(no subject)

I'm not entirely sure as to the most accurate antonym for the idiom, "tongue-in-cheek" (which infers something ridiculous stated in a serious manner), but when I say I am a Mormon of the future, I mean to intimate that while it may sound ridiculous, I am being respectfully sincere. The only reason it sounds mocking, is because there have been recorded times in which The Church has intentionally suppressed bad doctrine, suppressed true events, and even cast out those who would attempt to read and/or disseminate that truth to others within the flock. This is not an attack on Mormons specifically, rather all religions which rely on financial support of their followers to exist. Adding insult to injury, due to our strongly held beliefs and desire to, "walk the walk" we also have very short memories of all the changes which occur to doctrine even in our own lifetime or easily dismiss those (sometimes radical) changes through apologist claims such as only being revealed by Him when we are ready to understand. Again, not an overt attack on organized religion, rather the idea that those who have difficulty with critical thinking can be more easily swayed to an ever-evolving faith, which - as with most things which occur on a global scale - mutate so slowly, it becomes difficult (not impossible) to recognize.

Please understand, I am not out to change you. I have a narrowly defined scope I want to highlight:

Morality

I won't be able to even scratch the surface of morality as it has been well documented from every aspect by every -ology in existence and by philosophers in every Age who have detailed its complexity. The Wikipedia on Morality is a great place to easily find quotes, references, and links. One thing in which they all agree however, is the absolute nightmare of a chasm which exists between morality and religion, exacerbated by the fact religion is responsible for conflating the two since the beginning of time itself. If you will please bear with the flawed oversimplification for the purpose of illustration, "Morality is doing what is right regardless of what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told regardless of what is right."

I am not trying to stop you from being a Mormon, I am not trying to get you to, "lose your faith" or any of that nonsense. However, you do seem to often forget I love you for who you are, not what you are; it's that I want to address...but only because you brought up our "different morals" as the newest basis for your latest rejection; almost as if you couldn't love me because of what I'm not rather than who I am - again, completely justified - you absolutely have to do you, and morality is such a sticky, complex topic that those of us who cite it are often struggling ourselves with comprehending the whole of it; much easier to pick and choose the parts which can more easily be applied to our own lives - I get it.

With all of that out of the way (and each of those statements really does require a much more in-depth look individually, this is just my limited-scope observation), you implicitly stated I don't hold to, "Mormon morals" yet we know from history all religions change as societies evolve (even your mother is now struggling with "the gays"). Given the hierarchy of where our individual values emerge (Worldview --> Beliefs --> Values --> Behavior) attempting to base our morality upon something which is in constant flux will be a never-ending battle with ourselves - we will never be good enough - and if that's the case, we have to ask ourselves, "Is an ever-changing doctrine an honest reflection of morality?" Its the age-old classic malum in se versus malum prohibitum argument, which I assume you will agree is entirely valid here. In short, it is entirely possible that once the Mormon faith changes some aspect of their own doctrine which then requires their flock to adhere, the very thing which you use to reject me today, could be not only invalid, but become a desired trait. I can make such a bold statement because that's how evolving value-systems work, and why we struggle when we've tied our identity to anything sacrosanct <3

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST!

I was thinking if I run up against worst-case scenario, you could help me find someone new to fall in love with :D
I made a very short list of attributes I require in a potential partner:

As smart as you
As interesting as you
As curious as you
As open-minded as you
As giving as you
As friendly as you
As kind as you
As trustworthy as you
As gorgeous as you
As fun as you
As funny as you
As intimate as you
As transparent as you
As good of a cook as you
As sexy as you
As goth as you
As well-read as you
As philosophical as you
...As wonderful as you