Who? Me?

One of my favorite discoveries in life is finding out what makes me different from other people. What did I acquire before my birth that will stay with me after my death? What traits have I developed through my experiences that make me unique?

I realize that this is a rather selfish thought, but I believe that the more we learn about ourselves, the better we treat other people. If we know what annoys us, what excites us, or how we typically react in a situation, we can better express ourselves to other people without misunderstandings, or impulsive confrontations that we later regret and must mend. And even these experiences help us confront ourselves and figure out how we can become a better "me."

Sometimes I wonder if, after everyone is dead, and we're all living in heaven together--perfect--will we all be the same? That's when getting to know myself becomes more meaningful. I know that there is definite good and definite bad, and individuality is not an excuse for sin. But real individuality aids us to do good in a special way. Our way.

Well, I think one trait that I was blessed with is faith. And although religion is probably the most important aspect of my life that faith affects, it's not the only one. For example, I believed in Santa until I was...older than most :) I prayed for my beanie babies to come to life (this was a long time ago). I loved (and still love) fairies, and I used to spend a lot of time in my mom and dad's garden, knowing the little folk were close by. These examples may sound silly, but they define me, and teach me about myself. My faith (almost gullibility), has helped me in relationships. It's easy for me to expect only the best from other people, and although that has occasionally led to disappointment, most of the time, it helps me to be open to people without making judgments.

I'm not perfect in this area, but I'm very grateful that faith comes relatively easy to me. My Book of Mormon teacher taught this principle from Alma chapter 30: "Science sees, then believes. Faith believes, then sees." Yes, science is useful, but sometimes our eyes are deceptive because of our incomplete knowledge. Although it looks like the stars, sun, and moon orbit earth from our perspective, we have found that earth rotates around its axis and orbits the sun, making it look like the heavens are circling around us. This is an eternal truth that our eyes cannot teach us. We are given eternal truths that we must have faith in, in order to see with clarity and improve our perspective. Through our faith, we can not only come to know the Savior, but come to know ourselves.