The Reason for it All

After feeling frustrated for so long because I'm not able to articulate my theory on the matter well enough, I have given up trying to clarify further in my head what I badly wish to express to friends who have left the church with poor excuses to do so.

Some excuses I hear have to do with Joseph Smith Jr. In fact, off the top of my head, all personal acquaintances who have left the church in some form have ultimately blamed it on one part or another of the Joseph Smith story, Joseph specifically, etc. To be fair, this would seem the most logical and in general better excuse to have for leaving, as the church pretty much rises or falls on Joseph.
But does it? I mean if the story was ultimately false would everyone discount the 'personal witness' born to them by the Spirit? Would people find the Book of Mormon less inspiring as they read it? I am sure. Yet will everyone? I highly doubt it. What makes the difference between these two groups of people? I would contend ONE difference is flexibility within their belief system.
One friend that left the church couldn't reconcile what he thought to be proper Prophet actions to what he read about Joseph Smith Jr. My interpretation: inflexibility. If one cannot permit a Prophet to maintain human fallibility, the foundation for your faith wasn't set properly.
Another friend is merely projecting blame onto Joseph as Joseph is the easiest and most logical object for that blame when one's life isn't up to the standard you grew up with and have been led to believe in. Because you grew up believing this standard, a very heavy guilt often follows actions that a highly conservative religious upbringing will give. If not properly shed, the guilt and shame will be your downfall as you cannot reconcile your life with what you were taught your actions should be. You then project these feelings onto another...usually the church in some form or fashion.
Getting rid of enough guilt, finding flexibility in your faith to the point where you can allow two seemingly opposing ideas to coexist within your beliefs...this is my argument to those who fall away. This is why I am on here arguing against far-right conservatism and arguing for a more liberal approach, not just to politics, but to your faith, as I find it is essential to many. This is just my perspective, but it seems that if those I watched fall away would have applied this theory long before they decided to leave, they wouldn't be where they are today.

Chasing yellow and other biking related thoughts

Today was the third mid-November day in a row that maintained good weather for biking. As a Saturday, many cyclists hit Academy for a ride. about a quarter mile ahead of me after every corner was a yellow jersey that I just couldn't catch. Now, the cyclists one can't catch are usually far beyond a quarter mile ahead so you more often than not don't see them. You usually only see the ones you eventually overtake. So chasing someone that you can't catch is somewhat of a rare occasion, no matter your level of fitness on a bike. It is a helpful experience though as it reminds you that you aren't as fast as you sometimes think you might be.

So I was talking to an employee at my lbs and they quietly told me of a cheap method of co2 cartridges. You go to walmart and buy them. They are the same size and capacity. Our walmart carries this brand you see here, but they are drastically cheaper. I have yet to try them, but if they work out well, I will use them much more as the cartridges you buy at lbs are quite pricey.

My last thought brings me back to all the cyclists I saw out riding today. It seems a lot of riders go out in pairs or groups. I don't mind riding by myself. I can do my own thing, go my own pace, ride my own course, etc. Yet, every once in awhile its nice to ride with someone, especially people you enjoy riding with. I am jealous of those people who have others to ride with whenever they want. I am sure to a point it is my own fault for not networking somehow and joining groups to ride with. But the point that I am not pointing out here is that I miss my brothers whom I enjoy riding with. I don't necessarily enjoy riding with people I just met, even though they could be the nicest people on planet earth. Oh well. Ride on.

Prioritizing Laws

I had a 'run-in' with someone holding a different political sway at work and it got me thinking a bit. Is it all about what law you hold above other laws? For instance, the 'run-in' at work was about Ken Buck and how he believes all abortions should be illegal, no ifs and or buts. This opposing side didn't seem that bothered by that and went on a rant about murder. I thought about how it could be a mere matter of holding physical life laws above freedom of will or choice. I don't see that being 'resolved' anytime soon, but it just got me thinking a little. Religious people that believe in an afterlife will consider certain principles to be higher than others. What is ironic is that because of my religious beliefs, I argue for freedom of choice above physical life, something that the religious right seems to argue the opposite of.
Anyway, God's laws and man's laws are obviously tiered. It is interesting when we have to tier them in a moments notice and decide which ones to break and which ones to keep. For the most part I think most humans tier the laws similarly. Stephen King movies do well to show this moral conflict and how people work through it. There is something deeper here to discuss, I am working midshifts currently so it isn't happening at this particular time. :)

What's wrong with me?

So I am at it again.
We sold our suburban and bought an outback. I commuted with the 'burb so we thought it best to stop doing that with such an old, gas-guzzling vehicle. We enjoy the outback so far. It's a '98 with a good history of maintenance. We want to get rid of the minivan and try a tahoe or suburban for Sarah to drive around, at least when she has more than two kids. We'll see :)
What we do know is that I have a commitment issue with cars.

The Batman/Indiana Birthday Boy

Connor is seven years old today and I don't know how to feel about it. He wears a timex watch now, teases his mom almost as much as I do, reads well, and is quite interested in way too many things to keep track of. He had friends over today and let me just say in short how grateful I am to have married Sarah :)
This cake is Sarah's latest, although I did help her a little. Connor was very happy to hear from many family members and thanks all who wished him a happy birthday, which, it turned out to be a very happy day for him :)

Happy Halloween

I neglected to post these before I posted about the toilets. Anyway, here we have our three trunk-or-treaters. We decided not to trick-or-treat Sunday night this year and be satisfied with trunk-or-treating Saturday night at the church. We had fun, the kids had fun, they enjoyed their costumes and candy was minimal, which I thought was great. Connor was quite polite going around, while Tensley had to tell everyone that she was Tinkerbell while Orson was just sort of chillin' as he always does, watching other kids, not paying attention to his surroundings as he gazed at different costumes and different looking adults who handed him candy.

Kneel before the new Porcelain Gods!

So Colorado Springs Utilities made my decision easier to buy two new toilets for my house since they offer rebates for water-saving toilets. The basement toilet has a stamp on the inside of the tank with a 1974 date. The other one doesn't seem so old, but it was time for both of them to pass on. It did happen to be clogged, but I was tired of unclogging it just to find it clogged weeks later. I wasn't sure how hard this was going to be, but it took me all of half a day from purchase to christening them :). I was surprised at how easy they actually are to replace.