Why I Love Mormonism!!!!

[Res Ipsa]

I’ve given this some thought, and I can’t say that I love the Church. When I was growing up, I loved being a Mormon. I loved the community and all the youth activities. I loved the leaders who I felt were genuinely interested in my well being. I loved having answers to the big questions of life, the universe and everything. I loved being part of a great and wonderful plan. All of those experiences made up my formative years and I wouldn’t change them.

Today, it’s one one of many churches and other organizations. In practice, it has little effect on my life. And I see many people who love their churches or other sources of community as much as I loved the church growing up. Although I find it fascinating because it was what I grew up in, I don’t care enough about it to label my feelings toward it as love or hate.

[Binger]

I’ve given this some thought, and I can’t say that I love the Church. When I was growing up, I loved being a Mormon. I loved the community and all the youth activities. I loved the leaders who I felt were genuinely interested in my well being. I loved having answers to the big questions of life, the universe and everything. I loved being part of a great and wonderful plan. All of those experiences made up my formative years and I wouldn’t change them.

Today, it’s one one of many churches and other organizations. In practice, it has little effect on my life. And I see many people who love their churches or other sources of community as much as I loved the church growing up. Although I find it fascinating because it was what I grew up in, I don’t care enough about it to label my feelings toward it as love or hate.

I TOTALLY get this. Completely and wholly and soundly and solidly and deeply get this.

I have wrestled with this too, including phases of actual hate and anger. Well, more like betrayal and loss, but, I am sure, it was expressed or interpreted as hate. I think the foundation of what became known as a faith crisis lies in the speed and thoroughness of this transition from caring a lot to not caring at all.

One thing I have seen is that when that transition is shoddy or ignored, things can and do happen later where all the stuff that was ignored can be triggered. For example, nobody cares about the church, they leave they move on, whatever. No process or thoughts. Then, there is a death in the family and a Mormon funeral happens and all sorts of stuff gets triggered. For me, the Sandusky fiasco and media fiasco around Sandusky and Penn State was one of the most triggering events ever. It made me want to burn institutions down, including the NCAA and the Church. I have seen people move from not caring enough to near trauma levels of caring decades after they left the church. While that is not the norm, it damn sure is not isolated.

I deal with this apathy solution by separating (some would call it compartmentalizing) the not for profit church owned by The Corporation of the President of blah blah blah or by The Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of blah blah blah, from "Mormonism" which to me, includes a history of people who never owned a damn share in that corporation but they sure did live a lot and do a lot.

[Analytics]

Ah, the Harahan Branch. Good good good times. Good good good people. The New Orleans Branch was carved out of the ward that had a chapel out by Lake Pontchartrain or something, way out there. It may have been a Canal Street address. We met for a while at the new chapel by the big cemetery in Metairie, the one that Katrina destroyed, and then we met at the Jewish Community Center and had some of our meetings on the campus of Tulane University. The stake could not get the chapel funded for a lot they had purchased right on St. Charles Avenue. We were sorta tired of meeting at the JCC and at Tulane. We finally jumped through a lot of hoops, and with some insight and tricks that my mission president taught me, we got that church funded and built the one that did survive Katrina and is still being used.

Were you in the New Orleans First Ward? As I recall, that chapel on St. Charles Ave. was finally built in the year 2000 or so, right?

At a stake conference there, I ran into a guy I knew on my mission. He was going to Tulane Law School. Five years later I moved to Denver, and the same guy I knew in the MTC and in Argentina and in New Orleans was my firm's immigration attorney in Denver. Good people. Small world.

I was the ward mission leader there when Haiti went to hell, one of many times, and the missionaries were moved to US missions. We ended up with 3 of them in NOLA. They were absolutely crazy. Nuts. They were going to Saints games and getting on TV and dating girls from Tulane and going to Mardi Gras and having a blast. Funniest dudes ever. After their mission, one of these dudes made a bet on the super bowl with is buddy. The loser had to join the Army or Marines. He lost, and joined the damn Army. We were sad and worried. He is now a Federal Judge. Go figure.

That's a tough place to serve a mission. I was the branch mission leader and hung out a lot with the missionaries. I'm still friends with a couple of them.

Several months after I left the Church and some new missionaries were transferred in, I got a call from them asking me for a ride. I'd never met these guys but I said sure. I assumed it was for some Church thing, but they needed a ride to Walmart to buy a new controller for their Nintendo. Their old controller had worn out.

[doubtingthomas]

around people who follow Christ.

Jesus said cume unto me.

