Wednesday, October 17, 2012

What Being Mormon Means To Me

I would have to say that being a Mormon is the most important aspect of my life.  I've been a Mormon my entire life and it has been the foundation of everything I do.  While I've had opportunities recently to be surrounded people that do not really know who Mormons are or what we believe, it's given me a chance to sit back and think about what it means to me to be a Mormon.  Here are a few conclusions I've come to:

- Being a Mormon means that I attend church for three hours every Sunday.  Yes,  I said three hours!  Why do I do this?  It's not because I like to sit in a pew or on a hard chair for three hours.  It's not because I want to go and see my friends (although I do enjoy that part of it).  It's because each week I get the chance to escape the world for three hours and worship God.  I get to learn more about Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, and I get to gain a better understanding of who I am.  It's not always easy to make it through those three hours, and there are times when I miss church, but I've had so many spiritual experiences while at church that there is no other place I'd rather be on Sundays.

-Being a Mormon means that I know that I am a daughter of God. From the time I was a small child I felt God's love for me and I knew that I was important to Him.  When I would go to primary as a child or bare my testimony as a teenage girl, I would feel the Spirit so strong and I knew that it was something I wanted to always have in my life.

-Being a Mormon means doing my best to love and serve other people.  Christ dedicated His life to serving God's children, because He knew how to love perfectly and unconditionally.  I'm not perfect, and I never will be in this life, but I can at least try. 

-Being a Mormon means being asked over and over again why I don't drink or how many husbands I have.  It means that I get to explain the Word of Wisdom, which teaches us how to be healthy and to not drink alcohol, smoke or take in harmful substances.  It means that I get to tell people over and over again that Mormons do not practice polygamy.  They did, for a very short period, back in the 1800's, but since then it is prohibited and anyone that practices polygamy cannot be a member of the Mormon church.

-Being a Mormon means that I know that Jesus Christ lives and has provided a way for me to be forgiven of all the stupid things I do, to find healing from heartache and pain and to gain eternal life with my family and those I love most. 

These are just a few explanations of what being a Mormon means to me.  Being a Mormon isn't just a Sunday thing, it's an every day thing.  I'm a Mormon 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Who is Latter Day Saint Mormon?

I have created this website because I want to help educate people.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is also referred to by many as the Mormon Church.  I'm a Mormon.  Throughout my life I've met many amazing people from all over the world and have learned a lot about other cultures, religions and lifestyles.  In the process, many of the people I have met are unfamiliar with what Mormons really believe. 

For awhile I've been wondering how I can help people come to know the basic believes of Latter Day Saints.  I decided that because I know a great deal about Latter Day Saints, mainly because I've been one for more than 30 years and it's a huge part of my life, so why not share what I know with the world.  This is a place for people to come that want to know who Mormons are, what they believe and are they as crazy or peculiar as everyone seems to think they are.

I do not mean for this to be a place to argue and to point fingers and say, "I'm right, you're wrong!" or anything like that.  It's a place to learn to understand and accept others.  A place to get your questions answered and perhaps share your own thoughts as well.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is so incredibly important to me, I've devoted my life to living it's teachings, and I want to do my part in helping people understand who we really are.