Introduction
I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've never really been quiet about this fact, but lately I realized something: I've written about Vim and Tmux and Git, but I've never really written about my faith. Mostly because I've always been a little shy about doing so. But lately I've been feeling that I have something to add to the conversation.
Hi! I'm Nate. If you're reading this you've probably read something else I've written, a book, or a blog, or something. I know a lot of people have questions, or preconceptions about members of my faith. Let's do the rest of this section as a Q&A, and get those cleared up.
Do you hate LGBTQIA+ People?
Nope! I don't hate anyone. Hating people is expressly against my religion. I choose to follow what Christ called “the second great commandment” directly: I choose to love my neighbor as myself.
Okay, but you're probably judging people.
I'm far too busy judging myself to judge anyone else. I have yet to meet a person that is “less” than me. Maybe some time I'll write more about this, but my basic mode of operations is to apply rules to myself and only myself. Again, there's scriptural backing for this. Christ told us that we are to “judge not”, that we “be not judged, for with with what judgement ye judge ye shall be judged.” I take that seriously.
But I know a person who is Mormon and they are judgmental and hate LGBTQIA+ people!
I'm very sorry. I wish I could say I'm surprised. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has many followers at various levels of understanding and with various different sets of problems. I believe that if they are actively practicing the teachings of our faith they will, over time, learn better and be more loving to everyone. I hope the same thing about myself, for that matter. I'm not here to judge or excuse the people you've run into.
Quick questions Time! Are you a:
| Thing | Answer |
|---|---|
| Racist | No |
| Climate Change Denier | No |
| Anti-vaxxer | No |
| Flat-earther | No |
| Evolution Denier | No |
| Young Earth Creationist | No |
| Republican | No |
| Conservative | No |
| Polygamist | No |
| Fan Of Christian Music | Not Christian rock, no. |
I don't believe you; I think you really are a (one of the above list)!
That's your prerogative, certainly. You are free to disbelieve me in any way you like, and it's unlikely I'll be able to change your mind. You're free to utterly ignore me; it's a big internet. Or you can try a little experiment: pretend, for the sake of argument, that I am honestly and correctly representing myself, and see if there's anything of value you can take away from this little blog. If not I'll refund your entire purchase price. Actually if you bought this blog can you let me know who sold it to you? I want my cut.
Are you just a Mormon because you were born a Mormon?
So, I set this straw-man up. I will only use the correct name of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And refer to followers of this faith as Latter-day Saints.
But no, I'm not a Latter-day Saint just because of my parents. Yes, I was born into the faith, and my parents are active Latter-day Saints as well. But I obtained my belief on my own, through my own questioning and rebellion and searching and all the rest. I'll probably get into that more at some other point in the blog.
Are you writing this to convert people?
Nah. I strongly doubt anything I could write here would do the trick. I'm writing this to air out some of my own thoughts and questions and comments about my faith. Faith, in its various forms, has been a part of the human experience since the beginning, and is an interesting and rewarding topic.
Finally, the disclaimer and disclosure.
For six years I worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a software developer. I am not currently employed by the Church.
Also, nothing I say should be interpreted as official Church doctrine. Everything I write is my own ideas and thoughts. If something I write contradicts official published doctrine the error is on my side. Use only directed. This site comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. Look both ways before crossing the street.