NOM

I spend most of my limited "free time" reading NOM, exmormon reddit, KiwiMormon, etc, etc. I think lately I had started to feel like, oh yea, everyone feels the way I do! The Church is on its way to irrelevancy!

THEN....I went to a Stake Conf. PACKED meetinghouse. Lots of talk about how real Satan is. Lots of "the CHURCH IS TWUE!". So.much.social.media.posts.all.day.long. Cause...feelings.

And I realized, at least where I'm living, I'm probably alone and better keep it zipped until DH sees things differently or when the kids are older. (DH will never see it differently). Happy for Hagoth to discover another non-believer...and maybe a little jealous too.

I keep trying to convince myself that the pews are getting emptier at my church meetings in the heart of Utah. But I don't have the data and I don't think the bishop is planning to share it with me... I suspect I am deluding myself.

It's decaying slowly. But the heart of the beast (slc) is the last to show signs of mortality. The brain can degenerate to a mere spec of its former self but the heart keeps pumping. The extremities can wither but the heart keeps pumping. The digestive Tract might be extremely unsettled but the heart keeps pumping.

Fear not, the mighty beast is no longer the same threat as its former self. But the heart keeps pumping until it's pierced or loses contact with the head.

Like Herpes, it will probably never go away. But the outbreaks and irritation can be managed with the right medication.

I see a lot of contraction. I returned to SL County after an eight year absence.

The youth and wards here compared to the Old Pueblo seem to be less engaged, less interested (but the activity rates are probably higher than in AZ or WA, where I lived).

The youth that stick it out in the Old Pueblo have an it's us against them mentality and band together.

The first ward we moved to in Sugar House was a dying ward, the stake is contracting and combining wards and youth groups.

Same with our current ward in Holladay/Murray area. Very old, with little youth and lots of young families that have moved on from the church (I go cycling with a few of them, and they assure me it isn't few in number). The church in this area still has strength in numbers, but not like it used to.

My feeling is SL area is less Mormon, Utah county is very- and staying that way. The rest of Morcor is aging and the young people still go but don't want heavy burdens/callings.

Just my thoughts.

You are only paying attention to what you see. Start noticing what you don't see. Who isnt there? Who sits in the foyer week after week, or only shows up once or twice a month and sits in the back? Look at your ward list and compare to the actual congregation. That is how you find people like you. We are ingrained to only notice the families high up in their rameumptoms, but lose sight of the ones on the ground, doing the slow fade.

Korihor wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:06 pm It's decaying slowly. But the heart of the beast (slc) is the last to show signs of mortality. The brain can degenerate to a mere spec of its former self but the heart keeps pumping. The extremities can wither but the heart keeps pumping. The digestive Tract might be extremely unsettled but the heart keeps pumping.

Fear not, the mighty beast is no longer the same threat as its former self. But the heart keeps pumping until it's pierced or loses contact with the head.

THIS AND THIS!

Hermey wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:11 pm Like Herpes, it will probably never go away. But the outbreaks and irritation can be managed with the right medication.

I have had conversations with many people who know all the churches warts yet continue to believe. I see it coming. One day their shelves will all crumble and fall. The seeds of apostasy have been planted!

crossmyheart wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:53 am You are only paying attention to what you see. Start noticing what you don't see. Who isnt there? Who sits in the foyer week after week, or only shows up once or twice a month and sits in the back? Look at your ward list and compare to the actual congregation. That is how you find people like you. We are ingrained to only notice the families high up in their rameumptoms, but lose sight of the ones on the ground, doing the slow fade.

This is fair. And maybe there were a bunch of "anon70s" who were forced to be there looking around going wth and thinking the same things I was.

Since moving here I have noticed that SS and RS attendance is not high. Lots of people wander on home after SM. It has caught the notice of at least my Bishop who has mentioned it a few times.

SeeNoEvil wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:56 am

Korihor wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:06 pm It's decaying slowly. But the heart of the beast (slc) is the last to show signs of mortality. The brain can degenerate to a mere spec of its former self but the heart keeps pumping. The extremities can wither but the heart keeps pumping. The digestive Tract might be extremely unsettled but the heart keeps pumping.

Fear not, the mighty beast is no longer the same threat as its former self. But the heart keeps pumping until it's pierced or loses contact with the head.

THIS AND THIS!

Hermey wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:11 pm Like Herpes, it will probably never go away. But the outbreaks and irritation can be managed with the right medication.

I have had conversations with many people who know all the churches warts yet continue to believe. I see it coming. One day their shelves will all crumble and fall. The seeds of apostasy have been planted!

A man talked in church about how he read all the anti stuff, almost didn't join, then joined. I was skeptical.

But he actually made a ton of historically accurate comments during SS, as if they were merely interesting. They certainly weren't faith promoting...