I Am A Christian and A Mormon*

I love my Savior Jesus Christ.
He is my Redeemer and my truest, dearest Friend.
I know that He loves me and knows me by name.
I worship Him and my Heavenly Father and noone else.
Not Joseph Smith--the man who restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth
or
Thomas S. Monson, the man who is called as our Prophet today.
I do not worship them.
I love their testimonies of Christ and their witness of His Divinity.
I am a Christian because I follow Christ.
I am not an Evangelical.
I am not a Protestant.
I am a Latter-Day Saint.
A Mormon.

Politics are not my thing.
I vote when I believe in a candidate
on any level--
local, regional or for POTUS...
and when I don't believe any of the candidates
I don't vote
for a "party" out of loyalty.

But it's near-impossible to ignore
the media's reporting on those who are ignorant
about my faith.
With the "politically correct-ness" of the society I live in,
it surprises me that there is no such thing
when it comes to "the Mormons".
We are fair game for any kind of derogatory comment,
ignorant summation,
comedic fodder and
faith bashing.

It was even spoofed on the
Jon Stewart show recently.
I wasn't laughing.

The spoof was unilaterally discrediting
the Protestant, LDS and Jewish faiths--
but it wasn't funny.
It was unnerving.
And yes, I get that that's the point--
to bring to light the "ridiculousness"
of the very topic of
"faith" and contrast it with politics.
It doesn't fit.
Not in the world we live in
in the twenty-first century.
Not when every single day,
I wake up to read that mothers and fathers
are killing their own babies.
Not when our prisons are over-crowded mental hospitals--
when nearly every single cellmate is on some kind of medication.
Not when we are sending our fathers and mothers
and sons and daughters
all over the world to fight political wars in countries
I'd never even heard of
as a child.
It's just not funny.

Truth is the world would be better if politics
had a moral, ethical, spiritual standard as it's foundation
we all know that,
but then we're mixing Church and State
and that's inherently controversial right there.
But seriously,
the one thing that should be off-limits, or at least considered
"poor taste"
should be the bashing of other people's faith.

The LDS Church doesn't tell me who to vote for--
it just says to vote for the best candidate that my conscience allows.
I don't know Mitt Romney.
I've been reading up on him this last year,
assuming he might run again for President.
I'm not going to vote for him simply because he's
a member of my faith.
I know what he believes as a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
What I don't know is
what he believes in as a
Republican Politician.
Truth is, I'm not sure about him yet.*

I used to be Protestant.
I was raised in the Baptist faith--
and my father's side of the family are all members of
The Holy Pentecostal faith.
Some of them have their theology degrees from
The San Antonio International Bible College
and have run their own churches.
My father graduated from that same place.
But he chose not to be a pastor/reverend when he
became a young adult.
Frankly, it was because of the salary;
he became a salesman of goods
rather than a salesman of God.


When I was a teenager,
I studied the LDS faith at the invitation of a wonderful friend--
and chose for myself to be baptized into it.
I wasn't brain-washed or tricked into it.
Nope, I was taught the doctrine and invited to pray and know for myself
if it was true.
The Holy Ghost answered that prayer
and I have been a member going on 33 years next month.
Yes, it was that powerful of an answer
that changed my life forever.

I don't appreciate being told that I'm not a Christian
by people who profess to know Christ themselves.
And it's a lie.
It's a lie to protect their lifestyles.
I know Christ.
I have felt His love for me
in my darkest hours.
The Holy Ghost whispers peace to my soul
and witnesses the truth of all things to my heart and mind.
I am a Christian.
So when I hear from someone who has their own agenda--
political, social, or otherwise
that they know my faith better than I do,
it is insulting and wrong.
I know what I believe and in whom I put my faith.
I am not "misguided" or "deceived"--
it is literally the opposite.

I've sat in on Sunday School classes in the churches of my youth
when it was "Cult Sunday".
I know what they preach against--
anyone who is not like them,
and any other perceived threat to their livelihoodor status in the community.
I really hope that that kind of teaching has disappeared in this
day and age,
but sadly, there is much evidence
that it hasn't.

We don't have classes like that in the LDS Church--
we recognize that all faiths have good in them.
Our time isn't spent together bashing other faiths
but strengthening our own.
That's why you don't hear a huge backlash from the
14+ Million members across the globe
when we're accused of all kinds of stupid things.
We don't have horns,
We don't have more than one spouse,
We don't do anything weird in our temples.
We do wear sacred garments.
And I find that that's a confusing topic of interest to people outside of our faith,
but if you look around
many faiths have unique sacred items of dress,
though usually on the outside
where ours is worn on the inside.
Just as our prayers are not to be shouted in public
for attention
Neither are our personal tokens of faith.
It's truly personal.

As I have watched Mitt Romney's rise in the polls,
to the point where he is now the projected candidate
to go up against President Barack Obama,
a knot has been forming up in the back of my throat.
It's because I have watched as the waves of bigotry
have built up to a tsunami of ignorance...
and the voices of reason are nearly drowned out
when there is an effort to push back.

I never thought, when I was a sixteen year old convert,
that there would be an LDS President of the United States.
When I joined the church,
there was just barely two million members world wide.
But here we are,
and it's amazing to witness the changes in our nation.
We are a nation that desperately needs a true Leader.
My prayers often include our politicians--
that they will be inspired and true.
I don't care what faith they ascribe to,
I just want the country I love so much,
to be better than it is today,
for me,
for my children,
for my fellow Americans
and for those across the oceans
that I share this beautiful world with...
we so need a Leader who can inspire and lift,
don't we?


Okay, so I'm off track a bit--
I just wanted to set the record straight for anyone
who is not LDS and reads this to know
that I am a Christian and a Mormon.
The sign on my church building reads:
The Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints.


If you are not a member of the LDS faith and have questions,
please someone else who is also LDS.
Just like you wouldn't go to a Ford dealership and ask about a Chevy,
go to the best source of information.
You're also invited to check out the
Church's Official websites:
LDS.org
or
mormon.org


*Post script:  This was originally posted in October 2011.  As I have followed the course of the debates and primaries, I am satisified with how Mitt Romney has surfaced and I will be voting for him in November. Some of this original post has been modified to my current feelings.