I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

I just came across this post in my drafts.I wrote it back in October 2011, but never published it so here it is now.

 One of my favorite primary songs is "I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" because it states, very simply, who we are and what church we belong to. I have found it somewhat difficult knowing what name to use in telling a non-member friend or acquaintance what church I belong to. Do I use the whole name or the more familiar term "Mormon?"  The whole name has always felt better to me because it says straight out that we belong to Christ's church, and that we are his people, but it just seems so long and unfamiliar to others. I had an experience on my plane ride to DC that made me consider this matter more fully once again.  I found myself sitting next to a man, probably 20 years my senior, not LDS, but who I had a very engaging gospel centered discussion with. We talked about a lot of things, work, parenting, traveling, all within the context of religion. He told me upfront that he was Christian and I told him excitedly that so was I! We talked a lot about Christ's ministry. I shared how I feel Christ's methods of teaching are ideal; that Christ understood people and human nature so well and how following his example can help us in our interactions with and responsibilities for others. He commented that he was impressed with how I seemed to have things figured out at such a young age and that he wished he had had some of the same realizations earlier in his own life. I attributed my understanding to things I had been taught as a youth and the relationship that I have developed with my Heavenly Father and shared how much I depend on the personal revelation I feel I receive daily in my interactions with others and responsibilities as a mother. He was very thoughtful about this. Not long after that was when I told him I was "Mormon" (he had asked what the first thing J and I planned to do in DC and I told him we were going to visit the LDS temple). At this point he seemed subdued, maybe even a little confused. However he didn't ask anymore about religion and I didn't share anymore, but I wish I had. I wish I had said more about why we would make the temple our first stop, and how important family is to members of our faith (although I think he already gathered that from earlier conversation). I wish I had shared earlier, not just that I was Christian, but that I was a Mormon (although I wonder if he would have listened as well knowing that). And that thought makes me a little sad. I think there is a lot of confusion about our church, as evidenced on a larger scale by comments made to and about Mitt Romney in his run for presidency. Anyway, with this experience in mind I really appreciated Elder Ballard's talk during the Sunday session of October's general conference. I hope to be more upfront in the future about the name of our church (not that I was trying to be secretive about it), and I hope to always be a good example so that people will want to hear and know more. If you didn't see or hear Elder Ballard's talk (or if you need a refresher) you can find it here! http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-importance-of-a-name?lang=eng&query=church+Jesus+Christ+Latter+Day+Saints