Non-Mormon, Inactive, Ex-Mormon BYU fans

byufan4ever wrote:

In 1984 I was 35 and totally inactive. Lived in Georgia at the time. I was always an avid BYU fan. But when we won the National Championship, something started to change. I purchased a ton of BYU stuff: class ring (I graduated from the Y in '76), pennants, plates, etc., and had them hanging all around the house. It was hard looking at them all the time but not living up to church standards. In 1988 I changed my life around, my wife got baptized, later got our family sealed, and have been a 100% card- carrying active LDS member since. I know a lot of things happened in my life to bring that change about and allegiance to the Cougs was not a major part. But I also believe that my feelings towards the football and basketball teams helped keep me connected through that period of inactivity and, in some way, played a part in the eventual softening of heart that had to happen on my way back.



So when our teams are having bad years and my Puke friends razz me about rooting for the lowly Cougs, I just tell them that it's about more than football. They never seem to understand. But then again, they don't have to.

I think that it's cool that we have non-mormons/inactives that are die hard BYU fans. I also think that the above story is the best of the bunch. I believe in being tolerant, but I also believe in standing up for my beliefs. Not that our beliefs are being attacked here, but remember that we went Independent not for more money, but to spread our faith. I truely feel sad for those that have left the Church and I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and do what God would have you do. God still speaks to us through personal revelation and through a living prophet. Whether you accept the Gospel or not we still love having anyone and everyone as BYU fans.

Concur. There have not been any direct attacks and I appreciate that. There are relatively few people who can leave the church and leave the church alone at the same time. I hope that those who once felt the sweet song of redeeming love will feel so again. I am glad to welcome BYU fans of all faiths. BTW, loved your story '67 Cougar. I think it proves out why the Church is trying to get BYU more exposure. Go Cougars!!!

Italics wrote:

speaking of... Does catholicmat still ever come by?

catholicmat is actually LDS, but had been less-active for a long time. Last I heard from him he had started coming back to church. Hope he still is.

oops double post, sorry

northerncougar wrote:
Too many are too quick to judge others in their situation.



I am impressed that that hasn't happened in this thread.

I guess you spoke too quickly:

byufan4ever wrote:

I truely feel sad for those that have left the Church and I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and do what God would have you do. God still speaks to us through personal revelation and through a living prophet.

You may not see it through the lens with which you view the world, but this is an incredibly arrogant statement... "do what God would have you do". You may believe one thing about God, and that's totally fine. But implication that you have a better idea what God wants for me and my family than I do is insulting.



You are obviously happy in the LDS church. That is a great thing. I glad that you have found something that brings you happiness. I don't find that same happiness in the LDS church, I find it elsewhere. It is of my own free will and choice. I am happier and more content than ever before. So don't feel sorry for me!



Let me flip it around. How would you feel if someone told you "I truly feel sorry for members of the LDS church, if they could only speak with God like I do, then they would see..." It's annoying, isn't it?



To each his own. I have no problem with those that believe in the LDS faith, or any other faith for that matter. Almost all my friends, family, and associates are LDS. I see great value in much of LDS culture and doctrine. I respect your belief. Can you respect mine?

hypercoug wrote:

Too many are too quick to judge others in their situation.



I am impressed that that hasn't happened in this thread.

I guess you spoke too quickly:

byufan4ever wrote:

I truely feel sad for those that have left the Church and I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and do what God would have you do. God still speaks to us through personal revelation and through a living prophet.

You may not see it through the lens with which you view the world, but this is an incredibly arrogant statement... "do what God would have you do". You may believe one thing about God, and that's totally fine. But implication that you have a better idea what God wants for me and my family than I do is insulting.



You are obviously happy in the LDS church. That is a great thing. I glad that you have found something that brings you happiness. I don't find that same happiness in the LDS church, I find it elsewhere. It is of my own free will and choice. I am happier and more content than ever before. So don't feel sorry for me!



Let me flip it around. How would you feel if someone told you "I truly feel sorry for members of the LDS church, if they could only speak with God like I do, then they would see..." It's annoying, isn't it?



To each his own. I have no problem with those that believe in the LDS faith, or any other faith for that matter. Almost all my friends, family, and associates are LDS. I see great value in much of LDS culture and doctrine. I respect your belief. Can you respect mine?

It goes both ways though. The "Believers" can be respectful to the "Non-believers" by not preaching to them and the "Non-believers" can be respectful to the "Believers" by not explaining why they are not believers.



Stick BYU related topics and take everything else to the Lounge

Agreed. Hopefully we can all just respect our differences and that's that. I'll leave this thread alone from here on out.

hypercoug wrote:

I truely feel sad for those that have left the Church and I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and do what God would have you do. God still speaks to us through personal revelation and through a living prophet.

