For some reason, I was doing laundry, and a scene from a somewhat famous LDS movie popped in my head. If you grew up in the LDS church in the 90s, you have most likely seen the movie Saturday's Warrior at least once. I could recite most of the movie by heart, I'm sure. I loved that movie, and the ending has always made me cry. I thought for sure the man I was going to marry was my sweetheart in the pre-existence, and we would be looking for each other on earth. I'm sure it wasn't quite like that, but I like to think I was supposed to marry the man I did.

Anyway, that's not important, and it's not the reason I wanted to post tonight. There's a scene early in the movie in the pre-existence where people are getting ready to be born, including two men that will end up being mission companions on earth, and twin siblings that will be the start of a family of eight. There's a matron character who makes sure that the spirits leave on time for them to be born and sends them to Earth. Besides making sure that the spirits leave on time, she often gives pieces of advice to the Earth-bound spirits.

Then the thought struck me. What if that's part of Heavenly Mother's job? I can see Her now, sitting with people who are preparing for their time on Earth, giving them bits of advice, sending them off with a hug and a kiss for luck; like a mom getting her kids ready for their first day of school. It's a nice thought.

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.

My Beliefs (Parts 8-11)

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

Question #8
Worship:
-The Supreme Power, God or Gods.
-God - three persons of one essence.
-God the Father, His Son, the Holy Spirit - each a distinct essence.
-Not applicable.

I have been taught all my life that God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are separate from each other, but make up the Godhead together. When I pray, I pray to God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
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Question #9
Baptism (or initiation) ceremonies:
-Required
-Not required
-Not applicable

I was baptised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when I was eight years old. I suppose that, were I to choose to join another religion, I'd like to have some sort of formal welcome, be it through a baptism or another form of initiation. I think it would make me feel as if I were really a part of that particular community.
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Question #10
Regularly confess or repent:
-All sins/wrongs to a cleric
-All sins/wrongs, but not neccessarily to a cleric.
-Not applicable.

I don't think that you need confess every little slip-up to a cleric. With some things, a confession between yourself and God/the Universe is enough to suffice. I think it's the bigger sins you need to think more about bringing up to whatever clergy person you look to for guidance.
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Question #11
Doing good works/deeds and acting compassionately is:
-Necessary
-Not necessary
-Not applicable

I think it's absolutely necessary to to good things for others. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", is one of the most quoted and universal commandments out there, no matter the religion or society. Then there's the parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my bretheren, ye have done it unto Me." We have to remember that every person on this earth is a child of God, no matter what kind of person they are.

My Beliefs (Part 7)

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

Question #7
Why is there so much suffering in the world? Choose ALL that apply.

-The originl disobedience of Adam and Eve caused all minkind to inherit mortality, which includes bodily imperfection, illness, and decay.
-Suffering is part of God's divine will, plan, or design (to discipline, test, challenge, strengthen faith, strenghten character, promote moral growth, or for reasons that we cannot or may not know).
-Suffering is a state of mind (or illusion); only our spiritual nature is real.
-Spiritual or cosmic imbalance and disharmony may result in suffering.
-Unwholsome thoughts and/or deeds (greed, hatred, and violence) in this or prior lives return as suffering (karma).
-None of the above; human suffering has nothing to do with the supernatural or karma.

I chose the first two options because they're closest to what I was taught, and they make sense to me. I felt a little tug towards the karma option, but I can't quite make myself choose that option.

There are consequences to the actions we take each day. If you jump off the roof of a two story building, chances are you are going to be injured and have to suffer for it. Sometimes just one thing can happen to you, say develop an infection, and you can suffer for years because of it. (You can ask my husband about this, as it's something that has happened to him.) In the first case, you have to learn from your mistakes and either never do it again, or take better precautions before doing it again. In the second case, this bought of suffering could be a lesson in patience (which this certainly has been).

