Changes

Today is a day free of conference and other horrifying distractions. I feel much better today after having taken some vitamin B12 on Sunday night. Vitamin B12 is the vitamin of my frazzled hours. It helps me sleep at night and gain energy in the day.

Ah! It sounds like a cure-all!

Well, I can say that no one thing is a cure all for life, but the more cures you pile on, the less sick your routine and attitudes are. And the body tends to gain in health when we take care of it. This tends to be a trend that goes on into old age.

To throw off sickness is not usually the main aim of every life, but it is currently the aim of mine.

I was thinking today about an organization that could use a cast-off of sickness.

Changes to Make For the LDS Church

1. Every member currently pays 10% of their gross income in tithing. This should be changed. I say that every member should pay 5% of their net income. Basically, paying on money you really do own, after taxes, seems less insidious. If you think about it, many who pay tithing on income before taxes will end up with not even 80% of that money to use for their own needs. Why should someone's income be reduced before taxes? That is vastly unfair! And then, paying 5% tithing would cause some people to have more money. And more members would rise more quickly out of poverty! This means that a man who earns $30, 000 a year will not have to pay quite even $3,000 and could reduce that amount of $3,000 to under $1,500 per year. That would leave about $1,500 more to use to put away savings, reduce debt, deal with family emergencies, and begin financing the future educations of children.

2. Eliminate the fast offering. In addition to paying 10% gross tithing, LDS members must pay monthly fast offerings. The members are encouraged to fast once a month for a meal or two and then give away the money they would have used to eat. Basically, this is promoted as one of the many ways to help the poor. They can have your money and eat more often during their week! But, I would think that wise use of tithing money and other types of donations could easily be used to help the poor and unfortunate, especially if expenses like mall building could be eliminated. It is already a very huge financial stress on members to be tithed on gross income.



So far, I have thought of two suggestions for change of the LDS Church. I personally would not go back if these two things changes. My complaints are far deeper. However, I believe that less people would try to give up their membership if they didn't have to pay tithing like they were the deepest pockets in the world while paying for diapers and car registrations.

When I look at the LDS Church, I wonder if it could change enough for me. Or is it enough that I do not believe it is a true church of the world? I believe it is founded on lies. What would my religion look like if I could make a separate religion for myself? This is not a completely answerable question for me at this point, but I think I could begin to answer it.

My Religion

1. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the World. This means that anyone who has not gone completely evil has a chance in the Afterlife. What does this mean? This means that the spirits of the dead often end up in places other than hell or spirit prison. This means that they are cared for and taught when they arrive in that world. And, at some point, some of these spirits will be ressurrected with bodies. This also means that any intelligence, spirit or person, will be able to choose for themselves whether they will choose good or evil at any point. Persons do not stop progression just because they died and no longer have bodies.



I'm running out of ideas again! I think I'm tired and need to take a nap. I accomplished a lot today, especially in the category of cleaning my living space. I am looking at clean carpet, clean sheets, and sewed on buttons. I feel kind of caught up. This is good.

Good-bye until later. Later, I will personally expand upon my belief systems and the changes I would make to the LDS Church if I were its leader.