This second post was in response to someone who asked me to identify myself as someone other than “Former Mormon from North Carolina.”
“Former Mormon from North Carolina” here.
My name is David. I grew up in Provo, served a mission in Paris France, graduated from BYU, lived and worked in Utah until I moved to North Carolina in 1993. I come from a four-generation Mormon family (five if you include my children). I served in many leadership roles (High Priest group leader, Bishopric) and taught nearly every kind of class in the church (Sunday School, Primary, etc.)
I am not unsympathetic to the difficulty of pulling away from the culture and organization of Mormonism especially in Utah. Personally, I have not attended the Mormon church since I was born again. My wife comes from a long-line of Methodist ministers so we attend that demonination (yes, I recognize some irony there).
However, just months after I was born again, my son and his wife had a baby boy (my first grandchild). I traveled to Utah and while I was there the baby was blessed (a sort of Mormon version of christening to those not familiar). Now, I chose to attend the service but I did not “stand in” (even though I was technically still a member of the church and held the Melchezidek Priesthood). Now, many would say I should not have attended at all on the principle that I was supporting a false religion.
I can also be criticized for not zealously trying to evangelize to my children who still remain LDS. They know where I stand and we have discussed some things but I have not been hard-sell. So, I understand the emotional battle here.
But I think to promote changing the Mormon church from within is not a gray area. And to think that a new Christian can grow and thrive despite remaining in the church is dangerous. I find the message on Shawn’s website (I have not read the book) confusing. He seems to promote staying in church (although he eventually left it) yet he offers recommendations for non-Mormon places to worship in Utah.
Is Shawn’s message just to ease out of it or to stay in it to reform it?
What did Jesus say? His message was not unclear. Luke 9:
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
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