You Gotta Love Them.

It's hard when the people you love don't agree with you. Right after I ended my skype sesh with Spenc, my mommy came into my room and just made herself comfortable on my bed. Little did I know we were about to have an hour long conversation. She lays there...on my bed...starring at me...and I felt like I knew what this conversation was going to be all about. The question in the Baeza household these past 3 weeks is the question of all questions. Are you going to serve a mission? My parents are very...anxious {{that seems like an appropriate term}} on my decision. They know it's something I've always wanted to do and now that the time is drawing near to turn in my papers...they just really want to know what the final decision is going to be. If only I knew what it was going to be.

So we talked. About the church obviously. She asked me some questions and I responded with the best answers I had but we still had our differences. Side note -- for those who may just be starting to follow my blog and don't know my story...we joined the church three years ago and almost a year ago my parents and my youngest brother fell away from the church and they are now inactive -- back to the post. We started talking about becoming Gods and the trinity and just the normal things people ask. She then started to precede to tell me how she was worried about my salvation. I listened curiously. She told me how she has a co-worker who is really into all these different religions and is supposedly very knowledgeable about the Mormon faith. She wants me to meet him. Awkward pause. I tell her that if she wants me to meet her friend...then I have to bring a friend with me. Knowing my mommy she probably assumed I was talking about someone my age....yeah, nope. I told her I wanted our home bishop or Greg Clark {{yes, the Greg Clark who played for the 49ners}} to be my friend to tag along. She agreed that it'd be okay and I even suggested that she should come along too. I'm actually quite excited to meet this..."friend" of hers.

Like any mother, they just want whats..."best" for you. My mommy wants me to really understand what the Mormon church is all about. But...I feel like the stuff that she thinks I don't know or that I "should know" are stuff that she has read in anti-Mormon literature or from the mouths of people who think they know what they are talking about. I've used this analogy before and I'm going to use it again. Say you want to learn how to perform surgery. Who do you go to? Do you go to your English teacher from high school? Your best friends mom? No. You go to a surgeon. Why? Because they are the ones who actually perform the surgery. They have all the necessary and accurate information/knowledge to provide you. If you want to know about the Mormon church, ask someone who is Mormon. Don't ask people who've heard from other people who also heard from their long lost aunt what the Mormon church is about. Really? That's just plain dumb. Ask the people who are going to give you the right answers. However, not every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are active and faithful members. For example, I wouldn't suggest asking my parents on their beliefs of the church. They would give you false information because their minds have been polluted to what the world tells them is really true. Go to a bishop of the ward. Go find missionaries. Go to lds.org and find answers. Heck, watch General Conference! You will find your answers.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on Earth. I have been tried over and over again on why I believe in this church. I'll give you my reasons. Growing up, I knew God but I didn't really know him. My relationship with him was pretty nonexistent. I used to think that the beautiful, sacred prayer that the Catholic church recites was the only prayer you can give to Heavenly Father. I never knew you could actually communicate to Him. I went to another Christian church before finding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and never did I once feel the spirit there. It's not that what they were preaching were false, it just wasn't 100% true. For years I went there and I would take good notes but still...I felt empty. When I had Family Home Evening with the Barkdulls when I was thirteen years old...I knew at that moment what I was missing in my life. Heck, I even told my dad that night I wanted to be Mormon before even really knowing anything about the church! I was a thirteen year old girl who finally realized who she was. I was a child of God; a daughter of God. I am the person I am today because of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I could of stuck around at that other Christian church but I would of definitely fallen down the wrong path. This church found me at the most perfect time of my life.

Everyday I am so grateful for this church. I can't even imagine my life without it. I would be so lost. I know that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God. I am grateful for his courage and love for the gospel. I strive to have that same dedication everyday in my life. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. When I was sixteen years old I bought my first set of scriptures. My parents wouldn't buy me some so I saved up all my money for one. I was at EFY when I bought them and I was SO excited! I hold those scriptures so dear to my heart. They have brought so much joy into my life. They have given me answers to prayers and they have blessed my life immensely.  I know that the work performed in the temples are so sacred and important. It is the only place I can go and not worry about worldly things. I know that when I enter the temple, I am home. I know that the power of prayer is real. How lucky are we to be able to communicate to our Heavenly Father? He loves us so much and wants to hear how we are doing. He wants to know our troubles and our pains. He wants to help us. Again, He loves us, specifically you.

The church isn't perfect and neither are the people; but God is.


♥ The Girl Who Needs To Go On A Jog To Clear Her Mind