Let My Faith Show

I recently read a speech/talk by Russell M. Nelson that struck me to my core.

A little side note FYI: Russell M. Nelson is an amazing man and a super example. He is a world renowned heart surgeon who performed the first successful open heart surgery using a heart-lung machine (in Utah) and the first doctor to perform a successful pediatric cardiac operation. Then he set all that aside to serve the Lord as an apostle of the Lord in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A true example of following the Lord's call to serve.

Back to my point... this quote said,

"If one tries to segment his/her life into such separate compartments, one will never rise to the full stature of one's personal integrity- never to become all that his/her true self could be" (Nelson, Let Your Faith Show, April 2014).

Reading this quote it hit me that even though I wasn't meaning to, I was compartmentalizing my life in some degree. I wasn't "hiding" my faith, but I wasn't "letting it show" by shouting it from the rooftops and proclaiming it proudly. Now in some circumstances that might not be appropriate, but on my own instagram and my own blog?? Why wasn't I sharing what I believe? What was stopping me?

Truthfully, I was scared. I don't like confrontation. And I feared the idea of someone hating or "unfollowing" me because I am a Mormon...

Then I realized... "do I really want those people following me anyways??" No... I don't... because my religion is a huge part of who I am!

That being said, I'm not going to be the type to "preach" to you or claim that I'm right and you're wrong.

I believe that all faith is good.

But I am going to be the type to OPENLY share what I personally believe. And honestly I think that should make you respect me more... even if you don't believe the same things I believe.

So, I took a leap last Sunday and posted a little bit about what I believe. It was an honest post about what I was doing at the time... And I lost some followers- but not as many as I feared I would. And since that time, the blessings from the Lord in my life & my blog-life (if that's a thing) have been tremendous. If I didn't see the truth in what Elder Nelson said before, I surely see it now.

A photo posted by Cami Hall (@worthington_ave) on Mar 22, 2015 at 10:26am PDT

So here it is as a "disclaimer" of sorts... I am a Mormon. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know it, I live it, I love it! I know God loves us and that Jesus is our Savior. I have felt their love for me personally, and know that they have my best interests at heart. I know that God has a plan for me and my family, and that by sharing my testimony of what I believe and not "segmenting" my life, I can better become all I can be (because the Lord will be there helping me along the way). And I will be sharing snippets of what I believe here on the blog and on social media... because it's such a huge part of my life, and I wouldn't want it any other way!

If you want to know more about what I believe... tune into LDS General Conference next weekend (I recommend the Sunday Morning Session at 10 am MST April 5th). I'll be watching too!

Thank you for reading, for standing by me, and for respecting me for being me.

I respect you too!