This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Except for a few years in the '70s, I have followed the tenets of Mormonism more or less (mostly less) faithfully my entire life. I've been a missionary, a welfare worker, EQ president, member of a bishopric, Primary teacher and Cub Scout leader.

Currently, I'm a home teacher and nursery coordinator in the Pioneer 6th Ward. I go to church every Sunday by myself, generally for the entire three-hour block.

I enjoy this social interaction with people I not only relate to but also love, despite the fact that they sometimes blather on about things with which I don't agree.

When that happens, I read a magazine, sharpen a knife, entertain impure thoughts or get up and leave. I don't waste time winding myself up just because someone has a different take on things.

So, even though I'm Mormon, there are parts of Mormonism that I don't like or believe in, and parts that I do. Good examples of this are ordaining women and gay marriage. Either of those is OK with me.

Meanwhile, I have never believed that polygamy was OK with God, including the times when church leaders insisted that it was. I've yet to hear an argument for extra wives that made any sense. If called, asked or ordered to participate in plural marriage, I wouldn't.

This doesn't trouble me because it's been the same throughout my life. No matter which group I belonged to, there's always been something about it that I didn't like. And there's always been something about me that the group didn't like.

You have no idea how much I enjoy this arrangement. Disagreeing at church automatically saves me from being asked to do a lot of work I'm neither suited for nor agreeable to.

Once, when a bishop of my ward became aware of (because I told him) just how spiritually uncooperative I was, it spooked him so much that he barely said a word to me for the next several years. Didn't hurt my feelings a bit.

This isn't good enough for some people, especially non/anti/ex-Mormons who can't understand why I haven't been excommunicated or otherwise disciplined by the LDS Church for what I write.

If I had to guess as to why I haven't been disciplined, I'd have to say it's because I'm not so emotionally invested that it came down to that. Besides, it's easy to avoid trouble.

I've never been fired, suspended, kicked out, arrested or roundly denounced where it came as a complete surprise. Every time I've ever been in trouble, I've seen it coming from a long way off.

Ironically, I wouldn't fare any better in an ex-Mo chat room discussion than I do in High Priest Group. Given the number of people in these two groups who presume to know what's best for me better than I do myself, it's a wonder they don't get along more.

Being cast out by the church is not something I worry about. I go, I do my job(s), and I write about the parts that make me laugh or drive me nuts.

Apparently those aren't the parts that get people in official trouble. But the truth is that you'd know if it was time for me to be excommunicated or quit. I'd stop complaining about a part of my life that no longer served me well. Until then, I'll focus on the things that do.

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.