Posts tagged missionary
LDS Girl
"Perfect love casteth out all fear." - Moroni 8:16
2012: First Attempt at Attending Singles Ward
I finally attended a church meeting. 
Everything was absolutely perfect besides my roommate/visitor friend who was uncomfortably a missionary-moment-magnet. That didn’t come unexpected though and we were prepared. Regardless, mission accomplished and I want to go back next Sunday!! I also want to start going to an institude class this summer!
Additionally: Since I wore dress pants, my roommate did too… and
WE WERE THE ONLY GIRLS IN PANTS OUT OF THE WHOLE WARD.
The other part I didn’t enjoy… (which I SERIOUSLY feel guilty for) was… relief society. Gospel principles class was nice and layed back, but relief society is that big cheesy buzzkill at the end of a good day.
They were like:
And I was like:
Anyone know what I mean?
(My answer box wasn’t working before so I had to post it like this instead. Thanks for writing me, and I hope this answers other types of questions/qualms relevant to this topic of religion.)
The only thing I can think to respond is that ‘God’ is… goodness, and anything contrary to that nature is not of God. There are people who claim a ’christian’ title and don’t dictate their lives as such, some blatantly opposite. The belief that faith is only required to be a ‘salvation-guaranteed-christian’ is another dangerous thought, allowing them room to play opposite fields, denying hypocrisy even though there are obvious biblical arguments they choose to ignore. Goodness doesn’t have to come equipped with faith, wisdom or knowledge of the bible, torah, or other religious texts either.
One of my most trusted friends is aboslutely atheist, and also a homosexual (not by choice.) He is an incredibly charitable, honest and trusted friend who surprisingly lives with rational high morals. He’s been a profound blessing in my life the moment I met him and if Christ were to walk the earth tomorrow, I would imagine a piece of him being like my friend. I wish I could express how much I really mean that.
It’s true that there exists (sometimes overpoweringly) irrational representations of God or Christ in general christian reiligion. I agree that some use it, ironically contrary to the nature of Christ, as a justifying tool/self-righteous condemning-weapon of hatred against atheists, homosexuals, unexpecting members of other faiths and more.
But there are people who genuinely believe in a God, are tolerant of other philosophies, and (honesly try to) put their (for the better half of the christian society: christ-like) faith to good use in their everyday lives by charitably/delicately existing respective towards everyone as an equel traveling spiritual independent.
In my religion at least, everyone is seen as a child of God and all things that occur in our lives come with divine purpose, specifically tailored to each of our spirits. (Which sometimes means being born with special characteristics that are harder to deal with than others) The important part is not exactly what we believe, but what we choose to do in the circumstances that are our lives. In our faith, we apply this to all of humanity, taking into account whether they are equipped with a knowledge of gospel or not. That means that judgement is not based solely on faith, but it is based on the choices and principles we live by.
In our eyes, Buddhists are doing a pretty good job compared to the West Boro Baptist Church. We believe that utilizing accurately/having the total Gospel of Jesus Christ can only help someone do this better/become happier, hence our snazzily dressed missionaries on bikes. (Not to be mistaken with Johovah’s Witnesses)
I don’t think believing in a God has done more harm to this planet, that’s kind of a stretch. What with all the money-grubbing-unfair-government-power we have going on in big wealthy corporations around the world, depending on the morality of the religion/practitioner of, I would suppose it can only add to our humanity.
“Looking at my own life, much of the good I have accomplished has been due to the balancing of these two forces, and ultimately learning to submit to faith. My commitment to help others came out of it, as did many of the habits I learned as a missionary and serving in the Church. So did my love of people, writing this blog, and a hundred other things in my life - all held in place because of two very real truths - through living the gospel I can find peace and hope, and my life is sometimes not peaceful or hopeful. Which means that with each passing day, I strive to find ways to better live by the principles that I believe…”
“It appears suddenly out of nothing.”
“—not an accumulation of twenty-five years like the Koran, but a single staggering performance, bursting on a shocked and scandalized world like an explosion, the full-blown history of an ancient people, following them through all the trials, triumphs, and vicissitudes of a thousand years without a break, telling how a civilization originated, rose to momentary greatness, and passed away, giving due attention to every phase of civilized history in a densely compact and rapidly moving story that interweaves dozens of plots with an inexhaustible fertility of invention and an uncanny consistency that is never caught in a slip or contradiction. We respectfully solicit the name of any student or professor in the world who could come within ten thousand miles of such a performance. As a sheer tour-de-force there is nothing like it. The theory that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon simply will not stand examination.”
