Do I have to Wear the Arm Band Every Time I Blog…

Or can I just tattoo the Angel Moroni on my forehead instead? It would be a lot less itchy and would cover up more than a few…shall we call them "imperfections" on my face.

When I woke up this morning, my first thought was "What a great day to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!" I rolled to my knees and said a very humble, sincere, spiritual and heartfelt Mormony prayer.

I then got breakfast for my two little kids - yep! - they're big fat Mormons too, both of them. So's my husband, my mom, my dad, my 3 sisters and my brother. What a big family! Woo-hoo! We Mormons just LOVE families. (If you want to know more about what Mormons think about families, click here)

I just thought I'd make it a little easier for the bounty-hunters of discernment to find me and put me in a column somewhere.

This is an example of how certain Christians would prefer that my blog be written. Having a link on my sidebar to Mormon.org is not enough. Periodically mentioning things about my religious life is not enough. Giving back a Christian award for Humor when I found out that I was considered an evil interloper in the world of internet Christianity was not enough.

Now the person who exposed my blog as the "pea" underneath the legitimate Christian winners is at it again. She has called on her friends to go to Heather's awards site, check out each of the nominees and put them into columns of Christian, Mormon or "Other."

I am not making this next part up.

She is offering a reward for these bounty-hunters of faith. She says she thinks it's fine for people to read each other, we should just all know what everybody is…

Hello. I am a human being.

What does knowing I'm Mormon have to do with caring that my son's hand just got scorched or laughing at the way I chastise Ducky? Um…um…still thinking…

Casting Mormons and several other groups who believe in Christ out of their little club is not enough for her. She now has to seek out a group of awards that are dedicated to NOT labeling and classifying people and ruin their fun too.

Heather started the awards to recognize and reward us for the things that bring us together despite our vast differences. She wants the awards to be about "sharing the love."

The writer who is concerned about the awards just makes me feel sad and tired all the way down to my bones! She writes that Mormons and others who are "not Christian" are sneaking their way into Christian circles by doing things like quoting C. S. Lewis on our blogs. Heck, I think Muslims should use C. S. Lewis quotes on their blog. He is just a fantastic and faith-filled man. Period. His words should be in as many places as possible. I also love the writing of Ellie Weisel and Gandhi. Am I trying to trick you into thinking I'm Jewish or Hindi? Um….no!

She says that we're trying to convert you by weedling our way into your friendship groups. She wants bloggers to be much more clear about their "worldview" so that when people are reading you, they can take your writing with the right grain of salt.

So here are a few things you should know about my world view before you decide whether or not to read this blog any more:

-I am LDS, a card-carrying Mormon (had you gotten that yet or was I still being too sneaky?).
-I am not affiliated with any political party.
-I love being a mom.
-I don't mind the Seattle rain that much.
-I give birth in hospitals.
-I like strawberry ice cream.
-I eat meat and vegetables, classifying me as an omnivore.
-I was raised white but Laylee has informed me that mommies can be blue or brown too.
-I cheer for the Calgary Flames hockey team. Any questions?

Run away. Run away now Edmonton Oilers fans!

Maybe I'll carry this philosophy of making sure people are aware of everyone's worldview into the way I speak with my friends in real life.

"Hey, my friend Shanna wrote me the sweetest note. I should warn you she's a Republican."

"Don't you think Karen's doing a great job on the PTA, besides the fact that she was a Girl Scout in junior high?"

"Come on Scott, we should be a little wary of your stance on the environment. You eat Chunky Beef Burger Soup with a FORK!"

Come on! Yes. I am LDS. I believe in LDS doctrine. If I did not, I wouldn't put so much effort into my religion. It is sacred to me. A lot of people don't believe in modern day prophets, Christ as their divine Savior, or read the Book of Mormon. Guess what!? They can belong to other religions or none at all.

THIS IS NOT A RELIGIOUS BLOG. It is a blog about my life, my kids and whatever the heck I want to write about. Sometimes I want to write about my mullet. Sometimes I want to write about my daughter's prayers. Some people want to write a lot about their religious beliefs on their blogs and that's fine. I read several "religious" blogs from various faiths and I enjoy them.

This blog is written by a person who likes you for your wonderful qualities and for the stories of your kids' vomit and vandalism, that make me feel better about my own exciting mommy life.

It is written by a person who does not want to stamp labels on people.

It is written by a person who is sick and tired of this whole subject.

It is also written by a person who is purposely not linking to my past posts on the subject or to the blog of the woman who questions your discernment for even reading this far.

One last thing - I know that LDS people differ in belief from other Christian faiths just like other Christian faiths disagree with each other (This links to a great post by DYD about defining Christianity. Man, I like him!). I know some people don't categorize us as Christians. I also know what I believe and anyone who comments on this blog to tell me "what I really believe but just don't know it, even though I've been a member for 27 years" will be deleted.

I'm sick of the drama.