What did I know?

10 years ago, I started asking questions about religion. After months of investigation, I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What did I learn about church and religion?

What can you learn about God

within a few months?

Is it possible to learn enough

to allow it to influence the rest of your life?

I cannot and should not answer for everyone

but for myself, I know what I learned was enough.

How did I know?

How could I possibly trust so much

I knew very little about?

Just a few months of listening and learning

has had an effect on the way I think

and the way I live. 

So

How did I know?

I believe there are ideas that influence us.

Sometimes, you don’t know where they came from

and you don’t know why

but in your heart of hearts,

you know that they are true.

I don’t just mean religion.

I mean certain ideas that we just know to be true.

Some people believe that our freedom to make choices

is incredibly sacred and a personal right to all people.

I also believe that is true.

This idea is one of my personal truths as I call them. 

In my heart, I have an incredible respect for agency.

My own agency and the agency of others. 

Heavenly Father does too.

So, 

What did I know?

What were my personal truths?

As you’ve probably read previously, 

I was not going to be a part of any single religion.

I thought I would never find something I agreed with 100%. 

If I did not think it was all true, 

I would not be part of it. 

That’s a truth for me. 

I knew that from the beginning. 

There were other truths I knew

and they effected my decision.

They also effected the questions I asked about religion. 

These truths were mine.

This was my test for religion.

This is in no way meant to represent what I think others should do or use.

This is meant to represent me and only me.

Just like this blog only represents my own thoughts. 

I do not speak for others. 

So please read this next part in the spirit it is meant to be in. 

This blog is to record my journey

and this post is meant to help better explain it.  

Ready?

Here are the truths that influenced me. 

Personal Truth #1

Babies are not born into sin.

This was incredibly influential.

It certainly kicked out many religions in my mind. 

I don’t know how and I don’t know why

but I knew that I could never, ever support any faith

that said babies were born into sin. 

Babies are babies.

They are tiny.

They are perfect.

How can they have sin?

I asked some friends about what they believed

specifically about babies and sin. 

As far as I remember, 

the explanation usually went something like this. 

Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and fell. 

Mankind is now fallen. 

Therefore, we are all living in sin.

Even babies are born into sin

and we must all pay for Adam and Eve’s choice.  

I could not agree with this. 

Why would anyone, let alone babies,

have to pay for someone else’s choice?

Have you seen a baby?

Held a baby?

How can they possibly have any sin?

This was a deal breaker. 

I could not, would not ever believe this to be true.

For me personally, I just couldn’t. 

It didn’t seem right.

Personal Truth #2

Families are sacred.  

I’m sure in my mind I had another name for it back then.

But here’s the basic idea that could not compute. 

This conversation does not represent one specific conversation.

It is just meant to represent what I was taught

and what I was thinking.

Okay, Go!

Someone Else: “When we die, if we have accepted Christ as our Savior, 

we can go to Heaven and be Angels. Anyone who doesn’t accept Jesus will burn. “

Me: “Wow, an angel. 

That sounds pretty great.

But, 

what about my family?

What about my parents?

My siblings?

I want to get married someday

so what about my husband?

And my children?”

Someone Else: “Being an angel is sort of an individual thing. You’ll probably see your family around but it’s about being an angel in God’s family, not about your own family” 

Me: “So why would we have families on earth?” 

Someone Else: “You can be an angel!”

Me: “Sure, but I want to be a daughter, a sister, a mom. I love my family. I want to be with them. Can’t I be with them too?”

Someone Else: “You can be an angel!”

Somehow, I knew that this wasn’t going to work for me. 

I wanted to be with my family. 

There was nothing more important than that.

I thought that if Heavenly Father really loved us enough

to bless us with families here on Earth,

why would he rip us apart after we died?

This personal truth was more of a feeling.

The feeling can be summed up like this:

I love my family

and I should be able to be with them in Heaven. 

If I can’t be with them, 

what kind of Heaven would that even be?

Without my family, it wouldn’t be Heaven. 

Personal Truth #3

God speaks today and we can know Him.

THIS one was interesting.

I didn’t even realize this idea was influencing me

until I started learning more about the Bible.

I learned that leaders with often teach their own ideas 

and use the Bible to support them.

I’m sure these are good ideas

and they are probably very inspiring sermons

but if all of these leaders are reading the same book,

shouldn’t leaders generally think similar things?

This is not always the case.

You can read a verse from the Bible

and come up with tons of different ideas. 

What I would learn from a sermon on the Bible

depends on the preacher I’m listening to. 

What I learn about God and Jesus Christ

is only determined by someone else’s interpretation. 

God only speaks to His servants.

He doesn’t speak to man.

He certainly doesn’t speak to me.

But if God doesn’t speak to man, why do we pray?

Can’t we have a personal relationship with God

without having to go through someone else?

Can’t I talk to Him too and learn His will for me? 

Does what I learn really depend on the leader in front of me?

Nope.

I’m too strong-willed for that. 

I have to do it too.

