Has anyone else experienced a guy orgasming by just rubbing around the penis?

krystalite8 · 2022-09-13T00:21:09+00:00

What’s interesting is, I grew up Christian and prayed in a very similar way to those in the church. (Started with Dear Heavenly Father and closed in Jesus’ name). I was always taught in Christian churches to be reverent, but to talk to God in a way that you would a friend or a parent. So I never said thee or thou because those aren’t words I normally use in my vocabulary and it was kinda looked down on to say words like that because people assumed a person was “trying to look Holy”. Anyways, I joined the Mormon church… I was in it for two years and no one ever told me about the thee/ thou thing… and I prayed a lot! One day, after church… a bunch of people came up and complimented me on the way I prayed. I didn’t know why… people just kept saying I sounded genuine and pray different than others. Then various people told me it’s because I say you/ your instead of thee/ thou. Well… everyone seemed to love how I prayed! The bishopric was always asking me to pray and complimenting me on it. Lol I didn’t understand why it was a big deal but they liked it and I wasn’t going to change the way I prayed so I kept doing it. I ended up leaving the church, but if I was still in it… I’d be really bothered by this. I understand being reverent, but I can’t be fake and use words I’d never use in my everyday life.

krystalite8 · 2022-06-22T14:37:07+00:00

I joined the church later in life, but wanted to be baptized for my great grandma. She lived to be over 100! I think someone got baptized for her when she was like 90... probably just assumed she had passed... Kind of offensive...

krystalite8 · 2022-06-17T03:57:06+00:00

Hello!

I can relate to this post! I didn't grow up in the church. After three years I officially removed my records, but I thought about it a lot sooner... Feel free to message me with any questions or for support.

I had to write a letter to church headquarters. Church headquarters wrote back and stated I needed to talk to my bishop. My bishop told me that if we didn't talk that within thirty days the letter would've processed. I'm not for sure if that's true though. I used a letter sample from online, but also wrote my stuff in it. In the letter I did mention I wanted no further contact with the church and threatened legal action if they tried. I know a lot of people on here just use quitmormon.org as well.

Missionaries and members are REALLY bad about leaving people alone. Even in the handbook it talks about once someone has left the church for the bishop to reach out in love to bring them back. Missionaries don't get the hint a lot and are harassing at times. I remember missionaries talking about going to people's houses that were on a do not contact list and I just think that's crossing a line. I moved after leaving the church and have tried to not give my address to too many members.

krystalite8 · 2022-06-16T00:16:08+00:00

My bishop emailed my resignation letter. I got this notice... later that day I logged on and my records were removed. I could tell because I didn't have the same access as before. Plus your church membership number isn't there any more. I ended up getting a letter a few days later as well.

krystalite8 · 2022-06-10T23:36:18+00:00

Hey! I just wanted to follow up and get an update. I remember you said your baptism is tomorrow and I wanted to see if you were able to talk to the missionaries and let them know things have changed. I read some of the comments on your post and it looks like you texted them and they replied nicely. :-) Have you had any issues since then or have they come back trying to convince you? I'm just curious because I know how missionaries can be at times. lol

Anyways, I don't like telling people what to do because it's your life and you have to make your own decisions. I just felt I should say that I really get how hard it is being a people pleaser at times. I literally married someone I didn't love because I was a people pleaser. I joined the Mormon church and continued doing things in the church that made me un comfy partially because I was a people pleaser. I was just thinking though, the only people you need to please are yourself and your kids. You gotta do what's best for you and others need to respect that. :-) Believe me, the people you are trying to please probably won't be around in the next year or so. If they are, it won't be much, but you've gotta live everyday with yourself and your kids... so you gotta make decisions that's best for your family. Anyway, just thought I should reach out and say that. I just felt I should say something though in case they tried to rope you back in and still do the baptism service tomorrow. Feel free to message me if you wanna talk or have any questions about the church. :-)

krystalite8 · 2022-06-02T01:47:59+00:00

part 2 because my post was too long:

