"Mormon"
I do have to admit, I give a silent groan every time I hear my religion mentioned in public (on TV, over the radio, etc). Or maybe it's more of an invouluntary twinge.
This is not because I'm ashamed of my beliefs. It's far from that. It's because people often get it horribly, horribly wrong and it becomes, more often than not, a damage-control situation.
Most everyone has at least heard of the LDS church, or "Mormoms" as we are often called, but not everyone has an accurate picture of the religion. Even those who follow the faith don't always have all the answers or a good working knowledge of what their religion actually is. This is quite sad, and one should know their religion and really understand what it is they believe. I know I don't have a perfect knowledge, but I'm trying.
I think one of the things that gets me the most is that other religions don't recognise us as Christian. This was actually a fairly large focus of the last General Conference in October. I always thought that to be Christian meant that you believe in Jesus Christ. I always thought that being Christian was accepting him as your, and the world's, Savior. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ...
This is a lot less cohesive than I initially hoped, but the initial twings has passed it appears and now I just shrug my shoulders, knowing that people will believe what they will, but hopefully, HOPEFULLY, if people have questions they'll ask the source rather than stumbling around and questioning people who are 1) not a part of the religion at all or 2) completely opposed to the religion.
It never made sense for me why people of other religions would have sermons and preach about how horribly wrong the LDS church is. What is the point?
And I figure I've been sitting on this for far too long. The following is a brief personal essay that states many of my most basic beliefs.
I’ve been meaning to write this for some time. The thoughts have been bouncing about in my head long enough to become annoying and in need of a physical outlet.
A part of me states that I must have some sort of disclaimer, but the rest firmly declares that these are my beliefs and I only ask that you respect them as much as I respect yours. These are my basic beliefs about life, the world, spiritual matters, and the like.
I believe in God. I believe that He is all-powerful and all knowing. He is a physical being made of flesh and bone, not an intangible spirit. I believe that Jesus Christ is His son and is a separate being from the Father. Both had part in creating this world. I also believe that the Holy Ghost is a separate being from the other two, though he, as of yet has no physical body. Three separate beings of one unified purpose.
I believe that everything, plants, animals, people, and even the earth were “created” or organized spiritually before being created physically. All have their own spirit, their own soul. While we live we are a combination of both the spirit and the physical, mortal body. I believe that the spirit is reflected by the physical body, or rather, that the physical being is what the spirit looks like, though a flawed and imperfect version thereof. The time before birth was a spiritual existence, the time after will be as well until body and spirit are once again combined, but in a glorified and incorruptible state.
As beings created in the image of God and as His children we have the potential to become like the Father as Christ has. We have the potential to have the same power, the same knowledge that He has. As any young animal eventually takes the same shape or have the same abilities of its parent, we are the same.
I believe in progression. I believe it is possible to change where you are and to move forward. One can gain knowledge; one can better him or her self spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can all be done merely with the thought or will to do it. Sometimes we need help.
I am a great believer in connections and the power thereof. I believe that all in this universe is connected to each other. Some are stronger than others, but the connection is still there. I, myself find that I have a strong connection and affinity with cougars. I believe that they are a part of me and that the base of my personality is strongly bound to the species as a whole. I also have a very strong connection to horses. They are like kin, cousins, and brothers or sisters. They take up so much of my life and simply being close to them is a comfort and a joy. Working with them, though at times can frustrate me, is something I truly enjoy and could spend the rest of my life doing, or even beyond that.
I believe that connections to others can be so deep and profound that they go beyond the word “friend.” Such connections, I believe, were started before this life began, for we knew and interacted with each other then, though who knows for how long.
I believe that knowledge, talents, and the connections we forge in this life are the only things we will be able to take with us in the next life. What we learn here (even if we forget it over time) will be remembered in the next life. We will also be able to expand our knowledge and have access to those mysteries that are beyond us in this life. The talents that we develop and nurture while on this earth will also exist beyond and we will continue to be able to grow and develop in them. I believe that the friendships we form here will exist in the life to come.
I believe it is necessary to make certain covenants with God in order to be able to receive a fullness of His glory. However, all will have some part of His glory in the next life save for the very, very few who, in effect, have seen or know Him and yet still have rejected Him.
I believe that God is a being of logic and rules. He does not work against nature. He does not break the rules and laws that science has found and clarified over the years. Yet I do believe that He is privy to knowledge that we have yet to understand. Science describes the world, but it does not always answer the question of "why" or "how." I am a logical being at heart, I like for things to make sense. To me, God would not be God if he were to arbitrarily make and break the rules and laws presented in the world. We know that there are laws, but there are also higher laws that we do not know or understand.
You know, if anyone has any questions about the LDS church or what exactly I believe, I have no problems answering questions. Don't take this as a "Omigourd, my religion's great, CHANGE NOW!" I just want people to be informed. It's misunderstood and people don't ask questions, they just fill themselves up with whatever happens to float by and reinforces what they've already decided about it.
