If you like this post, please share or comment.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
So thankful for miles and miles of highway
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Merry Christmas 2011
If you read to the end, I'm giving you two gifts. Merry Christmas. :-)
It is hard to believe the year sailed by so quickly! It
seems like we were just welcoming a new year. But here we are and here are some
of the things we’ve celebrated and experienced this year. My memory being what it is, I've probably forgotten more than half of it.
Noah is now 11. He is in Blazer scouts. It's his last year in Primary. He's a pretty smart boy and makes good grades. He is such a good helper and has a tender heart. He didn't get to play basketball this last year, but he is back at it this year in our local PAL league. He loves to play games and read. He has been devouring the Harry Potter series and other books the last few months. Great big books I would not have dreamed of reading at his age. He has a great sense of humor and keeps us laughing.
Emily is 14 years old. I can hardly believe that. She is 1/2 inch shorter than her mother. She's more beautiful every day. She keeps busy with volleyball, basketball, dance, piano, singing, knowledge bowl, and keeping up with her studies. She is immensely helpful with her little sister and is a genuine happiness magnet. She does not let others throw her off and just smiles and laughs her way through life. You may notice she now has braces.
Jefferson is 17 now and a Junior. He played tennis earlier this year and is in the middle of basketball season. He is beginning to follow some of his brothers love for music. He likes to sing and play the piano. He is a great student and a professional pest. But he is also a great helper and can really be counted on when you need him. Some day, we hope he'll finish his Eagle.
Joseph blew out his knee again late last year, so his year started off with another knee surgery. He is now the proud owner of a cadaver tendon. He finished his first year of college at EAC. He started as a music major and really increased his music skills through his classes. He has always had a knack for picking out a song, but now he can chord almost any song after hearing it a few times. He was a contestant in our local Gila Valley Idol and did very well. He worked hard all Summer for a local school district putting in chain link fence and then at an ice cream joint. He is now finishing his papers for his mission, living at home and working on his dad's long list of things to do. We hope to have good news soon on where he will spend the next two years.
The biggest news for our family, well except something new, is that Chris came home from his mission. He finished up two years in Kentucky and we were thrilled for him to be home and to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas for the first time in 4 years all together. He will be back at EAC in January, is looking for a job, and has been invited back to practice with the basketball team so he will be ready to play in the Fall.
And finally, there is Drew. He finished up a second year of college and will go one more semester at EAC, after which he will stay at EAC but get a degree through ASU. We are fine with him being somewhat close by. Andrew worked 3 jobs most of the year and is turning out to be quite the good money manager. Our latest excitement is that he recently got engaged. Less than a week ago. He is marrying Elizabeth Richins in late March. We already know and love Liz since her family is in our stake and she and I were at Girls Camp together for a few years.So, he gets two pictures.
As for Bret and I. Mostly same old same old. He's still bishop. He's still commuting an hour each way. And the time and expense is starting to wear. He's still the rock foundation of our family and I love him for it. His dream came true this year when we figured out a way for him to get his Toyota Tundra. He'll be happy basically for the rest of his life on that one.I'm still teaching the 12-14 year old girls at church. I've had a much better year as a realtor. I am still trying to move out of real estate and into wellness and healing. I love EFT more than ever for the amazing results I get with people. (www.dailyabundance.net) I was chosen with 19 other people for an Arizona rural leadership development two year program. I have been enjoying the growth from monthly seminars. I look forward to our trip to Canada next May and DC next year. It's called Project Centrl.
In July, we decided to beat the heat and head on out to California for a cooler 4th of July with friends and family. One day after Chris got home, we headed up to Salt Lake City for our annual church conference. A few days after Christmas, we will head off to Kentucky to meet some of the wonderful people Chris spent his time with the last two years.
In July, we decided to beat the heat and head on out to California for a cooler 4th of July with friends and family. One day after Chris got home, we headed up to Salt Lake City for our annual church conference. A few days after Christmas, we will head off to Kentucky to meet some of the wonderful people Chris spent his time with the last two years.
