Now, I don't really mean for this thing to turn into a journal or a life history, but I do think it would be good for you to know a little background about me. My name is Parker Schnepf, I'm a 22 year old college student currently attending BYU. I was born and raised in Mesa, AZ, as the youngest of 7 children. To date, I have 22 nieces and nephews (you should see our family get-togethers, I think the decibel level we reach is higher than that of jet engines). I love life in all its aspects. I love sports, especially basketball; going out front to shoot some hoops has always been one of my biggest stress relievers. I love music, my mother thankfully forced me to learn piano, which I hated for the longest time, until I could actually start playing cool things, at which point I didn't have to be goaded into playing anymore. I also sing, a lot. In fact, if you ever met me you'd probably get sick of how much I sing when I'm just doing trivial chores. I love my family, they are the most important thing in the world to me, I look up to them, and don't know what I'd do or where I'd be without them.
Probably the thing you should really know about me though, since I think most of my blog posts will touch on this, is the role religion plays in my life. I was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church. I believe in Jesus Christ, that He lives, and that He is our Savior. This belief system has formed how I think about the world around me and has shaped all my interactions with my fellow man. A common criticism of the LDS Church is that its members are simply blind followers who don't think for themselves, but coming from my perspective as someone who was raised in the church, I can tell you that that isn't true, at least in about 99% of the cases. In my case, I really didn't think much about the church growing up. Yes, we went every Sunday and read the Bible and Book of Mormon, which we hold to be a sacred volume of scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ, together as a family. I knew the lessons; to do what Jesus would do and to be kind to my neighbors, but none of it really sunk in until I was in Junior High. Around the time when I was about 13 or 14, I realized that I only really thought about myself as a Mormon on Sundays, and that the others days of the week, I just tried fitting in, tried being a normal kid, and that bugged me. It irked me that my religion was just a coat that I put on to go to church, and took off when I got home. I wasn't a bad kid, but I had no real depth of testimony in Jesus Christ, in the Gospel, the Church, anything. I had just kind of went with it because my parents did, not out of any personal conviction of my own. So I decided that I wanted to know the truth, I wanted to know if the Church was what it claimed to be, the true, restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth today.
The thing about finding out spiritual truth is that even though there's all sorts of evidence for and against such truth, it's inconclusive. We simply don't know enough to be able to scientifically prove or disprove spiritual truths, though many have tried, and people on both sides of the argument have tried twisting facts to make their point. There's comes a time when you have to accept that the only way to definitively know about spiritual things is through spiritual means. Thankfully, the church has a sort of litmus test to know if its story checks out or not. The Church claims to be restored and founded by God through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as part of that "restoration," the Book of Mormon was given, to back up the Bible's testimony of Jesus Christ and illuminate some of the doctrines that were disagreed upon by the different sects of the day and which were not clearly understood through the Bible alone. Joseph Smith's account states that the Book of Mormon was originally written on metal plates by ancient prophets of God who lived in the Americas upwards of 2000 years ago. The last of these prophets hid the book safely in the ground, where it was found in the 1820's by Joseph Smith, under the direction of God. Joseph Smith was then instructed to translate the ancient text into modern English, which he did under divine guidance. The result is the Book of Mormon, a 500+ page book of scriptural text touching on everything from gospel doctrine, history, war, politics, family issues, and which is highlighted by an account of the resurrected Jesus Christ visiting the people of Ancient America shortly after his crucifixion and resurrection. That's a pretty bold claim Joseph Smith is making, and the neat thing is, it really exposes him, because now there are only two possibilities, either Joseph Smith was telling the truth and he really was called and directed by God, or he's a really, really good liar. There is no halfway point, it's all or nothing, and the Book of Mormon is the key to finding that all out. So I decided to read the Book of Mormon and do something I had never done before, pray about it, and seek that spiritual answer to a spiritual question, "is the Book of Mormon true, and is the church true?" I even stuck a penny in my shoe so that every time I felt it rub against my foot at school I'd remember to pray and ask the question again and just thank God in general. After a long time of this, I wish I could remember just how long, I finally got an answer. It was simple, but it was enough. I was kneeling by my bed praying one afternoon, asking the same question, and I felt the most incredible feeling. It seemed like my lungs wanted to fly right out of my chest, like my soul wanted to fly, and the most amazing peace swept over me, reassuring that it was true, that I hadn't been lied to and that this wasn't a fraud. In that moment, I knew, more surely than if I had it proved to me with cold hard facts. That confirmation to my searching question forever changed me. It changed the way I thought and acted. I wanted to be better, to be more worthy, and to do good. I can definitively state that my religious convictions have made me a better person, and nobody will ever be able to convince me that religion is the root of society's problems, as seems to be the rising trend.
I felt like that bit of background would help you to understand my point of view and perspective as I write about various things. I have nothing but the highest regards and respect for those who believe differently than me, or who choose not to believe at all. I'm not one of those religionists who believe that anyone who doesn't believe as I do will be punished or not be rewarded by God. I recognize that my understanding and knowledge is very limited and don't presume to know more than others. I had the chance to learn about other people's point of view and see the world through their eyes as a missionary of the church living and serving in Mexico for two years. I believe there is good in everyone, and that heaven won't be for just the Mormons, but for every good, truth-loving, and sincere person out there, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Sikh, or whatever else. I believe someday we'll all learn better about the true nature of God, our Father, and that we'll all come to a better understanding of what is true.
No comments:
Post a Comment