Big project due tomorrow. What am I doing? Blogging.
I guess part of my distraction stems from the fact that lately I feel this itching to get something off my chest. The past year or two have made me acutely aware of how many people in this country really have no idea what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really believe.
Now, this really only bothers me when people--naively or ignorantly--have some ridiculous assumptions. I'm just going to clear up a couple that really bother me.
1. I am not brainwashed. I am not a sheep following all the sheep around me. I am a successful college student who thrives on learning about the world around me and exposing myself to new situations, people and cultures. I strive for excellence in every aspect of my life, which would automatically repel me from blindly following any person or philosophy.
My faith in "Mormonism" comes from a lifetime of learning and self-discovery. Sometimes I have doubts, and I have to work through those on a personal level with my God. Intellect, in fact, does play into being able to overcome those doubts. However, when I let intellectualism go into overdrive, darkness settles in. I don't like that feeling. When I allow myself to open myself up to faith and spiritualism, I am not hiding behind it; rather, it broadens my intellectual understanding and light fills my life.
Now, I understand there are people out there, perhaps even people who read my blog, who think religion is a crutch for weak minds. Do me a favor and at least give me--and billions of other people who have some sort of faith in a higher power--the benefit of the doubt. Some of the greatest minds in history have acknowledged the existence of deity. You can have your opinion, but try not to assume that because I'm religious, I'm dumb. For some reason that bothers me.
2. This second thing isn't really an assumption. It's just something that bothers me. I really, really, really dislike it when people get their information about my religion from people who hate Mormons. In a search for information about Judaism, I would hardly go to a Neo-Nazi for illumination.
If you want to know what I believe, I would love to share some thoughts with you. If you would rather read about it online, Mormon.org is a great Web site that clearly explains our basic beliefs. You can even chat live with a representative. But please don't go to malicious Web sites or angry ex-Mormons or the minister who teaches how I'm going to go to hell, etc. for information about Latter-day Saint beliefs.
Ok, that done, I think I'll work on some homework! Wish Eric luck; he's off to Virginia tonight for an interview with Virginia Commonwealth University. He'll find out if he gets in the same day he interviews, so we'll have news for ya'll.
10 comments:
Excellent, Cindy! May I quote you sometime when I need to explain the same feelings to someone? You said exactly what I feel but you say it so much better. Thanks!
Good luck to Eric! And good luck on that fabulous project! It's so wonderful to think that you (and your group) are doing something not just for school but to actually benefit all members of the Church. I am praying for you as you complete your project that you will each be able to feel the direction of the Spirit, because I do believe without doubt that what you are doing is the Lord's work.
And you'll probably get an A for it! That makes it even better!
I love you...
Thanks! And good luck to Eric! Although I'm sure he doesn't need luck, right??
Of course not! Seriously, though, who could dislike Eric in an interview? :)
well said Cindy
Well, I feel inspired to be the sourpuss in this comment section. The reason you might feel yourself judged a little oddly by your fellow Americans is that the Mormon church has some cult-like tendencies. It attempts to be secretive about some of the aspects of its faith, like the marriage ceremony and access to temples. These things are seen as strange by most Americans who go to mainstream Christian churches. Also there is the whole associating the Mormon church with the old Mormon church, or the modern day Fundamentalist Mormon church. People find the polygamy to be a strange concept, and a religion that celebrates that, or is falsely perceived to have celebrated that does draw attention. The rest of the stuff you mention is pretty regular. People tend to group all the Christian churches together except for Mormons because Mormons aren't technically Christian, just as Christians aren't technically Jewish. So they, more or less see themselves as part of the same group, and anyone outside of that group is somehow misguided or stupid. Oh well, so much harm has been done in the name of someone's particular truth so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm curious though, who are these people who hate Mormons that people get information from? They sound interesting. Are all those that are ex-Mormons considered "haters?" Hope your trip and Eric's go well.
Love, Tom
Tom, I appreciate your comment and can understand that people have questions about what I believe. That was a major reason for this post--I would like to help people understand better.
Cool, glad you appreciate it :). I have no idea how many non Mormons read your blog, so I thought I'd give you the outside prospective, since it looked like no one else was going to. You have to realize that you study the church from a position of trust, which is why you can advocate Mormon.org as a great tool. But to those of us who have had little dealings with your church, we have to be more skeptical. I can only imagine what websites Scientologists have available for people who want to learn about their religion. For me it is a non issue, since I have so many Mormons in the family, and I know they're good people so I biased against most of the bad things people say about Mormons.
Cindy, you are a great intellectual thinker and I'm glad I know you!
A question for my frenzied cousin . . . if you could please email me exactly what a "technical christian" is, I'm interested in finding out (dbestbadger@gmail.com). Thanks.
We are "technically" Christians if being a Christian means worshipping Jesus Christ as our Savior, it's just that other Christian churches in their frustrations concerning us have decided that we don't worship the same Jesus Christ that they worship. We're not Catholics and we're not reformers, so it's harder to classify us because they cannot accept us as The Church of Jesus Christ in the latter-days. That would mean that they had definitely missed something and that cannot be tolerated.
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