tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603565939691671379.post3687062157984563281..comments2023-08-01T08:15:57.254-07:00Comments on how am i not myself?: living on the boundary, part one: the feminist/Mormon paradoxJasiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02677319910527202876noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603565939691671379.post-32865861674542296762011-09-12T19:00:13.366-07:002011-09-12T19:00:13.366-07:00Yeah for you! The church needs more faithful gadfl...Yeah for you! The church needs more faithful gadflies who don't swallow whole every assumption voiced in Sunday School.<br /><br />The older I get (and the more I read) the easier it is to separate out what is the gospel, what is the church, and what are various cultural traditions that have grown up.<br /><br />Most of the cultural oddities don't bother me I guess as I grew up in a fairly conservative mainstream mormon family and have continued to be mostly "normal" but I can definitely see how they can offend and exclude many people who don't fit the Mormon "fold" quite perfectly. <br /><br />I especially started to notice this when I went on my mission in the Philippines as most of the Utah mormon cultural assumptions are left behind in the leap over the ocean. That started the trimming down of my conception of what it meant to be Mormon, which trimming I've vigorously pursued since.<br /><br />The gospel is true because it is the means of my salvation. The church is true because it is the means of my salvation. The cultural baggage is a small thorn in the flesh to help us love our fellow members in spite of their flaws :)<br /><br />Something else that's been very helpful to me in sorting through these issues is this essay by Eugene England titled "Why the Church is as True as the Gospel" - http://ldsfocuschrist.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-church-as-true-as-gospel-eugene.htmlKyle Mathewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05241619337064620203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603565939691671379.post-25505557187417292752011-09-05T15:22:50.729-07:002011-09-05T15:22:50.729-07:00I like this post a lot. i was talking to a friend ...I like this post a lot. i was talking to a friend about this a few weeks ago. basically for me, I realized that even when i have questions, doubts, and sometimes come up with weird ideas about the church, I feel fine about it all as long as I continue keeping my covenants. so even when I don't necessarily understand everything, nor agree with everything, I love the church because of how it makes me feel. and I am fine with that.jendarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17840528264719990188noreply@blogger.com