I am a Mormon.

Lately, I have came across the "I am a Mormon" tag on others blogs and made me think about the question, "Why Am I Mormon?" I haven't always been Mormon so why am I now and here's what I came up with...

I haven't always been a Mormon. I bet a lot of you reading this right now knew me before I became a Mormon. Religion is such a taboo topic in our world today, isn't it? People aren't afraid to openly talk about things like sex, drugs, or spout off foul language like it's going out of style. But religion? Woah, woah, woah, we don't want to make anyone uncomfortable! Well, that's how I have always felt at least.

It's no secret that I am LDS. But it's also not something that always comes up in casual conversation. By no means am I afraid to talk about it. I will happily talk openly with anyone and everyone who wants to know about why I made this change in my life. And while I totally get that nobody wants religion pushed on them, many people who have a strong faith would like to share that with people they care about because it's a source of so much joy in their lives.

I also think it's valuable and important to have a basic, open-minded understanding of world religions, and not make assumptions about any religion. Did you know that Mormons are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? Wait, which church? The official, and most appropriate name of the "Mormon" church is actually The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You read right. We are indeed Christians who believe in Jesus Christ. While the world generally knows us as Mormons, we will usually refer to ourselves as LDS (short for "Latter-day Saints").

I was not raised in a religious home and neither of my parents attended church. When I was a small child, from time to time I attended church with my grandparents. Most of the time it was in Spanish so I didn't understand a thing, but I loved the idea of being there. Later in life I found myself in a varied of different congregations. None of these places felt right for me. I always had questions that would go unanswered and many times, when I attended these congregations, more questions formed.

I didn't learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints until I was in high school. Many of my friends were Mormons and I was impressed by their example. They were happy, seemed to know who they were and appeared content. All things I had been striving towards since I was a little child.

I'll never forget when I met with the missionaries. For the first time in my life, I was told that I was a Child of God. That I had a Father in Heaven that loved me, that knew me. I learned of the Prophet Joseph Smith and how he spent much of his childhood feeling the same way I had been feeling. He was searching for the truth and through the power of God, translated the Book of Mormon and restored Christ's church back to the earth. I learned that families can be together forever. A few short months after completing the missionary discussions, at the age of nineteen, I was baptized.

So, why am I a Mormon? I am a Mormon because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's church. I am a Mormon because I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I am a Mormon because I believe Joseph Smith is a prophet. I am a Mormon because I know there is living prophet on the earth today. Finally, I am a Mormon because I spent the first part of my life searching for the truth. And I found it.