Is the church in crisis?

[miss taken]

I am referring to a thread over on fair, which is almost tempting me to contribute.

A guy called Ray A, is the first I have seen, who is living in Australia, who takes the view that at some point the church will have to deal with its past openly, in part FARMS and FAIR are a way of trying to deal with this, and tackle people like the Tanners head on, rather than debunking them as anti-mormon Satanists...

Ray on that thread, is one of the first to describe thoughtfully and with respect the crisis that I personally went through.


http://www.fairboards.org/index.php?showtopic=8595


I really would recommend this thread, it is very good.

He's a journalist who has been asked to write an article for an Australian Magazine, and has obviously come through his crisis of faith without leaving the church.

Mary

[why me]

I am referring to a thread over on fair, which is almost tempting me to contribute.

A guy called Ray A, is the first I have seen, who is living in Australia, who takes the view that at some point the church will have to deal with its past openly, in part FARMS and FAIR are a way of trying to deal with this, and tackle people like the Tanners head on, rather than debunking them as anti-mormon Satanists...

Ray on that thread, is one of the first to describe thoughtfully and with respect the crisis that I personally went through.


http://www.fairboards.org/index.php?showtopic=8595


I really would recommend this thread, it is very good.

He's a journalist who has been asked to write an article for an Australian Magazine, and has obviously come through his crisis of faith without leaving the church.

Mary


I think that this once again shows the openness that some members have in their attitude toward life and church. That being said, I found the below signature of Ray A. to be right on target. Reading that quotation by Joeseph Smith shows a very important aspect to his personality. He suddenly became a human being to me and a figure who understood the human condition. I will need to bookmark that quotation for future reference. Is the church in crisis? Probably not. It will continue to grow and some will 'succeed' and some will become postmo and inactive. The larger the membership the more complexities will come into the organization. I think that this is only normal. Thanks for the indirect Joseph Smith quotation, Miss Taken....

[miss taken]

Why me, I just checked his signature, and it was one of my favourites. Not many people know also (maybe I am being naive here) that BY carried around tobacco in his pocket also. I have Porter Rockwells biography here at home, but I have never read it. Is it any good? (thinking of rough and ready people)

Mary

[elder_nomo]

I am referring to a thread over on fair, which is almost tempting me to contribute.

A guy called Ray A, is the first I have seen, who is living in Australia, who takes the view that at some point the church will have to deal with its past openly, in part FARMS and FAIR are a way of trying to deal with this, and tackle people like the Tanners head on, rather than debunking them as anti-mormon Satanists...

Ray on that thread, is one of the first to describe thoughtfully and with respect the crisis that I personally went through.


http://www.fairboards.org/index.php?showtopic=8595


I really would recommend this thread, it is very good.

He's a journalist who has been asked to write an article for an Australian Magazine, and has obviously come through his crisis of faith without leaving the church.

Mary
Thanks for this post, Mary Taken.
I was surprised the other day when I read the thread on FAIR. There was more open discussion than I expected to find.
[Today I read the latest page and a half and it seems to me that things have been deteriorating a bit.] But still it was refreshing to see the initial frank and respectful dialog.
Sometimes I wonder if I paint all TBMs with too broad a brush... Am I projecting onto them how I would have reacted or responding when I was a TBM?
On the other hand, if they do not follow the party line, are they truly TBM???

[peter_mary]

Why me, I just checked his signature, and it was one of my favourites. Not many people know also (maybe I am being naive here) that BY carried around tobacco in his pocket also. I have Porter Rockwells biography here at home, but I have never read it. Is it any good? (thinking of rough and ready people)

Mary

Mary,

I just quoted from Rockwell's biography on Flosam's thread about his WoW lesson! Yes, it's a fun book to read because it's a radically different view of early Mormon life on the frontier than the one the Church likes to tell. It's a fun book to read!

Peter_Mary

[Born Free]

I am referring to a thread over on fair, which is almost tempting me to contribute.

A guy called Ray A, <snip>

He's a journalist who has been asked to write an article for an Australian Magazine, and has obviously come through his crisis of faith without leaving the church.

Mary

I read most the thread a few days back. He sounds like he may be an Australian living out of the country and visiting regularly. I wondered if it was my TBM brother for a bit, but Ray A reveals himself as more cynical than my brother, probably inactive and possibly younger by 5 - 10 years.

I don't think he is a journalist. Quadrant is a limited circulation intellectuals monthy here, which tends to attract the brighter writers/readers, so it is not obvious that he is a journalist. Quadrant do not pay for their articles to the best of my knowledge (an associate was recently published there).

I just have to keep my eye on Quadrant for a bit and I will tag him, unless he writes under a pseudonym. People bright enough to do this sort of article and get them accepted by Quadrant are few and far between in Mo Oz!

Daryl