NOM

I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?

stuck wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?

You will probably hear more of these kinds of testimonies as more and more members gain secret doubts and others become more open about expressing them. But I expect the Brethren to tamp down on them if they become too common - can't have members expressing anything but 100% orthodoxy in our meetings, other members will get ideas. Hear too many of those kinds of testimonies and the Brethren will start to get all uptight about it in General Conference.

Not Buying It wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:17 pm

stuck wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm I listened at home to the live streamed testimony in my ward yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of members in their testimonies said to the effect, "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus". There were other more orthodox testimonies and one of the ones that said he wasn't sure if the church was true I know had probably gone through a faith crisis and the other one probably to a certain extent also. It kind of gives me hope that perhaps more and more members will experience a faith crisis and the church will have to change right? Will it become more like the RLDS or Community of Christ church?

You will probably hear more of these kinds of testimonies as more and more members gain secret doubts and others become more open about expressing them. But I expect the Brethren to tamp down on them if they become too common - can't have members expressing anything but 100% orthodoxy in our meetings, other members will get ideas. Hear too many of those kinds of testimonies and the Brethren will start to get all uptight about it in General Conference.

But the more they tighten their grip, the more star systems will slip through their fingers...

I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invitation only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.

I think the gulf between professed beliefs and actual beliefs has probably gotten wider. I mean when you stand up in Church you've got to use the Mormon-standard code words to show you are part of the team, but when you are by yourself, and not subject to self-hypnosis, you can contemplate the preposterousness of what you are supposed to believe and how you are supposed to behave.

Just This Guy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:34 pm I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invasion only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.

Sounds awfully aggressive to me.

There are some days I think the contagion of truth is spreading, despite the brethren's earnest efforts at inoculation. But then I hear the messages coming out from primary and youth leaders touting ordinances by priesthood authority as the ONLY way we can be happy and that we must follow the prophet to have those ordinances. They speak about the truthfulness of the BoM and how they are so grateful for those great prophets who lived so long ago to show us the way.

Material that shows nuance is more common than it used to be, but children are still being raised and indoctrinated on the pure correlated message. The local leaders doing the indoctrinating aren't spouting that off because their testimonies have evolved. So far as 90% of the members are aware all is well in Zion, and we should continue to push everything that has "made us so happy" onto the next generation in every way we are capable.

græy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:40 am

Just This Guy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:34 pm I thought I heard somewhere that some wards were trying out invasion only FTM. Was that here?

That's one way to control the message.

Sounds awfully aggressive to me.

Doh! that's what I get for posting late at night. I need to get to bed earlier.

stuck wrote: ↑Mon Oct 12, 2020 12:21 pm "I'm not sure if the church is true but believe in Jesus".

Boy, that kind of talk used to automatically set off an alarm for the inquisition.

Spouseman was in a conversation with an active TBM lady week and they volunteered the thought that, "the church is really a mess right now. Their aggressive stance against everything LGBT, women, and race is just spiraling into crazy."

Thoughtful wrote: ↑Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:58 am Spouseman was in a conversation with an active TBM lady week and they volunteered the thought that, "the church is really a mess right now. Their aggressive stance against everything LGBT, women, and race is just spiraling into crazy."

We can all hope that things calm down in a few weeks. I'm hoping that the end of the election settles a few things.

I think overall they are changing. I've heard some similar ones that focus on Christ, not the church. It's what I did during my transition further away from orthodox Mormonism.