Facebook Hystaria

One of the fastest fires spreading posts on Facebook recently was a comment I'd made regarding an evening spent at home yesterday. I was in the kitchen with Loren and he and I were in the midst of wanting to take a shot of rum. I decided that I just couldn't do the shot straight and wanted something to cover the taste. The only thing we had in the refrigerator was Smirnoff ICE. It's a citrus flavored alternative to beer... Though, when you drink it, it tastes like 7UP. Anyway, I whipped that out and made a mix of the two. Loren laughed and said "I feel sorry for your liver". At the time it was seriously funny! Normally you wouldn't mix the two alcohols, but it actually tasted good. Nothing wrong with it! There wasn't that much alcohol in my drink, so it seemed odd that Loren would say that. So since most of our friends knew Loren as a drinker, I posted what happened on my Facebook status...
My best friend Stephanie joked around a bit with me, but it was only a matter of time before the shit would hit the fan.

A random reader posted. "Are you a Mormon or not? You're being hypocritical."

Well, it started an all over the board fight because my stand is just this - I smoke. I drink. I live with the man I love and we currently aren't married (if we can afford it, we plan for the end of the year). I also don't attend church very often because I choose not to (due to a lot of shit I got from Mormons in Utah being prejudice - I'm trying to deal with that now)... Having said all that I want to point out that at no time did I say that I no longer believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, his atonement, and Him being the only way I can return to my Heavenly Father. I will NEVER, EVER forget his part in the plan of eternal life or that I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father.
Just as someone may tell a lie or may take the last piece of someone's gum without asking - my smoking and drinking and premarital sex are also a commandment I am breaking. To the person who started the argument of my being a Mormon, to them because I was sinning that meant I was no longer able to confess my love for Jesus Christ or my belief in the gospel. To them I was being "hypocritical." I tried to get them to see that they were being nonsensical. A lot of other people tried as well. But, it didn't work. It reminds me of the scripture (according to them, I shouldn't be sharing scripture anymore, either)...

MATTHEW CHAPTER 7: 1 ^aJudge not, that ye be not ^bjudged.

 2 For with what ^ajudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what ^bmeasure ye mete, it shall be ^cmeasured to you again.

 3 ^aAnd why beholdest thou the ^bmote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the ^cbeam that is in thine own eye?

 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

 5 Thou ^ahypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

 6 ¶^aGive not that which is ^bholy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your ^cpearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

 I may sin, but that will never change MY testimony unless I choose to stop having faith in the one thing that will cleanse me and the rest of the humane race. My sins should and do give me even more reason to believe the atonement still applies to me. PERIOD.

So now you all know. I'm not perfect. No one is. But yes, I am still a Mormon... No matter what other people who don't full understand the gospel believe.