The part I failed to do due diligence with, was the Facebook page previously associated with Slightely Mormon, which I would now be attempting to change to some semblance of “Sister Maggie.” Facebook Pages were not having it. You see, I had created the Slightely Mormon Facebook page BEFORE Facebook had set up a certain setting for personal blogs, and on their side, they set it up as a business.
Here’s the thing: This website does NOT generate any money. I PAY out of my personal disability pension for the ability to share my testimony here with you. I receive NO money whatsoever. There is not any way that you can call this a business. If it was, it would be a failed one. As it is, what this site is, is a place to share my Testimony. This site SUCCESSFULLY reaches thousands of people every year in over 15 countries.
Regardless of the fact it is not a business and has never been one, Facebook would not back down: They refused to change the name of my page. They stated the name was not “Facebook official.” So I created a new page with a name I was trying to change Slightely Mormon to…and then attempted to merge the pages. Facebook insisted I was attempting to merge a personal blog with a business. Seriously?!
Why must there be so much opposition in the world? This is the question I began asking myself when dealing with this social media outlet that was not allowing me one inch. They would ONLY deal with me through robots, giving the same answer to all questions. All appeals were denied. There seemed no place to turn. What was the answer?
But really, does there have to be one? For now, there are two pages. I don’t want anyone who enjoys my writing to be left out in the cold if I delete the page Slightely Mormon. I will be sharing posts from this page on both social media pages, but as always the BEST way to make sure you don’t miss out on any is to subscribe to this blog . I appreciate greatly anyone already doing so.
This site url was changed from SlightelyMormon.org to SisterMaggie.com, although both will point here until the end of the year. Perhaps I will give it that much time for social media to catch up as well. Perhaps I will keep Slightely Mormon, we shall see.
Thank you to all who follow me here, I’m just doing my best to Testify of my relationship with my Heavenly Parents, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I remember the nervousness that overcame me not long after I felt the impression to seek out and listen to the Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They talk a lot about “being in the world, but not of the world,” but all of my friends were “of the world,” none of my family were members of The Church (except my granddaughters) and most of my friends had “alternative lifestyles.” When I decided I wanted and needed to be Baptized, I prayed constantly about the situation with my friends. How could I tell my friends I was now a member of the “Mormon” church, would they want to be my friends anymore? Did that matter?
During my repentance process in the weeks before my Baptism I was relatively quiet on Facebook, a social media outlet where I had spent an inordinate amount of time during the previous 5 years accumulating an audience for my writing. At times I had been known to make a spectacle out of myself, becoming rather dramatic about loves and losses and pain and pleasures. I had been known for “letting it all hang out.” How could I reconcile my previous behavior with the life I wanted, no, needed to create and begin to live? I prayed more.
The answers came gradually, but they came. I was impressed to read “The Articles of Faith.” They all rang so true in my heart that not only did my “bosom begin to burn” but I also wept with joy several times. Then I came to the 11th:
“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.”
The second part of that statement, “and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may [emphasis added]” caused me to completely lose my cool. I broke down and cried loudly; I bawled. Why? Because it was an answer to my prayers. There was NOTHING in the Mormon Doctrine that said I had to exclude those who
worshiped differently from myself from my life, ABSOLUTELY the opposite!!!
Relief filled my soul. But what about all of the people who followed my social media? Now that I no longer practiced alternative beliefs, should I even be “out there” in the public? What about all of my photos and the things I posted?
As I began to hint about my baptism on social media some people I thought were my friends were quick to delete me from their connections, I cried but continued to pray about it. I didn’t want to lose friends, but those people who had “unfriended” me weren’t acting like friends. My prayers to my Heavenly Father continued, so did my tears.
I deleted hundreds of photos of myself that embarrassed me from my social media accounts and I prayed to know if I should continue with an online presence. After all, it would have been easier just to delete the accounts.
The impression I felt from the Holy Ghost was persistent: I needed to be LOUDER about my conversion than I was my sins.
I was at a loss as how to accomplish that. The year before my Baptism was quite humiliating as I looked back upon my own inequity to others in addition to myself. I continued to pray and study my scriptures.
Then came the answer: Start a blog about your conversion to The Church.Share your feelings about God and your faith and be honest with those who follow you.
In a few weeks, it will have been 4 years since I sought out Missionaries to receive the lessons leading to my Baptism. In the subsequent years I have “cleaned up my act” on Facebook and other social media outlets, but I am louder than ever! I want the world (including my friends) to know HOW being a Mormon has changed my life!
In the last four years I have worked hard trying not to alienate my friends and family. It’s difficult to convey to them how much I love ALL of them and I respect what they chose to believe in, all of that is part of them and I love them.
I had an opportunity to travel with a very dear friend of mine recently. Cub, as he likes to be called, is a professional photographer and acted as my assistant on a recent trip. In our travels across the country, we incurred our number of odd looks at us, but he helped me to see my world through different eyes. I saw judgement from my fellow church members when they watched him light a cigarette, I felt their stares and disapproval in both of our directions. That made me incredibly sad.
We visited the Ft. Lauderdale Temple towards the end of our time together. I asked Cub to take some photos of me when I was done with my session; he enthusiastically complied. When we were finished with our pictures another temple patron asked him to take her photo. Cub graciously agreed to do so.
The first share on Instagram
While he was doing that act of service, I took a few snapshots myself for social media. I shared it first on Instagram as “Cubby doing service at the Temple,” then, after talking it over with Cub, I shared it again on my Facebook page and to a group called Facebook group focusing on members of The Church with an additional introduction:
The second photo, captioned for Facebook
For a while I almost felt like I was exploiting my friend and his service. Although he had given his consent for both photos to be shared on the internet inclusive of my comment about his lifestyle, he had not asked for the photo to be taken.
While Cub probably wished I had allowed him to continue his nap in the car, I felt it was important. There was a lesson here for not only me. I am not ashamed of my friends. I love each and every one of them. Not in spite of their beliefs or their actions, but as WHOLE people with different ideas about life and different understandings of the universe.
We read in John 13:34 that Jesus Christ himself told us:
I believe that His love is unconditional. That is something I try to work towards each and every day. I am so grateful to ALL of my diverse friends, like Cub, who help me to remember what my Heavenly Father commanded me to do.
Cub capturing a sunrise on Key West, while I photographed the photographer.
