Feeling overwhelmed [Mormonism - Open]

Mark Cares ^ | Feb. 16, 2011 | Mark Cares

[Colofornian]

The Ensign (official LDS monthly magazine) has a regular column entitled “Questions and Answers”. Each month a different question is posed with answers supplied by LDS members. The February issue poses this question: “I often feel overwhelmed because I don’t feel I measure up to all that’s expected of me in living the gospel. How can I learn to rejoice in the gospel when I feel like I may never by able to become or do all the Lord requires of me?” This question is followed by the answers of eight different individuals. (To see the whole article, go to www.lds.org/ensign)

What struck me was how all the answers acknowledged the struggle but put the burden back on the person. The advice was to take it one step at a time; to keep priorities straight; obey the commandments; remember that the Lord is encouraging us, etc. Not once was the Lord’s forgiveness mentioned. I wonder how these answers give true lasting relief.

Here’s my answer.

I can understand why you feel you aren’t measuring up. You feel that way because you, or nobody else for that matter, can’t! Sin has so devastated us that no matter how focused we are or how much effort we exert, we will fail. Even the apostle Paul had to confess: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) Nothing is more sobering and overwhelming than taking a honest inventory of ourselves and seeing how often we don’t measure up to God’s commandments.

That is why God, in the Scriptures, tells us the wonderful news that Jesus has already done everything required – and he did all this, not just as our example, but mainly, as our substitute. “by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19)

Seeing that is the secret to joy. Seeing that God counts me as already perfect because Jesus was perfect for me instills a joy that is truly indescribable. The key to joy is not focusing on your efforts, but on Christ’s efforts and the fact that he has already done all that is required for you. That gives me joy each and every day. I pray that you can have that same joy.

[Colofornian]

From the commentary: The Ensign (official LDS monthly magazine) has a regular column entitled “Questions and Answers”. Each month a different question is posed with answers supplied by LDS members. The February issue poses this question: “I often feel overwhelmed because I don’t feel I measure up to all that’s expected of me in living the gospel. How can I learn to rejoice in the gospel when I feel like I may never by able to become or do all the Lord requires of me?” This question is followed by the answers of eight different individuals.

Mark Cares's response: What struck me was how all the answers acknowledged the struggle but put the burden back on the person. The advice was to take it one step at a time; to keep priorities straight; obey the commandments; remember that the Lord is encouraging us, etc. Not once was the Lord’s forgiveness mentioned. I wonder how these answers give true lasting relief...Even the apostle Paul had to confess: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) Nothing is more sobering and overwhelming than taking a honest inventory of ourselves and seeing how often we don’t measure up to God’s commandments.

We don't measure up. You can take the Mormon pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps approach; or you can rely upon God's grace; His forgiveness; His strength perfected in your weakness.

The latter is truly Good News! The other? (No wonder the apostle Paul asked: 1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Gal. 3:1-3)

[Vendome]

Ya know, I too don’t feel I measure up to all that God wants me to be.

But, I’ve come to accept that God expects me to do my best, earnestly and that is his plan.

We were put here to build our spiritual character.

[Vendome]

Ho boy!

How about if one start from God’s point of view “There is none worthy, no, not one” and you can progress from there?

It’s not a race, there are no points and your conscience will compel a new course or just keep scratching at the top of your brain.

God’s point is we can never be perfect. We are man and will break from perfect righteousness.

Give yourself a break. You ain’t ever going to be worthy but you will always be forgiven.

You are God the Father’s child and he welcomes you... always.

[Colofornian]

Ya know, I too don’t feel I measure up to all that God wants me to be.

Well, this is where I believe Gal. 2:20 kicks in: I have been crucified with Christ...no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me."

I think this life is a matter of decreasing who we are (as John the Baptist said, "I must decrease; He must increase") -- and the best way is to simply yield...surrender. Concede our weaknesses; our frailties; our "we can't go on" times. And simply ask God to live and continue on in and through us.

Isn't that what the Holy Spirit indwelling us is meant to yield? (His fruit? Not ours)

We were put here to build our spiritual character.

Yes. Character as that of Christ's. Christlikeness. Godliness. And in this way, God thinks a lot longer term than we do.

Mormonism confuses the transferable characteristics of Christ (like His virtues and Moral nature) with that which is not: Like becoming divine; or competing with God for the worship of others.

If there's a bottom line that Mormons should stop and contemplate, it's this: If a temple Mormon is currently exercising his options to become a god, does he know he is intending to steal glory from God? Does he know that every time he would receive worship and prayer from the beings on his planet, that is worship & prayer meant for God alone?

Idolatry is serious business.

[Vendome]

Zactly...

[SouthernClaire]

“And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.” [Luke 11:46, KJV.]

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. [Matthew 11:30, KJV.]

It’s very sad to read that a person is trying to set their heart right with the Lord, but misguided by a system they have been taught is the only way. When with the Lord, it is only right that s/he be able to rejoice. If not, something is badly off.