Dawn is on a quest to be her very best and she went to a Body Language seminar in January. A Profitable Author seminar in May, and held her own all day EFT seminar teaching family, friends, and a doctor about EFT. She ended up the year with a trip to Georgia to reunion with church friends and had a great time.
We've had a very blessed year. We are all healthy, except me as I write this under a blanket on the couch, but nothing major to complain about. We love Christmas and focusing our time and attention to things that matter most. We hope from our home to yours, you find yourselves well and and happy.
Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year!
with much love, The Nortons
PS, I read this story for the first time this year and recreated it as a PDF, which means you can probably figure out how to add it to your Nook or Kindle. Go here:
and
The author and my friend, Leslie Householder, is offering her first book for absolutely free. You have to give your email address, but what she offers is worth giving your address for and you can always unsubscribe.
enjoy one short story and one GREAT book!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
IAT for REAL HOPE and REAL Cures
IAT = I am thankful, realizing my perceptions may be very different and ok from yours. :-)
to see the links which were the purpose for this post and skip the long story, go straight to the end.
When I was somewhat of a young girl, there was a family in my church that I would stay with when my dad traveled. I loved them dearly. They were very different. Very faithful for one thing. And very healthy. The mom made whole wheat bread, everything from scratch, they didn't drink milk (just like us). She gave us (me included) enemas when we were sick, put green drinks on the table, had a garden, looked in my eyes to see what was wrong with me, and gave and grew herbs. I didn't have enough experience then to know they were really all that different. It was just some stuff WE didn't do. Milk was really the only thing I grew up without that was different than everyone else. Well, that and almost never going to a Dr unless you were on your death bed and once my dad was.
So, since the mother of this family named Beckenhauer was literally one of the sweetest women I've known, she became something of a mentor to me when I began having children. The first time I called her for advice was when I went into preterm labor at 30 weeks with my Christopher. I was in the hospital almost a week with some kind of infection they never could identify and would not let me go until my fever broke. I called her from the hospital in tears. "What should I do?" She told me as long as I was on drugs, there were no natural remedies. I needed to be off of those first. I believe she was the one who gave me the advice to drink red raspberry tea with all of my pregnancies, which I did. I believe RR is God's greatest herbal gift to women.
Sister B, or Valerie as I am now grown up enough to call her, gave me some advice I'll never forget. She said, "sweetheart (she always called me sweetheart), you have been a valiant young woman throughout your life, and you have every right to call upon your Heavenly Father for what you need. You get on your knees and you ask Heavenly Father to protect your baby, stop your labor, and get you out of there." I did. And He did. It was the first time I ever really felt I had a RIGHT to ask for what I needed.
So, that is the background. From then on, in our infrequent talks, she would recommend things, I would try them and they worked! For the last 20+ years I have studied natural health on an almost weekly basis. I have taken 95% of our family's care from my own knowledge. I have, when stumped, taken them to the Dr, ignored the prescription, and then gone home and treated what I know.
I AM NOT AFRAID OF FEVERS. They are a very GOOD thing. I rarely give anything for them. And we almost never take antibiotics. Homeopathics, herbs, tapping, colloidal silver, mild food, and lots of Vit C are the order of the day when there is sickness in our house. As I write, Emily is on the couch, asleep, and sick. My own Dr says about 90% of illness, takes care of itself when just plain old left alone. Our body heals. That is what it is designed to do. And when we feed and care for it properly, we enjoy an abundance of health. It is the mistreatment, that brings serious diseases with our hearts, immune systems; cancer, lupus, diabetes. These are not only preventable, but REVERSIBLE. EVEN Type 1 DIABETES.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/simply-raw-reversing-diabetes-in-30-days/
Some of the reversing is not easy. If you've never stepped out of the medical paradigm, some if it seems weird and RADICAL. But how radical really is it, that we cut, burn, poison for healing, when our bodies are already created to do that?
