But You're Mormon...

Let’s be real for a minute… I am a Mormon. Proud of it too! I go to church for three hours on a Sunday. I don’t drink coffee or tea, unless its herbal tea, then I’m all about it because it is DELISH. I don’t smoke, do drugs, or drink alcohol. I don’t wear revealing clothing. I pray all the time (well, try to). I read The Book of Mormon, and if you haven’t, you should! It’s a good one. I believe in a living day prophet and I go to the temple as often as I can. I AM A MORMON.

That being said: all of those things I have listed, I do them, NOT because “I’m a Mormon”, but because I am a big girl who can make her own damn choices. It is the most frustrating thing when someone says to me, “Oh yeah, you can’t do that because your Mormon.” HOLD UP! No, you are WRONG. I CHOOSE not to do those things because, (brace yourself), I simply chose NOT to do them! I don’t drink coffee and tea because it’s expensive and I don’t like how much I used to rely on it. I don’t drink alcohol or do drugs because, I used to do them and that was the lowest part of my life and I have CHOSEN, on my own, to not partake of those things. Yes, I am LDS (Mormon), and yes being part of this church has helped me “stay clean”, but at the end of the day, I am the one who made every choice in my life. I’m grateful to be part of this church that has showed me that there is so much more to life. I’m grateful for the teachings and scriptures I have available to me whenever I need guidance. I am also grateful for my past and for what life I have lived because it is a reference point that I will never go back to.

Being LDS is a lifestyle, but each choice that is made comes from me, and me only. Just because I’m LDS does not mean that I gave away my right of free agency. In fact, becoming LDS did just the opposite. It showed me that I DID have a choice to live a safe, healthy, and happy life. My husband and I were abstinent before marriage, not because that’s what our bishop MADE us do, but because we knew that God wanted us to wait, and we wanted to be sealed. So we stuck it out, and it was well worth it. I drink soda all the time, that’s my choice. Our church leaders have come out and said how caffeine isn’t the best thing to drink, but I still do it, and guess what?? I’m still allowed to go to church! That also ties into the music I listen to, the movies I watch, and whether or not I keep the Sabbath “holy” each Sunday. I do things in my life that make me happy. I don’t do them for the church. I don’t do them to “fit in” with all the other Mormons, or to get approval. I do them for God and myself. So the next time you know someone who is LDS and you see them drinking a Dr. Pepper, don’t tell them “I thought you couldn’t drink caffeine because you’re Mormon”. Instead, move on and go pick on someone else. We ALL have free agency. That means: we all make our own choices… so stop with the judging and do more loving!