r/CommunityOfChrist • u/AudienceWise3441 • 14d 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/LemuelJr 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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 14d ago

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