Unwavering Faith

Since the setting in of COVID-19 in April 2020, the church closed its doors to its members and encouraged everyone to have "church in their homes" and gave permission for the sacrament to be performed by "worthy" priesthood holders. The  Come, Follow Me  program was introduced as a way to teach the gospel in the home, and for members to have a schedule to study from. When the church started meeting again, it became a study tool for members to use in preparation for attending Sunday school.  My wife and I struggled to get this going in our household. We already did not do family home evenings on Monday nights as the church instructed. We still said prayers over most meals, and I was continuing to say my personal prayers at night. But we turned out Sabbath Sunday into a family day and used it to spend time doing activities we felt brought us closer together. At this stage, our son was one and our daughter was not born yet. In the times that we did try to attend church...

Like all stories in movies and books, characters always have a 'normal life' before their call to adventure, or some event takes place before they upheave their lives in new, exciting, and often terrifying ways. I thought it might be beneficial to provide some context and history before my faith transition occurred. I was born and raised in the church, like Nephi "of goodly parents." My mother went to church when she was younger, and my father converted while courting my mother. I attended the sealing of my parents while in the womb and was born and blessed like most LDS babies raised in the church. I attended my meetings faithfully, participated anxiously in all activities, and completed my religious studies during Sunday school, priesthood classes, and early morning seminary. I made efforts to pass, prepare and bless the sacrament when I could. I collected fast-offering donations in blue envelopes once a month and paid my tithing on any money I got (including birthd...

It’s something I never thought would happen, and yet here I am. My whole life was framed to make sure there was no possibility for my faith to unravel or be questioned, and yet it is in transition.  This is a detailed online journal about my faith journey from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormonism, to another path. It’s the blog I hope gives my posterity and others insight into why I am making the decisions I am making regarding my spiritual journey. It may lead to atheist ideology. It may lead to a reformed view of Christianity. Or anywhere in between and around.  My ultimate goal is to find authenticity and empowerment in my life, and those in it. To see the world as it is before me. For my posterity’s sake. For my sake.