I TOTALLY get this. Completely and wholly and soundly and solidly and deeply get this.

[Binger]

around people who follow Christ.

Jesus said cume unto me.

I TOTALLY get this. Completely and wholly and soundly and solidly and deeply get this.

Careful DT. There is a lot going on and you do not want to be caught trolling. Frankly, you are not very good at it. You lack pistachio. You may want to take a month or so off from that hobby and let panny take the lead from here. Be well, my brother, be well.

[Binger]

Ah, the Harahan Branch. Good good good times. Good good good people. The New Orleans Branch was carved out of the ward that had a chapel out by Lake Pontchartrain or something, way out there. It may have been a Canal Street address. We met for a while at the new chapel by the big cemetery in Metairie, the one that Katrina destroyed, and then we met at the Jewish Community Center and had some of our meetings on the campus of Tulane University. The stake could not get the chapel funded for a lot they had purchased right on St. Charles Avenue. We were sorta tired of meeting at the JCC and at Tulane. We finally jumped through a lot of hoops, and with some insight and tricks that my mission president taught me, we got that church funded and built the one that did survive Katrina and is still being used.

Were you in the New Orleans First Ward? As I recall, that chapel on St. Charles Ave. was finally built in the year 2000 or so, right?

At a stake conference there, I ran into a guy I knew on my mission. He was going to Tulane Law School. Five years later I moved to Denver, and the same guy I knew in the MTC and in Argentina and in New Orleans was my firm's immigration attorney in Denver. Good people. Small world.

I was the ward mission leader there when Haiti went to hell, one of many times, and the missionaries were moved to US missions. We ended up with 3 of them in NOLA. They were absolutely crazy. Nuts. They were going to Saints games and getting on TV and dating girls from Tulane and going to Mardi Gras and having a blast. Funniest dudes ever. After their mission, one of these dudes made a bet on the super bowl with is buddy. The loser had to join the Army or Marines. He lost, and joined the damn Army. We were sad and worried. He is now a Federal Judge. Go figure.

That's a tough place to serve a mission. I was the branch mission leader and hung out a lot with the missionaries. I'm still friends with a couple of them.

Several months after I left the Church and some new missionaries were transferred in, I got a call from them asking me for a ride. I'd never met these guys but I said sure. I assumed it was for some Church thing, but they needed a ride to Walmart to buy a new controller for their Nintendo. Their old controller had worn out.

I was in the NOLA First Ward and then it was split and they made the Uptown Branch so we could have a nucleus congregation to get the chapel built on St. Charles Ave. You can't imagine how many stake events we had to schedule for a year or more to get our membership numbers up enough to get that funded. I have a sister and a BIL that both went to the Baton Rouge mission, but neither of them ended up in NOLA.

NOLA was the place to be in the Baton Rouge mission. It was interesting, it was alive back then. The missionaries would go into the 'nolia housing projects, the Fisher and many others. I would go with them too. It was interesting for them, compared to the stale parishes on the North Shore or out near Slidell.

If I was in the BR, LA mission I would want to be in Atchafalaya Basin and Lafayette eating Gumbo, or in NOLA eating Po Boys and that soul food. The rest paled in comparison to those places.

[Binger]

Were you in the New Orleans First Ward? As I recall, that chapel on St. Charles Ave. was finally built in the year 2000 or so, right?

More on that. If you remember the Van Dam family from NOLA. They were kinda the anchor family. Their house got clocked during Katrina and they ended up pretty much living at the chapel for a while. That chapel on St. Charles did get finished around that time, and it survived the big storm. It looks like a hell of an eye sore to me when I see it, but it is better than most chapels. Do you remember the restaurant across the street from that lot where the chapel is? It looked like a mini Eiffel Tower and had crappy food? I wonder if it is still there. It was ridiculous.

[doubtingthomas]

Careful DT. There is a lot going on and you do not want to be caught trolling. Frankly, you are not very good at it.

Of course not, I am not a professional like you. You and Atlanticmike troll for a living.

I am not here to be the center of all attention like you.

You may want to take a month or so off from that hobby

You and Atlanticmike can do it.

Have a good night!

[Moksha]

You lack pistachio.

Just ask Marjorie Taylor Green about the Pistachio Police.

Better yet, ask what Jesus' lawyer would do...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D9iI1_tbco

[Bought Yahoo]

You and Atlanticmike can do it.

Have a good night!

Atllantic MIke is a mere troll. Here to push buttons. I've said before he is Bill Reel, based on their writing style and misspelling of particular words and poor grammar.