10/17/05

Latter-day Saints are funny because they ask you questions but don’t want your answers. They just find some sort of pride in posing questions. Why are you here? Where did you come from? Where are you going? In this particular instance, my Bishop asked me how I was doing. I figured he really cared and wanted to get to know me, so I unloaded. Big mistake. I confessed that I had a lot of theological questions: the materialistic determinism in section 131, the fallibility of the prophets, contradicting statements about the nature of God by different apostles, just to name some of the simple ones. He then told me that I was possessed by a devil. I was shocked. I didn’t know whether to laugh or curl up in a ball and cry, so I just stared at him. He said that if I haven’t had the Spirit with my as my constant companion, then the devil must be in me because one or the other must be in me at all times. Of course, I proceeded to prove him wrong using scripture, Joseph Smith quotes and good old logic, but that was just further evidence to him that I was possessed. I felt trapped in a Salem paradox. If I tried to defend myself, I only appeared more guilty. It has really messed me up, and made me question a lot of my beliefs.