My Beliefs 1

There have always been questions as to "what exactly Mormons believe".  Back when the Church was founded in the 19th century, the prophet Joseph Smith wrote out an official "Articles of Faith", the full text of which can be seen here, on the lds.org site.  Today, many people do not believe or do not realize that Mormons are Christians.  Some change their opinion when they realize the official name of the Church is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", some do not.

I am not a spokesperson for the Church.  I am one woman, trying to live life as  God would have me do.

The text of the First Article of Faith is as follows:

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

The closest I come to understanding the concept of the eternal comes when I am standing at an ocean.  I cannot see what lies beyond the horizon, but I know it's there.  So while I cannot physically see God, and do not always understand His Plan, I know there is one and I am humbled and awestruck and oh so grateful that there is a plan.  I would not be here today, and would not have the family I have, if left to my own devices earlier in life.

God puts people in our lives and puts us in the lives of still others in order to carry out His Plan.  Sure, as the Almighty, he could just snap His fingers and have it be all done, but where would be the benefit in that for us, His Children?

Sometimes, as parents, we want to do things for our children.  It's faster, there's less mess...etc etc etc.  But again, how can our children learn if we don't give them the opportunities for both success and failure?  That demonstrates to me the great love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us.  We have agency - the ability to choose - how we will act and think.  Are our motives selfless...or selfish?  Do our thoughts and deeds bring good results, or something...less?

And wow...that the Son of God would come to earth in a mortal body, so He could better experience and understand the frailties to which we are subject.  How humbling is THAT?

Many times in my life I have felt the influence and/or comfort of the Holy Ghost.  Following is one more recent example:

Several weeks ago, my father-in-law seemed to be having a stroke.  He fell out of bed and when his wife got to him, his words were slurred and he was disoriented.  He was taken to the closest hospital, about 20 miles away, and they care-flighted him to UK Hospital in Lexington.  The first night, he alternately thought it was 1912 and/or 1963.  He told my husband to let his mother and father what had happened (his father had passed on about a decade ago).

My husband was pulled over in a town north of us, on the way to the hospital, for speeding.  I have rarely seen him that worried.  I stayed at home with our worried children.  As our children were engaged in other activities, I went out onto the porch and prayed...harder than I had in a while.  Some time later, I felt complete peace in the midst of our family emergency.

While my father-in-law had all the classic signs of a stroke that first night, now, several weeks later, his mind is clear, his physical abilities are better and his spirits are as good as I've ever seen them.  Now THAT is a miracle.

Respectful questions, suggestions and comments are encouraged and LOVED! (*hint, hint*)

Welcome

Welcome to my New Blog - A Daughter in the Kingdom

For a long time, I have felt a tug to work more on my spiritual life, and a blog seemed a perfect place to record my journey.  It took me a while to find a title as many of my prior choices were taken or otherwise disallowed for some reason, such as "A Peace of My Soul".

I am a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend, a Christian, a writer, an actress, a craftsperson, a musician.  I am also a Mormon.

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I hope I didn't just lose most of my audience.  There are a lot of misconceptions Mormons, probably the biggest of which is that Mormons are not Christians.  The official name of the "Mormon Church" is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My mother raised me in the  Christian Science Church.  My father, a chemical engineer by study and trade, did not go to church except on Easter and Christmas.  In January 1972, my family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, when my father was transferred by his employer.  Dad passed in 1979 while I was a senior in high school, in a play about Lazarus from the Bible; the irony of being in a play where the theme was "there is no death" at that time was not lost on me.  Mom passed a year ago yesterday.  Although I have not lived in  Salt Lake City for many years, I was able to visit her a couple of weeks before she passed and the last thing I said to her was a whisper in her ear, "I love you, Mom.  God loves you."

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I'm trying to start out this blog with some sort of organized intent.  So I thought I would start out the next couple of weeks with covering the 13 Articles of Faith of the LDS Church and how they apply to my life.

Let me end for today by saying that respectful comments from anyone, whether they believe like me or not, are welcome.  We're all in this life together.  I would love to hear your thoughts.