If I can do it myself, learn it myself,

have a personal relationship with Heavenly Father,

then I will work hard to keep it. 

It’s the way I think and the way I work. 

No one should have to stand in-between 

my relationship with Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ.

Well, these weren’t just ideas to me.

They aren’t just personal truths anymore either. 

They are just truth. 

These are truths found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Truth #1

Babies are not born into sin. 

The curse of Adam is swallowed up 

in the Atonement of Jesus Christ for all little children. 

Here is how I know.

This is a verse from The Book of Mormon.

The Book of Moroni. Chapter 8, verse 8.

“Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.”

Truth #2

Families are sacred.

If you make and keep sacred covenants, 

you can be together forever as a family. 

Here is how I know. 

This is a paragraph from Mormon.org

called “Strengthening Families”

“Within the family is the best place to learn to love others the way Heavenly Father loves each one of us. God's Church exists to help families gain eternal blessings. We believe the greatest blessing He gives us is the ability to return to live with Him in heaven with our families. We follow our Heavenly Father's will because that is how we earn this blessing.”

Truth #3

God speaks today and we can know Him.

God speaks today through the power of the Holy Ghost

and we can have a personal witness of Him.

Here is how I know. 

This is a verse from The Book of Mormon.

The book of Moroni, chapter 10, verses 4-5.

“4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things”

So here they are.

These are the deal breakers

and apparently the deal makers too.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was already in line

with my own personal truths.

This is how I knew

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was true.

I know it is true for these reasons

and many, many others.

For additional material on what I wrote today,

here are some links. 

Jesus Christ. Who he is and how he has changed my life. 

The Articles of Faith or an outline of what we believe. The Plan of Salvation. Also called the Plan of Happiness.

The Influence of One

Who was this person who changed my life?
Who gave me hope in friendships?
Who made me feel like I was a real person?
Someone worthwhile?
Someone who has worth?

This friend
found me at Girl's Camp.

Remember how I said
All things can be turned to good
if you turn to Heavenly Father?
Well, I meant it.
I had turned to Heavenly Father every day
and asked him to help me.
Please help me
not to be lonely
and sad
and worthless.
Please help me to be a friend.
I don't know what I'm doing
but please help me.

I had been asking for these things.
I knew that I had to trust Heavenly Father,
that He would care for me
and that this could take time.

Time it took.
Months had passed.
Summer was coming
and so was Girl's Camp.
It had not ever crossed my mind to go
because we aren't campers.
I do not remember camping
EVER.
Our family was the
stay-indoors-eat-delicious-food
kind of people.
We still are
and it's fabulous =]

The fact that I didn't WANT to go
did not stop my Young Women's leader
from telling me that I should.
I told her no.
She called me
and insisted I go.
I told her no.
She then told me
that she thought it was important.
She even had a hiking pack,
sleeping bag,
and funds for me to go.
And so,
partially to get her off my back
and because she paved the way,
I said I would.
But it was really only to please her.

Well,
it didn't go very well.
Most of the girl's knew each other
and were already good friends.
I didn't have a place.
Being at girl's camp reminded me
that I didn't have any friends.
Why?
Because no one wanted me.
What a reminder to get
every
single
day
away from home
and the comforts of family.
I was completely alone
and didn't deserve anyone.

I wrote to my mom
and told her all about it.
She cried
and so did I.

About half way through girl's camp,
something happened.
Someone happened.
I don't know why
she talked to me
but she changed my life.

Her name is Kate.

I don't really know how it started.
I think she just saw me
and probably thought,
"She's by herself. I'll go talk to her"
And she did.
She talked to me.
I don't remember what it was about
but I do remember how she made me feel.
She made me feel like a person.
She made me feel like I was worth talking to.
She was and is the kind of person
who people literally flock to.
She's inviting
and kind.
She radiates light.
And this person
decided to take the time
to talk to me.
Imperfect, hopeless me.

She didn't think of me that way.
You can feel it when you talk to her.
She just sees a person.
She saw a person
who was worth it.
I saw who I could be
because she saw me
and accepted me.
She saw me
as a child of God.
And I really was
just a child
in need of a friend.

She became my best friend.
She will always be
my best friend.
Even if we don't talk
for seventeen years,
I know I can call her
and it'll feel the same.
I will feel loved.

I learned a lot from Kate
and from her family.
"No put downs".
Be courteous.
Speak kind words.
Be respectful.
Smile and have fun!
But most of all,
Show love.

I finally knew how to be a friend.
I could be like Kate
and just show love.
I could really see others
and treat them kindly.
Like a person.
I could reach out.
I could help them feel included.
Maybe someday,
I could radiate light.
I want to make people happy
so when people come to me,
they can feel safe
and loved.
I just want to show love
because someone showed me love.
He showed me
everyone deserves love.
Heavenly Father taught me
how to love.
He gave me an incredible,
personal example.
He gave me a Savior.
He is love.
Heavenly Father answers prayers.
He gave me a friend.
He gave me Kate.