The Story of Our Lives: Haters

Many have quarreled about religion that never practiced it.

- Benjamin Franklin

Pop quiz: How is the LDS church like Twilight? No, we don't sparkle; no, we don't have the strength to uproot an oak with our bare hands; yes, we do sleep. So what's the similarity? The haters.

Anti-Twilights and anti-Mormons are present in most communities, using every opportunity to remind their peers of where they stand. It seems like the more they complain, the more they notice the ideas/objects of their criticism, the more they are annoyed by it, the more they criticize it. It's a vicious cycle.

If the critics would let their hate go, I think everything would be better. I believe one of the only reasons Twilight is brought up so much anymore is not because the fans are praising it, but because the haters are attacking it. The series would probably fall off the social radar if these steadfast anti-Twilighters would just let it go.

While the Mormon church would not disappear if people stopped complaining, people wouldn't need to feel as defensive as they currently do. I know I get defensive when somebody - teasing or not - accuses me of being a polygamist or part of a cult. The persecution against us is relentless. Every Mormon feels it.

I googled something about Mormons migrating West for a research paper and was overwhelmed by all the anti-Mormon propaganda. It was disheartening to know that so many people felt they needed to speak out against us. And then it occurred to me that this is the type of material any investigators would find if they tried to search the internet for more information.

Over the past few months, I've been a lot more open about my beliefs and I've run into several people who give me weird looks, judge me, and keep their distance. It's not a pleasant feeling. I've also talked with a few people who assumed they knew what the Mormons believed. It's necessary to assume certain things in our lives - we couldn't live if we had to question every little step in every process. However, when someone has never experienced something before, it's hard for them to accurately explain how everything works. This is another force acting against all religions, whether the perpetrator means to spread false ideas or not.

I'm not mad at anyone, simply scared for the future. We live in rough times. But we were saved for these days because we are strong and can overcome all our trials. God will not allows us to go through anything that we cannot handle. The distance between us and Him is the distance between our knees and the ground. Don't forget to pray and trust in your Heavenly Father, and we will all make it through safely.