Why I'm Not a Mormon

I spend a lot of time doing what I love most—being Mormon. "Mormon" is a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a world that is growing more and more disinterested in religion, it’s easy to assume that Mormons have ulterior motives for being members of the church. I want to take a moment to address some common conceptions skeptics have about why people join religions, and why none of these are reasons for why I’m a Mormon.

I'm not a Mormon because it makes me feel good.

There are many wonderful doctrines of the church that, when I hear and learn about, make me feel good. We believe that every person has great worth. We believe that there is life after death. We believe that families can be together forever. The list goes on. But I’m not religious just because it feels good. In fact, there are many cases when being Mormon doesn’t feel awesome. It doesn’t feel awesome to resist temptation. It doesn’t feel awesome to be the odd one out. It doesn’t feel awesome to be the subject of criticism. If a good emotional high is what I was after, I’d find it somewhere else.

I'm not a Mormon because it provides me with a place to make friends.

I meet most of my friends at church, not because I don’t want friends outside of the church—in fact, some of my best friends are not members—but because I tend to make friends where I dedicate my time, and for me that is at church. This is not, however, my motivation for attending. Being a member of the church is a very time intensive commitment, and I’m sure I could reap the benefit of friends through other, easier venues. To add to this, there have been times when it was hard for me to find friends at church; or times when, though I did make friends, people in my congregation were moody, critical of my efforts, and hard to get along with. In both these cases, I stayed true to the faith. Yes—my membership in the church does provide me with wonderful friendships, but the effort it takes to be a member, along with the occasional less than ideal circumstance or fellow worshipper, confirms to me that I don’t show up to church every week just to make friends.

I'm not a Mormon because I was raised in the church.

I am incredibly grateful that I was born and raised in the church. Because of this, I was blessed with opportunities to learn about and experiment living the gospel from an early age. Many skeptics would argue that my membership in the church today is due to this, and that if I were raised in another home where my parents taught different values, I wouldn’t be a Mormon today. In response to this, I would point out that as I’ve left home to create my own life, there are things that I have chosen to not do the way my parents taught me to. Going through this process of deciding how to live my adult life has forced me to pause and question whether my membership in the church is due to my parents’ faith or mine. After many anxious days and months of sometimes feeling uneasy and doubtful, I have affirmed that the reason I keep going to church is because I have a testimony, not because my parents do. I will always be grateful for the sacrifices my parents made to raise me in the church, but my membership now is a decision made by me, not any outside party.

I'm not a Mormon because I am scared of what others will think if I leave.

If I left the church, more than one person’s jaw would drop. My non-member friends might wonder if I accidentally sipped a lick of beer at their last party, while those in my congregation and family would be disappointed. Surely for some people, the thought of what others might think of them if they were to leave the church is enough to scare them into staying. However, I believe that I receive just as many critical opinions of others by being a member of the church as I would if I were to leave. Being a member of the church brands me as different, and sometimes it’s hard to be the different one. It’s embarrassing to correct myself when I unintentionally tell a little lie. It’s scary being the one who walks out of the movie. It’s hard speaking-up and sharing my church beliefs with others—beliefs that are personal and priceless to me—only to have them turn me down. Of course some people would think badly of me if I chose to leave the church, but by remaining a member I choose to belong to a religion that many people believe is too strict and kooky, therefore making me the target of many unfavorable opinions. Leaving the church would be scary because of what others would think of me, but as a member of the church I already deal with other people’s critical opinions every day; jumping ship will not change that.

Why I am a Mormon.

I am not a Mormon because it makes me feel good or because it’s a great place to make friends, and I’m not committed just because I was raised in the church or because I’m scared of what others will think if I leave. So why am I a Mormon?

Though it can be hard at times, and though it is not the popular thing to do, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

I love Him.

I honor Him.

I trust Him.

I believe Him and in Him.

I believe that Jesus Christ volunteered Himself before the creation of the earth to come down and sacrifice Himself as our Savior so that we might one day return to live with our Heavenly Father, despite our faults.

I believe the Jesus Christ was born of Mary in a stable, and that this humble beginning was just the start of a gloriously humble life.

I believe that Jesus Christ lived His life as the perfect example of how we should live our lives if we want to be happy, clean, and good. He served constantly, lifting those around Him regardless of faults, and willingly offered second chances.

