On and entirely different note, I did some reading last night in Sheri Dew's book, No One Can Take Your Place. I ordered it a long time ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf along with dozens of other books I have yet to find the time to read... especially since the Harry Potter series is consuming my life right now. (For those of you who don't know, I made a goal to read all the Harry Potter books this summer so that I would be ready for the movie when it comes out in November, but I guess I kept thinking summer was much longer than it actually was... and here I am with less than two weeks left in summer and I'm only half way through the fourth book--which is one of the best, but that's beside the point. I might not finish before I see the movie but I want to. We'll see what happens. Only time will tell.) I'm not really sure what made me pick it up, but it's a good book so far and I like it. Sheri Dew is an interesting lady. I've been hesitant to read her stuff because of all the hype that surrounds her, but my mom gave me a book for Easter or something called Saying It Like It Is (the title of which is typically reason enough for me not to read the book) and I read it and, as it turns out, Miss Dew has a lot of good things to say like they are. So anyway, one line that particularly struck me as I was reading last night was this: "Truth is truth, and there is power in truth"(24).
There are really scary things about being a member of the church. People make fun of you a lot and tell you you're wrong constantly. But in recent years, especially with Prop 8, people have become vicious. I had an older gentleman literally yell at me once about the issue. He told me I was of Satan and that we "people are evil!" Maybe it's just me, but I don't think anyone likes being told that they are evil, and I don't think it's fair to call anyone evil. It's my belief, as much evidence as there may seem to be against it, that people are inherently good. So that was just a low blow. But strangers aren't the hardest part. The hardest part is when people you love lose respect for you and feel that you are cold hearted and mean because you're standing up for what you believe in. It's especially hard because I can see exactly where they're coming from. I see the logic in their argument. I even see the heart and the love in it. But I still don't agree with it. I often get scared to stand up for things... I do it anyway, but it scares me. But the fact that there is power in the truth is a great comfort to me. I know that if I seek out the truth and share it with others, my words will be carried the way they need to be to the people they need to get to and that's all that matters.