I know there are infinitely more cases of suffering in the world besides broken bones and chronic pain. The phrase, "or reasons that we cannot or may not know" tends to be my main thought when something bad happens to someone else. I don't see why my husband has to go through the pain and suffering he's going through. I don't know when he'll be free of the pain, or whether it will be through a cure, management, or death. I have to believe that there's a reason he's going through this, and that I just have to wait it out and see.

(Okay, I didn't set out to make this personal, but I can't think of another way to end this post at the moment. If I do, I'll be sure to update it.)

My Beliefs (Parts 5 and 6)

These are the fifth and sixth questions from the Belief-O-Matic. My answers, and why I chose them, follow.

Question #5
Why is there terrible wrongdoing in the world? Choose one.

-Humans inherited sinfulness, or a damaged nature, or tendency to yield to Satan's temptations from Adam and Eve, who commited the original sin against God.
-Wrongdoing results from God-given free will plus a weak side, or a drive to satisfy personal needs, which sometimes results in wrongful choices (and/or vulnerability to Satan's temptations).
-Ignorance of one's true existence as pure spirit and as one with the Universal Truth (or soul, mind, etc.), can lead to wrongdoing.
-Not listening to the voice of God, who resides within all, can lead to wrongdoing.
-Egoism (self-importance) leads to desire, craving, and attachments, which can lead to unwholsome thoughts and behavior, i.e., greed, hate, and violence.
-No supernatural or spiritual reasons. Human nature, psychology, sociology, criminology, etc., explain wrongdoing. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.

We don't believe that it was a terrible thing for Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. If they hadn't, they wouldn't have been able to have children, and would never know good or evil. We believe that we came here to Earth with free agency: to choose for ourselves what we'll do in life.
I can also agree with the fourth statement. While I don't necessarily believe that God Himself is in all of us, I do believe that the Holy Ghost is always with us, who is known as the spirit of God.
I also agree with the fifth statement. We know the difference between good and evil, and can choose between the two. One of the most well-known scripture in the LDS church is in the Book of Mormon. Mosiah 3:18 starts out by saying that "the natural man is an enemy to God". (In that sense, I can agree with that particular portion of the sixth option.) Even at a young age, children are greedy, they lie, steal, hurt others. If we let our negative emotions get in the way, we can choose to do wrong instead of right.
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Question #6
Satan's presence results in much suffering.
-Agree
-Disagree
-Not applicable

Admittedly, this is something I've been taught as a child, though I can't say for sure that it does, having not being in a position to personally experience it. Nevertheless, I can't help but believe that this is true.

My Beliefs (Part 4)

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

Question #4
What happens to humans after death? Choose one.

-Souls are judged immediately for a foretaste of heaven or hell. At the final judgement, God (or Christ) will ressurect and judge all for heaven or hell. (Or souls may also be judged for punishment and/or purification before heaven.)
-Death results in unconsciousness until, at the final judgement, God (or Christ) will raise the living righteous to heaven; resurrect and destroy the wicked on earth; return the righteous paradisal earth for eternity.
-Souls don't survive death. God (or Christ) will resurrect the righteous at the final judgement for eternity in heaven or on a paradisal earth; the wicked will remain dead.
-The soul's spiritual development continues after death so that all may eventually experience the indescribable closeness to God. Hell is not a place but the tormented state of remoteness from God.
-Rebirths occur (continually, or until all life's lessons are learned and one merges with the life force, or until complete enlightenment and eternal bliss are obtained).
-There is definitely an afterlife, but the specifics cannot be known or are unimportant--most important is one's conduct in life.
-No afterlife; no spiritual existence beyond life; noliteral heaven or hell. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.

I chose the first answer because it's closest to what I've been taught. I also would have included the fourth option if I were given the opportunity to choose more than one. I've heard it said that we can continue to better ourselves once we get to the other side, and I think that being out of God's presence could be miserable.

I love to read near-death experiences and about what people have seen when they pass through the veil of mortality. The ones I've read all seem to include the same things: being greeted by loved ones, sometimes seeing deity or an angel, the life review, and all that. Yes, I know that out-of-body experiences have been induced, but some NDEs are so complex, I can't believe that they're just something that happens, or that they're all rubbish. Plus, I don't believe that we just cease to exist after death. I and many others I know have had too many experiences to believe that there is no afterlife.

