In Which My Mormon Upbringing Is Both a Blessing and a CURSE
As a rule I stay as far away from Temple Square and environs as possible (I no longer feel comfortable surrounded by Mormons), but yesterday the power of my scholarship compelled me to spend a total of eight hours in the Mormon Family History Library, the largest genealogical research library in the world—according to Wikipedia, at least—and a veritable hotbed of the Mormoniest of Mormons.
I and my fellow scholarship recipients were hosted in a small, wood-paneled room (“the largest classroom in the Library,” we were told) and sat through eight presentations on the Family History Library, genealogy, technology and archiving. Despite the subjects, only one of the eight presentations our group of scholarship recipients attended was actively boring, and fortunately I was able to sleep through it without much problem.
It is always endlessly strange to find myself in a position where I am both the insider and outsider when it comes to Mormonism, even though it happens fairly often in Utah, but I don’t usually have to endure such situations for eight hours at a stretch. On the one hand, whenever our guide talked about being “prompted” to do something, or tried to explain why Mormons are so big on genealogy, I understood what she meant. On the other hand, the Mormon obsession with genealogy has never sounded as nutty, or Mormon theology as weird. I wonder what impression my non-Mormon classmates took away with them.
All that classroom time wore me out, and I was so tired this morning that I skipped swimming. What with the past few days of crazy eating and crazy not-eating, I am not doing too well in my personal fitness plan at the moment. But I have faith that this will change.
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September 23rd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
So, I kind of noticed while reading this article that you are a member, but choose not to be associated with the church. Out of curiosity-how come? Myself, I’ve been back from my mission to Costa Rica (where I had my testimony seriously tried and is now stronger than ever before) since February of this year. I’ve had so many positive and growth-inducing experiences in the church all throughout my life, whether it be in general conference, regular meetings, or speaking myself. I’d invite you to come back and give of yourself! That’s when you’ll find the greatest satisfaction.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Thanks for commenting, I guess. However, I would be more inclined to believe the sincerity of your proselytizing if you had made any effort to do your homework before launching into your spiel. I was going to refer you to the entirety of my blog, which would answer your questions, but I will take mercy and give you a few pertinent links instead:
Posts about my ex-Mormon journey
Posts about atheism/skepticism
Posts about my coming-out struggles
and, last but not least, yesterday’s post, Through a Glass, Darkly, in which I talk about growing up Mormon, being a Mormon missionary, attending BYU, coming out to myself as gay and losing my religion.
Knock yourself out.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
You know Ray, I used to be a Mormon, but no longer am, and despite having not had an easy time of it, I’ve had so many positive and growth-inducing experiences as a consequence of leaving the church, whether reading about all the reasons the church isn’t true, or blogging about it myself. I invite you to take a look at life outside of the church, and realise how much better it is to not be Mormon. I ask of you to give of your time and talents to worthy causes like promoting the rights of gays to marry, and making sure that we keep religious influence and God away from of the (constitutionally protected) secular society of America.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Because THAT is when you’ll find the most satisfaction in your life.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I wish I could go at least once to Utah and to Temple Square!