What are your religious beliefs?
Not Mormon. I grew up Mormon and my grandparents are Mormon and my best friend in the entire world is Mormon. There are very few good Mormons. I've had a bad experience with the Mormon church. I don’t believe that being gay is a sin and that goes against a lot of religions. So I don’t really fit in anywhere because I have a lot of different beliefs on things like that. I don’t believe you have to be in a building to worship God because He wasn’t. He was on mountain tops. He was with two people.
I don’t like the dirty looks when you don’t go to church. There is always judgment in church and that’s sad. I believe in God and Jesus Christ and I believe that He is my savior and I just don’t know where I fit in. I am still working on it.
If a Christian, when did you accept Christ?
I was really, really young actually, but for a long time I had really bad health and so does my family. And I've asked a lot "Why does all these bad things happen cuz we are good people. Why do bad things happen to good people, but good things happen to bad people?" My faith was gone for a long time. But when I got really sick this past fall and after I lost my voice and couldn’t talk, I lost a lot of my self identity. My faith went down the drain.
Music brought me back. Amy Grant and Kristin Chenoweth brought me back to God. Just the way their music is. I realized I have a lot to be thankful for. Things could be worse. Some where on the road things will be come clear and God's plan becomes evident. Everything happens for a reason. Becasue when i was cursing getting my tonsils out that’s when they found the mass in my throat. Everything happens for a reason, we just might not see it right now.
I have complete faith in God now and in prayer for sure. I admit that it has wavered a lot in the past, but I'm settled now.
What church do you attend? How are you active there?
I go to Broad River Community Church. I go when I can. But if I can’t, I’ll read scriptures in my dorm. Sometimes I don’t go because I have homework. I'm a double major and so I have lots of homework. But I’ll make sure to have some time with God. I listen to sermons on radio, I do reading on my own. I give thanks to God for the life I have. Because I have an amazing family and that's something I am thankful for.
Are you active in the community?
Not really. Without the GPS I wouldn’t have any idea where I am. I was sick until March and I stayed with mom and dad mainly, and than school started and so that’s when I started meeting people.
Have you been on any mission trips?
I haven’t. In fact, in Utah that idea is non-existent. They have missions but that is only for missionaries. That was something I was really interested in when I got here but now I’m moving back so yeah.
How do you witness to people?
I believe that my story is really relatable, especially in the whole blaming God for a lot of things. And so I feel that through someone’s tragedy you can find something triumphant about it. I’m not a missionary. I’m not a preacher. I’m not one of those goody-two shoes girls who wear purity rings, not that that is wrong. If you can help someone get that peace feeling that you can get knowing that God is on your side than you should do it. I’m just a normal person.
What are your parents’ beliefs?
My dad doesn’t really believe anything really. I know he believes in God and Jesus and stuff like that but he’s a simple man and so I don’t really 100% know his beliefs. And my mom had a really bad experience with the Mormon church and it really turned her against the church. People look at your countenance and you don’t realize you are representing your religion. She knows God and she knows Jesus and she can quote the Bible but she doesn’t go to church. I believe that you go to heaven based on what you do on earth. You follow the commandments and you don’t kill anyone, stuff like that. God is watching you, He knows what you are doing. You don’t have to go to church to go to heaven. And my mom is a good woman and I don’t think any of my family really goes to church. My sister does because of her husband. They are all really good, good people. I think that good people go to heaven.
What is your political standpoint?
Liberal. I would never straight party vote. That’s ruining the whole point of being able to vote.If someone better can do it better and they are not Democrat or Republican, you’re having your country miss out on a really good leader if you don't vote for them.
I don’’ agree with a lot of what Obama is doing right now, especially with the health care thing that just happened but I don’t think it’s fair that he is saddled with the huge debt—look around and realize it was Regan and two Bushes to blame. We all have bad things. Democrats and Republicans both have bad things about them. I agree with certain things from both of them and disagree with some of them as well. Some of my family is Republican. Mom and dad are democrats and vote straight party. We’ve all had to work really hard for what we have. Democrats are seen as the working man. But I think Republicans have some really good points and issues but lately they are more concerned, well both are concerned are getting their party in the White House and gloating about it and and controlling the House or Senate and we are more concerned about that than actually running the country.
What do you think are some major issues in the world to you? What do you think you can do about them/want to do about them?
I would think and this is one of the things that bugs me, as far the the United States is concerned we are extremely nosy in other countries' business. If they came to us and were trying to stick their noses in, we would have a fit. We are going into their country and killing their people and getting them to change the way they have been working for 1000 of years. Just stop already.
Also, 9/11, it was the attack on the World Trade Centers. Not the US Center. And I’m disappointed with how the world responded to that. Because I mean we bailed out the major allies more times than I can count. We’ve saved almost all the other countries' asses. But when it came to the US and the attack on our soil. Britain sent a few 1000 but we’ve sent thousands and thousands of our men to die for them. I’m disappointed that we aren't working together.
And in the fact that everyone seems to be seeking out their own agendas. 'Common good'--where did that go? I mean we had to campaign and the US- we had to work really hard in getting others behind North Korea not building weapons and bombing everyone.
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