The Journey we call Faith











{August 31, 2008}   Speechless Friday

So it’s not Friday anymore, BUT this blog is from Friday, my last shift before my three day weekend. I was trying very hard to be patient, kind, and remember the grace that Jesus gave me and to share it with others.

It’s not uncommon for people to be rude to the person behind the counter – especially on Sundays, which is really sad. It’s not uncommon in the service industry for the church people to be the worst people to serve. But I find it HILEROUS that they do not even HIDE it, but advertise that they are church people. When I’m advertising – even with a tiny cross necklace, garments under my clothes, a CTR braclet, or even a “Saturday is a Special Day” t-shirt, I am STILL extra special mindful of my actions because for me – I am representing even moreso Christ (if that makes sense) because I am advertising my specific church/religion of choice (Mormon or Protestant).

So, when this guy with this HUGE “A Blood Donor saved my LIFE” Evangelism t-shirt walked in and was very rude to me, all I could do was shake my head and have a speechless laugh. I tell you, these days – I’d make a better jaded atheist that a good Christian. People, use common sense. If you’re going to behave like an ass, then please don’t wear your Jesus Freak gear. If you’re going to wear you’re Jesus Freak gear, then please be on your best behavior. Otherwise, you’re simply furthering a sterotype that is more and more becoming the norm. The people of this “world” – the ungodly, that will burn in “hell”, are more well mannered and kind to the people behind the counter than the ones who have encountered Jesus, grace, mercy, etc and are supposed to be sharing it with the world. Oh wait – I guess that’s what that damn T-shirt was doing. My bad, I forgot this whole stupid world has gotten to be so darn lazy that the t-shirt does the Evangelizing while the man acts anyway he darn well pleases because “once saved always saved”. ;)

And that’s my speechless Friday. :) Imagine if I wasn’t a Christian. :)

maggielselah @ 12:49 pm [filed under Religion tagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


{June 16, 2008}   Christian Humilty

In 2006 I began regularly post on the R&P. At the time, I was aware of anti-Mormon trash, but overall really just didn’t care about it. When I began my journey into apologetics, I taped my favorite passage of scripture to my screens and walls around where I used my computers. I wanted to be aware of the impression I gave people as a Christ follower (yes a Mormon) and that I strive always to bring glory to His name, not shame. So when people became really horrible, I would breathe, pray, read my verse, and if needed – walkaway for a bit to meditate on God’s great love for me AND that horrible person whoever it was.

Over the course of the last couple of years, I’ve slowly lost that patience – even though I really want to be patient like that with people, the more I see of people in RELIGION the more disgusted and frustrated I become. I can totally see why there are so many loose canon Christians or people who don’t even want to come to church of any kind, out there.

What was entirely unexpected was that a poster named TerroRista and I became fast and close friends. We would talk for hours at times about Jesus, God, the Bible, and daily application. What surprised her was that I genuinely loved my Savior. I learned later that this really surprised a lot of Christians who had generally false ideas about Mormonism and the Mormon people. They realized the Gospel – the good news of a Savior and redemption, was something that I not only understood and but something I had totally engraved into my heart. Something that was just as precious to me, a Mormon, as it was to them, Mainstream Christians.

When I left the LDS church, I was in a whole lot of confusion – why on Earth would God pull me out of the Church I loved so dearly? Why to a church that was so foreign and loud and irreverent in worship and praise and in everything? Why a Trinity believing church? Why Evangelicals of all the groups? Why? Why? Why?

My journey both makes me appreciate what I’ve learned from personal experience – the kindness and loving nature of Protestant Christians in such an extremly different environment than what I would have found acceptable for me. And shortly before I “came out” so to speak about my desire to rejoin the LDS church, my friend TerroRista came out that she was returning to Catholicism. Which, is another heated apologetic debate – is Catholicism a Christian church and are Catholics Christians? I love Barbie to death, but I’ll be the first admit that I’m not comfortable with everything, but for me – unity with her and with a sister in Christ, is more important to ME than being in any way a voice of any kind of dissent to her. I see things that I disagree with as preferences and unimportant in the great scheme of things. Salvation issues have not changed for her, but rich traditions of church fathers have.

What I’ve loved about her journey (and mine) is that we’ve both been very humbled. Save for my Sunday night small group, my outlook on Mainstream Christians was just appalling. I just couldn’t stomach the doctrine or the sickening pride that it seemed to breed in people. “I’m right, you fail. Have fun in hell.”

With her journey into Catholicism and her rejection from close friends because she’s now the dark they – the light – cannot mingle with, has really brought her a new level of empathy, compassion, respect, and humility for other faiths. This is something she will readily admit, she always struggled a bit with.

This heavily contrasts with the breeding of Mainstream Christian apologetists. Which in turn breeds so much frustration in me as someone who isn’t concerned anymore with Mormon, Christian, Catholic – just someone who loves Christ and wants to follow Him. Someone who wants to cling to Him during a storm, when everything is going wrong and I just need a good cry. Someone who looks to His example of how I should live as His disciple.

