When I first joined my church as a fourteen year old, I lost all of my friends. My history teacher scoffed and laughed at me. I was constantly under attack and later chose to eat my lunch in the school library. The kids found me one day. They formed a prayer circle around me and prayed for me to see the the light and be saved! I was mortified! I just wanted to crawl under the table and cry.
Many kids thought I was so smart....bookish even. I became weary of the constant persecution and only wished to eat in peace. Those were lonely times for me.
The one thing that kept me going was the fact that I knew what I believed in was true. I couldn't deny it. Spiritually I felt more whole and happier than I had been in my entire life.
I often prayed that my previous childhood friends could see that I was happy and agree to disagree and be friends once again. I prayed they would want to find common ground with me instead of trying to save me. I was still the same person after all. I still believed in Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible.
Today I found the following article in my e-mail and I cried! Cried tears of joy! Finally, some of our brothers and sisters are seeing us for who we are and what we stand for. Perhaps it's a bridge--a beginning. We do care what happens to our country. We do care about our constitution.
Time will tell, but this article below is something I have personally prayed for since I was a young girl of 14, when all the local pastors and priests in my little town told their kids not to speak to me again. I was alone. So alone and yet I wasn't for the very first time in my life! I knew with a certaintly that God lived! I was filled daily with the Holy Ghost and had never felt such joy and it sustained me through many lonely years. God is good! He never shunned me. He loves me still and he loves you too. Never forget it.
Enjoy this gift below. I am so grateful for the contents of this evangelical Christian blog entry, who understands how it is to be a true Christian. May God bless you well Mr. Schroeder.
The following article is by John Schroeder who is a well known Evangelical writer and blogger. He writes his feelings in this article (from his Article 6 Blog) on the Mormons, Prop 8.
What A Long Strange Trip It's Been Posted by: John Schroeder at 07:09 am, November 6th 2008
"Proposition 8 is now a part of the California constitution!
That is probably the best news from an otherwise difficult election for conservatives and Republicans. In very large part, we Evangelicals must thank our Mormon cousins for that fact. They, along with our Catholic brethren, were better organized than us and that pro vided a base from which we could ALL work together to get this job done. What more, as we have chronicled here, Mormons took the brunt of the abuse, derision, and even threats of physical harm that came with this effort.
And like us, they have given thanks to the Almighty that is ultimately in control, even if their understanding of that Almighty is a bit diffrent than ours. I cannot help but wonder how much more thankful we ALL might be today if we had been more willing to embrace these religious cousins a few months ago - but alas, politics is always about governing today and looking
forward to the next election.
Said John Mark Reynolds:
In the battle for the family, however, traditional Christians have no better friends than the Mormon faithful. It would be wrong if that support were taken for granted. We are intolerant of the false attacks on Mormon faith and family. We stand with our Mormon friends in right to express their views on the public square. We celebrate the areas, such as
family values, where we agree. A heart felt thank you may not win points from other friends who demand one hundred percent agreement from their allies, but it is the decent and proper thing to do.
Thank you to our Mormon friends and allies!
Hard to do better than that. The "Ruth Youth" ministry proclaimed yesterday "International Mormon Appreciation Day." Very appropriate, yet still inadequate.
In addition to our thanks, Mormons deserve our protection. They have been oppressed in ways during the Prop 8 campaign that this nation has not seen since the 1960's and the civil rights movement. ; The rhetoric has been deplorable, but moreover. we have seen instances of vandalism, property destruction, and some leaders in the fight currently find themselves with armed protection because of the threats made against them and their families. Our nation will not and cannot tolerate this sort of behavior - it is incumbent on all of us to stand against it, and the best way to do that is to stand between the Mormons and the forces that would perpetrate such evil.
"Now I am sure the Mormons can, and probably want, to take care of themselves, but as a Christian, it is my duty to protect the innocent and free the oppressed. To turn a blind eye in this circumstance is not only ungracious, it is simply un-Christian.
Make all the theological distinctions you want, but in the political arena we are yoked with t he Mormons (he said borrowing some religious imagery) and it as darn well time we started acting like it. Absolutely, positively thank the Mormons - but don't stop there. Stand up and be counted against the evil that has been perpetrated towards them in this campaign. As Christians we can do no less."
