Faith, Hope, Charity

What does it mean to have faith?  The first principle of the gospel is not just faith, but faith in Jesus Christ.  That's a little more specific, but what exactly does that mean?

Steady

When I was a graduate student, I noticed something that I thought was odd.  People my age were not dating.  They would hang out with large groups, only pairing off occasionally for a brief fling.  I eventually learned that most of these people had been in and out of "steady" relationships since junior high or earlier, and they were tired of the drama.  That just seemed sad to me.

Not the Only Option

Take a young Mormon with a budding testimony.  Suppose they have a gay orientation.  Now include the belief that he (or she) will never be able to serve a mission, get married in the temple, or even stay a member of the church if they are gay.  What is likely to happen?  All too often the reaction is to hide, to deny one's own emotions, bottle it all up, suppress the passions.  It's like trying to completely stop up a river.  Eventually the water will overwhelm any barrier.  Then, in the flood of reaction, the church may be rejected along with the emotional baggage.

Chastity

In one of my favorite webcomics, the chaplain in a mercenary army explains that his religious order doesn't believe in celibacy, but rather chastity.  So basically, no sex outside of marriage.  Seem a bit strict?  I've had friends express that expecting teens to abstain from sex is extremely naive.  They figure that the only celibate teens are those that can't attract the opposite sex.  My experience has been quite different.

Smokescreen

A smokescreen is a kind of distraction to keep people from seeing clearly.  It bothers me when I see people purposefully confusing or distracting from the truth in order to argue a point.  That's one of the reasons that I post about logical fallacies so much.

Community

There have been a lot of good things this blog has done for me.  I've been able to write my thoughts and organize my thinking a little.  I've been able to focus on an aspect of myself that has had little time to grow or develop in a healthy way.  But one thing it hasn't been able to do is give me a sense of connection, a sense of belonging to a community.