Logan

[Scat]

And I have to echo the others' expereince about Mormonism outside of Utah. It is very different in California than it is in Utah. Very different. And actually quite refreshing comparably speaking.

 

[The-Joker]

I'm gonna try and touch on everybody's thoughts, so stay with me. I greatly appreciate all of this!

Went there for my undergrad. Logan's a bore and the culture is overwhelming. On the brightside, it's where I grew into the person I am today (a stud muffin).

My suggestion, there is a counter-cultural, albeit small, crowd in Logan. To seek it out, you probably will have to hit cafe' ibis and that sandwich shop across the street from the white owl, I forget what it's called. Oh yeah, and that place that has concerts right near ibis too.

To put it bluntly, Logan's pretty much what you've experienced so far, you're probably not going to discover many exciting new places if you remain there. But I made it through by assembling some really great lifetime friends. You're probably going to have to do that to keep some semblance of sanity if you are the person you describe yourself to be. To be clear though, you can make lifetime friends anywhere so maybe you ought to check your options if you are truly miserable. I feel your pain, I really do.

Thanks for the recommendations about those places... I might go scout them out later. I am a bit of a counter-culturalists, It might be because I enjoy taking the underdog position. I was the same way when i lived in Colorado, I was fervently conservative and little bit ignorant (if you hear trout talking about heiling Hitler that was a discussion we had in that time of my life). But I think my beliefs have substantially ossified towards the left, becausee the religious right makes me want to puke, and I don't think I would revert if I moved to a culture that would be similar to mine.

On your second point... friendship is the only thing that could (and maybe will???) keep me in Logan (possibly a girlfriend). I have 4 of my closest friends going to school with me in the fall, and they share similar beliefs to me. However it seems that over the summer since I've left (3 weeks ago...) from what I've gathered talking to my best friend, his goal is to get married as soon as possible (he really wants to have sex I recon, and I can't talk him into breaking the law of chasity) he had a bad relationship in high school, does not want to deal with "drama" and just wants to get'r done. Its not that he's changed... but I guess since now I'm on the outside looking in, I can better understand his motives.

I'm the opposite... I don't want to get married till much later in life, or until I'm absolutely certain I've found someone I can go the distance with (not someone who I'll have fun boinking for 2 years, and then get sick of... which is what I'm guessing my friend will end up doing). Kids are not all that appealing to me, and my beliefs are reaffirmed every time I go to the Wal-mart.

So essentially with my friends possibly fading into boring married life, and me wanting none of that... I might leave them behind in an effort to find myself. I've never been one who wants to cause trouble, and I usually am silent and cave easily in situations where I'm uncomfortable, and usually just agree with the person so they'll leave me alone. This is happening more frequently with people pressing me to go on a mission and pressing me to believe certain things, I'm just caving too much. I might be much happier in a place where I would not have to cave and can better express myself.

 

[The-Joker]

Maybe you should go back to step 1 first and actually figure out what your beliefs are. In your initial post, you talk about how you may consider going on a mission, then you come back with "let's not throw the "m" word around when I refered to you as a mormon.

Seems like you've got a lot of conflict inside you young Skywalker.

Context is everything... you called me a mormon with nothing to do. As if I should be going to the singles ward dinners and shadowing missionaries. But that's not me, I identify with mormonism and many other beliefs in general. However I do not wish to be classified as a Mormon. It's like how identifying with the teachings of Jesus Christ, is different than being Christain. I do not consider myself a mormon or a christain but I believe that taking upon yourself certain principles of those, and likening unto yourself the doctrine of those can lead to a better life (along with other religious doctrines). Like I said before, belief is double-faceted word for me, where I also see the point of view of the atheist, but choose to take upon myself the words of those ddoctrines.

I would not call my beliefs a "faith", but more of a hope. I "hope" that if I do these things, a profitable result will follow... according to those doctrines. I can't stand the thought of there being no afterlife... so I choose to believe in something different, essentially. Maybe there is no god, maybe there is... i feel better about a life with a god and purpose, then a life without.

 

[The-Joker]

Joker, have you grown up in Utah your whole life?

I ask this because it seems that you are striving to be unique. Which as a white mormon in Logan is very hard to do. I did not move to Utah until I was 17. I was the only Mormon kid in my high school and then I all the sudden I was in SLC and everyone was Mormon and white. Which is totally fine but I had been known as the unique one for my religion and people talked about that with me all the time. Everyone was Baptist.

Anyway I think you can get a better understanding of your beliefs about the church when sometimes you have to stand up for them. You also see what makes you unique is a good thing and people around you notice it too. So if you can leave Utah for awhile I would. Go to a school in Cali or Texas or whatever, then you will know for sure if the church is really for you. Because I have seen it alot in Utah with LDS young people that have lived here their whole lives. They strive so hard to be different that they think going against the Church or its beliefs will give them the uniqueness that they want.

I was raised in Utah, I started high school in a liberal part of Colorado. I ended high school in highly conservative (highly corrupted) Idaho.

I was very conservative and had a lot of blind faith up to moving to Idaho. I argued for my beliefs when living in Colorado, and argued for my (now opposite) beliefs when living in Idaho. Maybe I'd go back to being a goody "blind eye" conservative mormon if I moved to California.. I doubt it, because I discovered that rather than living by a religion, that I should live by what I feel is right, and there is a lot of crossover when dealing with mormonism and my beliefs. But when I look around... i see utter trash in the way other mormons act. They have so much pride, they are unwilling to accept anything other than what is interpreted as doctrine, and they try so hard to be seen as "Good mormons" that they forget what the goal is, and they just completely shut out everyone else who is not mormon and has different beliefs, and judge so harshly those who are different.

There are good people, my bishop is the best man I know. But the crappy people, just throw so much judgement at everyone who puts a toe out of line. I guess judgement is what I'm trying to escape from.