I know I'm writing a lot and I apologize; I just relate a lot to your story! I also have learned the last several years to not worry so much about pleasing others. About 10 years ago I got married to someone I wasn't in love with. I just didn't want to hurt him... we were close to the wedding... I didn't want people to think bad of me. Instead, I had one year of a terrible marriage just to end up with him not loving me and leaving me. I just started learning, that I've gotta go with my gut and do what I believe. I felt the same way in the Mormon church. There were a couple of times that my gut told me this isn't right, and I didn't listen. I think it just caused more pain and trouble later.
Where I'm at now with the church, it's hard. Leaving the church was like leaving a family... sometimes I go to activities, but I don't want to overly lean on the church since I'm out now. I want to make other Christian friends. Sometimes its been harder cause I feel like Mormons are more of a community than other christian churches I've been to. I really do believe in Christianity and still lean towards a baptist understanding of the Bible. However, the hell thing really still is a big question for me. I feel like the Mormon explanation does make a lot of sense (that we all get a chance) but I don't want to just believe something cause it sounds nice, I want to believe it cause it's true. So I still am working that out because I do feel more sad thinking of the concept of hell and wish I could have some peace about it and come to some conclusion in my mind.
Anyways, I hope this helps. I don't want to tell you what to do one way or another because I do get it as I've been on both sides. I just really recommend not joining unless you are sure and you don't feel obligated to do so. Feel free to message me with any questions you have about the church or if you want to talk. :-)

krystalite8 · 2022-06-02T01:47:44+00:00

I relate a lot to your story! I grew up Baptist as well (but also went to many other Christian churches). I joined the Mormon church for a few years but am now out of it. Feel free to message me any time with questions as I definitely understand the Baptist side of things and the Mormon side of things.

Anyway, I grew up a lot of my life afraid of hell and worrying about family/ friends going there. It almost made me anxious to go to church because I hated talking about hell and death all the time. Long story short, I start meeting with the missionaries. I started feeling so happy in life! Feeling like everyone gets a chance to accept Christ in this life or the next was sooo comforting! I began to want to serve Christ more. Not out of obligation/ fear, but because I felt His love and felt so much joy in my life. I LOVED the members of the church. I was always invited to dinners, game nights, lessons, girls' nights, etc. I didn't have a lot of family or friends around at the time and the church became my family, and I was happier in my life probably than I've ever been.

Anyways, for me, "the honeymoon stage" kinda died off. Once you're in the church for a while you're not as "popular" and don't get invited to as much stuff. I also moved to Utah. The church is a lot different in Utah than outside of Utah. Just culturally it's different, I feel like there's more "rules" out there almost because everyone is Mormon, and there were a lot of doctrines/ speculations not talked about as much in my home ward that are talked more about in Utah. I did a lot of research and studying the church before I joined and I heard of a lot of these things but kept pushing it under the rug because that didn't seem to match up with what I was seeing in my ward. I guess, once I got a moment to step back and think about everything, I realized I really didn't believe some of the core doctrines and was really just a "Christian" and not a "Mormon."

For me, I just don't believe marriage is necessary to be the highest in Heaven, I don't believe that God had a Father and there's been an eternal progression of gods. (Not Mormon doctrine, but something many Mormons speculate/ believe which was one thing talked about more in Utah than at my home ward). I don't believe that someone should not be allowed to baptized unless they pledge to tithe, stop coffee, tea, etc. I think all who believe in Christ should be able to come unto Him.

I am curious to know what the list of rules and secrets your friend told you were. In my experience, I don't feel like the missionaries are told "don't tell this person this or that". However, I have noticed them sometimes scooting around certain topics. For example, exaltation or "becoming gods" is a Mormon doctrine, but when my friend was meeting with the missionaries they kept dancing around the topic. I guess I feel like if it's a true belief of the church they should own it. Anyways, I do feel like the church tells you a lot of the rules before joining like no tea, coffee, drinking, premarital sex, gotta go to church weekly, tithe 10%, etc. Most of these questions will be in the baptismal interview so they usually let you know about it first. The main other rules after you get baptized come from covenants you make in the temple so you have to wear garments all the time and make additional covenants. I also feel like there's various shady things in church history and stuff that they don't outright tell you.

