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Show in my father'.s house/333 After that, I arranged to dance only with my uncles. But soon even this was too much a reminder of what I was not and could never be. I would never be right for one of the men in the group. I was a hussy. Soon after John Butchreit's apostacy from the group, my father began encouraging the young people of our group to join the official Mormon Church. our "We must never forget where true affiliation is," he told us. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth. It may be out of order, but that does not give us the right to go forth and create our own churches as these brethren in Mexico have done. That path leads directly to hell." Some of the people of our group objected, especially those who had been raised in fundamentalism and had never belonged to the official church, like Aunt Elsa. "If our youngsters get involved with the Church, they'll think they don't have to live the Fullness of the Gospel. You know how bitter they are toward our people. They'll convince our children that we're wrong and they're right." My father gazed thoughtfully over the heads of the family members. "They must exercise their free agency. If they have a testimony of the Fullness, it will only be strengthened. If not, at least they will be participating in the Gospel to the extent of their abilities." And so, when I could no longer bear to go to the group meetings, I went to the LDS ward near our duplex. At first it was fun, sitting on the front row of the class and showing off |
