My reason for having a TR is similar. I rarely go to the temple but if it makes people feel better that I have one and I feel I can honestly answer the questions (and I do) then what harm is there in having one?thegreythinker wrote: ↑22 Apr 2019, 17:09Thanks! Honestly, if my family wasn't such black and white strong members, I wouldn't bother having a recommend. Since they are, I don't want them to be suspicious about my faith crisis so I continue to have one.SilentDawning wrote: ↑21 Apr 2019, 17:33Helloe TGT - I like the fact you still find it OK to hold a TR. Once you fall off that wagon things get way more complicated. If you can keep being an outward member of the community, even though inwardly you are a grey thinker, then you've solved a lot of community problems right there. I envy you!
Finally saying hi
Re: Finally saying hi
In the absence of knowledge or faith there is always hope.
Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."
My Introduction
Once there was a gentile...who came before Hillel. He said "Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Hillel converted him, saying: That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."
My Introduction
Re: Finally saying hi
Hi Grey!
It's nice to have you here. I only came on recently and have found a lot of the support you are looking for. I love the positivity of the group here.
Welcome.
It's nice to have you here. I only came on recently and have found a lot of the support you are looking for. I love the positivity of the group here.
Welcome.
I don't think there could ever be just one single philosophy or one single religion. Since there are so many different types of people, with a range of tendencies and inclinations, it is quite fitting that there are differences between religions. And the fact that there are so many different descriptions of the religious path shows how rich religion is. - HH the XIV Dalai Lama
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DoubtingTom
- Posts: 269
- Joined: 22 Mar 2017, 12:13
Re: Finally saying hi
Welcome! This community was a life saver for me. I no longer am “staying LDS” but my wife is and I stay plugged into this on-line community because I have loved it and enjoy the non-judgmental conversations that go on here. Wherever your journey takes you, this community will support you.
Re: Finally saying hi
Having been accused, on occasion, of unfairly judging others, I must say that I can hardly hold myself up as an example of unconditional love. I do not wish to hurt anyone's feelings, nor do I wish to allow others to hurt my feelings. I look to Jesus as the example. He didn't blame people for not having enough faith, but was always sad or mourning that faith was so rare. He didn't use a lack of faith as an excuse to treat someone poorly; he ministered to people all across the spectrum. In fact he focused his energies on the sinners.
The parable of the seed, where the seed is spread and sometimes finds favorable conditions to sprout and grow, and sometimes does not is a kind way of saying that sometimes people have faith, and sometimes they don't, and it isn't necessarily their fault. One doesn't usually blame the seed, although in some cases the seed itself is bad. Good seed ends up in dry soil, or shady soil or thin soil or bad soil. We can't assume that the seed is bad. For whatever reason, your faith is suffering. We all know what that is like. You are not alone. I only ask that you don't judge me - for having faith. Perhaps my seed didn't fall on the best soil. But the master gardener has since ministered to my needs, and nurtured my tender plant, until finally it has bore fruit. My heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh. I'm not saying that there isn't room for improvement, but only that I feel things more fully than I once did. As Ebenezer Scrooge said, "I'm not the man I was."
Perhaps there is an area here that deserves further study. How, exactly, did Jesus nurture the soil of those who had little faith? How did he get faith to sprout and grow and bear fruit?
The parable of the seed, where the seed is spread and sometimes finds favorable conditions to sprout and grow, and sometimes does not is a kind way of saying that sometimes people have faith, and sometimes they don't, and it isn't necessarily their fault. One doesn't usually blame the seed, although in some cases the seed itself is bad. Good seed ends up in dry soil, or shady soil or thin soil or bad soil. We can't assume that the seed is bad. For whatever reason, your faith is suffering. We all know what that is like. You are not alone. I only ask that you don't judge me - for having faith. Perhaps my seed didn't fall on the best soil. But the master gardener has since ministered to my needs, and nurtured my tender plant, until finally it has bore fruit. My heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh. I'm not saying that there isn't room for improvement, but only that I feel things more fully than I once did. As Ebenezer Scrooge said, "I'm not the man I was."
Perhaps there is an area here that deserves further study. How, exactly, did Jesus nurture the soil of those who had little faith? How did he get faith to sprout and grow and bear fruit?