My Beliefs (Parts 13-16)

These are the thirteenth through sixteenth questions from the Belief-O-Matic. My answers, and why I chose them, follow.

Question #13
Elective abortion should be accepted (not proclaimed or treated as immoral).
-Agree
-Disagree
-Not applicable

Electing to have an abortion can't be an easy thing to go through with. (I haven't a clue, since I've never been in that position.) I can agree that forcing a woman to have a baby after being raped can be rather cruel. True, she could still keep the baby and give it up for adoption, but not every woman can go through with it.
I'm still up in the air about aborting a child destined to have a disability, whether mental or physical. People with disabilitites deserve a chance at life as much as the next person, but I understand that some parents would not be able to handle it. I also wonder how many people are open to the idea of adopting a special needs baby/child.
If I were in a position where I had to decide whether or not to abort a baby I was carrying, I would do a lot of hard thinking and praying on it before I made a final decision.

Question #14
Homosexual behavior should be regarded as immoral or out of harmony.
-Agree
-Disagree
-Not applicable

I believe some people are born with homosexual feelings, and I believe others opt for it because of bad experiences they've had in their lives. I have friends and an extended family member (that I know of so far) who are gay. I'm happy when they find someone they love, and sad when their relationships end.
I try to love everyone they way God would want me to. After all, we are all His children, whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transgendered, asexual (no sexual feelings at all), intersexual; the list goes on and on. (Heck, until the past couple years, I was only aware of the gender binary.)
I agree that if everybody deserves the same freedoms, then everybody deserves the right to get married, or to adopt a baby. I would attend a same-sex ceremony for somebody I'm close to if I had the chance. (I actually had one last year, but wasn't able to attend.) I would support my gay friends and family if they decided to start a family.
Despite all this, I just can't bring myself to fully embrace homosexuality and all that goes with it, if that makes any sense. It's something that I still have to make some decisions on.

Question #15
Roles for women and men should be proscribed.
-Agree
-Disagree
-Not applicable

I'm not sure why I agreed with that statement. I guess it's just because that's a part of my religion, as well as most other religions.

Question #16
Divorce and/or remarriage should be restricted or punished or condemned.
-Agree
-Disagree
-Not applicable

I think divorce needs to be an option, and absolutely necessary in some cases. No one deserves to be shamed because they divorced.

Taking a break from the My Beliefs posts. I have a habit of reading all my religious blogs on Saturdays, and one of them is a group blog called Wheat & Tares (it's in my sidebar). Yesterday, Bored in Vernal posted about a website called Agitating Faithfully. The site is "devoted to gender equality in the church", the idea being extending the priesthood to the women of the church.

Over 50 people (at the time of this writing) have signed their names to the list, apparently including one in the next stake over from mine. The name of the website comes from an interview with former prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. In an interview, someone asked him if it would be possible for the rules to one day change, allowing women to hold the priesthood. His answer: "Yes. But there's no agitation for that. We don't find it." Basically, it's possible that someday women will have the priesthood, but there hasn't been much said about it.

I think it'd be nice to have some sort of authority to use the laying on of hands in an official capacity to bless someone who needs help. For example, if my husband is having a really bad day, which happens often with fibromyalgia, it'd be nice if I could give him a blessing of comfort. Or if we have kids one day, I'd like to be able to give them a blessing if the husb weren't available. (Where he'd go with all the pain he's in I don't know. It's just wishful thinking, after all.)

At any rate, I wish Agitating Faithfully the best of luck in getting people to talk about one of the big questions facing the church today. I may one day add my list to the names.

My Beliefs (Part 12)

This is the twelfth question from the Belief-O-Matic. My answer, and why I chose it, follows.

Question #12
Choose ALL statements below that represent your beliefs.
-Adhere strictly to the rites, practices, precepts, commandents, prohibitions, laws, sacraments, or ordinances of the faith to be rewarded after life.
-All, even the wicked, are rewarded after life (e.g., go to heaven, merge with God) as God(s) is infinitely good and forgiving.
-Extinguish all cravings, attachments, and ignorance, or rid oneself of all impurities, to become fully enlightened.
-Learn all life's lessons through rebirths.
-Realize your true nature as purely spirit (or soul) and not body, as one with the Absolute, Universal Soul.
-Live very simply; renounce worldly goals and possessions.
-Tap the power of the Ultimate (God, or the divine), through intercessory methods such as psychics, channeling, tarot cards, crystals, magic.
-Humankind is "saved" through human effort rather than through religious or spiritual means.

I picked the first option because that's what I try to do each day. I try to be nice to others, pray daily, not put bad things into my body, pay my tithing each month. And it's not just my religion. I'm sure Catholics try to pray daily, be nice to others, go to church each week, and try to do what else the church asks of them. Buddhists try each day to do what they're taught. We all pretty much believe that if we do as we are asked, we will receive some sort of reward when we're done with this life.

I also picked the second one because it's something I've been taught. We are all spirit sons and daughters of God and He wants us to return to Him one day. Except for a few that will be cast into outer darkness (and I'm sure it's something rare, since you'd practically have to have talked with God face to face and know for a surety that He exists, then deny His existence afterwards to qualify), we will all inherit some form of reward on the other side. I don't think all Mormons are going to heaven simply because that's where we were baptized in life, just as I don't think all athiests are going to hell simply because they don't believe in a higher power. No matter who we are, we will all have to answer for our actions here on earth. No matter what religion we professed to be, in essence we'll all go to heaven because God loves us all.

Even though it's not a major tenant of my religion, I also chose option six. I commend people like Catholic nuns who are so devoted to their religion that they give up worldly possessions to live a life of simplicity. In that respect, they're doing a much better job of it than I am.