A Little Bit of Allison: Opinion on Religion

I once made a decision to not share my views on certain topics online. These "views" consisted of religious, political, and current event views. My opinion didn't seem strong enough to want to join the fight for either side. Well my friends, that time has passed. I've now decided that my opinions have developed to the point that I can't help but share. I won't share my views on political matters or current affairs because I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to do so. Plus, online research on those topics is mostly filled with biased articles. So I decided to share my feelings on my religion, and religion in general. Alright, you ready?

As I've stated before, and this will mark the third time, I am LDS. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm also classified as a Mormon, a Christian, and a Saint.

I'd like to tell you a story about my life. I wasn't always proud to be a latter day saint. Sometimes I'd even say I "used to be" Mormon, but I "most definitely wasn't now". I wanted to live the life I had never lived before. Being raised in the church, I was always taught what not to do, and how to differentiate between right and wrong. By the time I was in my late teen years, I decided I wanted to experience this mysterious, unknown side of life for myself. I knew that it wasn't true to my personal values and my beliefs, but I wanted to test the limits as far as I'd let myself go. For those of you who read my adoption post, you know that my "rebellion" came to a dramatic halt when I found out I was expecting. My friends, that beautiful girl saved my life. If she hadn't have entered my life when she did, chances are I'd still be in Salt Lake making nothing of myself. I would have moved in with some guy under the non-committal relationship we shared. Who knows what would have become of me, but I'm so grateful I never have to find out.

The journey to turning my life around was all but simple. The answer to do so sounded easy enough. I just needed to repent and go back to church. That would surely help. Repenting* was much harder than I prepared myself for. Knowing I had offended the Savior and my Heavenly Father was a tough pill to swallow. The bitter hours of embarrassment and shame during my pregnancy caused me to reflect on the goals I once had. I remember sleepless night where I would cradle Adelé and tell her how much I loved her, and I caught a glimpse of how much my Heavenly Father loved me. When I saw Adelé for the first time when she was born, there was such a strong love that I couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling from consuming me. How could I ever love something more? How could one small baby be so perfect? How on earth did my body create such a perfect being? Then the answer came clear: Because your Heavenly Father loves each of His children personally on a level you have yet to understand. Everything will work out.

From then on, I can't help but smile each day. The repentance process I tackled was challenging, but with God's help, I made it through. There is no question in my mind that the Savior and Heavenly Father carried me through the aftermath of placing Adelé. I am a weak mortal whose strength comes from the eternal beings who are constantly aware of each of us.

I know there are several religions who believe the same as I. I'm not here to condemn or to say which is wrong and which is right. What I am here to say is that I believe in Christ and Heavenly Father. I know that the LDS church is the one true religion with the complete truth. I believe in the Atonement and the Resurrection with each part of my heart and mind. I know that Heavenly Father and His Son are aware of every soul, even yours. He knows what we need help with, we just have to ask.

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope it helped lift your spirits.

-Allison S. De Arton




*For those of you unfamiliar with the LDS church, repentance is the process one takes to become right with God. When you sin or offend Him, you use the Atonement to cleanse yourself and become more Christlike. The Atonement is when Jesus our Savior bled from every pore in the garden of Gethsemane to atone for our sins, and then he was crucified on the cross. He was resurrected three days later. My focus in this post is about the suffering Jesus went through for each of us.