Why people join or leave a church.

[_charity]

People cannot, nor should not, be able to get between us and the Savior. And no one should let any other person stand between themselves and the truth as they know it.

I agree. But we are all human beings, and want to dwell in places where we feel accepted. My father is an example of someone who has, and until the day he dies, will declare, a testimony of the gospel. He served in the bishopric for years. He was the Young Men's president, Scoutmaster on numerous occasions, and literally devoted his life to the Church. My mother had an affair. My father spoke at the bishop's court on my mother's behalf.

My Mom and Dad later divorced, and ward/stake members gossiped that the troubles between my parents were actually my Dad's fault--that my mother was an innocent victim. In reality, they had problems, and both were at fault as far as the marriage was concerned.

But while my Mom was still basically embraced by the Church congregation, my Dad was shunned. Yes, my Dad is outspoken, and, at times, rubbed people the wrong way, but his treatment was still outrageous.

It hurt him to the core. He was inactive for years. He is just now feeling comfortable coming to Church again. He has health problems, so he is really only able to attend Sacrament Meeting now.

My point is, he never lost his testimony. He still had a relationship with the Savior. But he lost his ability to really remain active. Was it weakness on his part? I'm sure he would say that yes, it was. But I think that as Church members in particular, it is incumbent upon us to be careful about how we address people, particularly other members.

That's why, if I am asked a question, whether or not it's by a troll, I would rather give that person the benefit of the doubt and answer that question with openness and respect. (Provided that the person is asking the question with respect....If, as you say, they are in "attack mode", then that is a different circumstance.) What can it hurt? If I am answering that person's question with the truth of the gospel as I know it, then shouldn't the truth will out?

Just food for thought.

That is really terrible what happened to your dad. And there will be people who have to be held accountable for their actions.

And I agree about treating people nicely. Give them a chance to hang themselves before you do it for them.

[_Yoda]

Charity, you misattributed your quotes.

~dancer~

Which ones? Did the quote function go ballistic?

The quotes you had attributed to Truth Dancer were actually made by Harmony. I fixed it.

Sometimes, it pays to have friends in high places. LOL

[_Yoda]

hat is really terrible what happened to your dad. And there will be people who have to be held accountable for their actions.

Thanks. I guess that's why I can get a little overly sensitive about sniping between people I care about.

[_charity]

This is a description of the study: "The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for it sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population."

(I have looked at what purports to be the original source, and LDS are not mentioned. )

"While much of the study confirms earlier findings _ mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing _ it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups."

"More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all, the survey found. Factoring in moves from one stream or denomination of Protestantism to another, the number rises to 44 percent."
"The religious demographic benefiting the most from this religious churn is those who claim no religious affiliation. People moving into that category outnumber those moving out of it by a three-to-one margin."

"The Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition because of affiliation swapping, the survey found. While nearly one in three Americans were raised Catholic, fewer than one in four say they're Catholic today. That means roughly 10 percent of all Americans are ex-Catholics. The share of the population that identifies as Catholic, however, has remained fairly stable in recent decades thanks to an influx of immigrant Catholics, mostly from Latin America. Nearly half of all Catholics under 30 are Hispanic, the survey found."

"On the Protestant side, changes in affiliation are swelling the ranks of nondenominational churches, while Baptist and Methodist traditions are showing net losses."

"Although evangelical churches strive to win new Christian believers from the ``unchurched,'' the survey found most converts to evangelical churches were raised Protestant."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nation ... ?track=rss

Interesting. I thought those of you who have speculated in the past about how many LDS are "leaving the faith" would be interested in a more global picture.

[_Inconceivable]

And there will be people who have to be held accountable for their actions.

I left because I was offended

Joseph Smith offended me as well as all that held his wickedness in dark places

Joseph Smith's God offended me

I have a deep seated resentment for those that deceived me. I would not have been a Mormon within the inner circles at Smith's time. It is against my nature to live duplicitously as they lived.

I never in eternity ever dreamed that I could ever feel this way about a hero I was so sure of.

[_Blixa]

This is a description of the study: "The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for it sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population."

(I have looked at what purports to be the original source, and LDS are not mentioned. )

I don't know what would "purport" to be research from the Pew Forum, but, if anyone is interested, the study can be found on the website of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Mormons are indeed mentioned throughout the documentation.

http://pewforum.org/

The survey and analysis of its findings can be found at the top of the page under "The Religious Landscape of the United States." All the sections inside have some statistical information regarding Mormons or "Mormon Tradition" from the survey. Mormons are also included in Chapter 2 of the study, "Changes in American's Religious Affiliations."

[_Yoda]

Thanks for this additional information, Blixa! These statistics are really interesting. It looks like there is a lot of work for the missionaries to do. Here is a sampling of the breakdown:

The breakdown is listed in percentages of members in the U.S:

The Mormon category covers a total of 1.7%.

The following consists of the breakdown:

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
1.6%

Community of Christ
< 0.3%

Mormon, not further specified
< 0.3%

Here is the breakdown of the larger religion percentages (no wonder Romney was in trouble. LOL):

This is the largest group - Evangelical/Protestant Churches:

Evangelical Protestant Churches
26.3%

The next largest group is Catholic:

Catholic
23.9%

With mainline Protestant churches coming in 3rd:

Mainline Protestant Churches
18.1%

Thanks again, for the link, Blixa!

[_Blixa]

You're very welcome, liz. I've started looking through the survey myself and it does have a lot of interesting detail. I especially liked the maps.

Its off topic, but you may also be interested in the research done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. I've found lots of interesting material that I've used in classes discussing the impact of digital communications technology (I've been emphasizing digital database research in all my courses, lately).

http://www.pewinternet.org/

[_Yoda]

(I've been emphasizing digital database research in all my courses, lately).

OK, this is nerdy stuff that is fascinating! LOL

Do you know what program most of the digital databases are created in?

Never mind. This is definitely Off-Topic.

;)