There is a kid in my school that is Jewish. This person likes zombies and makes unusual comments in school. Everybody has him labeled as the “Jewish Kid”, which doesn’t really make sense because his…uniqueness has nothing to do with his religion. Until I looked further into my favorite Article of Faith (the eleventh), I played along and joked about the “Jewish Kid”.
The eleventh Article of Faith states: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let me worship how, where, or what they may.” To me, this basically means that we believe in what we believe in because we WANT to, and because we think that it is right, and we should not judge people or look down on them for what they believe is right. In Micah 4:5 it says “For all people will walk in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever”. Alma 21: 22 says “And he also declared unto them that they might have the liberty of worshiping the Lord their God according to their desires, in whatsoever place they were in…”
As I have thought more on the whole “Jewish Kid” thing, I feel bad. It’s pretty much going against what I believe in. To redeem myself, I am never going to call him the “Jewish Kid” but instead call him by his real name. I want to have more respect for the people around me, and for what they believe in. In D&C 134 it says “We believe it just to preach the gospel to the nations of the earth and warn the righteous to save themselves from the corruption of the world; but we do not believe it right to interfere with the bondservants, neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor to meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men. Such interference we believe to be unlawful and unjust, and dangerous to the peace of every government allowing human beings to be held in servitude.”
We learn simple lessons as kids such as, “Treat others how you want to be treated” and “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Those are good ways to live the 11th Article of Faith. Since we do not want to be discriminated against because we are Latter Day Saints, we shouldn’t discriminate against people of other religions. If you are respectful, then you will be respected.
I know that THIS is the true church. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I love my Heavenly Father. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to speak today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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