My Beliefs (Part 3)

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

Question #3
What are the origins of the physical universe and life on earth? Choose one.

-As in the book of Genesis, God created a mature universe and mature life forms from nothing in less than 7 days, less than 10,000 years.
-As in the book of Genesis, but "day" is not 24 hours, possibly refers to thousands (or even millions) of years, or to creation phases.
-God is creating and controlling the phenomena uncovered by scientists. Or there are other spiritual explanations, not in conflict with scientific discovery.
-Al matter and lifeforms are manifestations (or illusions) of the eternal Absolute (Ultimate Truth, Universal Soul or Mind, etc.)
-Only natural forces (like evolution) and no Creator or spiritual forces. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.

This particular question asks you to pick only one answer, but I would have picked two if I could. I also would have picked the next answer: "God is creating and controlling the phenomena uncovered by scientists. Or there are other spiritual explanations, not in conflict with scientific discovery." I also think that evolution works itself in there somewhere, but since I don't agree with the rest of the answer, I didn't choose that one.

I'm not quite sure where else to go with this, but if I think of something later, then I'll add on to this post.

My Beliefs (Part 2)

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

Question #2
Are there human incarnation(s) of God (or of gods/goddesses)? Choose one.

-God is (or gods/goddesses are) supreme, and no incarnations.
-One incarnation.
-Many (or countless) incarnations.
-No particular incarnations because God is all and all are God (or God is in all).
-No incarnations as there is no God. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.

I had to think about my answer to this question. I would have gone with "God is supreme, and no incarnations" because I don't believe in the Trinity and don't believe that God took on the form of Christ on earth and went back to heaven after His death to be part of the formless mist that is God.

But at the same time, Jesus himself (seperate from God the Father) took on a mortal body, died, and returned again to heaven. I've also been told that Jesus was, more often than not, the God (Jehovah) mentioned in the Old Testament. That makes me believe there was one incarnation of God, just not in the way that most of Christendom believes.

My Beliefs (Part 1)

A while back, I re-took an online test called the Belief-O-Matic from Beliefnet. I've taken it a few times before, and each time I've matched up with my own religion. This time I decided to write down the questions and my answers. Since the answers you can choose seem to not fully encompass all I believe, I chose to explain why I chose the answers I did.

I intend to make a post for each question and explanation.

Question #1:
What is the number and nature of the deity (God, gods, higher power, etc.)? Choose one.

-Only 0ne God, a corporeal spirit (has a body), supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator.
-Only 0ne God, an incorporeal (no body) spirit, supreme, personal God Almighty, the Creator.
-Multiple personal gods (goddesses) regarded as facets of one God, and/or separate gods.
-The supreme force is the impersonal Ultimate Reality (or life force, ultimate truth, cosmic order, absolute bliss, universal soul), which resides within and/or beyond all.
-The supreme existence is both the eternal, impersonal, formless Ultimate Reality, and personal God (or gods).
-No God or supreme force. Or not sure. Or not important.
-None of the above.

This is pretty much self-explanatory. I believe in one corporeal God, who created our world. I believe God knows exactly who I am and wants me to return to live with Him one day. I believe He answers my prayers, even though sometimes the answer is no. (It's hard to come to terms with that sometimes.)

Granted, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I was always taught that God was one person seperate from Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost (more on that in another post), so it makes sense that I would choose that answer. While that's true, I've thought about it on my own and have decided that I was taught the truth in that regard.

Update 2010

I know I haven't updated in a long time; in fact, it's been over a year. I usually delete any blogs I read if they haven't updated in over a year. I probably should have deleted this a long time ago since I'm pretty sure I don't have a lot of readers (hello out there). But I finally had inspiration strike recently, so I think I'll continue for a little while longer.

