I'm shutting down the March and Suffer blog.

To all of you who follow the March and Suffer blog, I will be shutting it down effective February 1st. While I do believe that a healthy discussion of topics inappropriate for most Sunday quorums and classes can and should have a forum for lively thoughts and opinions, sadly this blog site is not achieving the goals I had hoped for it.

I researched and prepared a catalogue of topics for discussion that were cause for doubt and uncertainty in my faith. In the process of doing this I came to a few realizations.

1. No discussion was occurring. It was probably because many of my posts were not conversation-inducing. I accept the blame.

2. My list of things that I don't have answers to, the things that don't have answers, the things that don't make sense...that list was a lot longer than I realized. If I had died unexpectedly, someone may think I had been preparing a book about "Why You Should Doubt The Mormon Church."

3. The Matrix does exist.

My goal in starting the blog was to address issues that could not be discussed during the Sunday block. In doing so I hoped that the exchange of ideas and information would connect the missing link between faith and reason, if one even exists. We are commanded to "seek learning, even by study and faith" (DyC 88:118). To me, the Lord distinguishes two methodologies by which we learn. Physical and spiritual evidences.

All to often in the church, when physical and spiritual evidences seem to be in opposition, the unfortunate tendency is to simply shrug off the physical evidences in favor of the spiritual evidences. The argument always tends to say that the truths of science are limited by the technology of the time to reveal them. The fallacy is that those who make such comments fail to see that their arguments are also valid against them as well.

Or you can follow President Monson's advice and just accept the spiritual truths by ignoring physical truths and to quit trying to explain or prove them: “I propose to stay with my faith, with the faith of my people. I know that happiness and contentment are there, and I forbid you, agnostic, doubting thoughts, to destroy the house of my faith. I acknowledge that I do not understand the processes of creation, but I accept the fact of it. I grant that I cannot explain the miracles of the Bible, and I do not attempt to do so, but I accept God’s word. I wasn’t with Joseph, but I believe him. My faith did not come to me through science, and I will not permit so-called science to destroy it.”

Current spiritual evidences are limited by the societies that they live in. If current societal values allow for slavery, then it is allowable for us to discriminate against certain races of humanity even within our own church. We can stand up for traditional marriage while less than two centuries ago, our Prophets, Seers, and Revelators were labeling monogamy as "the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans…” (Apostle Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, page 195).

As humanity progresses, so does the gospel. Does that cause conflict? It does to me. Hence, the blog.

This is not my resignation from the faith nor does it signify my attempt to re-enter the Matrix. My faith has a solid foundation in Jesus Christ. I have had experiences that I cannot deny away but I also see physical evidences plain as day that do not, as yet, have answers.

I will continue to hope that the spiritual foundation I have will one day coincide with the physical evidences available to humanity. My current answer to those whose struggles with this have caused them to turn and walk away is honest and all I can offer:

I have hope in Christ that one day things will be made clear and my faith will be rewarded with knowledge.

But in the meantime, that does not alleviate me of my responsibility to seek learning...