Guess what? I don't immunize my kids and we NEVER get a flu shot. Poison! (Ok, the missionaries have their choice to have them before they go, since it can limit where they are called, and all of them so far have opted for the shots) After years of intensive research I decided to take my chances against the diseases, since we eat fairly healthy, have a positive, faithful outlook, and the body is designed to heal. Wait. I already said that.
So, yes, a few years ago, almost my whole family came down with whooping cough--the immunized ones, and the unimmunized ones. Read that sentence again. So, did the immunized ones. I was the ONLY ONE who did not. Why? Because I had it (misdiagnosed as pneumonia) in second grade. My immunized husband had it worst, and so did his mother, and my best friend. All immunized. They had HORRIBLE cases. My 3 partially immunized kids had mild cases. My unimmunized kids had semi-scary cases. But the more I read and researched, the more I realized their's was a normal course of this childhood illness. They were scary because whooping cough, just plain sounds scary. During the day, you could never tell. At night, for 2 months, there was almost no sleep in our house. It took 4 months for everyone to stop coughing completely. They did not throw up or get malnourished. But guess what? They are immune for life. And my girls will pass on that immunity to their children if they breastfeed them.
This was not where I was intending this to go. Anywho. I have some amazing resources if you are at rope's end with any condition. Real hope...when a Dr who thinks he's God and is only operating from his own experience says, "you have _______ to live. You have an INCURABLE (who says?) disease." See some awesome, mind expanding links below. Now I know most doctors mean well and think they are telling you the truth, but medical school does not teach them about cheap treatments that the drug companies don't make any money off of, so they tell you what they know. Even doctors do not know a lot of stuff.
My absolute favorite website in the world for health.
www.doctoryourself.com (Did you know high Vitamin C cures tons of stuff?)
www.mercola.com (I give this one reservedly because he has turned shamelessly commercial and I am not even sure you can read his site unless you subscribe and then you will get MASSIVE amounts of email).
www.greensmoothiegirl.com (is fast becoming my second favorite) Love, love love, cannot put enough loves. Read her blog.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenSmoothieGirl?feature=watch
I have to comment on the youtube channel. She is on a quest to find and share natural cures for cancer which DO exist, but most have been forced out of the US by powerful interests in the FDA, AMA, and drug companies. I know you won't believe me, just do some research. (For you LDS people think D&C 89: 4) Here you will find videos, that not only talk about how to reverse cancer, but lupus, TYPE ***1*** DIABETES, and other immune and body dysfunctions. Fascinating.
http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/ (An awesome cancer healing center right here in Arizona).
and finally.....
www.dailyabundance.net (That's me of course. I am convinced that any serious disease should not be treated without also treating the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of that disease. EFT covers that. So much disease is caused by the contributing factors of trauma, grief, and other emotional wounds. EFT helps reverse the damage from those wounds, and then I often see miraculous physical healings because of it. But you have to CHOOSE any of these things. You have to take a step into the unknown. You have to try, prove, have faith, experience, believe.
One of my favorite scriptures is, "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." There is a lot of fear in modern medicine. If you can participate in it without fear, you are much better off. Because the placebo and nocebo effects are very powerful. But you'll have to research those yourself. The MIND must be present and believing in healing. That's all. I could write about this FOR-EV-ER.
to see the links which were the purpose for this post and skip the long story, go straight to the end.
When I was somewhat of a young girl, there was a family in my church that I would stay with when my dad traveled. I loved them dearly. They were very different. Very faithful for one thing. And very healthy. The mom made whole wheat bread, everything from scratch, they didn't drink milk (just like us). She gave us (me included) enemas when we were sick, put green drinks on the table, had a garden, looked in my eyes to see what was wrong with me, and gave and grew herbs. I didn't have enough experience then to know they were really all that different. It was just some stuff WE didn't do. Milk was really the only thing I grew up without that was different than everyone else. Well, that and almost never going to a Dr unless you were on your death bed and once my dad was.
