To My Friends of Other Faiths

Today I felt like I should write to my friends of other faiths

As a missionary, I go around teaching people about my faith every day. On Facebook, I post all of the time about my beliefs. The reason why I do this is because my faith is the single biggest part of my life. It means the world to me and brings me immense happiness.

I recognize however, that a lot of my friends worship differently than I do. They have a passion towards their faith equal to mine, and I think that our differences are highlighted more than our similarities.

In the world today, there is a need for EVERY religious person to defend Christianity and the right to believe in God or worship however they may choose. As I have been on a mission I have noticed that

WE ARE IN A FULL SCALE RELIGOUS EPIDEMIC!

Belief in God and adhering to the values and commandments that He has given us is giving way to social popularity. Morals are almost a thing of the past in our media. Religion and worshipping God is frowned upon by many in our leadership, in our school systems, and in the general public. In a nation that was founded upon God, THIS BOTHERS ME A LOT.

I have witnessed this first hand on my mission! I knock doors and talk to hundreds of people every month about God and Jesus Christ. And it has bothers me so much that I feel inclined to write this post.

I want all of my friends to know my standing. And it is this: regardless of your religious background, your faith, or your denomination, I respect and value your belief and zeal toward God! Not only do I respect it, I applaud it!

I have had amazing neighbors, classmates, teammates, teachers, and friends that have been members of other faiths. I have seen them defend and be examples of Christ in their daily life. They say "No" to conformity, and stand for values that I appreciate.

In a world whose morals and belief in God is slowly diminishing, I think that we need to unite in our similarities and defend religious freedoom.We are all God's children, and we have more in common than we realize.

There are cultures within every religious organization, I for one admit that mine has one! I know that religion can be a sensitive subject, and a lot of feelings are hurt because of the culture of any denomination. There is plenty of room for offense to be taken within a religious community.

In my opinion, the time for all of that is long past.

We, as believers in God and followers of Him, cannot afford that for a second longer.

I hope that all of my friends know that regardless of religious beliefs, we are first and foremost friends. I look up to you and look forward to serving with you in our communities and defending the right to worship God, however we choose!

I hope you will share my statuses about God when you like them, know that I will do the same. I appreciate seeing God in my Facebook news feed.

I hope you know that you always have a friend that respects and will defend you in your belief in God, regardless of the church you belong to!

Joseph Smith, a man I believe to be a prophet of God and the founder of the church I belong to, said this:

"If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing before Heaven to die for a “Mormon,” I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves."

I feel the same way. As a missionary, my job right now is to share my beliefs and "invite others to come to Christ." I am open about my belief in God on Facebook because I know that He is there and that He loves us. I know that as a society, we need God. Without Him, our nation and our communities will fail. We also need each other, and the support that comes from all churches and all denominations uniting to defend God and religious freedom.

Please feel free to message, comment, or share my blog post with your insights and feelings. I respect and appreciate them!

Love your friend,

Sister Kami Evans