tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post5174395975409200377..comments2023-10-21T05:05:55.779-05:00Comments on Thoughts by Sister Mary Lisa: Growing Up Mormon - There's Something About YouSister Mary Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642154849765529070noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-69440887504029374572007-05-21T19:33:00.000-05:002007-05-21T19:33:00.000-05:00I would have to admit that this post makes me just...I would have to admit that this post makes me just a little bit (a lot) angry. I wish with all of my heart that this whole time you could have realized that it was the beauty coming out of your soul that makes you glow. Every day people wake up and they decide if they will be happy,disappointed, pissed, ect. Many of them choose that they want to be angry or give up, many of them not even dealing with HALF of the bullshit you went through as a kid. That says a lot about you as a person. You always woke up and decided to be that beautiful sister that I have grown to love. <BR/><BR/>I wish with every fiber of my being that you could have known how special you were all these years. That really would have helped you growing up to know that you were special because of who you were, not what religion you belonged to. Think of the possibilities of a 10 year old Lisa knowing that she was special?!<BR/><BR/>I never knew what that little peice of me was that had a glow like you do. Eric told me about it when I was 15, I know I had it. I still have it, but what is it that gives us this gift? Whatever it is I know that when I am at my best, and when I KNOW that I have that glow, it is when I am helping others. Our family has been forced into a situation to stick out for one another. I still have yet to meet a family with our strength and love. (OMG tangent)<BR/><BR/>My point is this, Share your love with others around you. Be genuin, and care and that alone is enough to set you apart now days. I love you lisa, and I know exactly what it is that makes you "unique" and "different". You are an amazingly caring and loving person. You are beautiful and creative beyond belief. Any one who has the joy of you in their life has been blessed, by way more than the holy spirit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-87974532538202303642007-05-14T21:01:00.000-05:002007-05-14T21:01:00.000-05:00I also look forward to more growing up mormon stor...I also look forward to more growing up mormon stories! Maybe I'll start a section on my blog... uhm.. if I can think of anything interesting to say!Carmenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17916629746658653046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-16937046637118406942007-05-10T23:51:00.000-05:002007-05-10T23:51:00.000-05:00You all crack me up. Thanks for your wonderful an...You all crack me up. Thanks for your wonderful and witty comments.Sister Mary Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642154849765529070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-54462785614586263052007-05-10T23:33:00.000-05:002007-05-10T23:33:00.000-05:00Oh crap I'm had the same responses as Sid and Bell...Oh crap I'm had the same responses as Sid and Bella, and I wasn't even a MormonCelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11471318342104018488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-87770504778805812172007-05-10T18:45:00.000-05:002007-05-10T18:45:00.000-05:00Exactly!Or the "What the hell did you mean by that...<I>Exactly!</I><BR/><BR/>Or the "What the hell did you mean by that?" Even if all I said was something innocuous like "how's it going?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-34615533650265998102007-05-10T13:27:00.000-05:002007-05-10T13:27:00.000-05:00I'm with belaja on this one... I was never told "t...I'm with belaja on this one... I was never told "there's something about you" in a "you have the SPIRIT" kind of way.<BR/><BR/>No. I got the "you're up to something, aren't you" all the time.Sideonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00563675498159890372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-20294494325187541642007-05-09T21:51:00.000-05:002007-05-09T21:51:00.000-05:00I was never told what a wonderful aura I had. WTF...I was <I>never</I> told what a wonderful aura I had. WTF is up with THAT? I was such a totally good girl!<BR/><BR/>Well, except for that sarcastic smart-ass thing.<BR/><BR/>I did get that on my mission, but only until I finally learned Spanish and was able to start talking. Then all such compliments seemed to cease abruptly.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I had plenty of non-Mo friends who at least seemed to respect all the "morality" stuff I had to adhere to (and I certainly never pushed them to accept it). But they probably rolled their eyes at me behind my back--in fact, I have confirmed in a few cases that this was so.<BR/><BR/>Funnily enough, my bad aura was often commented on by people at church. I had my street cred "differentness" cuz I didn't drink; and I had my mormonism differentness because I wouldn't shut up with the questions...