on my mission in Missouri. There are a lot of spiritual people there who are very certain about their beliefs. I talked with people of just about every faith I can think of, and found that many of them were super sincere and Christ loving, even the ones who told me I was going to hell. That was a major source of cognitive dissonance for me. I attended a modern, youth oriented church with a rock band, hip decor, low lights, and the laying on of hands once. That was super weird and uncomfortable for me. I didn't know what to think of it. The person who had invited us was a young Christ loving Mom who would bless her kids with laying on hands, too. I've also prayed with people of other denominations, and felt just as much of the spirit as I ever did in Mormonism, even when I (or they) was praying that they (or I) would be guided to the truth. There is a lot of love out there, even though there is also hostility.
I don't really know what to believe now, though, Mormonism sure ain't it. I do think there is good in the church, but it's really hard to participate, since I see so much I disagree with, and so much of the good revolves around promoting the bad. In my heart of hearts, I'm now a pretty skeptical and agnostic, and leaning materialist. I at one point thought the JW idea about us having no souls and the resurrection being God re-creating us made a lot of sense and fit with what I know of biology. I really don't think I believe in dualism. Not after Psych 111 at BYU, haha (thanks, Dr. Hodges! That was a MAJOR blow to an already cracking shelf). I've also done some meditating, but I've kept it to mindfulness- no religious stuff. Some Buddhist ideas have appealed to me, but I don't buy into non-attachment as the only right way to live. I think hot-headed, full engagement with life is a just as valid approach.

I really don't know what to do with myself. I still have a lot of connection to Mormonism, and I don't want to spend my life hating it, but I still need to discuss. So, here I am!

Also, I still want to hear more of your experiences, so please don't feel like this is the end of the conversation!

[oliver_denom]

Maybe this is off topic, but I tried a number of different services and none of them really "did it for me". I think what I missed was being useful and engaged in something. Mormonism always kept me busy, and as it turns out, I actually like being busy. Once I found ways to occupy my time with other pursuits, the desire to be anywhere near a church just sort of vanished.

[moksha]

For a number of years, I enjoyed going with friends to visit the religious services of many faith traditions. It was fun to see what others believed. At the time, I was not an adherent of any of those traditions.

It was interesting to see how these faith traditions varied from those of the LDS faith in terms of how the service was conducted and how friendly the participants were afterward. The after service time on Sunday was most enjoyable. This could vary from the senior center lunch style of First Unitarian in Los Angeles to the wine and cheese tasting of First Unitarian of Salt Lake. Some were givers such as those who made sandwiches for the homeless at Wasatch Presbyterian. Some were dour, such as those with angry looks on their face in the parking lot of an LDS Church off of Wasatch Boulevard.

It was fun to see Charismatic Churches with their altar calls and the trombone playing, seizure-like behavior, and babbling in tongues at a Pentecostal Church. New Age Churches can have great sermons. It can be worthwhile to see the service at a Synagogue and at a Mosque. Something really off the beaten path like Eckankar can be informative. Masses at a Cathedral can be awe-inspiring.

The one item I really appreciated in Church visiting was the friendliness of the parishioners. The friendliest Church I ever visited was the all black Budlong Baptist Church in Los Angeles. The unfriendliest Church was a ward in Sandy, Utah. The icing on the cake for these visitations was going out to brunch with friends after these many faith services. Discussing the sermon with others added to the enjoyment and learning.

I would recommend visiting one or more services for other faith traditions for any and all active LDS members to enlarge your appreciation and love for others.

[asa]

I have attended a variety of non LDS services over the years and some more than once. I am particularly familiar with the Baptist ,,Episcopalian , and Pentecostal groups having attended each of them several or more times and spoken with their pastor or minister about theological issues. Although I have also attended Greek Orthodox , Catholic and Messianic Jewish services . In my experience the Pentecostal groups were most entertaining and certainly had the most interesting music . I spent several months studying Greek at a Pentecostal seminary and so became well acquainted with them. Since I was in Hong Kong and Japan in the mission field i made eastern religion a field of study years ago and in part thanks to that regularly practice meditation. My wife periodically attends Episcopal worship services and meets with a small study group with the Priest. She quite enjoys that ( incidentally she is not religiously sheltered - she is a RM and has her Phd in psychology ) , However my conclusion is similar to others - no one has all the truth and most religions offer some amount of it to a greater or lesser degree. When I was younger I was always surprised about the uncertainty and tentative nature of their pastors response to questions about fundamental issues like the realty of the resurrection , the nature of eternal life and the meaning of things like joint heirs with Christ ( Romans 8). Eventually I realized that certainty wasn't to be found in those circles. However as previously mention I find more of what I perceive to be the truth in the Remnant community than any other I have tried and I have tried many. In addition it most closely resembles the way early Christians worshiped as a small group in a believers home with out hierarchy . I also find the doctrine to be more persuasive and have more answers than any other I have found. Good luck to you in your quest.

[Hagoth]

I have attended a number of churches, starting on my mission. Mrs. Hagoth visited the Community of Christ with me but hasn't shown interest otherwise. After my disaffection I zeroed in on the CofC and the UU as my potential landing spot, but I found that Mormonism has basically made me uncomfortable and wary in any kind of church meeting. I will have to find something really special to stick with it long enough for the Mormon stain to wear off. I would give the CofC another try if I lived in Toronto. In the meantime I try to notice the good I see in Sacrament Meeting and dodge the bad to the best of my ability.

This reminds me of a very TBM friend of mine who allowed his kids to attend Baptist summer Bible school as a goodwill outreach to his non-member neighbors. Afterward, when his kids reciprocated by inviting the neighbor kids to a Primary activity they were told, "No way! We're not letting our kids anywhere near that cult!" Score 1 for my TBM friend!

[Wonderment]

Attended UU for a while. It was pretty nice. I liked the inclusion. Everybody welcome. Interesting thoughtful sermons. Lovely music and fellowship.

Attended Unity Church a couple of times. Kind of like the name describes. Lots of searching for unity. More a collection of spiritual people than a typical religion.

We did this also and liked these services.

We found that we were not interested in churches which emphasized orthodoxy or rigid doctrine over an approach to daily spiritual living and compassion for others.
We realized that we were not interested in fundamentalist evangelical churches which insisted that everyone is a sinner and hopelessly doomed. That doctrine doesn't work for us.

That's just us, and everyone else's mileage may vary. - Wndr.

[BriansThoughtMirror]

This was really great to read. Thank you, everyone.