I believe that Jesus Christ suffered the Atonement and died on Calvary’s cross for each of us. I believe that because of this, we can all access the power to change and become clean again through repentance.

I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the grave three days after His death, breaking the bands of mortality that bind us all, thereby promising each of us life after this one.

I believe that Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith and restored the church that He had originally established when He was upon the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I believe that I will see Him one day, but that I do not have to wait until that day to come to know Him. I can know Him now, though reading the scriptures, praying, keeping the commandments, and continuing faithfully as a member of His restored church.

Everything else around me may change: family, friends, location, politics, pop culture, jobs, health, socioeconomic status, and on and on. However, one thing that I know will never change is Jesus Christ. He is constant. And because He’s constant, I will be too. I am fixed firmly on being a member of this church because He has asked me, through living apostles and prophets, to be a fully committed and contributing member of this church from yesterday to today until the day I die and on into eternity. And so I will be.

This is why I am a Mormon.

He is why I am a Mormon.

In essence, I choose to be a Mormon because I choose to follow Jesus Christ.

Bike Ride and Snoqualmie Falls

Yesterday Jon and I went on a bike ride along the Preston Snoqualmie Trail. Jon just got a bike a month ago for his birthday and besides riding it around the neighborhood, this was its first real test, and it passed! Our ride lasted about two hours, a total of about 10 miles. I loved it! I'm so grateful that the weather is getting nicer so that I can do these sorts of things!

Unfortunately, the view of Snoqualmie Falls from the bike trail wasn't too impressive, so after the bike ride we decided to drive to the Falls to get a closer look. Snoqualmie Falls was packed, but worth the traffic jam! It's probably the most massive and powerful waterfall that I've ever been to. We took some pictures up top and then took the half a mile trail down to the boardwalk on the bottom and took some pictures down there.

After that, we went home and crashed, both taking hour long naps. We both considered it a pretty top-notch day.

Young Women's

Well, I had a very short go at being my ward's Young Women's president. They called me to be the secretary in January, changed the call so that I was the president in February, and then in March the ward boundaries realigned so that I'm now in a new ward and, therefore, no longer my old ward's president. It's been a little crazy! Even though it was such a short time, though, I still thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and serve the girls in my old ward.

The main activity we held for mutual was New Beginnings. The girls chose to do a pirate's theme and thanks to my counselors, our decorations were pretty neat! We spent the evening searching for a hidden treasure. As we talked about different things, we put map pieces together up front on a board. Once the map was all put together, Bishop came up front and flipped the map around to reveal the treasure...a big picture of Jesus Christ. When he did, the Spirit filled my heart and I was grateful to be in the room, talking with a group of God's beautiful daughters, talking about the ultimate treasure He has given to us all.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. He is the treasure. He is the light in the lighthouse. We are the lower lights that help bring the other travelers safely into the harbor.

I will miss working with the girls I met in my old ward, but I look forward to seeing what serving in our new ward will bring!

My Family Visits and Out First Hockey Game

The last weekend of February was a fun one. Like I said in my last post--it was really hard coming back to reality after a week of freedom in California. Grading papers was even less exciting than it was before I left. My Julius Caesar unit was barely dragging by. Luckily, amid trying to pick myself back up, I had this weekend of fun to help me keep things optimistic!

My family--Dad, Mom, Abby, and Kate--came up just for some fun. After they arrived, we left Jon (he had a church basketball game to go to) and went on a "hike" at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Our hiking guide classified it as a hike, but really it was more of a walk along a boardwalk. It was a pretty neat place with lots of wildlife to gawk at.

See?

Whoops. Did I just call Abby part of the wildlife? I meant see:

It was a jolly good time.

When we finished-up our little walk, my family went back home and Jon and I went to our first ever hockey game. The game was in Kent, WA; with the Seattle Thunderbirds v. the Everett Silvertips. Seattle won the game, but Everett won my respect for being less violent. Seattle was violent at times for no reason, and that's why I suspect that everyone likes them, which is stupid! I know that hockey is "supposed" to be violent. I think that's also stupid. Overall, it was a great culturally enlightening experience, but I doubt I'll find myself going to another hockey game anytime soon!

Regardless of my hard feelings towards the game, it was still splendid to get to spend the evening with this amazing guy. He makes a lot of unpleasant things more fun, like paying bills and cleaning the house. I don't think being an adult would be half as much fun if I weren't doing it alongside him.