| Question |
Since becoming a member of the Donny.com "family" 3 years ago I avoided
looking at your "My Beliefs" section. I am not completely sure why, but
none the less, I had. But tonight I have spent the last 3 and a half hours
going over your thoughts and comments in regards to Jesus Christ and God and
I sit here in an indescribable state . . . so many different emotions,
thoughts, and questions are going through my head. I am beginning to
question myself and my life. I hoping that you may be able to point me in a
direction to help me clear up some of this confusion.
I guess to start I should give you a brief outline of m personal history.
I come from a relatively "normal" upbringing - - loving parents, a younger
brother, descent homelife, Sunday School at our local church (United), etc,
etc. My life started going downhill about 20 years ago. My father passed
away suddenly when I was 20 years old and I went in the wrong direction. I
dropped out of school, started down a path that was not the best. I worked
in bars (stage manager and promotions manager for a 800 seat capacity
facility), and toured with rock bands (I was part of the road crew --
lighting). Not to get into any major details, but my life wasn't the
"purest" at that time. At age 23, I was raped, became pregnant and gave my
daughter up for adoption (I have no regrets about that -- I feel I gave a
couple who were unable to have children of their own, a very special gift).
I became even more lost after that. Alcohol and some drugs, were readily
available and I sometimes did indulge. I have to admit that there was
pre-marital relations as well.
In 1994, I met a man who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life
with. At first he was kind and wonderful but as time passed he began to
show his true colours. He had promised to marry me, and foolishly I
believed him with all my heart. All my life all I ever wanted was to be a
wife, and mother. I became pregnant early in 1995, and my son was born that
September. Still no marriage, only empty promises. Three and a half years
later, my daughter was born. During this time, my "common law" spouse
became more and more verbally abusive and eventually in January 2003 it
became physical. The law was involved , but no charges were pressed. We
did try counseling -- even though I could admit to my faults in our
relationship he was not willing to do the same. I even tried to return to
my church, but the teachings went in one of his ears and out the others.
Then in April of that same year he assaulted me again, this time in front of
our daughter, and he was arrested. If there anything good about the whole
thing was that I wasn't hurt very bad physically (mentally maybe a bit of a
different story), and the cycle of abuse for myself and the children had
ended.
Since that day my life seems to be much, much better but I feel I am missing
something. I see the commercials on T.V. about family that your church
presents and I could only hope for that with my 2 children. I am horrified
about the state of this world, how people no longer have any regard for
others and the lack of consideration towards each other and the earth. Then
I see you, read about how your family is and I wonder if it is possible for
me. I feel lost and in need of direction when it comes to my own beliefs.
I am very skeptical about different religions, not that yours is far
fetched, but I don't like to be pressured into things and I am afraid that
if I do inquire to LDS, they may be too persistent, and turn me off totally
without really listening to the teachings. I am not looking for a quick
fix. I am also a little afraid that if I do turn to the LDS for direction
in my life, that my friends and family will think I only did it because I
have been a fan of yours for as long as I can remember.
Please Donny . . . I know that you are a very busy person but could you
suggest to me some readings or something that I could see on my own before I
take the next step and contact someone in my area. After reading a lot of
the posts, I am very impressed about how dedicated you are and it seems like
your beliefs have helped you tremendously throughout your whole life. I
want something like that for myself and, more importantly, for my children.
Would the church accept me despite my past ???
I can't thank you enough for your time. And thank you for enduring through
the tough times, and being so approachable. You truly set a wonderful
example, it is too bad more people don't take notice.
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| Response |
Thank you so much for your kind remarks. I really do appreciate them.
My heart goes out to you for your situation. I am sure that our Savior, Jesus Christ, feels an even stronger compassion than we can even comprehend. I know without a doubt that he loves you very much.
Jennifer, you realize that the great purpose of his suffering and death was for you as well as for all of us. You see, He paid for our mistakes. "...though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow;" (Isaiah 1:18) But there is a requirement on your part, and that is to learn and live his gospel. The LDS faith teaches that the gospel of Jesus Christ in its
fullness and purity has been restored to the earth.
I really would like to invite you to
check out the Multimedia presentations on my website. (donny.com) in the My
Beliefs section.
http://www.donny.com/info/beliefs_multimedia
Click on the full presentation of "Life's Greatest Questions" and you can hear my narration on this subject. I would like to hear back from you once you have had a chance to hear it.
My personal opinion in achieving what you long for is for you to first learn to follow Christ and then you can encourage your children and others to do the
same by example. You will then have a chance to attract someone of a like nature and
create a happy family environment that is based on his teachings.
I recommend you view the presentation a few times to get the impact of the message. Again, I would like to hear back from you on how it may have had any impact on your decisions.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
See related multimedia presentations
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