Why Molly is Good

I grew up with a certain negative connotation to the phrase "Molly Mormon". I, admittedly, thought that to be a Molly Mormon was to be some relapse into the 1950's and without a brain of your own. Fast forward through my teens and twenties and you find me here in the glorious 30's loving all things Molly. For those who don't know, being a "Molly Mormon" is a female in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who applies as many of the Church teachings in her life...not just on Sundays, but in everyday life. People confuse the true devotion to Jesus Christ with being mindless and never thinking for herself. She is tightly wound around these ideals and wants to make sure she fits the stereotype. She would never be caught wearing something outside the fashion of the 1950's, or even perhaps like a prairie girl. ATTENTION WORLD! This is not the true classification of a Molly Mormon. In my view and in my experience, a Molly Mormon is someone who has come to know her Savior, Jesus Christ, in such a way that she would not stray from HIM, not from some worldly definition. She is someone who has struggled through persecution in various forms and decided that the praise of man is beneath the approval of God the Father. She seeks to be the woman she was divinely appointed to become and not the one the world would have her settle to be "satisfied" with. I can see how I am classified as a Molly Mormon. What people don't understand are all the things that are hidden behind the exterior that have influenced me to be who I am. I haven't had a perfect life, although it has been easier than some. Strangely enough, those who have really gone through serious trials are never the ones to nay-say this approach to life. It is always those who have had similar trials to mine. I think this happens because we tend to compare ourselves to one another: a way that we have been taught to view and understand the world. Guess what, world? We don't have to compare ourselves with anyone else! The greatest thing is to work on ourselves UNRELATED to how others view us. We should only be concerned with how God views us. Gaining that self-confidence is the key indicator for self-satisfaction and enjoyment of life. How do you gain that self-confidence? Well, it surely does not come easily. There will be tests and trials, in God's words, we will be "proven herewith" to see what we will choose. It is each moment that carries us either closer to God or further from Him. Those who denounce others for their dedication to the most important being will find heartache and never be completely fulfilled. I proudly wear the title of being Molly Mormon. I strive to improve myself and to put myself in line with the teachings, all of the teachings, of Jesus Christ. The further instruction given through His Prophet today enables me to be better fortified from the adversary. I will "be still and know" God because I'm practicing it daily. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to improve. The road to perfecting is much more important to this life than being, so I try not to convey the false idea that I think I am perfect, because I am not. However, I will repent and keep trying to be better because I have had the experience of joy and the removal of pain in my life through the process of repentance and utilizing the Lord's Atonement in my behalf. It is okay. No, it is good to choose a side and be safely found therein. In fact, John records in Revelations, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." This scripture clearly states that we HAVE to choose a side. We can't walk in the middle. As the great Mr. Miyagi said, "Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later [makes squish gesture] get squish just like grape." If a karate master can explain it so simply, why can't we get it. There is no gray in the gospel. There is the pathway to Christ which will have us falling and scraping our knees, but as long as we are trying, we are not in the gray area. We only fool ourselves when we think we can be of the world and of God. You cannot serve two masters. You must choose. Only one tries to suggest that you can do both and he is NOT the one you should believe. He is the great deceiver and will leave you alone in the end. Follow Christ. Choose Him alone and you will have more joy and happiness and an eternity of such.