Allan heads back to church to see how it feels after an 8 month absence. Kattie and Allan are joined by the kids for a conversation about how church went and we hear from each member of the Mount family.
This is the 7th in a series of episodes that will explore what it is like to attend church on Sunday as a non-believer and as a spouse of a non-believer. Matt and Lindsay Kjar are also sharing their experiences with Lindsay going back to church. Those episodes will be released separately.
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Sorry Alan that you had such a bad experience.
Sometime we have to let others believe in Santa Claus even if we know it’s not real. It’s not cool to pull the rung underneath other people’s feet, but we can say hey, it’s very disrespectful towards other faiths when we are too over the top promoting our own, by saying things like the is the only true church and stuff.
Know your truth, share it with others, your presence contributes to making the difference. Teach your kids to know better, and how to respect differences, and that not everything that is spoken is automatically true just because someone said it (even at church or perhaps specially at church).
Cut the church some slack, just like we want people to cut us some slack as well.
Congrats on pulling through four times in a row.
Hope you keep coming back for more, but if not it was great that you went. All the best always.
Thanks for the revealing series. It made me reflect on a few things. One of those being my own hard line approach to making my kids go to church with me, then finding that this approach was backfiring.
After divorce (not over religion, but values and parenting) I did nor make them go but only encouraged or invited them with a smile and did not show one bit of disappointment if they did not go, and no bullying or punishment for that, but good rewards if they went with me, mostly verbal, not things that I could rub in on those who chose to not go.
It worked, they started going more easily. But, their mother and her parents kept the even harder line and forced them while not setting such a good example. That drove half of my kids right out of the church before I left it. That was very disappointing to me, but, now I see more clearly why some left. I got my foundations for this from Glenn Latham, “the Power of Positive Parenting,” etc..
I have now witnessed Zealots as having always messed up religion for all of us, except for Themselves. They thrive on force and enforcing. It would be really great if it weren’t for zealots naturally trying to take over, enforcing and messing it all up, Jesus said, over and over.
The way I see things now, every last problem that pops up with religions is from Zealots/Bullies/FAIRisees/Pharisees.
Remember that time Jesus “taught” us to make whips and whip each other and ourselves back into line? No, I don’t remember that one time either, but many do.
I find it interesting that Kattie believes she has called people to positions. She hasn’t. She has requested people for specific callings and her priesthood leaders have issued those callings. But only if the priesthood leader approved the name. I enjoyed this episode. It’s my first I have listened to. And I feel your pain. My husband is understanding of my desire to not attend and I am so grateful he sees salvation as individual. It has given me freedom to embrace my own beliefs, whatever they are.
My spouse and I are in a mixed faith marriage now, after my faith transition. I currently attend church still with my husband and children and this series of going back to church has been so validating for me. Thank you. It is so hard some Sunday’s and then some Sundays it feels like I can make it. About the same time you started this series I started blogging about my church experience as a way to process the emotions that come each Sunday and the two have helped alot. Thank you again for being so transparent and sharing hard things.