Words I Never Said

I saw a headline this week of an article that read:

"Mitt Romney: part of Mormon cult".

Politics aside, let me just say, Mitt and I have something in common.

It was my junior year in high school and I was sitting in my English class. There were two girls who sat in front of me talking to a boy who sat next to them. The girls were trying to explain to this young man that, surely, he would never go to heaven. The boy asked one of the girls why not? and she told him that he hadn't found Jesus. The boy then turned to me and asked if I believed in Jesus. I said yes. One of the girls quickly turned to him, not to me, and said that, in fact, I did not believe in Jesus, but that I belonged to a cult.

What was a cult anyway? I had no idea.

In my 16 year old insecure way, I let it be. But it bothered me on many different levels; that she would tell this young boy he would never go to heaven, that she didn't even know me and told of my beliefs--which were false; and that she had made assumptions about me based on my religion alone, which she obviously knew very little about.

Jesus Christ was crucified for being who He was. He went about doing good yet was despised for it. He never made an apology for who He was or what His life was about. His life didn't begin in Bethlehem when he was born or end on Calvary when He was crucified. He was foreordained before the earth was created to be the Redeemer of the world and to save us from our sins. And He will forever be the Living Christ.

I wish I could rewind back to that day and say this to that girl:

I do believe in Jesus.

I wish I could tell her I know that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to be a perfect example for all of mankind; that He wasn't just a man, but a God and that He was the only one who could accomplish this because he was God's only begotten Son. I would tell her that every day of my life I wake up and pray that I can be more like Him, that the qualities He taught while He lived on the earth are the very principles I am trying to instill in myself and my children; that I also know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I would want her to know that I feel His love when I am sad, lonely or hurt. He is my friend.

More importantly, to that boy in my English class, I would say that I believe there is hope for him to go to heaven!

I have often wondered how many others viewed me as being part of a cult, or even a non-Christian. Probably more than I would like to think. This story I share was not a single incident that happened in my life where my eyes were opened to the way others viewed me. There have been many. Maybe someone is reading this right now who still sees me this way. But, like my Savior, I will not make an apology for what I believe or who I believe in. I am grateful for the different religions throughout the world who talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ and point their children to Him that they might know what source to look for a remission of their sins. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ that provides hope, happiness and peace. I'm not sure why there are so many people who do not include me in the circle of Christian denominations, or who are derogatory in their comments toward my faith, but that's okay.

Because I am a Mormon, I am a Christian. And I believe in Jesus Christ.