<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I was a freak coming and going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-87165494230547717992007-05-09T21:18:00.000-05:002007-05-09T21:18:00.000-05:00SML:It wasn't the holy spirit. It was just you. Ye...SML:<BR/><BR/>It wasn't the holy spirit. It was just you. <BR/><BR/>Yes, growing up "different" is difficult, but it is interesting how, over the years, being told "You are so different," morphed from being a source of shame to one of quiet pride. It is always the "different" ones who make the biggest impact ultimately. All of my favorite people are proud of their wonderful weirdness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-8415311781395650612007-05-09T13:45:00.000-05:002007-05-09T13:45:00.000-05:00Love the trade mark foot note!!Love the trade mark foot note!!Just one of manyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16499357350979429777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-68104364650264866772007-05-09T08:33:00.000-05:002007-05-09T08:33:00.000-05:00This is great! I'm so looking forward to reading ...This is great! I'm so looking forward to reading more about your memories! Also, I don't remember ever being recognized for "something about me" before I left the church. I get comments now, though. My completely untested theory is that is has something to do with how you feel about yourself, and how much you ARE "yourself."Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10006115623631732544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-88853888693336076302007-05-08T22:10:00.000-05:002007-05-08T22:10:00.000-05:00CV Rick, we were not insane. No way. So it must ...CV Rick, we were not insane. No way. So it must be the Holy Spirit. Duh.<BR/><BR/>Robert, hi. Thanks for sharing your experiences here on my blog. Welcome.<BR/><BR/>Montchan, your "aura" is that uber-coolness that I so admire about you. You rock.<BR/><BR/>SW, funny! That may work, but I doubt it'd be as much fun for Rick if he did that instead of what he'd rather do.<BR/><BR/>Cele, spill it! Do any of the Mormons you see in Oregon have something about them??<BR/><BR/>Dartman, are you SURE there's nothing you'd change? I can think of a couple things I'd like to change about me.....:) Thanks for the sweet words, though.Sister Mary Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642154849765529070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-38446136927097016822007-05-08T16:17:00.000-05:002007-05-08T16:17:00.000-05:00You turned out wonderful! I wouldn't change a thi...You turned out wonderful! I wouldn't change a thing. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-88881006173518957622007-05-08T11:17:00.000-05:002007-05-08T11:17:00.000-05:00Great post Lisa, I look forward to more. Growing u...Great post Lisa, I look forward to more. Growing up I knew no one who was Mormon. Then I moved to Oregon, wow, there are quite a few Mormons in Oregon.Celehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11471318342104018488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-88475279883883231152007-05-08T09:32:00.000-05:002007-05-08T09:32:00.000-05:00There's an idea. Rick doesn't need to kill Medium...There's an idea. Rick doesn't need to kill Medium's lecherous suitors. He can just send the missionaries over to the guy's house.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-81911100576143141352007-05-08T03:02:00.000-05:002007-05-08T03:02:00.000-05:00SML,oh the memories!!! Your post brought back stuf...SML,<BR/>oh the memories!!! Your post brought back stuff I haven't thought about in years...<BR/><BR/>And what is it about mormon auras? I was told exactly the same thing :-)mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16665363192631460911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-14303113033469858652007-05-07T22:56:00.000-05:002007-05-07T22:56:00.000-05:00sml,I must say, I found your post intriguing but m...sml,<BR/><BR/>I must say, I found your post intriguing but more because I have been on the other side of there being "something different about you." When I was just out of high school, I dated a Mormon girl off and on for about a year and a half. I said I was her "boyfriend barometer" because whenever she felt more like going out with me than whoever she was dating at the time, she dumped him and went out with me. I did not take this personally at all, but rather enjoyed being the measuring stick. When she finally met her husband, she turned down my offer to go out and they remain happily married nine years later. I remarked to myself often, "I would love to marry a girl like that. She has a special spirit about her." I knew in a way it had a lot to do with her faith, so I never commented on it because we had agreed not to debate our faith - mostly by never discussing it.<BR/><BR/>A few years later, I met a lovely young woman in a peculiar fashion (read: we met playing pool on Yahoo), and I got to know her rather well. I begrudgingly agreed not to pursue a romantic relationship with her because we both knew that our differences in faith would tear us apart given our strong beliefs and our natural attraction to each other (i.e., if you fight every week about which door to darken on Sunday, you're going to have a tough marriage). There was something different about her, too. We're happily married now, too.