Joseph wondered for a time if a Supreme being did exist. [RSR pg. 38]
He told his mother he could learn more in the woods from the Bible than from any meeting. [RSR pg. 46]
Both parents had broken out of the standard church orthodoxies while at the same time remaining pious and searching. Joseph Sr. was filled with yearnings for peace and salvation combined with a deep distrust of churches and ministers. He bestowed on his son a concern for the failures of the churches. [RSR pg. 55]
One of the most profound statements I've come across so far in the book has been in reference to Fawn Brodie and how Bushman was taking a different approach:He was bred to independence...After 1820, it was fairly certain he would cut a path for himself. [RSR pg. 55]
Indeed, and at this point I don't. I don't believe him. I like some of the ideas that he presented. I like that he saw the need for some reform and that he attempted to enact the change he thought to be right. In the LDS church, like every religion I've ever investigated, I find great gems of wisdom, but the dogmatism drives me away.Incredible as the plates were, hunting for deception can be a distraction. It throws us off the track of Joseph Smith the Prophet. In devising a story of a charlatan, we lose sight of the unprepossessing rural visionary who became a religious leader admired by thousands. What is most interesting about Joseph Smith is that people believed him.
The only spiritual ray of sunshine for me lately has been the spiritual teachings of Eckhart Tolle. He has the only interpretation of Christ's purpose that has ever resonated with me. He has the only interpretation of OUR purpose that has ever resonated with me. And it resonates deeply.
I continue to attend church with my wife and daughter on Sunday to provide them support, but I care almost nothing for the Sunday culture anymore.
For the first time today (on a different thread) I felt like my fundamental problems with traditional "faith" were making it difficult for me to remain respectful of the church. The church itself is just beginning to seem less and less necessary to me every day. I feel like I'm fed up with it all, so I'm probably going off the grid for awhile. I may answer any inquiries about responses that I've already made to threads, but I think I'm done speaking up for now. Thanks for all your support...until we meet again.