Where to do it

Alright, so hopefully the title got your attention, and before I tell you that this post has nothing to do with sex or anything dirty like that, I'd like to invite you to read it anyway, and if you have some input on the matter, please feel free to share your opinion at the end...

So there I was last night, driving with a good friend of mine to the gym. We've been following the Body For Life workouts, and I'm noticing some improvements, but that has nothing to do with this post.

Neither my friend nor I attend church services, at least not with any regularity. It does get tricky though, because while we both have issues with the local attitudes and leadership, he actually still thinks the guy at the top speaks to God, and I think they're mostly all full of crap. He still believes in Mormonism, and I'm pretty much an atheist.

So we're talking about matters spiritual, and he tells me about a guy whose been assigned to visit their family.

In a nutshell, they really like this guy. For some years he wasn't an active Mormon at all, and then he cleaned himself up, got married in the Temple, and then spent another 3 years soul searching, questioning and he claims to have looked at the Church from all sides.

How one can know the full extent of the history of the LDS Church, and still want to attend is something I struggle to understand, but then again, before my fall from grace, I couldn't understand why anyone would not choose to be a Mormon, so I guess it swings both ways.

Anyway, his reasoning for his now regular attendance, is that he does it for himself.

It's gotten me thinking...

There is an argument that often gets made by people who lose their faith, but still attend, that at least their kids are learning good morals and stuff like that.

The counter-argument however, is that in the process your kids learn some other stuff too... They learn that they're right and everyone who isn't a Mormon is wrong. They learn to choose the right, not because it's the right thing to do, but based on guilt and fear that a misogynistic, homophobic, war-mongering and Republican God will strike them down if they don't. And then you bring in the whole thing about lying and garbage like that.

So while kids may learn good stuff at Church, it's eclipsed by all the bad stuff.

It's got me thinking though... If I'm not going to attend Church, and I'm not going to encourage my kids to attend, what am I doing to improve myself and help improve them.

How can I teach them to respect others, be honest and that kind of thing?

Obviously I should do my best to be a good example, but I wonder if I shouldn't do more.

I'm wondering too about their secular education, but perhaps I'll approach that topic later in the week.

For now, I think perhaps I'll just plan on bringing this topic up over the dinner table tonight.