So, since the mother of this family named Beckenhauer was literally one of the sweetest women I've known, she became something of a mentor to me when I began having children. The first time I called her for advice was when I went into preterm labor at 30 weeks with my Christopher. I was in the hospital almost a week with some kind of infection they never could identify and would not let me go until my fever broke. I called her from the hospital in tears. "What should I do?" She told me as long as I was on drugs, there were no natural remedies. I needed to be off of those first. I believe she was the one who gave me the advice to drink red raspberry tea with all of my pregnancies, which I did. I believe RR is God's greatest herbal gift to women.
Sister B, or Valerie as I am now grown up enough to call her, gave me some advice I'll never forget. She said, "sweetheart (she always called me sweetheart), you have been a valiant young woman throughout your life, and you have every right to call upon your Heavenly Father for what you need. You get on your knees and you ask Heavenly Father to protect your baby, stop your labor, and get you out of there." I did. And He did. It was the first time I ever really felt I had a RIGHT to ask for what I needed.
So, that is the background. From then on, in our infrequent talks, she would recommend things, I would try them and they worked! For the last 20+ years I have studied natural health on an almost weekly basis. I have taken 95% of our family's care from my own knowledge. I have, when stumped, taken them to the Dr, ignored the prescription, and then gone home and treated what I know.
I AM NOT AFRAID OF FEVERS. They are a very GOOD thing. I rarely give anything for them. And we almost never take antibiotics. Homeopathics, herbs, tapping, colloidal silver, mild food, and lots of Vit C are the order of the day when there is sickness in our house. As I write, Emily is on the couch, asleep, and sick. My own Dr says about 90% of illness, takes care of itself when just plain old left alone. Our body heals. That is what it is designed to do. And when we feed and care for it properly, we enjoy an abundance of health. It is the mistreatment, that brings serious diseases with our hearts, immune systems; cancer, lupus, diabetes. These are not only preventable, but REVERSIBLE. EVEN Type 1 DIABETES.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/simply-raw-reversing-diabetes-in-30-days/
Some of the reversing is not easy. If you've never stepped out of the medical paradigm, some if it seems weird and RADICAL. But how radical really is it, that we cut, burn, poison for healing, when our bodies are already created to do that?
Guess what? I don't immunize my kids and we NEVER get a flu shot. Poison! (Ok, the missionaries have their choice to have them before they go, since it can limit where they are called, and all of them so far have opted for the shots) After years of intensive research I decided to take my chances against the diseases, since we eat fairly healthy, have a positive, faithful outlook, and the body is designed to heal. Wait. I already said that.
So, yes, a few years ago, almost my whole family came down with whooping cough--the immunized ones, and the unimmunized ones. Read that sentence again. So, did the immunized ones. I was the ONLY ONE who did not. Why? Because I had it (misdiagnosed as pneumonia) in second grade. My immunized husband had it worst, and so did his mother, and my best friend. All immunized. They had HORRIBLE cases. My 3 partially immunized kids had mild cases. My unimmunized kids had semi-scary cases. But the more I read and researched, the more I realized their's was a normal course of this childhood illness. They were scary because whooping cough, just plain sounds scary. During the day, you could never tell. At night, for 2 months, there was almost no sleep in our house. It took 4 months for everyone to stop coughing completely. They did not throw up or get malnourished. But guess what? They are immune for life. And my girls will pass on that immunity to their children if they breastfeed them.
This was not where I was intending this to go. Anywho. I have some amazing resources if you are at rope's end with any condition. Real hope...when a Dr who thinks he's God and is only operating from his own experience says, "you have _______ to live. You have an INCURABLE (who says?) disease." See some awesome, mind expanding links below. Now I know most doctors mean well and think they are telling you the truth, but medical school does not teach them about cheap treatments that the drug companies don't make any money off of, so they tell you what they know. Even doctors do not know a lot of stuff.