Anyway, a lot has happened in the past year, the big thing being that the carpet in our building was replaced. My husband has multiple chemical sensitivities, among other things, so we had to start attending church at another building. Interestingly enough, it's the one I grew up in. This year we've been attending my home ward on and off because it's the one that meets later in the day. Next year we'll attend the other ward like we did last year.

With this change in ward came a change in callings. I now update the ward website while my husband readies the ward program each week. I decided to be released from my former calling so I could help my husband attend the other building, since it's such a process. (Who needs kids, right?) Anyhow, we've slowly turned almost less-active, mainly in the fact that we don't go to church as often as we used to. But I think we're going to work on that in the coming months.

Mother's Day

It was pretty good this year. I stayed home from church so I could sleep in, as a gift to myself. My mother-in-law said that at church the sisters had fruits and veggies served to them by the youth who talked about how much they loved their moms. We had pizza for lunch, then I went to my mom and dad's for dinner. I had been there the day before so I could clean up the kitchen for my mom. She had to work this weekend and wanted to get that done, so I did it for her as my Mother's Day gift to her, which she greatly appreciated. My sister's mother-in-law brought stuff over to make for dinner so mom wouldn't have to. My mom gave me a couple new shirts and some nice-smelling hand soap. My missionary brother called and talked to everyone for a while. It was good to hear his voice again; he sounds so much older!

All in all, it was a decent day.

Happy Easter!

Yeah, Easter is actually tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have time tomorrow, so here it goes.

I don't think we really have any religious traditions when it comes to Easter in the church. We have Easter lessons for the primary classes, and there are talks on Easter in sacrament meeting, but that's about it. Actually, our stake conference is tomorrow, and general conference was last week, so we'll probably postpone our Easter lessons until next week.

I read a few blog posts this week, one about the Jewish seder (and how the symbolism points to Christ, but it does talk about the ceremony and some of the meaning behind it) and one on a Catholic Easter Mass (which for the life of me, I can't find). I say that because I have experienced both ceremonies.

When I was a kid, maybe about ten or so, my sister and I had a friend a year or so older than I was, whose family was Jewish. We had them over on Passover and they shared the seder ceremony with us. There's a part near the end where a door is opened to let the spirit of Elijah enter the house. Well, I don't know if Elijah made it in or not, but our cat did. ^_^ A friend of mine was baptized into the Catholic church when she was about 19 or so, and I was able to go to the mass for that. The symbolism there is neat as well.

I think it's neat to experience something in a church other than your own, and to feel the same spirit there that you'd feel in your own church.

...

I've been writing this post on and off for a few hours today, and during one of my off times, I got to thinking about how good I've felt when reading about some of these traditions and ceremonies. Now I'm thinking about how neat it might be to include some of these traditions in my own life. I'm not talking about going all out, even though it'd be cool to do so, but to add in bits and pieces into my own worship of God, you know what I mean? The 13th Article of Faith says, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." President Hinckley also talked about recognizing the truths in other religions, and I know of people who are LDS but also use the truths they see in other religions and incorporate them into their own lives. I don't quite know where I'd start, but it is something to think about.

Anyway, whatever spring celebration you ascribe to, have a good one!

Lovely to see you again...

I know it's been a while since I've updated, and even then the posts are very sparse. But I should probably try to write something.

My husband's family had their monthly home evening tonight, and my mother-in-law gave the lesson. It was about what the church meant to her and ways to better ourselves spiritually. She had us go around the room and have every person say one thing that the church means to them. There were the standards: forgiveness, hope, being together as a family, etc. I had no clue what to say at first. Then something popped into my mind. Because of the church, I know that I am a person of great worth. I am literally a daughter of Heavenly Parents, who love me unconditionally, no matter what. My husband's response had to do with knowing that there is a purpose for just about everything, and knowing that things will get better in time.

I've been teaching the CTR 7s this year, and it's harder than I thought it would be. I know they're not totally mature yet, but I was hoping they'd be at least more grown up than the Sunbeams I used to teach. There are five girls, and sometimes things get out of hand. I've had to come up with some class rules, which I should have done a long time ago. It's kinda sad that I have to tell them not to climb on the table and to leave the chalkboard alone. We had ward conference today, which meant there would be no second or third hour classes, so I slept in. And boy was it a nice break.

