My parents were brand new to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints when I was born, having both come in from different faith
traditions.
My mother was raised Catholic. She told me that, when the
missionaries came, she went to her priest about them. If he had been
understanding about her questions, she might have stayed Catholic. But he wasn’t,
and she didn’t.
My mother’s mother, Lora Fowler, who joined the LDS Church
after my mother did, had been looking and looking for the Lord’s church for
years. She met often with Baptist missionaries, who told her she asked the
devil’s questions when she questioned them about their answers, but she
continued to ask those questions.
She told my mother that when she was a small child, her
father (the one who wrote poetry, whose poem I posted in an earlier blog) would
work at the factory in Washington State where he lived, come home from work,
make some cocoa, and read the Bible. He always encouraged her to look for the
Lord’s church, which he felt was on the earth, but which he never found to his satisfaction
in his lifetime.
She took longer to join her daughter’s new church because, I
believe, she had some trouble quitting smoking. But she did join a few years
before she passed away, when I was eight years old.
My father’s family, the Edens, were Presbyterian, and probably
not terribly religious – at least, they didn’t seem that way to me as a child.
About the only thing I saw them do religiously was watch wrestling on
television.
However, my grandfather’s sister Katherine Eden was a member
of the Church living in Utah, and she referred my father to the missionaries.
He took the discussions and felt he should join. His parents also took the
discussions, but decided against joining after they heard the lesson regarding
the law of tithing. We in our Church are encouraged to pay 10% of our income as
a way of strengthening our faith and providing for other Church members in
poverty, and they weren’t willing to do that. Which I’m cool with – if you don’t
believe something, don’t go there.
Beyond that, I know of a more distant relative who was a
Methodist minister in his lifetime, and another who may have been a Baptist
minister, who may be turning over in his grave at the thought of having Mormon
descendants.
Truly, I’ll never know for sure. I do have lots of
questions, but the answers have crumbled over time. As of this writing, both my
parents still attend the LDS Church, my father having returned after a long
time away. My dear aunt Carol, my mother’s sister who wrote me letters as a
child when I couldn’t keep a penpal, has also joined our church in recent
years, and I’m glad to still be blessed with their presence at least a little
longer.
It is a lovely thing to have so many members of my family
who are of the same faith. It’s difficult to share the things of my heart with
people when they don’t understand where I’m coming from – and that doesn’t mean
I don’t love those family members and friends who aren’t of my faith. There are
those who were once LDS and aren’t anymore, and those who never really
conformed to any sort of religion.
Doesn’t matter. Love them all. Those who aren’t of my
religion have still taught me a lot about courage and patience and
accomplishment and determination and faith. Some of them believe really
differently than I do, and as long as they sincerely believe what they believe,
I respect that.
But I can really dive deep with those who get it, and a true
confidante is a lovely thing to have. And I’ve been blessed with a lot of them
over my life.
They say that the Internet is forever. If that's the case, and my family hundreds of years from now are reading this, I would say to you - be LDS. I highly recommend it. I believe in life after death, and I want lots more confidantes in the forever. I look forward to meeting you.
But...if being LDS or being religious in general isn't for you, then live whatever truth you believe. Be a good person, cause that's still workable. I like to hang around with good people.
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If any family members remember anything differently than I do, please throw in a comment. I want this to be a resource for all of us.
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