My Faith

Preface:
Religion / Faith / Beliefs. This is a subject area I've been known to avoid in mixed company. Starting with friendly, respectful sharing of beliefs all too often digresses past disagreement, fault-seeking, and "disproving" until it becomes an epic religious trench war or a holocaust on an individual's beliefs. The worst part is that the entire process often occurs before either party realizes what has happened. --- I detest this pattern; I hate it to the very core. Why? It whisks love out the door, to a hasty execution. I believe that love is the most human and precious characteristic that any man can possess. Anything that destroys love has no value and deserves no consideration, even though it may have the world to evidence its truth.

Speaking frankly and honestly, I try not to push my beliefs on anyone. If I feel that my beliefs can be shared in a loving manner with a friend, acquaintance or colleague, I will do so. However, I refuse to yield to social pressures to "sell" my Religion like a life insurance policy (and refuse to be "sold" to in the same fashion). Regardless of how protected I feel in my Faith, I will not push my Religion upon someone who clearly has no interest in it. Furthermore, I am well aware of many "gaps," "loopholes" and other "faults" in the doctrines of my church that do not currently seem to make sense - they've been pointed out by many people throughout my life - but they do not change my faith[1] in my beliefs.

The point that I'm driving at is that I "claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of [my] own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may"[^]. I have my beliefs. You have yours. There is no reason to let the differences come between us if we have a mutual love and respect for one another.

My beliefs:
I affiliate myself with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (AKA "LDS," "Mormon." This is the organization to which I refer when I say "the Church," below). These Articles of Faith provide a basic summary of my beliefs.

My conversion story - the history that most people don't know:
I was baptized a member of the Church at 8-1/2 years old. Prior to and proceeding from that time, there were many times that I was not active in the Church. However, time after time, I always found myself going back, primarily because I believed the doctrines taught there. At 19 years old, I decided once again to go back, and that I wanted to go on a mission (not having very many social pressures to go, I went because I wanted to). After 7.5 months in the mission field, I returned home because of a combination of medical complications, struggling faith and mission politics.

Struggling with anger toward my mission president and the Church, and suffering from a severe bout of depression, I once again slipped away from activity; I was convinced that I had no testimony and was unsure if God existed. Six months passed and I met a girl with whom, it seemed, I had the world in common. Mistaking conversation for communication, and deceived by first love’s apparent power to set my troubles at naught, I was caught up in a whirlwind romance that led to marriage in just less than six more months.

As time progressed, problems never addressed during dating began to recur. A wedge appeared in the relationship and tension rose. Emotions were hid. Respect of Faith turned to disdain. Communication (what little there was) died. Friendship turned to enmity. Love became ire. Cooperation diminished, and trust dissolved. With each successive blow and with no tools left to remove it, the wedge was driven deeper and deeper until it led to a painful divorce.

Long before the last straws were drawn in my marriage, I spent considerable time reviewing my life and my beliefs and realized that there was always one consistent point of convergence – a belief in God. That was enough to convince me that He lives! A year and a half later, God reminded me of every time He had spoken to me in the past several years. He revealed to me that Jesus Christ is His Son, the Redeemer of Israel, and my personal Saviour. I then received patience to receive answers to other questions I had asked for a long time, I found healing from my past guilt, and I was freed from the anger I held toward my former spouse.

Finally, at the beginning of this year, I received a further witness of Joseph Smith’s divine calling as a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God. I also received a witness of the truth of many other aspects of the restored gospel. These experiences are why I believe.

In the face of adversity:
There are several reasons and factors that contribute to my continued faith in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. To list them all is beyond the scope of this post. However, I will touch on a few of the more prominent reasons.

My experiences, related above, form the primary reason for continuing in my Faith. I am also somewhat eclectic – I do my best to collect the good in my life, and to ignore or discard the bad, in an attempt make life more enjoyable and happy. One other significant reason is that I believe the doctrines (not necessarily the culture) of the Church help people to be more loving and more productive members of society.

~~~Notes~~~
1) I use "Faith" to denote religious affiliation and personally-held beliefs and values while "faith" denotes my hope in and devotion to those beliefs.
2) My mission – the Illinois Chicago [South] Mission