Mormonism promises so much and gives so little. Or so it seems to me.
The strange thing about Mormonism is that it seems to vary so much from one ward to another, from one branch to another and from one stake to another and one district to another.
In general in most churches everyone knows what the theology is and if you do not like the theology, well, in theory, you can attend a different church. If a Baptist becomes a Methodist, if a Methodist decides to join the Church of England, nobody seems to mind so much.
But if a Mormon decides he or she wants to become a Methodist -for example- on, dear! It's Mormon Church Court time!
Why? Is it the loss of tithing receipts from that member that bothers the Mormon church so much?
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My dad's favorite line about that is from an old eagles' song:
"You can check out any time you like,
"But you can never leave."
[from "Hotel California]
Another oddity of the LDS Church is their unwillingness to allow a member to choose his or her own LDS congregation. I don't know if even the JW's are so restrictive in this regard. My family had a falling out with a parish priest (monsignor, actually, so we just went to a different parish. It would make sense for Mormons to have that same option. For example, if one had experienced bad feelings over what one perceived as unfair or even dishonest business treatment at the hands of his or her bishop, how could one comfortably remain fully active in that bishop's ward. Furthermore, wouldn't it cause one to question the divine nature of priesthood callings when one had inside information that the bishop was not conducting business practices as an honest member of the church, or even as a decent human being, should? Wouldn't this weaken any existing "testimony" a person had?
I know some bishops would be more popular than others, which could unbalance wards, but the Catholics seem to manage without forcing anyone to attend a particular parish. The church would have to work harder to find charismatic and qualified bishops for every ward, and not call drones to that position.
Alexis
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