I am SICK of people. I am SICK of apologetists and their semantics. “I told you what the Bible said, deal with it.” Apologists aren’t telling people what the Bible says, it’s telling people what THEY think the Bible says. The Bible didn’t stand up, grab some Starbucks and start chatting with them. I am SICK of churches, I am SICK of the pride that Christianity seems to breed in people. I am just SICK SICK SICK with it all. If I could up and move to the woods and live there and just worship God without any church affiliation, I think I’d be completely fulfilled.

The utter lack of humility in Christianity is driving me insane. Christ was a humble servant who taught by example, who washed the feet of His disciples while they bickered – yet MCs always seem to be bickering about SOMETHING. They can never seem to just agree to disagree.

On the one hand I totally desire to be in fellowship with others who love their Savior and at the same time, I cannot get far enough away. On a recent blog, TerroRista posted some pics of how Catholic leaders and followers look more humble than Protestant ones. I have to say, that for me – the following image is the most humble MODERN day visual of humility and service.

Hopefully this is enough ranting for now. :)

maggielselah @ 1:44 pm [filed under Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


{May 6, 2008}   Legalistic about being Legalistic

I had an awesome conversation with my friend Barbie today. She’s going through sort of the opposite of what I went through a year ago. She was a Fundamental, Evangelical passionate Christian and recently returned to the Catholic Church. She’s a very passionate person and throws herself 200% into everything she does. However, many people are putting her and her faith under a microscope and I don’t just mean in an apologetics kind of way either. She’s got it from all sides.

As she shared with me how her Mormon MIL and Evangelical FIL were questioning her, we entered into a very interesting conversation about legalism and the church. There are plenty of groups that claim absolute truth – Mormons, Catholics, and JWs to name a few. And I can certainly see the benefit of having total and complete truth. But at a certain point, truth ends and preferences begin.

For example, we discussed something her Priest had shared. You can read her whole blog about appropriate behavior for mass (or as she shares, for any worship). As I read through these things, I could surely see how they were appropriate for a Catholic and even LDS style church, however to put these standards on the whole body of Christ was just – in my opinion – wrong. It lacked grace and it lifted up division rather than unity.

When I was LDS, I wholeheartedly gave myself to God – I knew that I was a sinner in need of redemption and that only the work of Jesus (grace) could bridge that gap that for me. Now at what point did my beliefs become heretical and at what point, would God turn from someone who held heretical beliefs, yet still accepted Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer? At what point, do opinions become dogma and dogma replaces truth and relationship?

It seems to me – as a relative new Evangelical – that the non-denoms, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalists have become legalistic ABOUT not being legalistic. It’s mind blowing. Since I don’t know much by either experience or head knowledge about Catholicism, I’ll have to stick with Mormonism. I’ve said this many times over at my other two blogs – the LDS church is the very model that the Christian church should strive to emulate. Please note – I am not in anyway referring to doctrine – in fact I am very much NOT referring to doctrine. But rather organization, fellowship, and lifestyle living. Not doctrine. But there are things within the LDS church that aren’t doctrine per se but rather perhaps dogma that I really disagree with. For example, I loved how modesty and reverence were stressed within the church. Members knew that Sunday is God’s day and as such, would for example dress appropriately. They wanted to give their best to God and as such, dressed their best as well. They put forth effort for God, instead of rolling out of bed, chewing some gum and coming to church looking like they had just left Studio 54.

However, the downside of this is that if someone came to church not wearing a dress/skirt or tie and slacks, then I would wager their mind wouldn’t be on the Gospel but rather on their discomfort for being inappropriately dressed. And that’s not right. I imagine Jesus welcoming people to Him – regardless of what they are wearing.

I think it’s great that churches are encouraging their congregations/parishes/wards to live to a higher standard, but at the same time am quite disappointed with the Evangelicals who seem to have a legalism-phobia. I will probably battle with legalism until the day I die, but being afraid of it isn’t going to help anything. Being aware and knowing the warning signs, will. I think condemning those believe in living an upright, moral life and yes, focusing on the works and therefor very fruit of their lives is wrong.

In our personal lives, how many times do we look at the dogma and/or doctrine that someone believes instead of their love for God? I don’t believe any one church has it 100% right out there, but I think overall we have to find where God calls us to.

In the last year trying to fit into our church, I’ve gone through stages about leaving the LDS church. And I’ve come to the conclusion, that we certainly could have remained in the LDS church and still been “heaven bound” but that God pulled us out not only for further growth but also to shake people up. Our Bishop did a double take when we explained that God was pointing us elsewhere, Christians did a double take when I’d share that I believed that Jesus died for my sins and that His work was sufficent for me and yet – I was LDS. I think God does this all the time. He shakes us up – tried to remind us that He doesn’t fit into a tidy little box. He’s God, we’re not. Remember, when Jesus came, He shook up the religious leaders of His day – He was certainly not what they expected. Would we too be shocked if He came for a visit? We have so many preconceptions about people because of what they believe instead of trying to be like God, and learning what’s in people’s hearts.

maggielselah @ 7:23 pm [filed under Grace Point, Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints tagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


et cetera