Yayness!

I get to teach an older Primary class next year!

I've been through the nursery/Sunbeam manual at least five times or so, having been in the nursery twice and the Sunbeams twice (sometimes for more than a year). I did get to teach the Valiant 9s for a few months with my husband, but that's been the extent of my experience with older kids.

This year, I get to teach the CTR 7s, which consists of four girls that will be turning seven this next year. Instead of the simple lessons I'm used to, like being thankful for plants and trees, I get to teach more advanced concepts, like choosing the right and having faith in Jesus Christ.

Wish me luck!

History repeats itself

Well, except for a few things.

I read an article today about a Peruvian woman who gave birth on Christmas morning. That's not the interesting part, though. Her name was Virgen Maria (Virgin Mary), and she named her son Jesus Emanuel. His father is not named Joseph, but he is a carpenter.

By the way, Merry (Belated) Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for so many things; too many to list here. The list I came up with last year pretty much covers it all. I can't think of a thing to add, since the little things fall under those twelve categories.

I try to remember every day all the blessings I have, and to thank my Heavenly Father for what I've been given. I can't say that saying, "At least I have X" always makes me feel better on a bad day, but if I want to be uplifted, it can be.

Anyway, enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Thoughts on a sensitive issue

I believe that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and have a divine nature, regardless of one's gender, sexual orientation, race, creed, etc. As such, we all need to love and respect one another.

I can understand the plight of the LGBT community. Many groups of people have been persecuted for what they believe is right. (Sadly, a lot of it still exists, as has been seen in the news recently, coming from both sides of the argument.) All they want is for their relationships to be seen as normal and accepted by others.

I personally don't care what a person's sexual orientation is. I may not agree with the homosexual lifestyle, but I try to be respectful of the decisions of the few people I know who are gay or bisexual (I don't know any transgender/transsexuals). One of the greatest gifts we've been given on this earth is free agency, the ability to be, think, act, worship, and love the way we feel is right for us.

Despite all this, I have a hard time finding myself accepting gay marriage. Yes, I want to love everyone and give everyone the opportunity to do as they wish without recrimination (as long as it's not destructive, i.e. murder), but I cannot vote for something I don't believe is right.

I belong to a religion that has a bit of history when it comes to the definition of marriage. We used to practice polygamy, albeit only in a minor sector of the early LDS community. Still, there were men that had more than one wife. But that was taken away from us. Polyamorous marriages are illegal; a man can only have one wife, and a woman can only have one husband.

Now, I'm not trying to equate our persecution with that of the LGBT community. We Latter-day Saints seem to get along pretty well without polygamous marriages. I don't see a lot of people, LDS or not, trying to get polygamy recognized as a legal definition of marriage (at least, not on the same scale as gay marriage). But gay marriage is something that will not fall by the wayside.

I'm sorry that my trying to be open-minded and fair to all doesn't yet quite extend to gay marriage. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future. Still, I will use my free agency to believe, and my right as an American to vote, the way that I see fit.

I hope that those who feel so bitter about the passing of Prop 8, and similar other measures taken in other parts of the country, will have their hearts softened, and that they will take their message of tolerance and peace and apply it to this sensitive issue. Remember that you live in a country where you may exercise your right to vote and to try to change things to make this country a better place to live. This particular battle was lost. But what about next time?

MTC, here he comes!

My oldest younger brother enters the Missionary Training Center today, where he will learn how to share the gospel for the next few weeks. If I'm not mistaken, he officially enter the mission field (Phoenix, Arizona) on the 17th of June, and will be there for the next two years.

We had a family party on Sunday after church. My parents and my brothers flew out to Utah on Monday to spend some time with family, and the three remaining members will be coming home Wednesday night.

I'm so pleased with his decision to go on a mission. He's known for most of his life that he was going to go be a missionary, and I'm excited to see it finally happen.

Good luck on your mission, little brother! I know you'll do great!