Joining the Conversation

This morning, I've been reading a lot of Mormon stuff. Some of it was from Mormons, some from non-Mormons, and some of what I read today was even from anti-Mormons (some of what they said was surprisingly accurate and impressively well-worded to twist the truth, but the rest of it sounded completely bogus and it all could have used more citation of their sources). Following links around blogs and articles, I eventually came to the realization that I have my own blog to come back to and that even though I haven't really felt involved in the internet conversation on Mormonism, I've personally been a part of it for well over a year now. There are hundreds of Mormon, non-Mormon, and anti-Mormon bloggers that have thrown in their two cents about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I'm suddenly surprised to realize that I'm already part of that group. I've joined the conversation already.

Now, I'm not an activist. I don't have an agenda to push (at least, I don't think I do). I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. Mostly, I'm just talking to myself and posting the conversation on the internet. Yeah, I'm a Mormon. I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I don't think of myself as the kind of person who'd tell the whole world about it, even though I technically just did. I didn't want to start any arguments when I started this blog. I didn't even want to join one. But the conversation is going on all over the internet, and I've kind of just stumbled into it. So, so be it. I'll go ahead and talk about my religion, especially since everyone else is, and I technically started talking about it in February 2013, so it isn't really even a decision at this point. I made this choice (unwittingly) when I made the commitment to blog every morning. If any Mormons, non-Mormons, or anti-Mormons have ever visited any of my blog posts, I've already told them a little bit about my beliefs and my religion. I'm already part of the conversation. I guess the only question now is how involved in that conversation do I want to be.

Do I want to keep doing what I'm doing and basically only telling people what I believe if they come onto my blog and ask me, or should I seek out people with whom I could share my messages (assuming I actually have anything to say)? The latter might be more productive, but the former is less abrasive. I don't want to rub off on people the wrong way. This morning, one of the videos I watched was "things Mormon missionaries won't tell you," or something like that, and some of the things we "won't tell you" we just basically don't say because it would be rude. Courtesy is an aspect of Christianity and we try to be as Christ-like as we can, so while it's true that we believe that all other churches have at least some falsehood in them, we'd either try to find a diplomatic way to say that or, as the video suggested, we just wouldn't say it at all. There's a part of me that doesn't want to be part of this conversation because I don't want to offend anyone or get anything wrong as I try to explain church doctrine to the rest of the world, but a greater part of me believes that not being a part of this conversation is no longer a viable option for me. I have to say something every morning, so the question now is "what am I going to say and how am I going to say it?"

Moving forward with the knowledge that I'm part of a world-wide conversation on Mormonism, I could go about it in any number of ways. I could aggressively defend our beliefs against criticism. I could try to explain our beliefs logically or through heart-felt testimony. I could continue putting disclaimers on almost everything I say (I personally believe that... ...this is just my opinion, but... ...unless I'm mistaken... ...this is what I think). I could cite doctrinal sources and compose compelling moral arguments. Or I could get emotional and try to stir up emotion in others by making inflammatory statements, as many of our detractors have  done. Fight fire with fire, as they say. Except that that's not in my nature. I'm more of a pacifist, personally. I'd rather talk about things and encourage understanding than try to get people to pick a side or switch sides. I may not convert many people that way, but to be honest, I'm not trying to convert anybody. I don't really care what religion you are, and I'm certainly not going to tell you that you'd be better off as a Mormon, even though I believe that you might be. We all have to make our own choices, and I'm not going to try to get you to change your mind, no matter what it is you believe. I'd rather just say "This is what I believe," and if you agree with me, that's cool, and if you don't, you're entitled to your opinion, but in any event, you'll understand Mormonism a little bit better because you'll have learned what one of them believes.

I think that amounts to having a positive impact on the conversation. A tiny impact, but a positive one. And that's really all I'm going for at this point. As I've said before, this blog is mostly just for my own benefit. This is me, talking to myself, and posting the conversation online in hopes that someone enjoys it and/or learns something. Being part of this conversation was kind of a side effect of creating this blog, not my primary purpose in doing still, and it still takes a secondary place of importance while I keep this blog going. I didn't make this blog because I wanted to be part of this conversation; I'm just part of the conversation because I have a blog.