My absolute favorite website in the world for health.
www.doctoryourself.com (Did you know high Vitamin C cures tons of stuff?)
www.mercola.com (I give this one reservedly because he has turned shamelessly commercial and I am not even sure you can read his site unless you subscribe and then you will get MASSIVE amounts of email).
www.greensmoothiegirl.com (is fast becoming my second favorite) Love, love love, cannot put enough loves. Read her blog.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenSmoothieGirl?feature=watch
I have to comment on the youtube channel. She is on a quest to find and share natural cures for cancer which DO exist, but most have been forced out of the US by powerful interests in the FDA, AMA, and drug companies. I know you won't believe me, just do some research. (For you LDS people think D&C 89: 4) Here you will find videos, that not only talk about how to reverse cancer, but lupus, TYPE ***1*** DIABETES, and other immune and body dysfunctions. Fascinating.
http://www.anoasisofhealing.com/ (An awesome cancer healing center right here in Arizona).
and finally.....
www.dailyabundance.net (That's me of course. I am convinced that any serious disease should not be treated without also treating the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of that disease. EFT covers that. So much disease is caused by the contributing factors of trauma, grief, and other emotional wounds. EFT helps reverse the damage from those wounds, and then I often see miraculous physical healings because of it. But you have to CHOOSE any of these things. You have to take a step into the unknown. You have to try, prove, have faith, experience, believe.
One of my favorite scriptures is, "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." There is a lot of fear in modern medicine. If you can participate in it without fear, you are much better off. Because the placebo and nocebo effects are very powerful. But you'll have to research those yourself. The MIND must be present and believing in healing. That's all. I could write about this FOR-EV-ER.
Monday, December 5, 2011
I'm Christian. Really? Maybe not.
A couple of weeks ago I read a post that gave me and many of other people a lot to think about. It was called I'm Christian Unless You're Gay.
Do I support the ACTIONS of that lifestyle? No. Do I think *I* am responsible for condemning it and ostracizing anyone who chooses it? Again, no. If Jesus did not come to condemn, (See John 3:17), then who am I to condemn? Will I teach my children right choices, commandments, etc? Yes. I am not saying you should not take whatever civic action you feel is your duty. I am simply speaking of the relationships we have with others. But if you fill in the blank with any sin or condition, you will see it does not hold up.
I'm Christian Unless You're Mormon. See my Mormon rant.
I'm Christian Unless You're an alcoholic.
I'm Christian Unless You're black.
I'm Christian Unless You have piercings and tattoos.
I'm Christian Unless You're atheist.
I'm Christian Unless You're low income.
I'm Christian Unless You're a drug addict.
I'm Christian Unless You're homeless.
I'm Christian unless you are fat.
See? Just doesn't make sense. We are to love our neighbors and every one of those categories, IS our neighbor if they are in our circle of influence. I am not saying it won't be sticky or messy or difficult, but why would any of those people mentioned above want to change or be the person YOU THINK they should be, if you hate them? Not very motivating. Love is one of the few things that can empower people to change. Or at least listen to your point. Besides, it is the challenges in life that give us opportunities to learn. Not to mention the fact, that judging gets you judged. So, if you are the king or queen of judging, you get exactly what you are condemning. Too bad for you.
Who knows if that person in your life is having that experience to learn something. Perhaps your treatment of them will lead to very different outcomes depending on whether it is dealt with love or hate.
Is it any wonder the rest of the world can't stand a lot of Christians?
This is Dan's most recent video post with responses from his I'm Christian post. I liked it.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
IAT for Inspiration and Direction
IAT = I am thankful
I have a creative brain. I get lots of flashes of insight and inspiration. I wish I wrote most of it down. But, I don't. I've known for some time I had a book writing itself in me. I've tried on more than on occasion to begin writing the ones I thought I should, but they never really went anywhere.
