Melinda left a comment on the "Faith Promoting BS" post that addressed something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Funny how that works. I have been thinking about how my personal beliefs and attitudes, and those of fellow Ex-Mormons, could absolutely tend to make believing members feel like they're somehow supposed to apologize for believing, for having faith, for having the world view that they do.
I wrote quite a while ago about my personal anthem Live Without Apology. About my conviction that life is to be lived to the absolute fullest, with arms wide open and, most importantly, without apology. The thing I want to make clear is that I believe this, not just for my saucy little ExMo self, but for everyone - including True Blue Mormons.
I may disagree, violently, with the beliefs of an active Mormon just like they will disagree, violently, with mine. That is, not only okay, but absolutely wonderful. Welcome to the diverse nut bowl we live in (which is, by the way, infinitely better than living in a bag of Wonder bread.) As long as everyone adopts the practice of not being assholes (aka: letting others live their lives in peace - without judgement; aka: not beating others over the head with their chosen beliefs; aka: not taking away the rights of fellow human beings and telling them how to live and love and think and feel and worship and play and eat Oreos) I am all over celebrating the wide range of thoughts, opinions, beliefs and practices of my fellow humans. We are each on our own path - learning, growing, searching, experiencing, laughing, crying, dreaming and traveling as best we can.
Here's what I don't get. I meet Mormons all the time who say, "I believe in the church. I KNOW Joseph Smith was a prophet, I KNOW Pres. Monson blah, blah blah..." but they drink and party and have all kinds of fun extra marital sex. I mean, I totally vote for those activities - but if you really and truly believe that they are wrong, what the hell are you doing? If you are living that far outside your own bounds of personal integrity then you must be constantly apologizing internally to yourself and to God. Barf.
I have enormous respect for someone who knows who they are, knows where they want to go, knows what they think - what they feel, and lives their lives out loud for all to see and hear. Melinda is one such person. It is my testimony that Melinda is as true as they come and I wish every freaking person on the planet had a Melinda to hang out and laugh with. She has me totally beat in the entertaining human department. She is beautiful and creative and sweet and fun as hell and so unabashedly out there. If I had to choose one person to be stranded on an island with it would be her. Yes, I would miss men and having fun extra marital sex, but I would not be bored or stop laughing for one second. Melinda kicks serious ass and she is a True Blue Believing Mormon.
When she said, "It made me realize what I love to realize which is that my worldview sounds CRAZY to some people. Somehow I love that," and, "I love that story and find it amusing/baffling that some of the commenters on here would think I'm batty and misled because of it! I suppose it is just as stupid as the peanut butter one, but I guess the kids in high school were right, I'm just a Mormie-Mormon," I thought to myself, "God, if everyone Mormon was a Mormie-Mormon like Melinda, Utah would be the funnest place on earth and I would never have to have another colonic again."
Yes, Melinda, your world view does sound crazy to some people. And so does mine. Yes, many people that read this blog probably would think you're batty and misled. Many people that read this blog think I'm batty and misled. And we both love it! We love being out there and wacky. And, in the end, who the hell cares? We are who we are, we think what we think, we feel what we feel, we believe what we believe and fuck 'em (or, maybe in your case, frick 'em) if they can't deal with it.
There is plenty of sky out there with room for all who want to spread their wings and loop-die loop while singing show tunes. We all have the right to live out loud and be who we really and truly are without apologizing for it whether we are gay, straight, black, white, tall, very-very-very-very small, atheist or a screaming, raging Mormon. Even Chris Buttars has the right to live loud and express himself.
And I have the right to cover him with pig poo at the prom.
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