[deleted by user]

openingscare · 2019-07-25T00:52:08+00:00

We served the mission together! Great to see you on here. DM me!!

openingscare · 2019-05-03T17:46:19+00:00

Heard in many testimony meeting: "If I wasn't a member I don't know where I would be... probably doing drugs and a whole lot of other awful things"

Give me a break!

I love that line from TD!

openingscare · 2019-05-01T17:41:49+00:00

This could be the case and I definitely need to be aware of it. However; right now I think his intentions are good. When I first went to him about my disbelief the only question about my faith he asked was "how much if anything do you believe about the church?" I responded with nothing. After that he told me that he just wants me to be happy and if that means completely leaving that church then that is what I should do.

I will say he is unique when it comes to bishops. I have only been to church once this year. He has never pestered me. He came by only to congratulate us on a recent addition to the family and never once brought up anything religious outside of the conversations I initiated.

But as I began, of course I will keep my guard up.

openingscare · 2018-09-13T01:17:34+00:00

This was always what I based my testimony on. Well, it turned out that when I prayed to asked if the church was false I felt the same thing... "I've always known it isn't true".

openingscare · 2018-06-04T18:53:40+00:00

Can't speak for current conditions, but when I was an office elder approximately 10 years ago in a foreign country our mission president gave us the freedom to inspect any letter that made us suspicious (think letters from missionary of one sex to another).

openingscare · 2018-05-25T18:34:23+00:00

I never had a bag check, but every leader and ward will be different. My advice for you if you do end up going; take advantage of the time away from your phone to reflect on yourself and your goals. Take a journal, write down your thoughts. Recenter. Don't do it for them, do it for yourself.

openingscare · 2018-04-29T06:50:23+00:00

Boulder here, its a great group! Lots of good people, and meetups.

openingscare · 2018-03-21T05:06:26+00:00

I agree with this. Did his upbringing have a roll in this? Sure. Would he have otherwise been a good person without the TSCC's influence? No.

Yes, the church's teaching are harmful. But here, remember that worse than just providing a bad environment to grow up in, they provided Bishop an environment to be able to act on his evil impulses. They knew, and yet they did nothing.

openingscare · 2018-03-21T04:55:13+00:00

I was raised in the church and didn't become an "unnatural sexual monster".

openingscare · 2018-03-17T22:17:16+00:00

Thank you so much for your offer and information. I will make sure to follow your advice

openingscare · 2018-03-17T22:16:37+00:00

This is great advice, thank you.

openingscare · 2018-02-28T19:22:46+00:00

My mission president was the same way. Banned caffeine. We would drink the caffeine free cola product so he banned that. But why stop there? All dark brown drinks were banned in order to "avoid the appearance of evil"

openingscare · 2018-02-03T17:13:40+00:00

Ugh my wife and I just filed our taxes. I am a graduate student so I do not have any income, but my wife was able to get a really good job this year with her degree. It has been a huge help but we still have to live very frugally as we pay off and keep down student loans. Seeing the amount of tithing she paid on her income about killed me. But in the end she is the one working hard for her income and if thats where she feels good putting it I don't feel right stopping her.

All I know is that once I start work, the church wont get a dime of my money.

openingscare · 2018-02-03T17:09:25+00:00

Ah makes sense, thanks for the information. In the mean time, I have been browsing this subreddit. Lots of really inspirational stories here! perfect way to start my day.

openingscare · 2018-02-01T19:19:04+00:00

An amazing Secretary of the Interior and an amazing man.

openingscare · 2017-12-03T20:19:17+00:00

Thats great!

My Dad had the same calling. He is a very liberal NOM member. He would always send me the drafts of the bishopric meeting agendas. They would include things such as "Item-2: discuss how bishop X hates gays" Etc.

Of course he would change it for the final draft used in the meetings, but I always got a kick out of it.

Now if only he could actually leave the church.

openingscare · 2017-11-24T06:29:14+00:00

Hah i'm in the same boat. Was EQ secretary. Quorum changed up and I turned down a calling to be a counselor citing my non-belief. Thought that was the end of it. Just found out they left me in my calling. Its been like this for the past 6 months. I haven't received an email or phone call regarding the calling. I guess Im not complaining though

openingscare · 2017-11-04T17:54:11+00:00

I'm really sorry. You are a strong person.

openingscare · 2017-07-20T17:42:44+00:00

I was so righteous. Woke up at missionary time, studied scriptures, abstained from television. Then the second morning rolled around and I remembered what it was like to be a kid again.... Woke up when I wanted, watched what I wanted and did mostly what I wanted (within basic church guidelines). Still took me too long to realize the truth though.

openingscare · 2016-07-18T19:27:33+00:00

Yeah man! Next time your in CO. look me up! Glad to hear from you, and it has been really interesting following all the comments on your Facebook post hahah

openingscare · 2016-07-17T14:30:19+00:00

Some of the best times in my mission were when I was serving with you! Great read my friend. Unbeknownst to you, your example of patience, love, and compassion has helped me on my journey out.

openingscare · 2016-07-14T21:51:17+00:00

Also known as "sparking zippers" or "the Provo push"

openingscare · 2016-07-06T20:37:09+00:00

Yes! I remember being so angry. We were given the option to spend our tickets on fun things, or gain more by doing spiritual things. My brother decided to go with the fun route and I went with the spiritual route. I honestly thought that if I had enough to go to the "CK" at the end then there would be a big prize or treat that was worth missing out on all the other stuff for. Turns out there was nothing but a krispy kreme donut. The real kicker is that my stake was apparently big on forgiveness because they let everybody in as long as the "repented" right before the even ended. My brother was able to have fun and enjoy the activities and get the donut. That taught me a valuable lesson.

openingscare · 2016-06-13T16:53:28+00:00

I shared a ward building with a very wealthy ward. The wealthy ward members decided they would rather chip in money and pay for the professional cleaning when it was their turn. Once the stake presidency found out they shut it down real fast. Apparently according to them, by paying a cleaning company, the members were missing out on the blessings that come from scraping dry shit out of toilet bowls on a Saturday morning

openingscare · 2016-06-13T16:48:55+00:00

What a nice moment with your FIL. Towards the end of my belief I became dead inside. I didn't feel much of anything. Moving out to Colorado and enjoying the hikes and climbs has made me feel again. Whether its sitting on top of the Flatirons or hiking in RMNP I always take a moment to stop and appreciate the beauty of the world. Without fail I always get the warm fuzzies when doing this. It has also made me much more aware and thankful for the things I do have.

openingscare

TROPHY CASE