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Show ; f 1 C5 Thursday, November 4, 7 999 - t f 1 f v s t Vw; Davis County Clipper Transition of faith made easier St. Chad helped couple switch through St. Chad Society's work Nancy remained active in the LDS Church serving m vanous capacities, including Ymng Women s president loved being YW president, love involvement with the youth That is one of the great strengths of the Mormon Church what it offers the south But she had sinular problems with issues that she said werent discussed in church about the past, such as Smiths polvgamv And she had "'doubts about the women s role, particulars after her son was bom When I was Mormon, I alwavs thought it was sills to complain about not having the pnesthood until I had a child Then my view changed dramat-icall- v Pretty quickly after we had our son John was almost totally mactive If our child gets sick. I m a person of devout faith. whs cant I lay mv hands on his head and give him a blessing BY TOM BUSSELBERG Clipper Ne h v Editor - While a SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake Valle ample hold no mul ice toward the LDS Church, they sav theyre grateful for the help the St Chad's Societv gav e them in ' transitioning from the Mormon Church to a Salt Like County Episcopal congre- BY TOM BUSSELBERG Clipper Today News Editor Everyone takes his or her own journey at their own speed, in their own way especially when it conies to issues of .leaving one church and joining another! Those words are borne of personal experience by Lee Shaw, now a priest in the Episcopal Church, who made the journey himself from the LDS Church m the early 1980s. It was because he felt all alone, like the only person going through this, at the time, that he and fellow Episcopal clergyman and former Latter-da- y Saint Gordon McBride organized the St. Chad Society It was so named because St Chad was an instrument in moving the English people from the Celtic to Roman religious tradition, Shaw explained The group, which meets monthly at SL James Episcopal Church in Midvale, is a support and discussion group for people leaving the LDS Church, he explained. We (McBride and Shaw) felt like we were the only ones who had done it (transitioned to another church) It was lonely and frustrating It felt good to have a safe place, to express our feelings, hopes, concerns, and hear the same from others. He emphasized that no membership records are kept and people don't have to affiliate with the Episcopal Church. It's very difficult for some people to leave the Mormon Church in Utah, especially m smaller communities because it is so enmeshed m peoples entire circle friends, family, employer, neighbors. It's difficult to leave. Thats why St Chad is so important, he continued Some people want to keep it a pnvate affair as they search and talk It's not because they just they're doing it m secret dont want the hassle, or to be hounded , He added that occasionally, active LDS members come to observe, because the meetings are advertised in the paper. Shaw was raised LDS, and was particularly active from junior high on. He served a mission to Finland, attended a semester at Ricks College (LDS junior college in Rexburg, Idaho), was mamed in the temple, and, he added with a laugh, I even bought the wheat (refemng to home food storage) As an adult, Shaw was very active in the LDS Church, serving as a ward clerk two or three times but he always had his doubts. The process (of questioning) began very strongly while I was on my mission. During the course of the next several years I determined that I felt very uncomfortable with Mormon teachings, doctrine, the approach of Mormomsm to life. But I felt like I could make a go of it, resolve issues, he said I was unable to reconcile myself with the doctrine of the church and to its doctrine and practices. gation John and Nancy both had different reasons for leaving Men monism Tor John it was a mixture of doctnnal issues, more kind of a worship setting, needing a place to be fed spintuallv I didnt feel the ward was feeding" he said adding it wasn't necessarily their fault The issue of polygamy and not learning that Joseph Smith himself except from outside practiced it sources, bothered both I was a returned missionary of two or three years before I knew that I went to seminary church all the time If there s nothing to hide it seemed a little bit of Busselberg In the meantime, he went through a divorce, which he said had only partially to do with his feelmgs about the church For a penod, Shaw considered himself an apathetic agnostic, although he always believed in God. I felt like I was floating, didn't care. But eventually I realized I missed a spiritual, faith community He started visiting vanous churches and, upon entenngSt Mark's Cathedral