I go every Sunday.Service is about 3 1/2 hours long.

Church is in my heart. I started to go to service Tues or Friday and found the calm there, people's hearts questioning made me feel a little more settled. I actually feel better talking to God in nature and responses that come are more healing than in a structured enviroment.
Then there are times when G. is silent, no matter the search and questioning. As if what you've learned it's time to apply. Sometimes don't get it and feel like have to restart my relationship.
Moments, don't know if God is a man or woman or what- yet know, the compassion is so stong. Other times...there is nothing. I query...yet then know. It's such a personal relationship, so individual, eachs experience is so vastly different that even comprehension is difficult.
LDS are so secular, they come to cook 2-3 x a week. They cross their arms to pray and asked them why, it looked like they were blocking people out (and G). What was explained wasn't very satisfactory, almost like they were confused. Occasionally...Meet a group that are awake- in Utah and Nevada there are alot of Mormons. Good people. They have a sort of vacant look to their eyes. Kind of spooky- almost. I explain how we do things in the kitchen and one kind of gets the feeling from them that you don't know what you're talking about and they know better how to do it. Then it's a mess from the getgo. You can't get upset tho, because the'r hearts are in the right place.
I'm sorry to say this yet it's like dealing with a bunch of induced people. On what? I have no idea. My sincerest apologiest to anyone who have affilation with LDS, but they are a strange people.

I do not go to church.

I didn't for YEARS either. Go now for different reasons. It's a personal thing. Making peace with past demons, and believe me..they're out there.

Word!

Come live in Utah for a while....

The ones you met struck you as strange. And, perhaps they are. Perhaps WE are strange to THEM. Perhaps they are brainwashed and being held in some kind of cult. Who knows? Religions break into factions that abuse their followers all the time. Jim Jones is a prime example...and yet no one believes that all Christians are like that. It's NOT the religion. It's what people do with religion. So, when you say "all Mormons" or "all Christians" or "all Muslims" you have just spoken an untruth. Religion is the means by which we connect with the Divine. And, everyone has a slightly different way of doing that. Sometimes it looks strange to outsiders. Sometimes there really is something going wrong. But, either way, it's not fair to judge all "all Mormons" by the Mormons one has met.

I go to the Unitarian Church, you know what they say about Unitarians? The only time you hear "Jesus Christ" is when the janitor falls down the steps! Last Easter the minister said "Jesus Lives" and then immediately said he was sorry, he meant to say "Jesus' words live".

Oooh, now it is like Church Ha Ha Ha!

where two or three gather, Christ will be there, even in church. our excuses are not valid before his throne of judgment.
Simon Dannie, India

Yes, it is a personal thing. I have no desire to go to church, so I don't go.

Having a measured opinion on any subject, that another takes offense to is really down to subjective (mis)interpretation. Since when was discussion of the various religions anything but embattled and contentious?

Only the Admin. here can decide what is an attack, not we forum members. It is up to all of us to work w/in the forum guidelines and be polite as possible when stating our truths. It isn't our jurisdiction what is solely the owner's rights in determining what constitutes possible infractions of those guidelines.

I can politely wax eloquent on 'Fire and Brimstone Baptists', regardless of an outsider's individual disagreement w/ my stance. My stance is still derived from a childhood and lifetime w/ vast experience regarding it, and has great merit.

An individual stating I've personally offended them, when I merely stated a studied, albeit biased perspective by definition? That seems to be a stretch that requires that individual's imagination, more than what I might have stated and intended.

I find those that are from a certain religion, w/ both a practicing family in that religion and that live in the heart of that community, to much more greatly edify me on their take from such an informed perspective, vs. someone who may have a best friend and a few acquaintances from said religion. Who better to 'represent'?

I have a very best friend that is also Mormon. She is one of the most, if not the most, incredible people I've ever met in my entire life.

Still, I am very interested in hearing someone's well informed opinion about Mormonism, as I find the method in which their Bible was derived FAR more than suspect. More like absolutely cracked. The entire timeline of predictions their Bible is based on has even come and gone, yet the Mormons still uphold the book?

I found the movie 'Religulous' told the most I've yet to learn about the Mormon's, from both the insiders, the renegades that left and from a historical perspective.

And? Many stated things along the lines of what Lori and Shasta put forth, particularly the 2 men that left the fold and tell of the absolute, heartbreaking severance/ex~communication they suffered from their fold and families.

Religion is not always a method to connect to the Divine ... The planetary state of devolution informs me it is often a propaganda machine to scheeple, control and extort the lives of its followers.

Religions have created a gigantic mess on a global scale, that is the furtherest thing from Divine Connection I've EVER witnessed!

TO ME!

No offense is intended, and my critical reasoning is my own to describe and share w/ respect.

All that said ...

Church is also in my heart, and I also feel the profoundest sense of connection w/ the Divine in nature as well.

The formal 'Church', did my psyche great damage that I've sought to undo for a lifetime now.

... To each their own, RESPECT!

As in medicine ... DO NO HARM!

I rarely go but I wish to change that. I have a daughter and want her to have the spiritual foundation that I did growing up, and the positive influences.

To be truthful, in vegas, its hard to find a church that FITS. There are alot of hell and brimstone(we are all going to hell and life sucks) churches or mickey mouse (we are all saved and life is grand)churches. I was brought up with more of a balance and having a hard time finding a church with that style of preaching.

5 times a day for me ; )

Machiavelli: Divide and Conquer ... ... *Shudder*

You are Muslim? That is one religion I am not familiar with at all and would like to learn more about. Can you recommend any good books on the subject?

I have cleaned up this thread. Please leave the personal attack or drama off of the forums.

Kim

We went many years ago, afterwords we mentioned that 'God' wasn't mentioned at all, maybe he was during the meditation, but we were fussing with the baby and missed it.

There are several avenues you can take. One is that you can wikipedia, Islam or the Qu'ran, and get a little background. Two, there are several websites that offer an introduction to Islam and what it is all about. Three, many churches offer an inter-faith exchange where both muslims and christians visit each other's place of worship to gain a better understanding of what their faith is, and to cast aside any prejudice or ignorance. And four, you could actually go attend a service at Mosque, and/or meet with an Imam, and learn about what Islam is. You will find that there are many commonalities in the Big 3, and that we are all worshipping the same God.