 

[The-Joker]

Wow, lots of Logan hate around here. Things are definitely slower around here (I live just outside of Logan) in the summer, but I would wait until school starts to judge the place. As for going on a mission, that is totally your choice. I can't believe how many apologists there are on here. I didn't go on a mission just to learn a foreign language or to get away from Utah for a couple of years or for a two year vacation of aimlessly walking around. I went because I believed that it was the right thing to do. If you don't feel that way, then don't go. It's that simple.

Right is a bad word for me to deal with right now. Because the right thing to do can be many things...

 

[The-Joker]

Yeah... I don't think Joker came here for a lecture on how to nurture his mormon heritage.

Joker: If I were you, I'd be filling out my application to the U of U... or if you have the money, try an out of state school. If your looking for a wider variety of stuff to do and wider diversity of people to hang with, a large liberal city would probably suit you well. Until you can get out of Logan though... just take larryselbows advice and make the best of a bad situation.

As for all this religious talk... you need to get away from religion IMO... based on your comments, you have a very rational set of beliefs and the last thing you need is someone else telling you what to think and who to believe in. Of course... therein lies just one more reason to get out of Logan!

You're a champ.

What I should do is GTFO. However thats not what I can do... and I might be singing a different song come spring...
I don't know if I can get money to go to "The U" (is there a legacy scholarship, because my mother went there, she also went to USU which is why I'm here now on a legacy scholarship)....

Which leaves two Idaho options to consider (I do hate Idaho though)
U of I
and BSU

I've got a question for anyone who knows how the system works. We used to live in Colorado (I spent my Fresh and Soph year there in HS) and my parents still own property there (they rent it out). Can I get in-state at UC-Boulder, CSU or one of the Denver schools?

 

[The-Joker]

You know Joker, when I first read this thread I took it pretty lightly. I just jumped into "there's nothing to do in Logan" mode and really didn't delve any more deeply into your posts.

After reading through this thread again today I find that you are very much as I was at your age. I stopped attending church on a regular basis when I was 15. By the time I was 19 I pretty much never went. Not because I didn't believe but rather I didn't feel it added anything to my life. That said, I still felt that I was a spiritual person but I hated sharing it with anyone and I really hated others sharing theirs with me. I didn't want to hear it. At 19 when the bishop called me into his office I knew he was going to ask me about going on a mission. It had been drummed into my head my entire life that I should go so I honestly was not sure what I would say. I knew what I wanted to say however. I told him no. He was cool about it though I've heard stories about bishops that treat you like crap if you say no and lay the guilt on pretty thick.

My brother's mission was more the type experience that I think you are looking for. It was for the LDS church but it ended up being more of a humanitarian mission than religious. He was called to San Diego but was sent to a Hmong area of the city. He learned to speak a foreign language and ended up being more an all around handy man than a religious missionary. At first it was just Hmong that had converted that would call he and his partner for help but once they gained the peoples' trust they all called and would ask for help in doing most anything. He still had to attend church every Sunday and did end up giving the odd blessing here and there but never baptized anyone and he still says he is perfectly fine with that. He even had one older gentleman that had become quite frail call him for help to harvest his crops. My brother arrived to find that the backyard was filled with opium poppies. He of course graciously declined but I find it incredible that these people trusted him enough to ask such a favor.

You sound like you've already decided that you really don't want to go. Not for religious reasons anyway. You might be better served with a stint in the peace corps or other such humanitarian organization. And I applaud that.

I'm glad to talk to someone with parallels in life like mine.

There is no way of knowing whether going on a mission would be beneficial for me, if I got called to serve to be more than one of the church's minions just trying to expand profit base, I might go. But there is no way of knowing.

As for peace corp's and humanitarian services... its an option for the future. Right now I really like what direction I'm going right now as a Biology major (I don't want to say I'm premed, even though I am)

 

[G-O-A-T]

I've got a question for anyone who knows how the system works. We used to live in Colorado (I spent my Fresh and Soph year there in HS) and my parents still own property there (they rent it out). Can I get in-state at UC-Boulder, CSU or one of the Denver schools?

https://highered.colorado.gov/Finance/Residency/faq.html outlines the requirements for in-state tuition in Colorado... every state has slightly different resident requirements.

If the U.S. weren't so involved in worldly conflicts, I'd recommend looking into doing a stint in the military. Get some good experiences, pay isn't terrible, and you get a free ride in school when your done (if you went to a state school, benefits would probably exceed tuition + costs of living combined)

 

[The-Joker]

https://highered.colorado.gov/Finance/Residency/faq.html outlines the requirements for in-state tuition in Colorado... every state has slightly different resident requirements.

If the U.S. weren't so involved in worldly conflicts, I'd recommend looking into doing a stint in the military. Get some good experiences, pay isn't terrible, and you get a free ride in school when your done (if you went to a state school, benefits would probably exceed tuition + costs of living combined)

I'm terribly anti-war... so maybe in the canadien military

 

[G-O-A-T]

I'm terribly anti-war... so maybe in the canadien military

 

[moevillini]

...Kids are not all that appealing to me, and my beliefs are reaffirmed every time I go to the Wal-mart....

the ol' trip to Walmart - best contraceptive ever!

I've got a question for anyone who knows how the system works. We used to live in Colorado (I spent my Fresh and Soph year there in HS) and my parents still own property there (they rent it out). Can I get in-state at UC-Boulder, CSU or one of the Denver schools?

I know it's tougher now than it used to be years ago. A good friend was able to get in-state tuition at Boulder for her daughter after 2 years (for her jr & sr year - she just graduated) - - the family owned property near Estes Park, plus the girl had to stay there year round (the family lives in Chicago) and work for two years in order to qualify