Letter to My Friend of Another Faith

My Dear Friend of Another Faith,

1

We are so much better united than divided.

As people of faith there is so much good we can do together focusing on our commonalities rather than our differences. The world needs the light of faith, goodness, hope, and love more than ever. Let’s combine forces to shine that light brightly. We have so much to gain based on what we have in common. And we have so much to lose if we continue to reject each other based on our differences.

When I first started creating this website, I eagerly joined a Christian blogging group on Facebook.  I was excited to connect with other bloggers who were also trying to share the light of Christ through the blogosphere. However I soon realized my “kind” of Christianity was not welcome there. Several comments came through about “those Mormons” and warning of the threat Latter-day Saints were of “leading people away from Jesus”.

Woah! Hold on.

I love Jesus Christ! I testify of him. I live my life based on his teachings.

And I’m one of  “those Mormons”.

Jesus said, “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” I believe God wants us to have our hearts knit in unity with love for one another. With open arms full of love for all.

That’s what I hope this website to be. A place of love, enlightenment, inspiration, and encouragement in our search for the Abundant Life.

I invite you in, whether you are a mainstream Christian, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, or a woman of faith not affiliated with a specific religion. I welcome all good women of the world! Let’s get to know each other. I think we could be great friends!

Here are some things I think we have in common:

• We believe in and worship God.
• We want to live with greater joy, peace, love, hope, and faith.
• We want to be an influence for good in the world.
• We love our families and want to make them stronger.
• We sometimes feel like a failure and need encouragement and inspiration.
• We want to fulfill our dreams.
• We are doing the best we can to live a good life.
• We are passionate about our families, being a tool in God’s hands, and living life to the fullest.

2

If you stay, you will find inspiration and truth here.

Truth is vast and eternal. No one person has a corner on the market of truth. We each experience truth in slivers through our own experience, hearts, minds, and spirits. But all-encompassing Truth is gained only through the Spirit enlightening our minds, confirming how those slivers of truth we find fit into the grand Truth that only God knows. The Holy Ghost testifies of all truth enabling us to know the Truth of all things. You can learn more about this idea of Truth here.

I have come to see God’s Truth as a treasure of diamonds. The truth I know and understand is just one face of one of the cut diamonds. Your truth is another glittering side. God has access to all the shining facets and is anxious to share them with us as we are ready.

As a truth-seeker, I search for truth like a treasure hunt. I find gems of truth in many divergent places. I bet you do too!

For example, it’s not surprising that a Christian could be inspired by quotes from Ghandi, or a Muslim would be inspired by something Mother Teresa said.

We  can even find truth from Shakespeare and modern writers such as Carol S. Dweck.

I search for and treasure truth where ever I find it. Friend, I invite you to do the same!

I believe you’ll find truth and inspiration here. I have discovered great treasures of truth that have led me to a more abundant life that I’m dying to share with you! Pieces of truth that you will miss if you click out and away. Stay, Friend, stay!

By way of full disclosure, I believe that the abundance of Truth can be found in the fullness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ found in the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is my belief because it is my personal experience. Again and again I find bounteous truth there that enlarges and expands my understanding and helps me live the Abundant Life Jesus talked about.

Will I write about abundance from my Latter-day Saint perspective? Of course! I couldn’t very well teach about abundance without sharing some of the very things that I’ve found lead to abundance, could I? Nah! I wouldn’t hold out on you like that.

I actually tried that approach at first…out of my desire to not come off preachy or offensive. But guess what? I felt like a fake. My voice was hollow. I felt like I was holding something back from you. I just couldn’t do it.

So, I’m unabashedly a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You’ll be able to tell in my articles. I’m going to share from my heart. I hope you will find value in my honesty and in the truths I’ve found.

If something I share inspires you, or encourages you, add it to your collection of favorites and consider it a blessing just like all the other diamonds of truth you’ve found.

If not, disregard it.

Recently a Brigham Young University advertising team conducted an experiment that showed just how much people of many different belief systems – Christians, Atheists, Muslims, and others –  could be inspired and encouraged by reading just one page out of the Book of Mormon (Latter-day Saint restored scripture). We’re not talking conversion here – just feelings of inspiration and peace. Totally non-threatening and uplifting. You can read more about that experiment here.

3

God gives us the spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind. Not fear.

My Friend, I understand your desire to be true to your faith. To not be deceived. To find truth. I invite you to not feel threatened or scared of truth – no matter where it comes from.

God is the author and keeper of all Truth. He has abundantly inspired the hearts and minds of his children all through time all around the world. He wants us to have all truth. He gives us the Spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind to discern and understand. He does not give us the Spirit of Fear.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

 ~2 Tim. 1:6-7

God will help you discern truth.

You need not fear anything I may offer here just because it is from a Latter-day Saint perspective.

Because, first of all, you are an intelligent woman with pure intent, and second, because you seek to hear and follow the Holy Spirit. You will not be deceived.

I invite you to hear me out with an open, truth-seeking heart. Take what edifies you! Disregard what does not.

Don’t worry! We can still be friends even if we don’t agree on everything.

4

Here you’ll find love and respect.

This process of sharing and seeking truth must be done with mutual love and respect. There can be no contention because contention is Satan’s tool to stir up hate and division. What the world needs right now is for all people of all faiths to stand together, united in goodness and their desire to spread the love of God to all the world and to make the world a better place.

That can only happen in an atmosphere of courage, respect, and generosity.

“We must have the courage to speak the truth of our own experience, our own hearts, our own minds, and our own spirits. And then we must have the charity to listen to others share the truths of their own experience.” ~ Chieko N. Okazaki

I will courageously share with you the truths that I have found that lead to living life more abundantly.

Let’s let charity abound here, in both our hearts.

“Charity…is kind… envieth not…vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I promise this site to be a place of safety for all faiths. I will never disparage another religion. I respect that we are each on our own path of faith. I honor that each of our journeys of faith is between ourselves and God. I would be thrilled if you find truths here that bring you closer to God and the Abundant Life He promises. I would love to help you in any way.

Because I am committed to creating a safe place for all of us, I will not allow any contention here. Any negative words, mean-spirited comments, or divisive communication will be removed from my site. Thanks for understanding.

So, Friend, my invitation stands!

I hope you’ll join me here to:

• Rejoice in what we have in common and unite to make the world a better place.
• Be inspired and encouraged in your quest to live life more abundantly.
• Feel empowered to discern truth and to act on it.
• Know you are respected and honored no matter what!

With all the love in my heart,

LaRayne

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The Abundant Toolkit is my gift to you when you subscribe to receive inspirational notes from me in your inbox (don’t worry! I’ll only send great stuff and never send spam!). When you sign up you’ll have access to my private Gifts for You Collection here at my website where I keep the Abundance Toolkit and a whole lot of other awesome resources to help you live life more abundantly.

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• •  13 page printable workbook.

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When you learn and use these three tools and take the actions in this toolkit, you can feel more peace, joy, happiness, confidence, and purpose in your life. More abundance.