Stand Out, Above the Crowd

I feel like I've spent my entire life standing out, but not in a good way.

I am a Jewish-born baptized Mormon. I embrace my birthright, and am proud of my lineage.

Growing up in Utah, the Mormon culture is incredibly present and enforces high expectations. Regardless, let's fast forward 24yrs to the present. I've spent the last 5 months working through my issues with the Mormon culture-infused life I live, and after a long week of pondering and soul-searching, I finally had a revelation.

The Lord made me unique. He knew someone like me needed to naturally stand out, therefore, he sent me to a family with a Jewish Bubby, a Jack-Mormon Dad, and a Methodist Mom. They raised me to ask questions, explore my interests, and follow my heart. They taught me that being a good person is more than just what church you attend, and how to make good choices and respect differences between others.

The Lord needs someone like me, especially in modern times.

I realized this in a dream. When I woke up, I knew that if I wanted to succeed in anything, I needed to apply myself. This was a concept that I was familiar with, and have been for most of my life, and I couldn't believe it took me this long to understand that it too needed to be applied to my spiritual life.

Awhile back, my bishop told me that if I came back to the church, I could never stray again, and that I needed to be more open about sharing my testimony. I left that meeting somewhat upset, mainly because my testimony is very personal.

Anyway, after my dream, I had an idea about how to spread the gospel without having to divulge the intimate details of my testimony. Twitter! I coined a new hashtag (#tweetyourtestimony) and realized that I can share my fundamentals in life and in religion without having to always 'bear' to others in person. Ergo, the result of my uniqueness!

I can be Mormon and still stand out.