I Believe- 12

Back to the Basics.

I believe that I am a daughter of God.

I believe that as a daughter of God, I am able to do many things.  

Those things include:

receiving answers to prayers and personal revelation (which means that I can find out for myself what is God's truth and what is not.)

serving and loving others,

being a mommy,

contributing to society through volunteer service, 

raising my children to be good citizens, 

and being nice to everyone.

I believe that my Father in Heaven wants me to be happy.

By serving Him, I receive pure joy and happiness.  

It's a lasting happiness that can only come through serving and loving others.

I have never felt oppressed or forced to do anything.

I have never felt left out in regards to my service in my church.

I have never felt like a lesser being in my Father's eyes because I am a woman.

Quite the opposite in fact.

I think the prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley said it best, 

"Someone has said:  'Be kind to the women.  They constitute half of the population and are mothers to the other half.'  My dear sisters...I stand in great admiration for all that you do.  I see your hands in everything."

(I wanted to quote more, but I would have had to quote his entire talk because it was so good.  You can read it here.)

I believe that the family is ordained of God and that it is central to His plan of happiness for us.

I believe that because of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I have the opportunity to have free agency to choose for myself the things that I believe.

Because of this great gift of agency, I am able to choose what I believe is moral and right- while still showing love for others who may not believe the same way I do.

I don't love every choice that my children make, but that doesn't mean that I don't love them.

The same thing applies to those who make different lifestyle choices or religious choices.  

I don't think it's right for the world to tell me that I am wrong to believe that God's laws are unchangeable.

To make me feel like I am a moron or uneducated if I don't agree with the things they say are moral.

If the world wants to be able to express their opinions, then I should be able to express mine.

Agree to disagree.  Shake hands and move on.

Life is way too short for such hatred.

I believe that God is a God of mercy and justice.

We cannot understand the "why" of everything here...and we don't need to.

This is where faith comes in.

We have faith that our Father in Heaven loves ALL of His children and all will be well if we strive to do our best and make righteous choices.

Life is hard.

Everyone has sorrow.

Everyone experiences pain.

We are here to lift each other up- to ease the pain and sorrow of our brothers and sisters here on earth.

We are NOT here to cut each other down- to belittle or demean.

We all make mistakes.

No one is perfect.

Let us reach out to one another in the spirit of love and forgiveness.  Let us love each other and help each other.  Let us follow the example of One who exemplifies perfect love and acceptance of all.

I am thankful to have the opportunity to express my thoughts and beliefs on this blog.

I am also thankful to those who read my blog and who are respectful of my beliefs...even if they do not share them.  

Happy Sunday everyone!

It's a great day to tell someone you love them or to just give someone a smile. :)