15 February 2011

Baptist Jesus Loves You

Most of us in the restaurant business are not what you would exactly call religious.  But we do come from a variety of different religious backgrounds.  Being that it is Utah, even the most unpolished of us can and often do come from LDS backgrounds, but that's not the only case.

One of the kids there is Baptist.  And he is fond of reminding my girlfriend and me that "even if Mormon Jesus doesn't love you, Baptist Jesus does."

I find it amusing and sad at the same time.

I think it is sad that this is the message that has been sent from LDS leaders and the Utah LDS community as a whole--Mormon Jesus doesn't love you.  I don't think this is necessarily the message they are hoping to send, but it is the one that is coming through the static.  I think it is also sad because I think one of the goals of religion should be to better people through spiritual messages, no matter what the religion is.

Of course, I don't think there is a Baptist Jesus and a Mormon Jesus and a Catholic Jesus.  Christ is Christ, and it's us with our small minds that make Him different for different groups of people.

Regardless, I think that if there is one thing Christian religions should agree on, it is that God and Jesus love you, no matter who you are or where you live or what your religion is.  Teach about the Bible, teach about the ten commandments, teach about consequences for the things we do in this life...or don't.  But God's love for all His children should be a staple.  But maybe it's just me and my way of thinking that believes that the knowledge that God loves everyone is a fundamental principle to any Christian religion.

At any rate, it's good to be reminded that Jesus loves me, because leaders in my own religion are often fond of trying to get me to believe otherwise.

So remember friends, no matter what Elder Oaks says, Baptist Jesus loves you.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is just funny because I know the kid at work that you're talking about. I like the message though - if only more people thought the same way :/

Anonymous said...

I like to read your blog, I find it very informative and in fact inspirational. However, this post I find offensive. Never once have the LDS leaders said that Christ doesn't love you. They have actually said quite the opposite. Its through the static that you speak of that the churches message is getting twisted around and misunderstood. I dont hate gays, I never have and never will. But this post upsets me.

Miguel said...

Every time I hear that I think of Whitney Houston's movie The Bodyguard (you're probably too young to remember it):

"Jesus Loves Me
Oh yeah, Jesus Loves Me
Yeah, Jesus Loves Me
For the Bible, tells me so"

I too fail to see how there can be a Mormon, Catholic and Baptist Jesus, I think he'd be utterly offended to be attached to any religion--he'd be the first one to beat it out of us... Oh an Anonymous, I haven't heard LDS leaders say that Jesus doesn't love gay people, but from their actions and reactions, sometimes it seems like lots of LDS members haven't heard anything to the contrary, just saying!
Hugs,Miguel

Kelly slash FindingMyWay said...

I love this post. My life finally turned around for the good when I learned who God and Christ really were. Not those unconditional loving types who didn't appreciate my homosexuality. They are loving and accepting entities and They wouldn't have us feeling less than. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

MormonRaised said...

Dear anonymous,

LDS leaders have both implicitly and explicitly lead me to believe as a young gay Mormon that God didn't love me. Through articles like this: http://lds.org/ensign/2003/02/divine-love?lang=eng&noLang=true&path=/ensign/2003/02/divine-love , I learned as a young person that God's love was not unconditional. Through the actions of my Church leaders, I learned that being gay was undesirable, and through the words that they used (abomination, evil, unholy, worldly, disgusting, etc), I learned to hate myself for being gay. You cannot feel God's love if you hate yourself, so the message to my young mind was clear--God didn't love me.

It wasn't until I stopped heeding those leaders and became independent from the LDS religion that I was able to feel truly and unconditionally loved. So I can see where Drakames is coming here. LDS leaders may not intend for young people to believe that God doesn't love them, but because of their actions and words, that is what happens.

Kiley said...

I would dare say that Baptist Jesus's love is confined to certain parts of the country... I don't think that Baptist Southern Jesus loves us...

I really loved this post. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I totally feel where this post is coming from... it's good to hear that, thanks :)