Posts Tagged ‘ testimony ’

I was exposed to this idea on a couple different occasions:  disaffected or disbelieving members share their experiences that led to their de-conversion in a group setting.  It made me really uncomfortable, essentially for the same reasons that Testimony Meetings make me uncomfortable. Here are a few hallmarks of both testimony and untestimony bearing: Pressure [...]

“It is a contradiction in terms and ideas, to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second-hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication”

“I like ta bury my testimony.  I know this church is true.  I love my mom and dad.  I like ice cream.  NameofJesusChristamen.” Discuss.

I am a Mormon.  I haven’t made a fancy ad of me skateboarding or anything like that, but still, I’m a Mormon.  But “why” am I a Mormon?   What makes me say that? Like many people in the Church, I was “born Mormon”.  I have ancestors who were born in Winter Quarters in 1846 on [...]

This afternoon’s post is by guest author Childe Jake. His other posts can be seen here and here. His personal blog is at http://thejakefoyer.blogspot.com/. Dear Dr. Carl Sagan, In The Demon-Haunted World, you write of a struggle that took place in your heart over whether or not there is an afterlife. You preface this struggle by introducing readers [...]

On August 6, 2009 I introduced myself to the bloggernacle with the introduction Unleashing the Analyst. A Personal Story. It is a story about me, my faith journey to that point, and some of the positions I had at that time. The real revelation in the story (even if only for myself) was the unboxing [...]

There has been a book of personal testimony making waves in Evangelical Christian circles for the past few months. Indeed, it isn’t just limited to Protestant Evangelicals; the person who recommended it to our family is a devout Catholic liberal. The book, entitled Heaven is for Real, is the real life story of Todd Burpo, [...]

I know it seems a bit odd to explain the purpose of a series after the series has already started, but there has been some confusion and I think I perhaps haven’t explained my goal with enough detail.  I’ve described various bits and pieces in the different posts, but here it is all together.  At [...]

“Brothers and Sisters.  I’d like to bear my testimony.  I don’t know this Church is true…” Have you ever heard a testimony like this?  And what would you think if someone got up next Fast Sunday and started their testimony like that?  Before getting into what a testimony like this might really be saying, I [...]

Today’s Guest post is by Childe Jake, a rather newly hatched blogger with an uncanny ability to convey his thoughts in a clear and enlightening way. His blog can be found at: http://thejakefoyer.blogspot.com/ I’d like to bear you my testimony, but I do not presume to know for certain that it is true. My post [...]

When writing a Christmas post on a site most frequented by religionists who stress the importance of family, you know most people who read the post are doing so after Christmas. (Those reading on Christmas Day itself are probably using the excuse of checking out new electronics that Santa brought by in the morning. Well, [...]

A recent post at neighboring blog, BCC, talks about the rising percentage of 20- and 30-somethings who claim “none” as their religion.  Historically, the church has experienced a lot of attrition in this age range, either YSAs (Young Single Adults) who find the strict adherence to the law of chastity increasingly difficult to navigate or [...]

Today’s guest post is by TH, who is a woman serving in the Office of High Priest in the Community of Christ. Since this portion of the Restoration has ordained women to priesthood for nearly a generation, she offers a prospective “after the dust has settled” on a topic which remains controversial to both traditional [...]

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, my family was in a boating accident.  The sky was blue with small fluffy clouds.  It was a warm, peaceful day.  We were in a row boat, and our dog Pepper was in the boat with us.  I remember sitting in the boat, enjoying the warm [...]

Today’s guest post is by Glenn. Thanks Adam, for the kind words and the introduction.  Since I have already described the content of my testimony and my immediate reasons for giving it over at Mormon Expression, I want to continue here with Adam’s theme, and focus on the reactions I received from people in the [...]

I sometimes wonder where the 32nd chapter of Alma would rank in a list of most iconic scriptures in the entire Book of Mormon. It comes up frequently in discussions, so I have plenty of times to revisit it. I think the reason for this is that it introduces a powerful image that — in every [...]