As I Have Loved You...

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As a member of this church, I was taught at a young age to love everyone and treat everyone equally.  This doesn't mean I have to agree with everyone.  I don't disagree out of hate; that would go against my beliefs.  I disagree because of my beliefs.  Allow me to explain.
One of the core beliefs in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we lived in Heaven before we came to Earth.  We call this the Premortal Existence.  We lived as spirits in the Premortal Existence, and we were born of heavenly parents.  Our spirits had the same genders we were born with in this mortal world.  For example, even in the Premortal Existence, I was a male.
Another core belief is that families can be together forever.  We believe that marriage is between a man and woman and that, if they are able, they are obligated to have children so that those spirits waiting in the Premortal Existence can also have a chance to obtain a body.
These are a couple of the beliefs of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We as members are entitled to these beliefs.  We are not, however, entitled to being hateful and disrespectful to those who don't live our beliefs.  We are all free agents, free to make our own life choices. 
Something I found interesting was the fact that "only 40 percent of Mormons favor allowing same-sex couples to marry, yet nearly 7-in-10 (69 percent) support laws that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment" (Dallas, 2018).  Even though we don't agree with same-sex marriage, we are still willing to protect the rights of the members of the LGBTQ+ community.
My New Year's resolution for this year was to treat others the way Christ would treat them.  I strongly believe that Christ loves everyone, no matter how they choose to live their lives, even if it's not in accordance with what He taught.  Christ loves unconditionally.  I think we need less arguing and politics, and more unconditional love in this world.

Works Cited

Dallas, K. (2018). Mormons stand out from other faith groups for their views on LGBT rights. [online]    DeseretNews.com. Available at: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900017419/mormons-stand-out-from-other-faith-groups-for-their-views-on-lgbt-rights.html [Accessed 14 Jun. 2019].

Can Mormons Wear Hats?

I was born and raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon church.  Growing up in the suburbs of Baltimore and D.C., there were plenty of Mormons to go around.  But when I was 15-years old, my parents moved my younger siblings and me to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.  I was the only Mormon in the high school.  I started to get asked a lot of questions.
The most commonly asked questions were:

• What do Mormons believe?
• Are Mormons Christian?
• Where did the name 'Mormon' come from?

In short, Mormons believe that Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins and through him, all mankind may be saved.  I believe that answers the first two questions.  The name 'Mormon' comes from the Book of Mormon, a set of scriptures that goes hand in hand with the Bible.
But those aren't the only questions I've been asked.  I'm not here today to preach.  I'm here to clear up any misconceptions you may have about the Mormon church.  In order to write this post, I asked my fellow Mormon friends, via Facebook, what kind of off-the-wall questions people have asked them about their faith.  They did not disappoint.
Let me start off, however, with the more common, yet still strange, questions.

How many moms do you have?
I love answering this question!  I joke around with the person asking.  "I only have one mom.  My dad has 17 wives, but only one of them is my mom."  This is a joke, of course.  My mom is my dad's one and only wife.
You may be wondering why I get asked this a lot.  Well, back in the 1800s, some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practiced polygamy.   This practice also ended in the 1800s.

So what about the show 'Sister Wives'?
I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the LDS church.  The family on 'Sister Wives' are members of the FLDS church, 'F' standing for fundamentalist.  Some members of the early LDS church disagreed with the change in marriage policy and branched off into a new sect.  Their name may be similar, but they are not Mormons.  The LDS church is the original, true-blue Mormon church.


Do Mormons celebrate holidays?
Yes, yes they do.  It is the Jehovah's Witnesses that don't celebrate holidays.


Why can't Mormons drink caffeine? 
This is up to personal interpretation.  I know plenty of Mormons who chug a Mountain Dew on a daily basis.  My family tries to stay away from caffeine.  Caffeine is addictive.  How many people do you know who can't start their day without a cup of coffee?  They can be quite irritable until they get their daily dose of Starbucks.
Speaking of coffee, that is something Mormons are not allowed to drink.  Mormons have a policy, for lack of a better term, called the Word of Wisdom.  The Word of Wisdom promotes a healthy lifestyle for members of the LDS church.  Things included in the Word of Wisdom are no smoking, no alcohol, not over doing it on red meat, and no coffee.  It's my personal belief that not partaking in any of these things leads to happier, healthier life.

Now on to the bizarre questions:

Can Mormons wear hats?
I don't see why not!

Do Mormons still drive horse and buggies?
Um, no.  We drive cars.  Actually, the official car of the Mormon church is the 15-seater mini van.  (Another joke!)
Funny story, though.  When my older sister was in Driver's Ed, her instructor told the class that there were only two groups of people in America that did not drive cars:  the Amish, and the Mormons.  My sister corrected her, of course.

I think it's ridiculous that Mormons don't accept blood transfusions! 
Again, that's the Jehovah's Witnesses.  We Mormons love life.  So, please, should the occasion arise, give me a blood transfusion!

Are Mormon girls allowed to wear makeup?
Of course!

When did the Mormons break apart from the Amish?
This question caught me off guard.  A co-worker asked me this when I was working at a restaurant.  The Mormons were never a part of the Amish faith or culture.

Now on to the really crazy questions that my friends posted on Facebook:

Do they force you to have babies?
Wow.  Um, no.  Is that a thing?  Can you be forced to have a baby?

Are you a baby killer?
Again, wow.  Who would even think to ask such a question?  One of the Ten Commandments states "thou shalt not kill".  No, Mormons are not baby killers.  And yes, we still follow the Ten Commandments.

These last two questions take the cake:

Do you really have to roll naked in your meat before you cook it?
I don't.  I don't know of anyone who does.  But I won't judge.  And, no, it's not in the Mormon guidebook.

 
Do Mormons really believe that when you die, you go to the moon to teach 8ft. Quakers about Joseph Smith?
As awesome as that would be, it's not true.

The moral of the story is:  Don't believe everything you hear!  If you have a question about the Mormon church, who better to ask than a Mormon?  Can't find a Mormon?  No problem!  Just visit mormon.org and chat with a missionary.  But don't get crazy with your questions!  Just remember, Mormons are human too.  They're not that different from you.