This is not because I'm ashamed of my beliefs. It's far from that. It's because people often get it horribly, horribly wrong and it becomes, more often than not, a damage-control situation.
Most everyone has at least heard of the LDS church, or "Mormoms" as we are often called, but not everyone has an accurate picture of the religion. Even those who follow the faith don't always have all the answers or a good working knowledge of what their religion actually is. This is quite sad, and one should know their religion and really understand what it is they believe. I know I don't have a perfect knowledge, but I'm trying.
I think one of the things that gets me the most is that other religions don't recognise us as Christian. This was actually a fairly large focus of the last General Conference in October. I always thought that to be Christian meant that you believe in Jesus Christ. I always thought that being Christian was accepting him as your, and the world's, Savior. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ...
This is a lot less cohesive than I initially hoped, but the initial twings has passed it appears and now I just shrug my shoulders, knowing that people will believe what they will, but hopefully, HOPEFULLY, if people have questions they'll ask the source rather than stumbling around and questioning people who are 1) not a part of the religion at all or 2) completely opposed to the religion.
It never made sense for me why people of other religions would have sermons and preach about how horribly wrong the LDS church is. What is the point?
And I figure I've been sitting on this for far too long. The following is a brief personal essay that states many of my most basic beliefs.
I’ve been meaning to write this for some time. The thoughts have been bouncing about in my head long enough to become annoying and in need of a physical outlet.
A part of me states that I must have some sort of disclaimer, but the rest firmly declares that these are my beliefs and I only ask that you respect them as much as I respect yours. These are my basic beliefs about life, the world, spiritual matters, and the like.
I believe in God. I believe that He is all-powerful and all knowing. He is a physical being made of flesh and bone, not an intangible spirit. I believe that Jesus Christ is His son and is a separate being from the Father. Both had part in creating this world. I also believe that the Holy Ghost is a separate being from the other two, though he, as of yet has no physical body. Three separate beings of one unified purpose.
I believe that everything, plants, animals, people, and even the earth were “created” or organized spiritually before being created physically. All have their own spirit, their own soul. While we live we are a combination of both the spirit and the physical, mortal body. I believe that the spirit is reflected by the physical body, or rather, that the physical being is what the spirit looks like, though a flawed and imperfect version thereof. The time before birth was a spiritual existence, the time after will be as well until body and spirit are once again combined, but in a glorified and incorruptible state.
As beings created in the image of God and as His children we have the potential to become like the Father as Christ has. We have the potential to have the same power, the same knowledge that He has. As any young animal eventually takes the same shape or have the same abilities of its parent, we are the same.
I believe in progression. I believe it is possible to change where you are and to move forward. One can gain knowledge; one can better him or her self spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can all be done merely with the thought or will to do it. Sometimes we need help.
I am a great believer in connections and the power thereof. I believe that all in this universe is connected to each other. Some are stronger than others, but the connection is still there. I, myself find that I have a strong connection and affinity with cougars. I believe that they are a part of me and that the base of my personality is strongly bound to the species as a whole. I also have a very strong connection to horses. They are like kin, cousins, and brothers or sisters. They take up so much of my life and simply being close to them is a comfort and a joy. Working with them, though at times can frustrate me, is something I truly enjoy and could spend the rest of my life doing, or even beyond that.
I believe that connections to others can be so deep and profound that they go beyond the word “friend.” Such connections, I believe, were started before this life began, for we knew and interacted with each other then, though who knows for how long.
I believe that knowledge, talents, and the connections we forge in this life are the only things we will be able to take with us in the next life. What we learn here (even if we forget it over time) will be remembered in the next life. We will also be able to expand our knowledge and have access to those mysteries that are beyond us in this life. The talents that we develop and nurture while on this earth will also exist beyond and we will continue to be able to grow and develop in them. I believe that the friendships we form here will exist in the life to come.
I believe it is necessary to make certain covenants with God in order to be able to receive a fullness of His glory. However, all will have some part of His glory in the next life save for the very, very few who, in effect, have seen or know Him and yet still have rejected Him.
I believe that God is a being of logic and rules. He does not work against nature. He does not break the rules and laws that science has found and clarified over the years. Yet I do believe that He is privy to knowledge that we have yet to understand. Science describes the world, but it does not always answer the question of "why" or "how." I am a logical being at heart, I like for things to make sense. To me, God would not be God if he were to arbitrarily make and break the rules and laws presented in the world. We know that there are laws, but there are also higher laws that we do not know or understand.
You know, if anyone has any questions about the LDS church or what exactly I believe, I have no problems answering questions. Don't take this as a "Omigourd, my religion's great, CHANGE NOW!" I just want people to be informed. It's misunderstood and people don't ask questions, they just fill themselves up with whatever happens to float by and reinforces what they've already decided about it.