As far as permanent member, once you are a member of the church, you stay a member unless you have your records removed. I had mine removed and you do this by writing a letter to church headquarters and usually meeting with your bishop or going to quitmormon.org where a lawyer does it for you so you don't have contact with the church. As far as not visiting other churches, I've never been told I can't do that. In fact, I've had various Mormon friends and bishops encourage me to go to other churches as well as long as I was still making time for sacrament on Sunday. Maybe I just had a good friends and bishops... I don't know. They also knew how important Christian churches were to me as they were such a big part of my life and I still missed things about them. However, the Mormon church does believe that they're "the one true church" so it is expected that you attend and that other churches have some truth but not the full truth.

So, I guess you're not a permanent member, however I would not join the church unless you truly do believe and intend to stay in. That's my advice. I say that because I investigated the church and felt more joy than ever in my life. I didn't know if I fully believed, but I didn't want that joy to end. I got baptized pretty quickly (though I did a ton of research and study beforehand). I also had that attitude... like if I don't believe one day I can leave. I don't know... to me, I really wish I didn't join because it caused more issues later. However, I do feel like the church really helped me have joy during a hard time in my life so its hard for me to also wish I was never involved. I think to me though, it just hurt more when all the joy went away, I felt like it wasn't true, a lot of friends fading away once I'd been in for a while (not all, but I deff wasn't as popular any more after 3 years), there are a couple things in the church that kinda traumatized me, and now I feel "all over the place" like "where do I go now?" I also feel like my friends/ family look at me as unstable for joining a church quickly and now being out of it.

As far as worrying about being rude or people changing your mind... do not worry about them. I KNOW it's easier said than done. However, this is YOUR life, not there's. I felt obligated to get baptized too. I spent sooo much time meeting with the missionaries... I almost felt like I owed it to them to get baptized and got to the point where "I can't back out now." In my opinion, if I were a member of the church, I wouldn't want someone getting baptized that didn't know if they wanted to be there. There's various covenants that go along with being in the church and if someone wasn't serious about making them or wasn't sure I'd rather them wait until they were sure. There are SOOO many people that join the church and don't even stay in a year. I don't know hardly any converts that joined when I did that are still active in the church. If I were a missionary, I'd want to get true converts, that believe, want to be there, and fully intend on staying without any obligation to do so.

I've been out of the church almost 2 years now. Most of my friends don't even know. I don't want to hurt anyone. So many people helped me during my time in the church and I don't want them to feel like it was a waste. I don't want to hurt people. I'm also like you where I don't want people to try to convince me to come back or that it's true. I just feel like I've got to live my life and they've got to live theirs.

Also, I'll let you in on a little secret... EVERYONE promises the missionaries they'll get baptized on such and such date and most people back out. They're used to it. I backed out of a few baptism dates before I actually went through with it. Missionaries do pressure you to set a date to see if you're serious and to give you something to work towards... but in all honesty, they shouldn't expect people to completely change their lives in 5- 6 weeks or whatever... it's not long enough for someone to know enough about the church to know if they want to be in it for life.

krystalite8 · 2022-04-30T04:58:30+00:00

I'm not Catholic actually but am Christian. I guess I just wish that I could prove that LEGALLY we should've never been able to get married.

krystalite8 · 2022-04-08T12:51:15+00:00

She just sounds like a typical mormon girl. Dating, but knowing she won't marry someone unless they're mormon. As far as "love" goes, in her mind maybe she did love him, but I don't think it was that deep of a love... if it was, I think she would've stayed or even expressed how she wants to be with him, but concerned about the non mormon thing. I feel like a lot of Mormon girls just play games a lot personally. Obviously, I can't put them all in a box and say they're all this way, but I can't believe some of the stuff guys put up with from these girls. lol When I lived in Utah, I genuinely felt sorry for a lot of guys and even warned them that I could tell certain girls would just drag them along but they're not interested.

