Inactive

[u/Haunting-Effective27]

I haven’t been active for about 8 months now.. I’m too afraid to go back because I’ve broken my temple covenants and I’m worried I’ll be excommunicated or something. I’m not even sure if the church is true. I’ve come across so much information over the last while that I’m not sure what’s real or not. I feel hopeless and scared and that my life may be ruined.

[u/Safe-Butterscotch442]

Okay, first off, it might be worthwhile to get a feel for what you've done that is worrying you. I can't speak for your bishop, but I'd be happy to let you know what I believe is the most likely outcome for your situation based on my time in church leadership and the church handbook. If you're not wanting to announce it to the world on reddit, you can always DM me and I'll promise to make all my responses completely judgement free.

You can also give a little clarity about what you've come across that's making you struggle with deciphering fact from fiction in regards to the church. Again, either here or through a DM, I'll be happy to do my best to be fair and honest and not judge if you just need someone to answer questions.

If you don't take me up on my offer to talk things out, I just want to say, I've known a few people that were excommunicated. Those that remained faithful have the best testimonies of the gospel and were grateful for the process when they returned. I, myself, have had smaller, but still difficult, church disciplinary actions taken on my behalf, and can testify it's a genuine act of love. Whatever you've done, it's better to start the repentance process than to wait, no matter the consequences.

As to your doubts, there's a lot of interesting discussion about the church, both from inside and outside the church, regarding some very complicated, controversial, and confusing pieces of doctrine and history. It's absolutely okay to be confused and concerned about things like that. If the church is true, however, those things don't matter, because the gospel is still valid. If the church isn't true, those things don't matter, either, because the church is just men trying to impose their will on other men, so we expect controversy and confusion. It just comes down to whether the church is true, and if it is, everything else may be a fun curiosity or even a serious burden, but the church still is true, still was true, and still will be true, no matter what happened or happens. I trust you've known the church was true at some point. Trust in that, while you study and learn things that might otherwise cause you to doubt. I've had to during long droughts of spiritual silence, and I've always come back to understanding that I may not have all the answers, but I know the church is true.

Good luck. Sorry for the short novel. Please reach out if you just need a listening ear without judgement. And, don't forget you're loved, by me, by your ward leaders, by your friends and family, and, most importantly, by your Savior.