Come, Follow Me Down the Rabbit Hole

I've been learning about the LDS faith. Needless to say, I have a number of questions.

[bookofnevermormon]

Why lead with “families are forever?”

I’ve visited temples and church history sites in several states, and I find it interesting that the missionaries almost always circle back around to the “families are forever” concept, no matter what they’re talking about. As an example: at the St. George temple, I mentioned that I love how “music and dancing” are literally written into the curriculum for young people. The sister missionary replied with something to the extent of, “they’re great ways to celebrate and share joy, especially with your family, and in our church we believe that you can be with your family for all eternity!” Which...sure! That’s cool! But also...duh?

Here’s the thing: every church believes that families are forever. I can’t think of a single religious tradition that has the concept of an afterlife, but doesn’t believe you can be with your loved ones in that afterlife. That’s half the reason you want to go to heaven, really - to be reunited with those you’ve lost Yet every missionary seems to bring it up as a uniquely LDS thing. 

I’d love some thoughts/insights on this, especially from people who have served a mission!

[bookofnevermormon]

An update on correlation

Previously, I’ve been posting my questions about the lessons in Come Follow Me. I think it will be more interesting to ask my questions in the month they are intended for, so I’ll be pausing those posts until the new year. Don’t worry, I still have a number of questions about the Mor -- ahem, sorry, about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and what Saints of all stripes believe.

About this blog

About my study of Come Follow Me

[bookofnevermormon]

What’s “eternal increase?”

In President Boyd K. Packer’s talk, The Witness, he says that, “The promise of eternal increase will not be denied any faithful individual who makes and keeps sacred covenants.” What does that mean? 

And what does that mean for me, specifically? I’m a lady who has zero interest in marrying or having children. Does increase mean having spirit babies? Because...pass.

(Come Follow Me, YW, January)

[bookofnevermormon]

Studyblr, tell me your secrets

Do your lecture/textbook notes look like that right off the bat? Or do you do “rough draft” notes and then clean them up into beautiful “Final Draft” notes? I’d love to see more rough draft shots!

(I absolutely do two drafts - a messy one where I just freeflow whatever I’m hearing/reading, and then a second pass where I organize, rewrite, and really process the ingo)

[renzzyenz]

Can we for real and just for a minute stop implying that marriage is a reward for being righteous and that if you’re REALLY GOOD then poof there’s your husband

[mommacomms]

Marriage ISN’T A FREEBIE FOR BEING GOOD. Lord have mercy I wish I could have been there to strike fear and correct doctrine into that person

[bookofnevermormon]

And some people *GASP* don’t even particularly care about getting married at all! Whaaaaaaaaat

[bookofnevermormon]

Why do we need an “advocate” to Heavenly Father?

In his talk, “The Witness,” Elder Packer describes Jesus Christ as, “our Advocate with the Father.” What exactly does that mean? Why do we need Christ to advocate on our behalf to our Father that loves us?

(Come Follow Me, January)

[bookofnevermormon]

Come, Follow Me Down The Rabbit Hole

I love learning about Mormon history, and I’m digging into the teachings of the LDS church. I started by reading the Book of Mormon (more on that later), but I thought I could get a good entry-level picture of what you learn in church by going through the Come Follow Me curriculum. I got an awesome 2017 study guide from the Redheaded Hostess, and off I went. 

I’ll be making each question I asked along the way into a separate post, and I hope - no matter who you are or where you fit into the faith spectrum (yes, even you way over there) - that you’ll share your thoughts.

[bookofnevermormon]

Hello!

I’m fascinated with all the LDS faith, and I’ve been reading. And reading. And reading some more. To be clear: I’m not an investigator. I’m not interested in joining (and I can talk about why, if anyone cares).

Needless to say, I have a number of questions. I’m going to be posting them here, and I look forward to hearing from all across the LDS spectrum. Faithful Mormons, Jack Mormons, Ex-Mormons, Post-Mormons, Community of Christ, Remnant members, Fundamentalist friends I haven’t met yet. Bless me with your perspective.