<BR/><BR/>But those are the easy ones to chalk up. I would never faily to acknowledge that my attraction to them as wonderfully kind, intelligent, attractive women of high moral standards could easily be the "something different" about them.<BR/><BR/>But during the year I spent studying the church, I had three chance encounters that I cannot so easily dismiss as my having recognized the "something different" about three young men I met.<BR/><BR/>1) I was back in graduate school, and our class took part in a "ropes course" on the campus as a team building experience. For months after that day, I would see one of the two instructors on campus and say hello, speak to him about how classes were going and such as that. I could pick him out of any crowd. The other instructor, though he was the one who did almost all the talking and made much more of a point of being noticed, I couldn't pick him out of a lineup if the other five men were of a different race. I had no real reason to pay attention to the one and ignore the other. I just noticed there was something "different about him".<BR/><BR/>2) I chose not to have a TV in my apartment, but I wanted to watch my team's football games that year. I got tickets to all the home games, but I chose to do my away game watching at the student center where they had a nice big screen that always played the game for a few folks who wanted to watch. There were always a few people there, but the only one I remembered seemed to have "something different about him."<BR/><BR/>3) This one is the hardest to top. I was in the grocery store checking out. I am usually sociable with the people who run the register and sometimes with the people who bag my groceries, but it is almost always casual banter. This day, though, I remembered exactly what this young man and I discussed... something about him stood out to me enough to comment on him to someone else when I had no reason whatsoever to mention the encounter. There was just something "different about him."<BR/><BR/>Now, realize: I never once asked any of these three men anything about what made them so different. I never even mentioned the fact that I noticed their distinction in the crowd. When I finally decided after much prayer and study that I would join the church, I asked the only student in my program I knew to be LDS if he would come with me for that first Sunday service, sure I would not recognize anyone.<BR/><BR/>The first person I noticed when I entered was the grocery bagger who happened to be visiting the branch that day because the young adults were asked to invite siblings who would soon be of age for a young single adult ward or branch to visit that Sunday. The second person I recognized was the guy I watched games with, and I commented on how ironic it was to watch four games with him but somehow I was completely unsurprised to see him there. When the ropes course instructor entered, I almost quipped that someone must've had a watch out on me because here I was suddenly in a room with four Mormons and I only knew one of them was a Mormon before I entered the Institute that day. I'm sure someone will be glad to offer me various and sundry explanations for why I noticed there was "something different" about those young men, but I don't really need it. I know what it was, even if that seems laughable to others.<BR/><BR/>Just for the sake of clarification: I went to grad school on a campus with over 30,000 students in a town of over 100,000 residents. In such an environment, it is most common for me (and many others, I have noticed) to walk along without paying a great deal of attention to the people passing by. I like to observe people, but when I'm on my way somewhere I generally turn the blinders on and go when I'm on that campus. Yet I recognized the ropes course instructor three times in a crowd with no trouble whatsoever and felt compelled to speak to him. If I'd seen the other instructor (and recognized him) I almost assuredly would've walked right by. Again I point out, I only heard the one who was a member speak two or three times in the whole day and was following the other instructor in my group most of the time.<BR/><BR/>In any event, I know I've written a long post here. I just think it's not so easily dismissed, that "something about you."Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04826309601023733396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32588204.post-41693798980712265922007-05-07T21:07:00.000-05:002007-05-07T21:07:00.000-05:00Being constantly told that there's something "abou...Being constantly told that there's something "about you" can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know that when other people looked at our family they saw something about us too.<BR/><BR/>It might have been the Holy Spirit. Or it could have been that we were completely INSANE . . . I wonder which?<BR/><BR/>Good first Growing Up Mormon post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com