You may not see it through the lens with which you view the world, but this is an incredibly arrogant statement... "do what God would have you do". You may believe one thing about God, and that's totally fine. But implication that you have a better idea what God wants for me and my family than I do is insulting.



You are obviously happy in the LDS church. That is a great thing. I glad that you have found something that brings you happiness. I don't find that same happiness in the LDS church, I find it elsewhere. It is of my own free will and choice. I am happier and more content than ever before. So don't feel sorry for me!



Let me flip it around. How would you feel if someone told you "I truly feel sorry for members of the LDS church, if they could only speak with God like I do, then they would see..." It's annoying, isn't it?



To each his own. I have no problem with those that believe in the LDS faith, or any other faith for that matter. Almost all my friends, family, and associates are LDS. I see great value in much of LDS culture and doctrine. I respect your belief. Can you respect mine?

I realize this thread's pretty much over, but I just wanted to throw out my two cents.



Hypercoug, you hit the nail on the head at the beginning of your response. When it comes to trying to look at the world through someone else's lens, those who have left the Church have the distinct advantage of being able to understand where active members are coming from, because at one point, they had an experience that was at least similar if not the same. But for someone who's always been a regular member of the Church, it really is practically impossible to understand the point of view of those who have left, because there's no similar life experience to go off of.



It may be annoying when someone pities me for what I do or don't believe, but I try not to take offense or feel insulted since the reason for their pity is that they think I can be happier doing what they're doing. It's like when someone recommends a book or movie to me that they love. Even if I end up hating it, I'm glad they thought enough of me to share something with me that makes them happy.

During my inactive years I happened to live in the GA/FLA/SC area. Those of you who live there know how deeply entrenched a Baptist and Bible-banging area it is (notice the separation between Baptist and Bible-banging - they are not necessarily the same). I took offense when conversion efforts were directed toward me in a forceful manner. My wife's Baptist minister even refused to marry us because he couldn't bless a marriage between "a horse and a mule." I walked into my home one afternoon to find a non-denominational preacher screaming at my wife and strongly suggesting her eternal salvation was at stake for being married to a cultist like myself. And I hadn't even been inside an LDS building for over 5 years! But for every one of those bozos, there were a thousand good ones.



In my spiritually dead state at that time (and I really was a goner), I found it very easy to criticize the predominant religion of the area. I would tell every Baptist that I knew how rotten the Baptists were because I knew old Joe Blow down the street and he was a rotten Baptist. I have many times since then felt very badly that I would do such. For the last 20 years I have lived in Utah. My experiences in the South have had a big impact on the way I look at those who do not belong to the "predominant" LDS faith. I can understand their frustration and even their animosity towards us.



But I will say this. Nobody has ever been offended who didn't want to be offended. I treat everyone the same - member or non-member. But I also believe that if I accidently offend anyone, a) I am sorry for it and, b) I can't always control how someone takes any comment or action from me. You can give a person a gun, but only they can pull the trigger.



The bottom line is that the good Lord loves them as much as He loves me. Who am I to judge.

hypercoug wrote:

Too many are too quick to judge others in their situation.



I am impressed that that hasn't happened in this thread.

I guess you spoke too quickly:

byufan4ever wrote:

I truely feel sad for those that have left the Church and I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and do what God would have you do. God still speaks to us through personal revelation and through a living prophet.

You may not see it through the lens with which you view the world, but this is an incredibly arrogant statement... "do what God would have you do". You may believe one thing about God, and that's totally fine. But implication that you have a better idea what God wants for me and my family than I do is insulting.



You are obviously happy in the LDS church. That is a great thing. I glad that you have found something that brings you happiness. I don't find that same happiness in the LDS church, I find it elsewhere. It is of my own free will and choice. I am happier and more content than ever before. So don't feel sorry for me!



Let me flip it around. How would you feel if someone told you "I truly feel sorry for members of the LDS church, if they could only speak with God like I do, then they would see..." It's annoying, isn't it?



To each his own. I have no problem with those that believe in the LDS faith, or any other faith for that matter. Almost all my friends, family, and associates are LDS. I see great value in much of LDS culture and doctrine. I respect your belief. Can you respect mine?

I think that there are individuals for whom the temptation to preach and make relative value judgements is simply too strong to resist. I realize that generally their pontification is well intentioned, but it is annoying nonetheless, and frequently counterproductive. The Church leadership is sensitive to this dynamic, I think probably much more sensitive than the "rank-and-file". Live and let live is a sentiment that probably needs to be our watchcry more frequently, even when we are sure that we're right.

I think this thread has run it's rightful course. Non LDS and inactive members are fully welcome here and should feel so.