First post

The motivation for this blog came mainly from two talks by Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

1. October 2007 General Conference
   
2. December 2007 Brigham Young University-Hawaii Graduation Address (full version)

Motivation also came from the interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Governor Mitt Romney's recent campaign for President of the United States.

I started writing the mission statement for this blog a few months ago and felt I finally had a polished version. As I stated in the mission statement, "The purpose of this blog is to share my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to invite others to participate meaningfully in healthy discussion regarding those beliefs. The end goal is to be one voice among many, perhaps hundreds or thousands, in defining my faith, rather than allowing others define it for me." As such, I thought it helpful to state what this blog is not:

1. This blog is not an official Church blog site. It contains my own views of my faith and I take full responsibility for its contents.
   
2. This blog is not the only blog dealing with a member's desire to define our faith. Rather, it is an effort to cumulatively define our faith. I hope to post member's blogs that I follow and/or impress me.
   
3. This blog is not intended to convert others to my faith. Although that may happen, it is not part of the mission statement.
4. This blog is not for attacking others for their faith nor for other's attacks on my faith. I feel that I have much in common with those of other faiths and hope to build bridges of understanding.
   

That said, I hope that this blog will provide a rewarding journey for all involved.