I really wanted Romney to win, and I actually thought he might. I liked his economic plan, his morals, his leadership, and his countenance. When it became clear Tuesday night that he would lose, I literally felt tight in my chest and sick to my stomach. He would have been so good for our country, and overwhelming disappointment left me feeling sad and a little nauseous for the rest of the week. But my main purpose in life is to be a good wife and mother, and I can't do that when I am in a bad mood. I need to be happy, positive, encouraging and patient. I need to create an atmosphere of love and peace in my home for my family to return to after a hard day at work or school.
I knew I had to get out of my funk. Whenever I get discouraged about something, I try to search for silver linings and feel gratitude. While on my walk (I recently found a great little hike up a big hill with beautiful views, and I've been doing it 3x/week for exercise after I drop Brennan off at school), I prayed for peace and understanding. WHY did Romney go SO far without winning? Not a whiny "why me?" but a genuine "what good came out of this?" I knew God must have had a purpose. The first thought that came to me was that although he didn't win, almost half of the country DID vote for him. They didn't vote for him because he's a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), but many people now have a greater tolerance and understanding of our religion. The states that once hated and despised us, kicked us out, burned our homes and temple, and martyred our prophet actually voted for an LDS president. That's amazing! The Christian churches that have been known to preach against us from their pulpits actually encouraged their congregations to vote for a Mormon because of his values. That's amazing!!
A couple months ago, after "Mormons in America" aired on T.V., Tyler's violin teacher (a retired minister), came out to my car to talk to me about it. He knew we were LDS, but we had never talked about religion. He said he was so impressed with our church's focus on family and service, and he had a lot of questions. We had a good, long talk. I think that the main reason Mitt Romney ran for president and did so well was to get more people talking about our church and to bring it out of obscurity. We know that things will get worse during these last days through war and moral decay, but we also know that the gospel will spread to all corners of the earth with a message of faith, love and peace. I believe we just experienced a major catalyst in that process. Thank-you, Mitt Romney!
2 comments:
thanks, Hilary! This was very helpful. I have also had a hard time because I have felt that the people in our country have become so short-sighted and self-centered that they just want to vote our freedoms away so they can be taken care of by the government and legalize immoral behavior so that it becomes more mainstream and no one has to feel guilty about it. It was great to read of some of the positive outcomes that really are worthwhile. Thank you!
Thank you for your insights. I live in an entire state of depressed people right now. Everyone I know was in a funk last week, and talking about how this must be the beginning of the end. However, at our multiple mtgs of stake conference over the weekend, we talked a lot about how missionary service is expoding (missionary applications are up 400% since announcement), and how the work is "hastening." That is also a sign of the times. In other words, yes lots of bad things will happen, but a lot of really great things will too, and like you said, Hilary, we can't afford to sit around in a discouraged depression forever. We have work to do! I also found Renee's email very helpful, which was a quote by Harold B. Lee. Emily
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