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Lds Life - Hard? - Page 3

I think life in the church is more or less difficult in different times in our lives. I remember being a young woman in church and thinking how easy it was for me. I loved being a young woman and I loved the programs I was involved with in the church and I loved myself and life. I was also younger and had less stress. Now, I find life in the church to be more difficult. It's hard for me to get up and get a 4 year old and a 6 month old and myself ready for church. Especially if I spent the night being woken up every couple of hours by one or both of my children. I also find it diffcult when I also have to get my husband up and ready for church as well. It's draining to be the spiritual "rock" of the family. It's a lot easier to just give up and say, well, let's just forget about going to church this Sunday. Especially when you haven't paid tithing in forever and your bills are adding up and you wonder how you got in the position you're in. Sometimes you just forget that God loves you, no matter what you're doing now or what you've done in the past and just can't let go of. Sometimes not loving yourself makes life in the church difficult because if you can't love yourself, you can't really love others or bring the spirit of the Holy Ghost in your daily life. I just keep reminding myself that one of these days, it will get better. And I'll probably get back to thinking life in the church is easy. And if you have ever gone inactive you're probably agreeing with me.
*I'm not trying to be offensive or anything, but don't say life in the church is easy if you've never had any significant trials you've had to go through.
Angela

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I agree with you, Angela. Living the LDS lifestyle is hard. There are great expectations and lots of misconceptions. So why do we do it? I'll answer that! Because it's worth it. Maybe this is what some others were trying to say, when they said it's not hard. Sometimes, during the midst of a trial, we wonder. But then, when we seek and feel the love the Lord has for us, when we receive confirmation through the Holy Ghost that we are on the right path, we remember and understand why we continue to live a most difficult LDS lifestyle.

Lds Life - Hard? Studies Doctrine Mormon

I thought about this some more last night. I think that if you find it easy, maybe you're not doing everything you need to be doing? Besides, difficulty in our lives add to our testimonies and help us to grow. If it was "easy" all the time, don't you think we'd start to regress?
Angela

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I think the last few sentiments expressed by angbart and Valla can be applied to most any religion. When one is under a lot of trials and tribulations, it is very easy to question faith and persistence in a church and religion, especially when things don't seem to get any better.
The LDS church, however, seems to have a lot of additional requirements that may make it more difficult for the average person, which I believe is why this discussion was started in the first place. I understand the difficult in getting ready every Sunday for church, trying to pay tithes, and getting the kids ready, but are there other aspects of the LDS religion that make it even more difficult in your opinion?

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For me, this is the most difficult part about living the LDS religion. There are times when I'm with associates or friends who aren't of the LDS faith that I feel ridiculed, because I choose to live my religion. It does make life harder but there is nothing to do but accept it. I've learned the best way to handle these situations is to try to make a joke or even make fun of myself or the church a little bit. Nothing really vicious, but I feel a sense of humor is vital and I wish more church members had one.

Lds Life - Hard?

I think a lot of how hard it is depends on why you are conforming. I think it's always very difficult to make the minutest changes to ones lifestyle if it seems to be at the whim of an individual or an institution. However, if you personally feel a particular small sacrifice is something that is of value to God, it doesn't feel like an extraordinary thing to do.

In Old Testament times, people would voluntarily take the vow of a Nazarite for a period in order to consecrate themselves to the Lord. The restrictions of that vow could have been considered a hardship.

Fasting, a practice done in many religions, is something that is a difficult practice. But when one is doing it to be closer to their Lord, it's a joyous thing.

When a person covenants by baptism to obey certain commandments, they are expected to make efforts towards keeping those commandments. The baptism was an ordinance that, in part, signified acceptance on the part of the individual of those commandments as of God. For someone who doesn't struggle with a continuing testimony of commands as of God, rather than feeling pressured socially, it's not nearly as difficult.

Now, that's not to say that someone who has had a lifelong addiction or habit that they had to abandon prior to baptism will not continue to struggle, even knowing that their sacrifice is for the Lord. Or that's not to say that I've never struggled handing over my tithing when it was my widows mite. I think it's been hard for all of us, at times.

The important thing is that when I have fallen short of perfection in failing to offer a full tithe, failing to complete Visiting Teaching, failing to magnify my calling, yelling at my children ... whatever way I may have not fully lived up to my covenant to "Always remember (Christ) and keep his commandments" I have been lovingly encouraged to try harder. And I, along with every member, had the opportunity to recommit to myself to my covenants when I partook of the emblems of the sacrament (eucharist).

It's too hard if you expect to never stumble. It's too hard if it's not a personal thing between you and the Lord. It's too hard if you can't fall down now and then and move on or if you are in an organization that rigidly expects you to never fall in the first place.

In my experience, the LDS church is not that place.

In the church, I think the gospel is just hard enough.

Lds Life Hard - Page 3

Answering this question is really subjective to each person's experience. I find it liberating to live without addiction, fulfilling to have found such joy in my life. Yes, I'm busy, but I love what I do. If someone questions my lifestyle, I'm happy to answer them.

I'm hardly perfect - far from it, and will not achieve it in this lifetime -- but each day I try to make choices that I know are the most correct.

Of course, in times of sickness or trial, it seems like everything is hard. But my "religion" is not something separate from me, it is part of me, it's just how I live.

I can't ever imagine going back to a life that, for me, was full of death. How could that possibly be any easier than striving for life?