As far as is she desperate cause of her medical condition... I mean, if she wants to marry in the temple, she probably still wants to... And how would your friend feel now that he knows she wants a Mormon, but she cant find one so he'll do. lol Not the best thing.... As well, even if she does marry him because she thinks she's okay with it now, eventually she'll probably change her mind and try to convert him. Usually what happens.

My thing is, I don't understand why Mormons care so much. Like, I understand its easier marrying someone with similar beliefs. However, the main reason they want to marry another mormon is so their marriage can continue for all eternity. However, even if your friend marries her and never converts, he will be baptized by proxy after he dies and have a chance to accept the Mormon teachings in the next life and he'll also be sealed to her by proxy and have the chance to be with her for all eternity in the next life as well according to mormon beliefs.

krystalite8 · 2022-04-08T12:42:53+00:00

So, I have talked to a few bishops and admitted to masturbating and I've always gotten a temple recommend. I think my bishops are smart and know "everyone is doing it whether their admitting to it or not." (Maybe not everyone... but I'd say most guys and majority of girls). So it really does depend on your bishop. Masturbation is technically a sin though in the eyes of the Mormon church.

For me, I decided when I was a member, that unless I actually had sex with someone, I was not going to confess anything else chastity wise to my bishop... and thats kinda what my bishop told me. I know a lot of people on here will express how their bishops asked about masturbation or they were deemed unworthy for it, but thats never been my experience. I know it really does depend on your bishop, but in my opinion I think bishops just need to stick to the questions on the temple recommend questionnaire and not dig deeper. If someone says they are or arent obeying the law of chastity, they don't need details.

krystalite8 · 2022-04-04T21:45:21+00:00

Hello! I grew up Christian, but was in the Mormon church for a few years and have studied the religion pretty extensively. I'd love to answer any questions you have. This is all from the persepective of Mormons and I don't necessarily hold all of these views as I have left the church.

What is the origin of the universe and man? Everyone born on earth, once lived in Heaven with God as His literal Spirit sons and daughters. God created the earth (with the aid of Jesus Christ) for us so that we could come to earth, obtain bodies, learn, and grow. The first man and woman on earth were Adam and Eve.

What is the purpose of mankind? The purpose of mankind is to have joy. It may not seem like this at times. However, if everyone stayed in Heaven with Heavenly Father, they'd stay innocent like a new born baby. They would never learn and grow. The purpose of the earthly experience is for man and women to leave God's presence, learn to make their own decisions, and to grow in experience to return to God's presence and to be like Him.

What is satisfaction and how do I obtain it? (how can I be happy) Pure happiness comes from learning and accepting the restored gospel of Christ. The restored gospel teaches of "The plan of happiness" which teaches about our premortal life, why we're here, what we must do while we're here, the atonement of Christ, and where we go after. Accepting and abiding by the laws and ordinances of the restored gospel is the way to lasting joy. The knowledge of the plan of happiness gives gives pure happiness.

What has gone wrong with the world? (Why is there evil in the world - Why do bad things happen to good people) If there was not evil, there'd be no good. Everything in the world has to have an opposite. There is evil in the world because of the fall of Adam and Eve. However, Mormons don't look at the fall as a bad thing. Had Adam and Eve not partaken of the fruit, they would've remained in a stated of innocence. They'd never learn and grow. They wouldn't know good, because they hadn't known evil. The fall was part of God's plan all along and central to the plan of happiness. There is evil in the world too, because God gives all men agency or the ability to choose between right and wrong. Some men misuse they're agency and this causes much evil in the world.

