you indeed seem to have a open mind about truth. i hope we all do. may we find that truth…in Him…His one true body…..let us all look for the fullness of the truth. remember Jesus said He would not leave us orphens. Let me ask you. I am truley curious what your take is on this statement. If God is infinite….How can he progress? Infinity + one?

I google search “mormon” for a couple of reasons. One-to find other mormon written blogs, Two-participate in intelligent discussion on our church (like this one), Three-expose myself to a variety of ideas to help me to learn from different perspectives, and four-yes to play “damage control”, so that other people don’t define mormonism for us.

Still, they are good people, no matter how defensive they may come across.

No one said they were forced.

Find where I wrote that, and I will change that. You criticize - anonymously - what I did not say. Maybe you wish to crticize me for saying the earth was flat next?

When you are on a mission to you pick your own partners? Do you rent an apartment of your own choosing? Could you live alone if you liked?

How are you directed?

Honestly, my pastor is an exceptional cook who prepares some really simple and tastey meals during the Great Fast. Simple food can be good. And some food is simply awful!

Where I went to seminary, the food was salty, fatty and greasy. And then Father Rector was told to watch his sodium intake… So it was just fatty and greasy and the salt shakers were removed from the table.

We started bringing our own packets to dinner.

Ah seminary!

That being the case, I see no reason whatsoever for the useless castigation or demonizing of people who are generally genuinely good. Doing that creates nothing good and leads to pride, hate, fear, anger, reprisal, and contempt. NONE of those things targeted against other people will do many any good (only harm) in my goal to get to heaven.

We are glad you are stopping by PC, and hope you do so often.

When I entered way back in the 80’s, I was really into simplicity and leading a poor lifestyle. I would always bring up ways to cut our food. Now I am older and I hope a bit wiser and appreciate the point that good food helps keep a community happy. There are many ingredients to a good life, that is just one of them.

Or was it ships food makes her sailors either sink but…. nevermind.

Thanks again. Sorry to hear about the bad seminary food. Unfortunately for me, Moreau doesnt have that problem. We have really, really wonderful, abundant food around the clock. It plays and taunts all my attempts at self discipline. My Lents are the harder, but the Easters more stupendous, though. I’m glad you tried seminary and got that question answered. So many run from the question and are pusued by it even into marriage and later life. You are the better for having asked the question in the most concrete way and found your answer.

As for your inner-moron, I’ve never met him. I have one of my own; don’t we all?

My time in seminary when I was 20 made me (in a VERY small way) able to relate to how lonely it can be to go off and seek to serve God. My family hated it, my mother refused to say goodbye or ride with my dad when he dropped me off, my friends thought I was a moron.

Well they got the moron part right anyway.

But during that brief time, the strangers who offered kind words, the family I never met that sent me random cards with a $10 bill with a note saying “praying for all our seminarians!” and the people my own age who thought my efforts were laudible really helped out. (Especially considering just how universally AWFUL seminary food is!)

But I suppose you could say I have an ulterior motive to writing about this… as counter-intuitive as it first seems, I encourage Catholics to be VERY friendly to them. (Offer them a drink of water on a hot day, offer to pray for them. DO NOT take their lit. Do not let them into your home if your small children are present!)

If you are nasty or rude, that only re-affirms them in their belief that they are the chosen, the elect, and each rudeness is a validation. That entrenches them further.

Plus people just deserve to be treated decently.

Thanks for such a sensitive and insightful look into the Mormon missionary experience. Almost sounds like you were one once.

I was fairly close to a Mormon family growing up and even thought I might become a Mormon when I was a freshman in college, though I was open to many religious things, then. When a friend was gretting ready to go on mission, I went to hear his testimony at the Mormon stake (I think that’s what it’s called). He showed a side of himself I hadn’t seen. It was very emotional and he was in tears as he proclaimed with everything in him that “the church is true.” I wasn’t convinced, but I knew he had a conviction I was lacking in my own faith. I know now what was unclear to me then–that I did not want his faith but wanted to have the same kind of faith in my own Catholicism.

Yes, Mormonism is powerful. It is not just a bag of cooky ideas. It is a bag of cooky ideas wrapped in a mostly very sound way of life. We would do well to learn some things about family life from them, single hearted devotion, and a passion for our faith.