Working Through Mormon Frustrations

I'm running into difficulty posting on the blog, so I'll comment here.

I was raised Catholic. I attended a Catholic elementary school. Yet, as with my gender being wrong, Catholicism felt wrong as well. I can recall that 12 year old me questioning the dual collections at mass, in a parish that had to be one of the poorer ones in the state. The sisters who taught us were great in teaching compassion and awareness of social issues in a way that was ahead of its time, yet within the parish, yet besides collections, there were other issues.

Our sisters lived in a home - picture two per grade - that was half the size of the residence of the three parish priests. The sisters did all of the teaching, the cleaning of their home, their food preparation... the priests had hired help clean the place and serve their meals.

I heard the sermons that encouraged giving. I was aware of the great property holdings of the Catholic church. I saw them talk about equality, but I saw that women were second class citizens in reality, glossed over with excuses.

By college, I left the church. I didn't leave Christianity until 8 years or so ago, to something that does work for me, that resonated inside.

And to me, it isn't the Catholic church, or the Mormon church so much as it is those who run what are large organisations. The framework of rules they create inevitably loses touch with the core message of any religion, in this case, that of Jesus and God. I doubt anyone wishes another to have blind faith, least of all some deity.

All relationships are stronger when the people in them are learned, confident, and there by evaluative choice. Religion is no different. Leaders fear those who question, when they should encourage and embrace them, encourage and embrace discovery. Leaders should encourage the expansion of human rights, and not rail against them.

The most prominent writing work out there on questioning faith is the one that flipped my switch, Sue Monk Kidd's Dance of the Dissident Daughter. If you question, if you feel skittish for questioning, read how Sue worked her way through, read what she faced, and how it impacted her life.

Those who do not fear their struggling, who face their questions head on, learn and grow stronger, in whatever way works for them.

nellewrites ( http://nellewrites.net/ )