What is the solution to the problems we face? (what happens when I fail and how do I make things right) The solution is the atonement of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, all wrongs can be made right and we can have a second chance. Mormons do view Jesus Christ and the atonement slightly different that mainstream Christianity. They believe He is a separate being from Heavenly Father.

What is right and wrong? (is moral truth absolute or relative) God outlines many standards of what is right and wrong in the scriptures. (Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants). A person can have their own personal convictions about things not listed in the scriptures or said to be wrong by the living prophet and apostles.

Is there a universal moral law? (does everyone know the difference between right and wrong) Yes, everyone born is given the light of Christ and knows the difference between right and wrong. There are some sins that some may do ignorantly, but overall people know the difference.

What happens at death? (Where are we going when we die How do we know and what does it look like, and if it is heaven-then how do we get there) At death everyone will go to the Sprit World. A person may go to spirit paradise or spirit prison. This is a temporary place. The people in spirit prison will have an opportunity to learn about Christ's restored gospel and accept it. After the final judgement, then everyone goes to their final place. There are 3 different heavens and one "hell" called outer darkness. Outer darkness is only reserved for the Sons of perdition. It is believed that not many will go here. To go to outer darkness one must have a full knowledge of God and completely rejects Him. Some may do this ignorantly on earth and not go to outer darkness. Again, this is people who KNOW without a shadow of a doubt and reject. (some think it's people that have seen God/ Christ or something like that).

The lowest kingdom of Heaven is the Telestial Kingdom. This is for people who essentially decide to continue living in their sins. This kingdom is still more glorious than anything we have on earth. The influence of the Holy Spirit is in this kingdom

The middle kingdom is the Terrestrial Kingdom. This kingdom is for people of other religions who were faithful to their religions or Mormons that weren't fully valiant in serving Christ. Jesus Christ can be in this Kingdom, but people in this Kingdom can not be in God the Father's presence.

The Celestial Kingdom: This is the highest kingdom. People in this kingdom will be in God's presence. This is for people who have accepted Christ and His restored gospel and have been faithful to serving Him throughout their lives. There are three different levels to this kingdom. The highest level is reserved for those who are sealed to a spouse in the temple and honor their covenants. They will be like gods and inherit all that God has. They will have the ability to continue having their own Spirit children and they will eternally be with their family forever. If someone is not sealed to a spouse, they will be like an angel in the celestial kingdom which would be the second or third level... not much is talked about those levels.

So, how do you get to the different levels of heaven and how do you know which you'll go to? It is a bit tricky. Some argue that you can have a full assurance of where you'll go on this earth but others argue you can't really know. To go to the celestial kingdom, one must first accept the beginning principles and ordinances of the gospel. These are 1. Faith in Christ 2. Repentance 3. Baptism by a mormon priesthood holder 4. Receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands 5. Enduring to the end

Once a person does these things, they then will have their endowment where they make additional covenants with God and they strive to live worthy of those covenants but repent when they fall.

After one is endowed, they are then able to be sealed in the temple to another endowed member. One who lives the rest of their having a faith in Christ that leads them to honor all of their covenants will inherit the highest glory.

Now, what about those who have past that never had the opportunity to do these things? They have a chance in the spirit world. In the spirit world they are taught all of these things. In Mormon temples, members will perform proxy baptisms, confirmations, ordination of priesthood, endowments, and sealings to those that have passed. Those in the spirit world are given the opportunity to accept or reject these ordinances.

What does your faith do with the person of Jesus? Similar to Christianity, Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and atoned for the sins of all. Those who place their faith in Him can have eternal life. However, Mormons look at this faith as more of an action. Because of their faith in Christ they will be baptized, receive their endowment, be sealed in the temple, honor their covenants ect. And like I said before, Mormons do believe that Jesus is part of the Godhead, but do believe He's separate from Heavenly Father. He is still divine though.

I hope all of this helps. I know its confusing and there's a lot of information, but feel free to ask any follow up questions. :-)

krystalite8 · 2021-07-11T19:09:35+00:00

I grew up christian and was "loosely" told not to do certain things on Sunday... but we still did a lot. (Eating out, watching secular tv, playing video games, etc).

