I See the Light!
....Sometimes
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
I was baptized just short of my 18th birthday, thanks to a great friend who saw potential in me, and introduced me to the Church.
And let me tell ya, I wish I'd known these things as I was growing up.
I'm 29 yrs old now. I look around me and I see a wide spectrum of church members. To name a few: There are the really faithful members, who radiate with truth. They come to know the truth for themselves by studying and praying about every little question they've had, and seeking guidance from a higher authority than their own imperfect minds. I've been there, and I want to be that way again.
There are those who came from really strong families. Of those people, I've observed that some of them continue to be strong and to teach their own children well. Others who came from good families seem to have taken it for granted. Some of them seem to fall into the ways of the world (with one of more of these issues, for example: materialism, gossip, questionable entertainment), while still appearing to be vigorously active in the church.
There are the doubters, who have felt a burning testimony at one time, and continue to plug away until they feel it again, but have fallen away just enough that it's hard for them to truly talk it out with Heavenly Father. ~I fall into that category right now.~
And some people have given up altogether because they just want to do their own thing, and don't understand that they're throwing away a REALLY GREAT ROAD MAP.
I've experienced what life is like without religion, and it's a scary world, not knowing what the heck I'm doing here, or what the heck I'm supposed to do with my life.
Sometimes I get emotional when an adult is speaking in Sacrament meeting, when I imagine how that person's child(ren) feel seeing their parent up there. I think how great it would have been to see my own parents standing in front of a congregation speaking about the most important things in life. What a contrast that would have been to the way I really grew up.
I really hope that the children in our church appreciate what's going on here. This is immense...that they've been born into these awesome families...all they have to do is "Choose The Right" because they're already being taught what the right is. Most of us had to figure out what the "right" was for ourselves. I realize that everyone has to make choices, and often children who know better make wrong choices anyway, just to explore the world and test the waters. *Sigh* But if they'd only get it right the first time, they wouldn't have to make that detour, and hopefully come to their senses much later in life.
I want to make sure that my son never takes his membership in the Church for granted. I want him to grow up knowing that there are zillions of choices that he could be making, and that having the church's guidance in his life is like having a sickle to cut his way through the wilderness. Cut through the junk, and rise above it, so he never has to get tangled in it.
And let me tell ya, I wish I'd known these things as I was growing up.
I'm 29 yrs old now. I look around me and I see a wide spectrum of church members. To name a few: There are the really faithful members, who radiate with truth. They come to know the truth for themselves by studying and praying about every little question they've had, and seeking guidance from a higher authority than their own imperfect minds. I've been there, and I want to be that way again.
There are those who came from really strong families. Of those people, I've observed that some of them continue to be strong and to teach their own children well. Others who came from good families seem to have taken it for granted. Some of them seem to fall into the ways of the world (with one of more of these issues, for example: materialism, gossip, questionable entertainment), while still appearing to be vigorously active in the church.
There are the doubters, who have felt a burning testimony at one time, and continue to plug away until they feel it again, but have fallen away just enough that it's hard for them to truly talk it out with Heavenly Father. ~I fall into that category right now.~
And some people have given up altogether because they just want to do their own thing, and don't understand that they're throwing away a REALLY GREAT ROAD MAP.
I've experienced what life is like without religion, and it's a scary world, not knowing what the heck I'm doing here, or what the heck I'm supposed to do with my life.
Sometimes I get emotional when an adult is speaking in Sacrament meeting, when I imagine how that person's child(ren) feel seeing their parent up there. I think how great it would have been to see my own parents standing in front of a congregation speaking about the most important things in life. What a contrast that would have been to the way I really grew up.
I really hope that the children in our church appreciate what's going on here. This is immense...that they've been born into these awesome families...all they have to do is "Choose The Right" because they're already being taught what the right is. Most of us had to figure out what the "right" was for ourselves. I realize that everyone has to make choices, and often children who know better make wrong choices anyway, just to explore the world and test the waters. *Sigh* But if they'd only get it right the first time, they wouldn't have to make that detour, and hopefully come to their senses much later in life.
I want to make sure that my son never takes his membership in the Church for granted. I want him to grow up knowing that there are zillions of choices that he could be making, and that having the church's guidance in his life is like having a sickle to cut his way through the wilderness. Cut through the junk, and rise above it, so he never has to get tangled in it.