Who is this
guy writing this random blog? Fantastic question. I was born into the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the age of zero. From there I did
everything that was “expected” of me, as it were. I did the whole church thing.
I got the Eagle Scout at like 14, did the mission thing, you name it, I did it.
It was on
my mission that I started having some questions come up about the church, ones
that I didn’t have the answer. There were many of these that when I would ask
others, (mission pres, companions, bishops of wards I was in …) they would usually
say something along the lines of, “That is just one of those things we will
have to take on faith,” or “We are not meant to know it now, but will learn it
in the next life.”
Those lines
always bothered me in church. Why don’t we know? We say we have a guy that can
communicate directly with God. I’m sure I’m not the first person to have asked
this (these) question(s) before, why can we not get an answer?
But at that
point, I just accepted my lack of answers, and moved on.
Fast forward
to now. I haven’t “felt the spirit” in well over a year or two, or longer. I was lost, as it
were, in a spiritual sense. We had moved recently, this time into a ward that
was rapidly growing from an influx of new neighborhoods and houses. As such, it
was very easy to get lost in the shuffle.
Quick
tidbit about me, I am an introvert, big time. For those of you who know about
the Briggs/Myers
personality stuff, I am an INTJ
something fierce. (OK, that is something that I really want to be known for,
linking right to sources from the document / blog post)
So, getting
lost in the shuffle, suited me quite well actually. But I still had this issue
that I don’t know where I belong, spiritually speaking. Along the lines I met
with the bishop, and talked to him about my issues. It was then that he assigned
me to read the Book of Mormon again (to help me find the spirit) within the
next year. This assignment took place in February 2017. Over the next 4 months,
I read it twice.
For my career
I did a lot of schooling, A LOT (like the title of Doctor now applies). I learned
how to both read quickly, and retain information. I never was the best at
remembering where I found the information now rattling around in my head, but I
could recite way too much of it. I also get bored rather easily, so having gone
through the BOM twice in such a short time, I knew I couldn’t read it again
right off the bat, I needed something new. I still wasn’t getting any sort of answer to any prayer,
and since I wanted something else to read for a bit, I found the topic essays
on the church’s website. That’s when things took a HUGE turn for me.
This blog is now the result of my
searching for answers to those questions that I have had for so long, as well
as those questions that I have found along the way. I would like to shout out
to a few prominent places where I was able to find sources and insight on where
I could find answers. The first is within the realm of Reddit. From there I was
introduced to two “letters” that helped me know that I was not alone on this
quest for answers. The first of these letters is now known as the “CES Letter.” The second is known as “Letter
to my Wife and Children.”
So, here we are. The first post is
what I have started calling, “My Letter.” This is what I used to break the
ice to my family and friends on this topic. This letter was a collaborative
project. I worked on it as I was able, with the information found from and
through these initial sources, from the beginning. I knew that there was no
point in linking my information found back to any of these previously mentioned documents, I needed
original sources. So that is what ended up eating up my time trying to get my
letter ready. As it turned out, I had a deadline to be able to have it ready
by. So, I had to limit my initial letter to 5 main topics.
My current plan is to continue
building my list of “Issues” as found in the original letter. I will also pull
those first 5 issues out of the letter, and address them individually, making
it easier to search topic by topic. I then will also continue to update these posts, as I come across more information that fit and belong.
Please feel free to comment. That
being said, I was not an English major, nor do I do much writing, so I can guarantee
that there will be spelling and grammatical errors everywhere. And I don’t
really care. Also, don’t worry about trying to bash with me, I know where I am
in life, and am now happier than ever. Depending on how this blog thing is run,
I do reserve the right to delete any comment that I wish, without any explanation.
I also will try and get around to
placing some more personal stuff, but I don’t know at this time how far or deep
I will go with that information. I still want to remain anonymous as it were,
mainly to protect my family. With that being said, the best place to find me elsewhere on the web would be via https://www.reddit.com/u/anyonehaveanswers or email at anyonehaveanswers@gmail.com
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