It’s not cool to be Mormon. You know it and I know it. I’m Mormon on purpose anyway. Why?
I realize I said I was done here but I feel inspired to set the record straight before I move on.
There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a people who had been a warring, murderous and wicked people but were brought to repentance through their belief in Jesus Christ.
They knew they had been forgiven for their sins and wished to never shed the blood of man again.
These people were on the brink of war with their enemies.
They knew their enemies were preparing to slaughter every last one of them.
These are the words spoken to them by their king,
“Let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren… let us hide them away that they may be kept bright as a testimony to our God… that we have not stained our swords with the blood of our brethren…”
So they dug a huge hole in the ground and buried their weapons.
When their enemies came upon them they knelt before the sword wielding brutes on the ground and prayed.
At first their enemies had no mercy and slaughtered 1005 of them. But then they began to be filled with sorrow and “were STUNG for the murders which they had committed.”
That day the people of God were joined by their enemies and peace abounded.
The End.
Time and time again as I have written this blog there have been mean, vicious, senseless and hateful things written to me. I was not always perfect in my responses. (Ummmm… Crack kills….)
But my favorite answer when things came to a hurtful stand still was, “LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPON, MY FRIEND.”
Now WHERE in the world would I have come up with THAT in a world so thirsty for vengeance?
I have had a lot a negative things to say about the culture of my fellow Mormons and the harsh judgments I have felt, but I would be remiss if I did not make it clear that my faith in my religion itself is strong. No one is perfect. Not them. Not I.
When I read The Book of Mormon and The Bible I feel peace. I feel peace because they are the words of God. I believe that with all my heart and will teach my children to believe it too.
When my daddy, Joseph M Smith III, decided he would join the Mormon church at 19 years of age his family and friends thought he was crazy. (They STILL think his decision and way of life is strange.)
When my mother, Martha Duarte Lara, was a bare foot and muddy teenager in Mexico and the Mormon missionaries came to her adobe home she accepted their message immediately. On the day of her baptism my Abuelita dumped a bucket of ice water on her head and said, “There! NOW you are baptized!”
In spite of opposition from those they loved most they stuck to their guns. My parents are Pistols too. ;)
The greatest lessons they have taught me are to Love my Fellow Man, To Serve, To Give of my substance, To Trust in God.
As a result I AM FABULOUS! ;)
That’s all I have to say about that… ~Forrest Gump
Shameless plug: It’s pretty easy to get a hold of the Mormon missionaries if you care to know more. (You could do worse, ya know…) Do me a solid and buy those guys lunch or somethin’. They’ve got it rough!
We are officially called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