in downtown Salt Lake, recalled I had a sense of coming home. I requested excommunication from the Mormon Church, was baptized and confirmed m the Episcopal Church m 1983 Ten years later he was ordained as a deacon pnest, and vicar of St Michael's Church in Bngham City One of the primary priorities m my ministry is the pastoral care of the individual, where they are spiritually and psychologically where I can support them in their journey of faith, he said of his role with the St. Chad Society I tell people to find a church where you feel safe, as the spirit touches your spirit, and where you feel challenged I do not try to talk people out of the LDS Church, or into He noted that some say they cant stand my bishop or relief society president, etc But I tell them that if they are leaving because of an angry person, they need to look at then- - relationship with that person and with people If the issues are doctrine, church practice, or spintual abuse those are points where he will help and explore with the person Among common reasons cited by people for wishing to leave the LDS Church are dissatisfaction over receiving bad counsel, or very common, that teachers lied about Mormon teaching or history!" These people normally arent angry, they come in a sense of pain, are confused. searching While St Chad currently is centered at St. James, sessions have been held at the Church of the Resurrection in Centerville, at St Michael's in Bngham City, and recently at St John's m Logan and interested people from throughout the state mav attend Is LDS photo exhibit The Museum of Church History and Art, 45 N. West Temple, is offering an exhibit, At the Center Place Photographs of Church Htadquarters, The exhibition features photographs of many of the buildings that hav e occupied Temple Square and the LDS Church headquarters block to the east since 1853. The varied uses and purposes of the buildings and their architectural styles 1853-1999- ." are documented. The museum is open Monday through Friday Sunday and most holidays, 10 a m. to 7 p m. 9am to 9 p m ; Saturday, This is my child She said a breaking point came while reading her husbands grandmother s memoirs. The woman, who was a black and white Mormon. wrote of two faithful LDS women, midwives, who gave her a blessing by frankness and honesty' is lacking to then approach to education John added that "after being inactive (or 'less active. the politically correct term) for some time. I decided out of the blue to go to the F piscopal Church Here all of a sudden 1 fell the spirit That s not supjsosed to happen in the sectarian world Here are people using laving on of hands of healing, the church has a bishop, pnest, deacons, all of those things you are led to believe are the exclusive domain of the LDS Church" St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Clearfield is among churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Utah that support the St Chad Society Photo by Tom & the le a the laving on of hands, "sjieaficaily concerning child birth, gave promises that all would be bom safely and in good health She talks about the spirit that was present It was very touching' All of her It) children, bom in a rural setting in the earlv 191 KJs, were bom in good health "The prophecy was fulfilled It was part of a tradition in Mormomsm that survived in the rural areas longer than anvwhere else ity She added that perhaps the Mormon Church, which seems more and more progressive, may be will give that back (some sort of pnesthood power to women) in the next 50 years, like giving Blacks the pnesthood For me, having symbols and pageantry, and broader ways to worship were attractive One of the first services I went to, there was a liturgical dance I grew up dancing, to see it used in worship To me they (Episcopal Church) really enhance my ability to connect with God, from the choir weanng different colored robes reflecting the season, the ability to focus on the cross, to the whole Holy Week leading up to Easter I found so amazmgr because both the somber death and glonous resurrection are observed in different services. John admits there were times of great guilt over leaving the LDS church His father is now a stake patriarch. w as stake president w hde he w as growing up And Nancy savs there are some that things although not many she misses about not being Mormon, from the lack of a close neighborhood togetherness equated with the LDS Church I think theres a lot of polarizing that happens in Utah that doesnt need to, she adds. I absolutelv consider them Christian Christianity really has to do with how you follow the teachings of Christ.'' ZKJNS RANK To begin earning rsTT a v v purchases, Ww iJtTjiksu Ife famlii'af) cure SllITOlmuled :n vv ar A atei s ? 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