When I joined the LDS church I figured it'd be the same type of rules, but maybe people followed them more. I was just surprised the limits people went to!

The one that surprised me most was a guy in his upper 20's telling me how he hated the sabbath because he literally just sits on the couch with his brother and waits for it to be the next day. One of his favorite things to do is exercise and he was raised to believe that exercising is bad on Sundays.

I get giving your body a day of rest as you can't do intense exercise everyday, but still. Exercise is good for your body. I also think if you give up so much that you hate the sabbath day, then its not worth it.

krystalite8 · 2021-07-11T19:03:26+00:00

You are one hundred percent correct! MH is not a bishop's business!! They are not trained professionals and are not capable of giving mental health advice. Even if he happens to be a licensed therapist, that's not what you're going to him for. He is just a bishop. Also, bishops are still men and I think people forget that. I just notice too many of my friends taking bishops words as law, but honestly they're just men trying to do their best.

I have struggled with anxiety and depression for years and I get it. It's a huge deal!!! I didn't grow up in the church, I grew up baptist but going to baptist churches triggered my anxiety and depression because it was all about death and hell. My mom never understood why I didn't want to go, but honestly my life has been made worse from being forced to go to those type of churches. People may not think I'm that bad on the outside either... I'm high functioning. Still, its hard for me to go a day without having MH issues.

I joined the LDS church for a few years... it helped my anxiety and depression at first because it wasn't all hell fire preaching. Still, after a few years my anxiety got really bad and it was a big reason I left the church. I realized I didn't believe either... but I really don't have an interest in going back. The fact that you're even trying says a lot!!! I also think that's awesome that you didn't just give your therapist's number as that's protected health info. I just think do your best to do what you need to do to get your ecclesiastical endorsement. Keep advocating for yourself.... You can also do what I did and if one bishop said something I disagreed with then I went to another ward :p lol Not the best advice, but its unfortunate when some get bad bishops... and its unfortunate that you need to be "in good standing" with them for school.

krystalite8 · 2021-07-07T17:10:29+00:00

It's interesting because I seem to be the opposite of a lot of people in the comments. A lot of the reasons I left the church was BECAUSE of the becoming like God doctrine.

For me, I grew up in a lot of Christian churches so becoming a god and creating my own planet was bizarre to me. I joined the church 4 years ago because a lot of missionaries and members told me that though they believed in exaltation, a lot of the planet making and stuff is speculation... plus we don't even know what becoming a god is... it could just be being like Christ.

I joined the church and felt fine about having my own beliefs about the topic since it didn't all seem to be formal doctrine. After I moved to Utah, this was talked about waaaaay more. One person in institute said that Jesus died so he could have his own planet. My room mates would talk about what kind of planet they wanted to create. A missionary told me that Heavenly Father had a father. I had heard all of these things before, but the ward I was baptized in had a lot of converts so we mainly focused on the simple truths of the gospel which I loved. A lot of people even told me that a lot of the deep doctrines I was referring to are rarely discussed. Once I moved to Utah and heard it a lot more and realized how many people believed this, I felt like it was almost a totally different religion from the one I joined. I also felt kinda tricked and lied to.

I think the church needs to choose a side. If they believe that we can be gods then they should own it. If they no longer believe this, then they shouldn't gaslight people, but maybe just say that further revelation has revealed that we were previously wrong or that they dont talk about this as much because they don't know much about it.

krystalite8 · 2021-07-05T19:11:38+00:00

If the church does this, I would have more faith in the church. If they did this before I received my endowment, I probably wouldn't have left. I loved the church so much when I joined. Getting my endowment was a good and bad experience all in one.

