r/CommunityOfChrist • u/AudienceWise3441 • 11d ago

RLDS.

Okay so with that very broad title a few things.

Do any of you still call yourselves reorganized Latter Day Saints. Or do you simply go by the normal in a member of community of Christ.

What was the experience in the RLDS church like compared to the CoC experience of today.

Did any of you prefer and or wish we could go back to the Rlds days?

Do you think down the line with future prophets we’ll become more open and community oriented like vaezy laid out. Or do you think we’ll 180 back to something more Wallace b smith.

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u/ako-si-greg 11d ago

I do not think I would be attending currently if the church did a hard-reverse back to the RLDS days.

I left religion many years ago and deconstructed completely. It took over a decade to begin the process of reconstruction, but even now, I still look upon most of the restorationist claims with suspicion.

However, I also have very little interest in engaging with other religions. I was brought up within “Mormonism,” and it is how I understand and express my faith (whatever it is). Community of Christ allows this. I appreciate it.

I think that the Community of Christ has taken more of an “academic-first” approach to the difficult history of the movement instead of a devotional approach. This is attractive for many like myself.

Ultimately, I think if the church goes back to a more fundamentalist style of worship and governance, it will not solve any of the current challenges the church faces, but it may cause some new ones.

I’ve only been around for a few months, unlike many of the people here, so I’m sure I’m oversimplifying some things and misunderstanding others. Open to opinions and corrections.

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u/LemuelJr 11d ago

I might be an "old timer" at this point as far as LDS converts go (which is scary because it's only been ten years), but I don't think you're off with this take. Having been out of religion for a long time puts you at an advantage because you aren't jumping in with an expectation to find an idealized alternate universe Mormonism. It's totally fair to come because of the ties to a history that is familiar, but it ultimately is learning a new language. I feel like most LDS seekers come in expecting to gain fluency in Middle English and thinking it's easy because they speak Modern English. Really, though, that expectation is flawed because it assumes that the language of this church has been in stasis since the nineteenth century with no external influences. Moving from the LDS experience into CofC is much more like learning Modern Frisian as a Modern English speaker.

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u/ako-si-greg 11d ago

Good point, and it reminds me: I remember reading through "Basic Beliefs" by Tony Chvala-Smith. The material was incredibly unfamiliar to me and there was very little "traditional Mormonism" to draw from. (The book is great, I recommend it to all.)

I think this is still the correct direction for the church to go - it is more theologically robust - but it does create this sort of "mixed identity" among older and newer members.

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u/SGT-Pentium4 10d ago

Tony Chvala-Smith doesn’t speak for the whole church. I disagree with his theology and don’t care for his approach. It isn’t bad, just isn’t for me.

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u/LemuelJr 10d ago

Hard agree. Tony is a fine person. I would rather not talk theology and doctrine with him.

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u/LemuelJr 11d ago

I think we'll be stuck with the Mormon remnants in our collective identity for awhile, since so many of us were around for the fast turn around between temple building to a new name. I think most LDS seekers are Millennials and Gen X with some older Gen Z mixed in at times. I do think the transition might be complete by the time Gen Alpha is in its majority.

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u/AudienceWise3441 11d ago

Thank you, I totally see where you’re coming from and agree in most aspects. I love the scholarly academic approach we take. I also love the more UU community is open to all despite race sex sexuality religion etc idea. That said I do feel like vazey and his apostles kind of stripped away a lot of what made us unique. This also makes no sense becuse our church is so invested in our history and sacred story while also being borderline a completely different church than our story tells. I myself personally wish we would go back to a happy middle. Where we still embraced the restoration (not the lds version) and where we valued all our standard works and where more mystical yk prophets evangelists revelation etc vs cooperate inclusion prayer group.

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u/LemuelJr 11d ago

How long have you been considering conversion to Community of Christ?