I was once active on discussion boards, but after the age of 60 I went back to school and earned a theology degree. So anyway, as fate would have it, we have to have social distancing so that gives me time to come here and exchange info and ideas. So, hi to everyone here. I'm ready to discuss subjects. How about you?
Being honest and giving you full disclosure, I once belonged to a non-denominational church that ordained me after I had graduated from a Bible College (that was in 1981 IIRC.) They became part of the LDS and I did not follow them. No disrespect, but I just did not accept that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I'm not denigrating the LDS and I might be 100 percent wrong, but you follow the path our Heavenly Father provides. I liked some of what Herbert W. Armstrong had to say before he passed away (Worldwide Church of God.) Still I found doctrinal differences. I became just an attendee at various churches for years. So, I went back to school, enrolling at the age of 59. This time, I am working in a non-denominational church, but plan to pitch the idea for a new denomination since it appears that organized religion failed in its mission. Sorry for being long winded, but that's the way it is and you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Sounds as though you’ve found your niche which is good. Friend of mine used to attend any church that was handy. Not tied to any denomination, she’d go to Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian.
To me, organized religion has become like a business. It's all about the dollars. Change my mind if you will. Maybe this should be a thread IDK.
I always sort of wondered why anyone would go along with such obvious bushwa as Joseph Smith was selling until I realized that one of the lesser publicized precepts of the early Mormons was the idea that abducting your neighbors' daughters and holding them as sex slaves were perfectly within approved Church teaching. It's what got them thrown out of Nauvoo and they never really stopped it on neighboring ranchers or wagon trains passing through Deseret until the Feds threatened to send in the Army. They still kept polygamy until they were given their own State. Since you seem to have come to the conclusion that organized religion has failed in its mission why are you pitching a new one? I've always thought that non-denominationalism is sort of the unofficial "State" Religion for the USA anyhow.
That's really bizarre that a non-denominational church would become part of LDS. I'd be interested in a little detail how that happened.
Heck, look at the Shakers, originally called "Shaking Quakers". Over 150 years ago there were thousands of members. Today, there are only 3. Of course, it is rather predictable, considering one of their telnets of faith is celibacy.
One sect did allow sex through a hole in a sheet. But your bodies were not allowed to touch otherwise. Reminds me of my ex wife...
But without later generations being born into and raised in the faith, it is only a matter of time before it died out. No religion can really survive with only converts and not following generations.
Oh yeah, I watched a documentary about them. Having just gotten out of a marriage that was sexless for ten years, I considered suggesting my ex wife should join. Indoctrination of the young before they are old enough to think for themselves, is key to many religions. I know. I was raised Catholic.
Sorry, I clicked on a link somewhere and my computer took a dump. It took me this long to get it back up and going. In answer to your question, our tenets of faith are not represented in mainstream churches AND we will not seek non-profit status from the government. If the government chooses to tax us for spreading the Word, well, that is the cost of being out of the system.
I didn't disappear. I clicked on a link that destroyed my computer (it got past all kinds of anti-virus software) and someone else had to recover stuff from my hard drive. You did not waste any welcomes on me. Sorry for the absence.
Try Kaspersky! Who could do it better than the Russians? My computer geek's fav. He tells me when his customers ask to switch to another system, he makes more re installing Kaspersky. @Resistance101 YOU got a lot of replies to do! (Ricky Ricardo voice) Moi Welcome Status: pending Support The Dual Wall Solution
Thanks to everybody for welcoming me in. I've been kind of lurking, waiting to figure out what to say that would be worth reading. Okay, I'll take the plunge.
I had to look that moi up. It was an abbreviation for many things; the only one that fit me was Moment of Insanity. Okay, I'm a little crazy. You'll love me for it some day.