This week, the inspiration came hard and fast. And I am really excited to begin the book that is within me. And to begin a new direction. Hooray! I hope it changes lots of lives!
Monday, November 28, 2011
My "Mormon" rant
IAT = I am thankful
All right, so I tried my best to keep calm, cool, and collected about the whole Mormons running for President thing. I've read and posted some articles on facebook, but let me tell you how I really feel. I hope you don't regret it. :-) And since I believe in being all positive, it's going to be really hard not to say things like I am sick and tired, so that is the only one you will see. Feel free to insert it before each and every point I address. Haha.
So, I suppose I've been a "Mormon" most of my life. Properly put, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So, why is there a mormon.org? Well there's this little book we believe in called the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and people took to calling us Mormons. Mormon is one of the books in the Book of Mormon, named after the author, who we consider an ancient American prophet. So, although the official website of the church is www.lds.org, they realized many people would search for us by our nick name and we have my.mormon.org that discusses many of our beliefs. That particular one is my personal profile which gives a brief summary about my membership. (There is not really a my.mormon.org)
I met my first opposition to my faith in high school. A girl in my choir, who said she cared about me, told me I was going to hell because I was a Mormon. Huh? Wow. I vaguely remember discussing some of my beliefs with her. I was no more convinced I was going to hell than she was convinced I was, so on I went. My faith was very tender at that point, but I knew the fire I felt that told me it was true, even though I was not a typical LDS girl at that point in time.
The next opposition came from members of my own family, who I will leave anonymous for their protection. But, a change in their faith, and then their attendance of anti-mormon meetings and preachings, brought great concern from them for me. I have since over the years learned that nearly every member of my family has anti-mormon sentiments. Joy!
I'd say I was a sophomore when those accusations began that typically went like this. Family member: "So, you believe God had sex with Mary." Me: (horrified, incredulous, shocked, and completely caught off balance) "No, I don't! And I've never heard that before." Family member: "Well, your church believes it."
Me:
Family member: "You believe in a different Jesus than we do." Me: "I do? I thought there was only one Jesus, the one in the Bible." Family member: "Nope, you believe in a completely different Jesus." Me: "How is he different?" Family member: "Well, he is not exactly like the one we believe in, so he is different, so you are not a Christian."
Me:
Family member: "You believe Satan is Jesus' brother." Me (noting to self): "Why do they keep TELLING me what I believe." (To family) "ummm, not exactly, that's kind of an oversimplification." Family member: "AHA!!!! See, you are not a Christian."
Me:
You get the idea. I could go down a list a mile long of things I have been accused of believing but rarely asked if I believe, and even if I am asked, since they already have decided the true answer, my answer doesn't really matter. My missionary sons have likewise been accused, railed, yelled at, and attemptedly (is that a word?) entrapped. They learned there was no point in arguing and typically wished those kinds of people well and went on their way.
You may have heard some pretty wacky things about members of my faith. They are typically hacked up quotations taken out of context and dragged out of old histories that are not official sources of "doctrine." I would encourage you if you have concerns about that to find someone who is a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and simply ask them. Or you can ask me. *OR* all those young men going around in pairs wearing white shirts and ties, LOVE to answer questions. Are Mormons Christians, as we have so Un-Christianly been accused? Maybe the better question is Are Anti-Mormons Christian? (Yep, that's clickable) Here are some articles you can read from our perspective. Then you decide.
http://en.fairmormon.org/Latter-day_Saints_aren%27t_Christians (wiki type article)
http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/LDSChristian.pdf (Michael Hickenbotham)
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Latter-Day-Saints/2000/11/Hey-Who-Are-You-Calling-A-Cult.aspx (Orson Scott Card)
And if you really want a whole slew of other articles that will help you decide if you could possibly vote for a Mormon or be a friend of one, then you can go here:
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai052.html
If you want my very long story and TESTIMONY. Then click the word TESTIMONY.
