So im thinking of leaving mormonism behind since i want to improve Catholicism. Their missionary work make it more centralized and effective and big and strong, make the whole church in general centralized since i have noticed how decentralized the actual churches in my area are but it hurts is like leaving my church buddies who i have been friend for five years behind. That's my dream. I want missionaries to explain the amazing stories of the bible and their meaning like the story of Jacob wrestling with god and god showing mercy to Jacob and changing his name. Use those amazing stories to attract the young ones into going to church. Emphasize how strong Jesus was carrying his own cross across. Change the way priest preach, and make the connection between priest and the church goers more personal. Since I have noticed six flaws in the church1. Church doesn't feel like a family. Emphasize community2. Missionary work is very little3. The connection between priest and the church goers doesn't feel personal which gives insight into how little the priest actually cares. No surprise they are literal virgins with no family4. Not enough activities to connect youth to each other's and to adults who can teach them.5. Extremely decentralized 6. Priests suck at preaching. Too much music, too much repetion of prayer like I get it but praying more than 14 times in one mass is just obsessesive and vanity at a point. The Prayers where you just repeat what the priest says. They should only be four prayer opening prayer, blessing the bread and water, and closing prayer.Am I delusional?
>>33623146Bump, will respond later, I'm commuting in.
>>33623146So you are going to one of the most purely driven-from-the-top organizations in the world and plan to change it from the bottom?
>>33623146I don't mind music either at church but they over do it and we are not singing in unison because no hymn book.
>>33623196Yes. And it will be somewhat do able since the church is very decentralized
>>33623146Also the priest suck at preaching because I swear they only ever mention GENESIS or the basics of Jesus life. They dont go into too much detail
>>33623146Become a Jesuit
>>33623146>>336231801/2Alright, i'll try my best.You are pretty much spon on on all of your points but there is usually a reason for why it is like that. 1. When you think of the lives of the apostles, they have all died horrible deaths, Christ himself was rejected, spat on and humiliated by His own, by emulating Christ we accept that this will be our fate aswell, as a Roman Catholic myself i don't care if i die alone - i do not live for the world but for God (Book of Job, John 15:19).2. Missionary work isn't like in evangelical or mormon churches and this is becuase we live by example, we don't preach fire and brimstone and we don't coerce people into joining but offering them something, we show it through actions and dedication, results of our work - churches, hospitals, orphanages and universities are the fruits. We do need more evangelism, but not on megaphones, but theologically discussing it - And that is why some religious orders exist like Franciscans or Domincans, whose job is to fulfil this role of evangelisation, through living the apostolic life and theologically mastering it. But yes, the laity needs to engage in evangelisation more - People like Counsel of Trent, Jimmy Atkin and Patrik Madrid are a good example of this.3. Depends on the priest, in small villages they are beloved, but they aren't supposed to take glory - that's how you get billionaire megachurch pastors. Celibacy is a praxis (not a doctrine/dogma) of the Latin Church, other Catholic churches and the rest of Christian groups don't do it, we do it out of humility and becuase priests are supposed to act "in persona Christi", also becuase Paul, who reccomended that elders/deacons be married himself remained chaste.
>>336244374. This shouldn't be your condition, every sunday when i go to Church i pretty much see old people, i stand out like a sore thumb. With that said:1) You go to Church for Jesus, not girls, not friends 2) Your choice should be based on theology and beliefs, not what benefits you the most.In my opinion the Church nowadays blows away resources trying to organise youth events, and they don't work becuase they're terrible - but becuase young people don't attend church (Gen Z is reversing this but only minimally), but yes, you can try.5. Tell me more about it...6. Prayer can sometimes work well as a distraction from evil thoughts, i lose focus a lot during mass so this helps, the whole day of the Sabbath is supposed to be dedicated to the Lord, and it does feel more right compared to uttering just a few words and expecting everything to be perfect, but i get you. Lastly consecration of bread and wine, the Eucharist, is the most important part of the mass, but rites must be included aswell, if you look at the meaning behind it you'll also find an opportunity for self reflection a lot there, also old mass used to last twice as long before Vatican II. About your situation, i had a friend who left the Catholic church to join an evangelical free church, to him it meant deeper personal relationship with Jesus, and he was much more engaged in religion becuase of it. I'm the opposite of him, i'm drawn in, i like my solitude and i enjoy learning about the theological backbone which the church has mantained for the last 2000 years, so each to his own. With that said i reccomend you do join the Catholic church, but first you must be entirely convinced, otherwise you will get swayed by the wind of doctrine and may revert or go denomination hopping. It's not a test drive, it's a life decision.If you got any more questions about it or my relationship with catholicism i'll gladly answer, though i often focus too much on how and not why. Godspeed till then.
>>33624531Before i go to sleep i'd like to say one more thing about the church. I never did have much friends growing up, over the years i kinda became antisocial, chugging energy drinks, always making crass comments, running around and behaving like an animal, hating women becuase i was a self proclaimed incel and yet always claiming to be a Christian becuase i was lukewarm, until 1 Lutheran guy pointed it out unironically enough and beat it out of me. I stopped dong terrible things, i stopped doing degenerate things like consuming porn and masturbating, stopped ruining myself when i came back.For many of us the church is the only place where we can find peace, the refuge where God will see you not by what you own or how you look like or how many friends you have, but what you are. So i thank Lord Jesus that i was able to partake in this, and that i, among the worst of sinners could repent, and though i know that modern world is obsessed with immoral desires which replace humility in its entirety, i pray that they too find solitude in Christ, that His church lives onwards as they accept Him.
>>33624531My local mormon church has like 20 young people. No excuses. No amount of cope can defend the little missionary work catholic churches do at least in the usa.
>>33623196The Church is actually preaching more about subsidiarity these days so OP might actually be coming in at the perfect time to actually get something done at the ground level
>>33623146One strength of Mormonism as a faith is there is a lot of Temple practices in Utah. Perhaps you could talk to somebody about your crisis of faith and ask if you can try going to the heart of Mormonism and going into the temple at the heart of Mormonism
>>33625649Like i said, it's not like evangelicals/mormons do it, we don't come up as salespeople, we dispute theologically. Also, if you're concerned with young people so much, might aswell go to a worshiptainment free church.