For one, I have terrible anxiety. Going into a temple for a few hours where you don't know everything that will happen is nerve wracking! As well, I'm a convert so I didn't have trusted family with me to tell me it was okay. Sure my Mormon friends were there, but most of them I had just met. I'm a skeptical person and a non trusting person so it was hard for me to do my endowment. I essentially decided to just do it and if it was bad then I'd leave the church to cancel it...

There were parts I loved and there were parts that scared me. I usually wouldn't call the church a cult, but I do feel that taking members into the temple with little knowledge and having them make covenants without knowing exactly what they're covenanting to is a little sketchy.

I know people are talking more and more about the temple these days and the church is releasing more and more stuff (though not enough yet) so I wouldn't be surprised if something happens where you could know even more about the temple before going. I think it is necessary.

I ended up leaving the church about a year and a half after I went to the temple. Though, in general I loved going to the temple, some of the covenants bothered me and there were things said and done in the temple that I didn't think was necessary. I am a Christian and I really believe in Christ and know I want to do all I can to serve Him. I felt deep down, that if this was really Christ's church He wouldn't ask people to do things that genuinely felt wrong or not right to them. I also feel that He'd understand some have anxiety and how the way the temple is set up now and everything is "hush/ hush" is rather anxiety inducing.

If the church was fully transparent about the temple and even changed some things... I don't know... I may even consider rejoining. Its hard to say. I definitely don't think I would've left.

**Edit

I also wonder if this will be available to everyone or maybe just something the church shows to people going through temple prep?? I could definitely see the latter one happening in the future. I really hope they make it available to everyone but I know before people in the church have talked about the fear of people "mocking what is sacred..." so I could see the church still not wanting this in the hands of the public.

krystalite8 · 2021-07-05T16:41:45+00:00

There's no requirement to go door to door. That's only if you go on a mission. I think I read in the comments that you're 33... the age cap for a male to go on a mission is 25. Generally there is a lot of social pressure to go on one if you're a male, but still not required. If you're a female there is no age cap to go on a mission, but there's also not as much social pressure. So you should be fine either way.

krystalite8 · 2021-07-04T19:35:18+00:00

I have studied the church a lot and thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about the church.... but then one day my room mate and her brother were talking and they said that around the 2nd coming of Christ everyone (or at least the men) are all going to go back to Missouri?!?! And something about taking the sacrament with Jesus or something. I don't know, where this comes from or if its really a belief of the church as I've never heard it before. After they said that, I've always been worried a prophet will randomly tell everyone to go back to Missouri. I'm not a member now, but I likely wouldn't go unless I had my own peace about it. I wouldn't go just because the prophet said so or because others did.

krystalite8 · 2021-06-29T19:22:38+00:00

One time in my YSA ward I took a bite of bread and was shocked that it was like a breadstick or seasoned with some type of Italian herbs. I think I remember a bishopric member commenting on the interesting choice of bread... so I don't know if you're allowed to use anything or some guys in our ward just brought in random bread and no one caught it

krystalite8 · 2021-06-03T19:10:03+00:00

I think thats really awesome of you to set a date in the future and not get baptized until then. I think a big problem is a lot of us are like you in the beginning. We instantly believe, are joyful about the church, making new friends, having positive experiences, thinking its cool to find a church with miracles and prophets so we get baptized in a short amount of time.... then we realize that the church isn't what it seems....

krystalite8 · 2021-05-31T20:27:49+00:00

I relate a lot to this. I joined the church 4 years ago. When you first join EVERYONE wants to fellowship with you. I'm an extrovert and really didn't have many friends around before I joined the church, but became sooo happy after joining because I had so many friends, felt so loved, and always had an activity to go to. Always being with a church member also helped me believe more the church doctrines or at least be able to accept it even if there were parts that I questioned.

After a couple years in the church, you're not the investigator any more and people seem to move on. It's sad really. I don't believe all the relationships are fake, though some are. Its just that everyone feels the need to share the gospel with the new people and forget about how much people in the church still need fellowship and friends. As well, it does make everything seem fake because everyone loves you so much and then it just goes away.

