I recently discussed with a friend our beliefs, and when I really began to have my passion and form my foundation spiritually. Honestly I was saved when I was nine years old after my mother watched a hell-fire preacher and scared the poop out of me of going to hell, I really didn't care much after that until the age fifteen when I doubted my salvation and wanted physical proof that I was saved (mainly in the form of God coming down and audibly telling me I was honestly). It took a while and many prayers to get past that point and to just
trust Him that I rested safely in His almighty hands. I had a relationship with God, but only in the form of fear of separation.
I later really formed my beliefs after a Mormon friend on his mission asked me some questions in one of his letters. I remember after reading it, I sat in the bath tub and thought to God
how on earth am I supposed to answer all these questions? After getting out I wrapped myself in a towel and before even getting dressed I sat myself at my desk and prayed to the Lord to help me and began to write.
I cut the introduction off and posted the body of the letter here, if there is anyone interested in what I believe.
"January 18, 2007 (printed and sent
January 22, 2007)
Dear Elder Jake,
...I’m mainly writing you this to
answer your question. I do get this kind of thing from missionaries (or
Richard! Ha-ha JK) although I’ve not seen
them recently due to Richard and Nicole moving out to the boonies. The
exact question was “…what you [I] believe. Like what is the nature of
God? What is the meaning of life? What is the role of families in God’s
plan?” Then you asked “What gives you the strength to get up every
morning? What do you want for your life? What are you going to do to get
it?” Well I’ll try to answer this as well as I can. I believe the
Apostles Creed which is:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the
Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was
buried; HE descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He
will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
My mother once paid me to memorize
that and I did it just to get the money and then forgot it, but a few years
later I memorized it again, and this time for the right reason, because I
really love it, and it really says what I believe and feel.
God’s nature is Love, he is
Love. How else can you describe him better than that? A friend of
mine in high school used to say he couldn’t see how God loved us, and I would
tell him I couldn’t see how he couldn’t. I find it a bit hard to explain
past that because love isn’t a physical thing you can see, but like a DC Talk
song says “he’s like the wind, you can’t see the wind but you can see the
effects of the wind” I find that a good description. The meaning of
life for me is to serve the Father with all our mind, soul, heart, and
strength, and to show his everlasting love to others and serve as a witness to
all of His eternal love. The role of families is the same for me as the
meaning of life, to serve him with all our being. The parents are to
guide and teach their children about him and guide them along his glorious
path. Whether in families or as individuals, we are to serve him as
children of God.
What gives me strength to get up
every morning? The Lord of course and my desire to do his will, and get closer
to him than I was the last day. It is impossible to get to know every
aspect of God, so I want to learn and build as close of a relationship with him
as I possibly can. And this life is too short to waste even a day.
He is the first one I talk to in the morning and the last one before I go to
bed, He is who I see in all of nature; in trees, wind, the sea, waves, the sky,
the grass, the flowers, in all his creations, including me. I see him
when I look at the ceiling, when I look in the mirror and talk to him, and when
I look inside myself. He is my father, my teacher, my professor, my
almighty counselor, and my best closest friend. He is someone I want to
be like, and I can never get enough of. In his own words he is I am that I am. What I want
for my life is whatever God’s will is, I want his plans for my life, because my
life is devoted to him. I want to worship Him and be a witness to as many
as I can while I’m here. I also want a family of course, I want to be a
mother that embodies the Proverbs Wife but the rest I’m currently
working on figuring out. What do I want out of life? I want the fullness of
God. What am I going to do to get it? I will pray and meditate on him,
read his word (for the word was with God, and the word was God, in the
beginning), continue to talk with him and follow the path that the lord sets before me.
I hope that I answered your questions, I’ve never written my
responses before to someone and as I’m sure you’ve noticed on occasions I tend
to ramble, even when I write, so I tried to stay on topic and not ramble too
much. J
I think I will leave it on that
note and say adieu. Have a glorious day and I’ll talk to you later!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Wright
(ReeBee)"
