Hi New,from New Mexico

[Samabq]

Hi from Albuquerque,NM.Im tired of living in a closet of sorts,Im a retired police officer and as a very young Mormon I stopped believing all the crap I was being fed.But,I have mostly kept my personal beliefs a secret and now Im standing my ground and not backing down.Glad to be here with other folks that may understand my lying as a need to not be judged by the so called Christians .

[aitm]

greetings samag...samage....samapg.....whatever.

[Solitary]

:-D Welcome aboard officer Samabq! Solitary

[stromboli]

Welcome. I left the LDS church as an Elder at the age of 42 and became a Christian. Stupid me. Now I'm an atheist. By all means, stand your ground.
I point every former Mormon that comes on here to:

the Mormon curtain
http://mormoncurtain.com/
Exmormon forums
http://www.exmormonforums.com/
and Postmormon.org
http://www.postmormon.org/exp_e/

You'll discover there may well be active groups in your area. The truth is people are leaving the church in droves, so you are in good company.

[Plu]

Welcome to the forums. It's always nice to be yourself, even if it's just on an internet forum.

[Shiranu]

You have really good English!

Do you know Walter White?

J/k :P, welcome.

[SGOS]

:-D Welcome aboard officer Samabq! Solitary

Let's make him a moderator and restore some order around here.  :-D

[SGOS]

Welcome. I left the LDS church as an Elder at the age of 42...  

Is Elder higher than a high priest?  

I had a Mormon cousin that stopped going to church and got divorced at a fairly young age so he go drinking, fornicatin', and carryun' on, until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, when he remarried his wife (so he could make sure his kids got his insurance and pension), and returned to the church.

Bingo, after a few months back, he was made a High Priest.  Holy crap, that sounded like a big deal.  How much do they charge a dying man to become a High Priest?  I kidded him about being my heavy drinkin' fornicatin' cousin and suddenly becoming a High Priest, and he got pissed at me.  I mentioned my surprise about his title to a Mormon cousin of his at his funeral, and she said he would get upset with anyone when they brought it up, but it seemed like she didn't know why.

So what do you have to do to be a High Priest?

[stromboli]

Welcome. I left the LDS church as an Elder at the age of 42...  

Is Elder higher than a high priest?  

I had a Mormon cousin that stopped going to church and got divorced at a fairly young age so he go drinking, fornicatin', and carryun' on, until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, when he remarried his wife (so he could make sure his kids got his insurance and pension), and returned to the church.

Bingo, after a few months back, he was made a High Priest.  Holy crap, that sounded like a big deal.  How much do they charge a dying man to become a High Priest?  I kidded him about being my heavy drinkin' fornicatin' cousin and suddenly becoming a High Priest, and he got pissed at me.  I mentioned my surprise about his title to a Mormon cousin of his at his funeral, and she said he would get upset with anyone when they brought it up, but it seemed like she didn't know why.

So what do you have to do to be a High Priest?

I think he was possibly a Priest, not a high Priest. If he was just back in the church, he would first hold an Aaronic priesthood- a Deacon, a Teacher or a Priest. the higher Priesthood (Melchizedek) includes Elder, High Priest and Seventy; Seventy is like a ward missionary. High Priest is what a Bishop or Stake President is.

If he was a High Priest, he must have held a Melchizedek Priesthood office previously. That is a possibility. It is also possible there were political reasons to advance him that high quickly, but I've never seen that. I was an Elder. Two of my brothers served in Bishoprics and Stake Presidencies, so they were High Priests.

[SGOS]

Welcome. I left the LDS church as an Elder at the age of 42...  

Is Elder higher than a high priest?  

I had a Mormon cousin that stopped going to church and got divorced at a fairly young age so he go drinking, fornicatin', and carryun' on, until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, when he remarried his wife (so he could make sure his kids got his insurance and pension), and returned to the church.

Bingo, after a few months back, he was made a High Priest.  Holy crap, that sounded like a big deal.  How much do they charge a dying man to become a High Priest?  I kidded him about being my heavy drinkin' fornicatin' cousin and suddenly becoming a High Priest, and he got pissed at me.  I mentioned my surprise about his title to a Mormon cousin of his at his funeral, and she said he would get upset with anyone when they brought it up, but it seemed like she didn't know why.

So what do you have to do to be a High Priest?

I think he was possibly a Priest, not a high Priest. If he was just back in the church, he would first hold an Aaronic priesthood- a Deacon, a Teacher or a Priest. the higher Priesthood (Melchizedek) includes Elder, High Priest and Seventy; Seventy is like a ward missionary. High Priest is what a Bishop or Stake President is.

If he was a High Priest, he must have held a Melchizedek Priesthood office previously. That is a possibility. It is also possible there were political reasons to advance him that high quickly, but I've never seen that. I was an Elder. Two of my brothers served in Bishoprics and Stake Presidencies, so they were High Priests.

OK, thanks.  I've wondered about it.  His reticence to talk about it made me unusually curious.  I was also suspicious that it involved giving a lot of money to the church, but I don't have any actual knowledge to base that on, except that I know some Mormons came directly to his house each week to pick up an envelope containing something or other.

[Plu]

Maybe he was their local drug dealer.

[stromboli]

As an adult, he would be expected to pay a full tithe. If he was a successful businessman or well off, he could certainly be moved up the ladder quickly. It is no accident that all of the leadership of the church are millionaires, lawyers, doctors and businessmen.

[Solitary]

:-D Welcome aboard officer Samabq! Solitary

Let's make him a moderator and restore some order around here.  :-D

 =D>  I'll second that!  8-)  Solitary

[Jason78]

Welcome to the forums

[LikelyToBreak]

Welcome!

I'm kind of fond of the disorder.  :oops:  As long as no one gets hurt, that is.