I just wish the one posing the question on the site would have go on to explain further, “...never by able to become or do all the Lord requires of me?”

[flowerplough]

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, whether he wears the funny “sacred” underwear, or enters the “sacred” celestial marriage, or follows the “sacred’ temple protocol or abstains from the demon caffeine or ...
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

[lurk]

Utah, particularly Utah women, lead the nation in use and abuse of mood-altering prescriptions.

Perfection, aside from being impossible, is a difficult load to bear, especially when you have to put on a mask and act like everything’s fine in public.

[Paragon Defender]

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.  

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Some of them claim being some sort of special witness to you as being supposedly former Mormons. So someone who is an ex-member of any organization would never have an axe to grind or have reason to try to justify their actions by any means? Perhaps not but perhaps so. The LDS Church gains members from other denominations as well as others faiths all the time. This doesn't make them an expert on anything and you certainly won't hear them attacking their forner Church.

Frequently they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address or answer our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you? They often state that these sites provide no answer. They just don't want you looking. It is as simple as that.

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[svcw]

An OFFICIAL lds magazine with questions and answers from lds and yet you still post links from unofficial lds sites. Strange.

[greyfoxx39]

 

From Time magazine's article "Kingdom Come"

 

The first divergence between Mormon economics and that of other denominations is the tithe. Most churches take in the greater part of their income through donations. Very few, however, impose a compulsory 10% income tax on their members. Tithes are collected locally, with much of the money passed on informally to local lay leaders at Sunday services. "By Monday," says Elbert Peck, editor of Sunstone, an independent Mormon magazine, the church authorities in Salt Lake City "know every cent that's been collected and have made sure the money is deposited in banks." There is a lot to deposit. Last year $5.2 billion in tithes flowed into Salt Lake City, $4.9 billion of which came from American Mormons.  (1997)

Link

Click on the kitty

[Colofornian]

An OFFICIAL lds magazine with questions and answers from lds and yet you still post links from unofficial lds sites. Strange.

ALL: Yes, svcw has caught the strange irony. Here a thread's been posted where it says, "To see the whole article, go to www.lds.org/ensign)."

Yet Mormon 'gon Def comes on & quickly says (in effect): "Pay no attention to those official Lds men behind the Ensign screen; instead you need to focus on the unofficial screens I've placed in front of you -- you know, the fire & smoke down the huge cavernous hallway; listen only to the thundering voice of the Mormon apologists!"

[colorcountry]

Been there, done that, paid the money, saw the movie and wore the underwear. It is a horrible burden for Utah women who must be seen as perfect, even though perfection is far beyond our reach.

[T Minus Four]

Oh what are you objecting to this time, for the love of Mike? Nothing but sympathy and kind words have been offered for the poor people struggling with this.

What would your advice be PD? Be like you? Never falter, never fail?

[svcw]

I found this interesting in the link:

Deseret News, Feb. 27, 1856, 402
President Brigham Young explained this doctrine: “If I do not know the will of my Father, and what he requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, my children, or those that I preside over, and get no answer from him, and then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, he is bound to own and honor that transaction, and he will do so to all intents and purposes.”

BY is saying here that if he asks the lds god and the lds god does not respond and he does his (BY) best that the lds god is bound to his (BY) actions. That man can dictate to the lds god, the lds god’s actions, not very godly if you ask me.

[Tennessee Nana]

“I often feel overwhelmed because I don’t feel I measure up to all that’s expected of me in living the gospel. How can I learn to rejoice in the gospel when I feel like I may never by able to become or do all the Lord requires of me?”
________________________________________________

By coming out of that dreary trap of the devil called mormonism and believing in and being free and joyful in the LORD Jesus Christ of the Christian Bible, who is God...

To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill Me, because you have no room for my Word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but He sent Me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says.

The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:31-47

[colorcountry]

BY is saying here that if he asks the lds god and the lds god does not respond and he does his (BY) best that the lds god is bound to his (BY) actions. That man can dictate to the lds god, the lds god’s actions, not very godly if you ask me.

Exactly! Mormon's believe that a covenant is a two way street, and if they do what the mormon god demands, then the mo-god is obligated to give them exactly what they think he promised. That was once of the first chinks in the armor of Mormonism for me - that bad things happen to good people.

[T Minus Four]

Say what? So if their “god” doesn’t answer a prayer, they are free to do whatever they like and their god is REQUIRED to honor it?

[T Minus Four]

How do Mormons explain non-Mormons who have lived “blessed” lives? Large fortunes, many children, large houses, new cars, etc, all the earthly treasures that Mormonism wears like a badge of godliness?

I remember a while back a certain poster, she-who-must-not-be-pinged, insisted that that’s how she knew Mormonism was true, by the prosperity that has been given her family.

[svcw]

Apparently.