I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. When possible on Sundays, I discuss some things related to my faith and what I believe. With respect to your own beliefs, I hope this gives you a chance to get to know me and my religion a little better. For previous installments, click here.
The 11th Article of Faith reads:
Working in an Islamic school for three years and now living in a non-Christian country, I've been given many opportunities as of late to learn about faith traditions that are pretty different from my own, and it's fascinating.
Japan is predominantly Shinto (a religion that began in Japan) and Buddhist (a religion brought over from India through China). Shrines (which are Shinto) and temples (Buddhist) can be found all over Japan and many are open to visitors of all faiths. We've had the opportunity to visit both and I really am enjoying learning about theses traditions and even participating when possible.
When we were walking in Yokohama yesterday, I knew there was a statue of a god somewhere and we were fortunate enough to walk right past it!
I stroked each of the seven points, so hopefully some of those prayers will come true for me!
I continue to look forward to visiting more shrines and temples and especially participating in festivals! There is one this week, Torinoichi, where you can buy a specific rake and have it blessed so that you can rake in good fortune! We probably won't make it to this one, but I can't wait to find out what else we will learn in the next few years!
The 11th Article of Faith reads:
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.I absolutely believe this. While I am very happy to share my testimony of what I believe and why and I am thrilled when people want to learn more, I am also very happy for people when they are happily living their path, with their own beliefs and practices. I also love learning about what those beliefs and practices are.
Working in an Islamic school for three years and now living in a non-Christian country, I've been given many opportunities as of late to learn about faith traditions that are pretty different from my own, and it's fascinating.
Japan is predominantly Shinto (a religion that began in Japan) and Buddhist (a religion brought over from India through China). Shrines (which are Shinto) and temples (Buddhist) can be found all over Japan and many are open to visitors of all faiths. We've had the opportunity to visit both and I really am enjoying learning about theses traditions and even participating when possible.
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| This torii gate leads to a shrine specifically for harvest. |
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| Buddhist temple |
When we were walking in Yokohama yesterday, I knew there was a statue of a god somewhere and we were fortunate enough to walk right past it!
I stroked each of the seven points, so hopefully some of those prayers will come true for me!
I continue to look forward to visiting more shrines and temples and especially participating in festivals! There is one this week, Torinoichi, where you can buy a specific rake and have it blessed so that you can rake in good fortune! We probably won't make it to this one, but I can't wait to find out what else we will learn in the next few years!
1 comment:
I love finding pieces of truth in unexpected places. Because it's there. You just have to know what to look for.
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