Today I am grateful for the influence of religion in my life. And by that I mean actual religion, not just spirituality, because I have met many spiritual people who had nothing to do with organized religion. I too have had many spiritual experiences outside the realm of traditional religion, but traditional religion has also brought me much joy throughout the years.
It may be hard to understand considering the pre-conceived notions most people have about my chosen religion, but believe me when I say, that I find and have found beauty in many different religions. In Utah alone I have visited and communed with the congregants of the Hindu Temple, the Hare Krishna Temple, the Jewish Synagogue, the Greek Orthodox, the Catholic Community, the Buddhists, etc. I have loved every second of it, and if I am very honest I have felt more welcome in their arms than I have in the arms of my own congregations on occasion - I am talking about you Congregation Kol Ami.
And I expect from everyone, but don't always get, the kind of consideration and love that I so gladly give my fellow faithful, in return. It boggles my mind really. What I have found is that most religions at their core really just teach love. Be kind to others. You know the Golden Rule and all. Yet, so many people (not religions, the people within the religions) spend their time spewing hatred and intolerance. It shouldn't matter if my idea of the Trinity doesn't match yours, am I a good person? Are you? Enough said.
And again, if I am being honest, I don't always understand or personally agree with some of the positions taken by my church. However, at the core of my religion, is the idea of free agency. And contrary to popular thought, I am allowed to make my own decisions. I think if you know me at all, you would know that I would never belong to a church that didn't allow me to have an opinion or to make up my own mind about something. In fact, it is encouraged in my church for EVERYONE to study it out, pray about it, and find the truth for themselves.
So having said that, I am now going to talk about the 2nd most taboo topic in any polite conversation....no not sports.....politics.
Let me blunt, I would be very disappointed to find out that anyone voted for a candidate because he was a certain religion or against a candidate because he was a certain religion. That is not what this country is about. And the fact that we are still having this debate in the year 2012 is kind of sad to me. You would think after John F. Kennedy's troubles with being Roman Catholic, we would have learned our lesson. But no. I believe both candidates are good men. In fact, I who voted for President Obama in the last election, have waffled back and forth because I really believe sincerely that each man would do good for our country but in different ways. I just urge you to really search your mind for the issues that are important to you, and then decide who best represents your interests on those issues. Please don't make it a religious issue, or a race issue, or any of the other small trivial issues that clog up the importance of electing the leader of the greatest nation on earth. Yes that sounded extremely cocky, but whatever.
I leave you with two things.
A quote from John F. Kennedy -
"I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant."
And...
This link to an article that might help you debunk any pre-conceived ideas you might had about the Mormon faith. And as always if you did have any questions and wanted to ask me, I am more than happy to answer what I can. I welcome thoughtful and respectful conversation. I promise I won't send the cute little missionaries to your house. (unless you wanted me to)
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