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Did any of you when you were members experience the burning of the bosom or some sort of presence when you read the Book of Mormon?
If you did feel this way do you still have the same sensation at other times?
Was this a unique experience?
What do you think of this experience now if you are ex-LDS?

This is a serious enquiry. Thanks.

barrelomonkeys wrote:Did any of you when you were members experience the burning of the bosom or some sort of presence when you read the Book of Mormon?

Yes.

If you did feel this way do you still have the same sensation at other times?

Yes, but not as much - the older I get, the less it happens.

Was this a unique experience?

No. But I tried to tell myself it was.

What do you think of this experience now if you are ex-LDS?

It was an emotional experience, much like any other - doesn't say anything about universal truth, but rather personal 'truth'.

Probably the most poignant "spiritual witness" experience I've ever had was when I read about 2/3 of the Book of Mormon in about a day. It was on my mission, and my companion was sick so we stayed in. I was about 1/3 of the way into it already when this happened, and I just started reading and reading and basically finished it by the end of the day. I had an actual "burning bosom" kind of spiritual experience, which of course I attributed to the Holy Ghost confirming that the book was true, at the time. I already believed it was true before that time, but this experience was much more "powerful" than any I'd had previously on the subject.

Now I don't believe that that experience was in fact a Holy Ghost confirming truth to me. I am not sure what it was, but if I speculate I would say that the intense concentration and focus that I achieved over those hours of reading, along with a lot of enthusiasm and belief, combined to induce a euphoric state.

For the record, I had a similar experience of euphoria upon finishing the final book in the "Black Company" series of books by Glenn Cook, "Soldiers Live", when I read that entire book in one night. As anyone who has read the series can attest, this series would hardly be expected to be confirmed as truth by the Holy Ghost.

Yes, I had a very intense spiritual "event" when I prayed about the Book of Mormon as an investigator. I had read about a third of it (which shocked the missionaries, they were used to people not reading it at all), and they taught me "how to pray". (the formula: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank thee... I ask thee... in the name of JC amen) They instructed me to ask two things: is the Book of Mormon the "word of God" and was Joseph Smith a true prophet? I asked about the Book of Mormon first, and it was really an incredible experience. The best way I can describe it is as if I were somehow plugged into some current of spiritual electricity, and every cell in my body felt alive and humming. Kind of like an instantaneous spiritual body orgasm. I immediately "knew" that God existed and the Book of Mormon was his "word".

But the next night I prayed about Joseph Smith and felt zip. Nada. Nothing. And every time I prayed about Joseph Smith being a true prophet, or the church being "true" in some priesthood/authority sense, I felt NOTHING. So I guess that was a "no" answer.

I now understand that the brain is wired, in some individuals at least, to create these incredible mystical events, and people across the religious spectrum experience them. I no longer believe they have an external source.

Have I ever experienced anything like it again? Oh yes, but in entirely different context...part of the mystical/sexual/intimate union I have with my one true love. This indicates to me that it originates in the part of the brain that creates the sense of intimacy and love. It's a great experience, I wish I could bottle it. It would be addictive. Maybe that's what heroin feels like the first time, and is why it is instantly addictive.

barrelomonkeys wrote:Did any of you when you were members experience the burning of the bosom or some sort of presence when you read the Book of Mormon?
If you did feel this way do you still have the same sensation at other times?
Was this a unique experience?
What do you think of this experience now if you are ex-LDS?

This is a serious enquiry. Thanks.

I got more of an emotional charge reading Heinlein.

The Book of Mormon is a poorly written teenage masturbation fantasy.

Mercury wrote:I got more of an emotional charge reading Heinlein.

The Book of Mormon is a poorly written teenage masturbation fantasy.

You must have been one weird teenager. ;)

And yes, I had that experience. Looking back, I wonder why I would have expected anything else. I was taught I would have good feelings when I read and prayed, and I did.

Mercury wrote:

barrelomonkeys wrote:Did any of you when you were members experience the burning of the bosom or some sort of presence when you read the Book of Mormon?
If you did feel this way do you still have the same sensation at other times?
Was this a unique experience?
What do you think of this experience now if you are ex-LDS?

This is a serious enquiry. Thanks.

I got more of an emotional charge reading Heinlein.

The Book of Mormon is a poorly written teenage masturbation fantasy.

I just had an image of someone getting turned on by the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi. Will someone please pour concentrated bleach into my eyes? I need that image gone.

beastie wrote:Yes, I had a very intense spiritual "event" when I prayed about the Book of Mormon as an investigator. I had read about a third of it (which shocked the missionaries, they were used to people not reading it at all), and they taught me "how to pray". (the formula: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank thee... I ask thee... in the name of JC amen) They instructed me to ask two things: is the Book of Mormon the "word of God" and was Joseph Smith a true prophet? I asked about the Book of Mormon first, and it was really an incredible experience. The best way I can describe it is as if I were somehow plugged into some current of spiritual electricity, and every cell in my body felt alive and humming. Kind of like an instantaneous spiritual body orgasm. I immediately "knew" that God existed and the Book of Mormon was his "word".

But the next night I prayed about Joseph Smith and felt zip. Nada. Nothing. And every time I prayed about Joseph Smith being a true prophet, or the church being "true" in some priesthood/authority sense, I felt NOTHING. So I guess that was a "no" answer.

I now understand that the brain is wired, in some individuals at least, to create these incredible mystical events, and people across the religious spectrum experience them. I no longer believe they have an external source.

Have I ever experienced anything like it again? Oh yes, but in entirely different context...part of the mystical/sexual/intimate union I have with my one true love. This indicates to me that it originates in the part of the brain that creates the sense of intimacy and love. It's a great experience, I wish I could bottle it. It would be addictive. Maybe that's what heroin feels like the first time, and is why it is instantly addictive.

I wish I could bottle it too! Perhaps this is why religion is so comforting. I actually long for that experience, and I imagine I'm not alone in that need.

Runtu wrote:

Mercury wrote:I got more of an emotional charge reading Heinlein.

The Book of Mormon is a poorly written teenage masturbation fantasy.

You must have been one weird teenager. ;)

And yes, I had that experience. Looking back, I wonder why I would have expected anything else. I was taught I would have good feelings when I read and prayed, and I did.

Do you still have those feelings in regards to other things? Or was it unique?

What's interesting about the phenomenon is that, going by my observations, not everyone is equally inclined to have such an intense experience. I've know many exmormons who never had the experience, despite, sometimes, decades of trying. It's more complex than just "willing" yourself to have it. I certainly "willed" myself to have the experience as an answer to later prayers, and couldn't. And going by my probing of members' testimonies (when I was desperately trying to get a witness of Joseph Smith as a prophet), there are quite a few members who have never experienced it, either. They still believe for other reasons, but they've never experienced one of these intense events.

So if there is an external source for this, it is a very capricious one.