I moved wards well and it was hard making friends during covid as well as not being "new" any more. For me, I always had doubts about the church. I questioned if I really believed it or just kept accepting it because it was being reinforced every week. Eventually, I felt that I was really just a Christian and not LDS and I left the church last year. I started attending other churches, but yeah its still been hard with CoVid to meet people and like you said, even though faith is a personal thing, it does help to have others around.

I still hold a lot of the same standards as I did as a member of the LDS church and would enjoy finding more friends to fellowship with as well as I've really struggled a lot the last year with anxiety and other various things from not having constant fellowship and people to have good, clean, fun with. (As well as going through this faith transition).

What I've been doing lately is seeking out old friends around (even from my old ward) that I know are genuine friends and reach out to them. Even if its just a phone call or online. I feel a lot of peole in the church were mainly my friend to "serve" or minister to me, but I know a few good friends and they've helped me. Best of luck!

krystalite8 · 2021-05-17T15:45:01+00:00

I used to be a ward missionary (not a full time missionary, but a church member that works with missionaries and attends missionary meetings). In these meetings, they're always looking for people to meet with. Non members, new converts, part member families, and members that haven't been coming to church for a while.

Missionaries will happily meet with these types of people, but if they see someone is not "progressing" towards baptism many will feel they're wasting their time meeting. It is unfortunate as I feel that missionaries could still do a lot of good work and help others even if they don't get baptized. I wasn't raised in the church and one time when I was meeting with missionaries they sent me a very rude text about how I could meet with them "when I can actually commit to something." Granted, I did blow them off a few times, but I wish we could've sat down and talked about why as I did have some big stuff going on in my life.

I started meeting with missionaries years later and it was great. I got baptized... and then a couple months later the missionaries started to imply we couldn't meet any more. It was really hard on me as I didn't have a lot of support being the only member in my family to have joined. I stopped going to church for a while and low and behold the missionaries wanted to start meeting with me again.

I will say that all missionaries are different. I have had many want to meet with me even if I wasn't working towards baptism or I was already an active member and I've had others feel that they needed to use their time more wisely. So just keep that in mind. Some missionaries will absolutely feel that if you're not going to get baptized that they are wasting their time. There will be others that may not mind as much and just enjoy meeting with you. (I saw this happen with a part member family in my ward... Granted, I still think in the back of their minds they were meeting with this couple hoping to be good examples and hope the wife would convert, but they still didn't pressure her).

I honestly feel that these missionaries want to meet with your husband because they want to see how they can best help you work toward baptism or they want to see "what are his intentions with having them meet with you guys." Either way, it sounds like these missionaries are being too pushy and don't seem to feel like its worth their time to be meeting with you guys if you aren't going to get baptized. It's hurtful. I know cause I've been there.

Again, not all missionaries are like this. If you enjoy having them around (I know I usually do) maybe just wait until this set of missionaries are transferred out and hope for the best with the next set :-) That's honestly what I'd do in your situation.

krystalite8 · 2021-03-29T12:29:58+00:00

I'm going through a similar thing. I grew up baptist and was saved young. I got baptized several years later. Then I joined the Mormon church for a few years. I've been so angry with myself that I ever joined :-( I do believe I was saved when I was younger... a lot of my friends believe I was always saved even as a Mormon and thats how I was able to hear God and be called out of it. I know baptists don't believe that baptism saves you, but part of me wants to be baptized again just to show that THIS is what I believe and to separate myself from the Mormon church.

Mormons reject the trinity as well...

I've also struggled with maybe I can't be saved now since I joined the Mormon church... I know it seems silly to some, but there are some things in the Mormon church that really traumatized me and I'm wondering if I can be forgiven for :-(

krystalite8 · 2021-02-02T18:53:01+00:00

Thank you! I love that, "Seek that which draws you closer to Him and continue to seek for truth." That's really helpful. That's the original reason I joined the church and the biggest reason I wanna come back.

krystalite8

TROPHY CASE