And if you made it to the end. Wow! That should all keep you busy. You must really care about the answers. THANK YOU!
All right, so I tried my best to keep calm, cool, and collected about the whole Mormons running for President thing. I've read and posted some articles on facebook, but let me tell you how I really feel. I hope you don't regret it. :-) And since I believe in being all positive, it's going to be really hard not to say things like I am sick and tired, so that is the only one you will see. Feel free to insert it before each and every point I address. Haha.
So, I suppose I've been a "Mormon" most of my life. Properly put, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So, why is there a mormon.org? Well there's this little book we believe in called the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and people took to calling us Mormons. Mormon is one of the books in the Book of Mormon, named after the author, who we consider an ancient American prophet. So, although the official website of the church is www.lds.org, they realized many people would search for us by our nick name and we have my.mormon.org that discusses many of our beliefs. That particular one is my personal profile which gives a brief summary about my membership. (There is not really a my.mormon.org)
I met my first opposition to my faith in high school. A girl in my choir, who said she cared about me, told me I was going to hell because I was a Mormon. Huh? Wow. I vaguely remember discussing some of my beliefs with her. I was no more convinced I was going to hell than she was convinced I was, so on I went. My faith was very tender at that point, but I knew the fire I felt that told me it was true, even though I was not a typical LDS girl at that point in time.
The next opposition came from members of my own family, who I will leave anonymous for their protection. But, a change in their faith, and then their attendance of anti-mormon meetings and preachings, brought great concern from them for me. I have since over the years learned that nearly every member of my family has anti-mormon sentiments. Joy!
I'd say I was a sophomore when those accusations began that typically went like this. Family member: "So, you believe God had sex with Mary." Me: (horrified, incredulous, shocked, and completely caught off balance) "No, I don't! And I've never heard that before." Family member: "Well, your church believes it."
Me:
Family member: "You believe in a different Jesus than we do." Me: "I do? I thought there was only one Jesus, the one in the Bible." Family member: "Nope, you believe in a completely different Jesus." Me: "How is he different?" Family member: "Well, he is not exactly like the one we believe in, so he is different, so you are not a Christian."
Me:
Family member: "You believe Satan is Jesus' brother." Me (noting to self): "Why do they keep TELLING me what I believe." (To family) "ummm, not exactly, that's kind of an oversimplification." Family member: "AHA!!!! See, you are not a Christian."
Me:
You get the idea. I could go down a list a mile long of things I have been accused of believing but rarely asked if I believe, and even if I am asked, since they already have decided the true answer, my answer doesn't really matter. My missionary sons have likewise been accused, railed, yelled at, and attemptedly (is that a word?) entrapped. They learned there was no point in arguing and typically wished those kinds of people well and went on their way.
You may have heard some pretty wacky things about members of my faith. They are typically hacked up quotations taken out of context and dragged out of old histories that are not official sources of "doctrine." I would encourage you if you have concerns about that to find someone who is a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and simply ask them. Or you can ask me. *OR* all those young men going around in pairs wearing white shirts and ties, LOVE to answer questions. Are Mormons Christians, as we have so Un-Christianly been accused? Maybe the better question is Are Anti-Mormons Christian? (Yep, that's clickable) Here are some articles you can read from our perspective. Then you decide.
http://en.fairmormon.org/Latter-day_Saints_aren%27t_Christians (wiki type article)
http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/LDSChristian.pdf (Michael Hickenbotham)
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Latter-Day-Saints/2000/11/Hey-Who-Are-You-Calling-A-Cult.aspx (Orson Scott Card)
And if you really want a whole slew of other articles that will help you decide if you could possibly vote for a Mormon or be a friend of one, then you can go here:
http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai052.html
If you want my very long story and TESTIMONY. Then click the word TESTIMONY.
And if you made it to the end. Wow! That should all keep you busy. You must really care about the answers. THANK YOU!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)