whatever you are. be a good one.

if you are alive on 6/26/2015

chances are you saw the flooding 

of posts announcing the supreme courts decision to legalize gay marriage

in each and every state in the USA.

if you didn't see this then im so so sorry

to be the one to have to break it to you

.but you are probably dead.

i have been asked a few times over the course
of the two days what my thoughts on it all were.

amidst my likes, thumbs up and comments you would never guess

that i did not agree or support this congress decision.

and that to me.. is what matters

i personally do not support gay marriage

but that definitely does not mean i am against it.

sitting behind my computer screen
hating. protesting and mocking those 

who do 

and had i not verbalized it you would've never even known

which is my goal here. 

as a blogger, an RM and a newlywed i've shared in celebration a lot

of my own monumental triumphs and defeats
and have likewise loved celebrating and supporting others.

on a day much like today where history is being made i find myself happy for 

each and every person in favor of this new law

but find myself a little confused and disheartened.

here on bella in berlin

i post my testimony.

or in other words i blog to share my beliefs. 

those beliefs are that god lives. 

he has a restored church upon the earth today

and has called a living modern day prophet to guide and lead his religion. 

now...

i post this. 

talk of my own marriage in the salt lake temple..

and express love for my husband

and our eternal commitment that we share together

and in results my beliefs, posts and comments are 9/10 not only disliked.

but hated upon.

you'd be surprised at the numbers of nasty emails full of hatred and 

complaint from readers and viewers i receive that do not agree with what it is i have shared.

i don't ask my readers for acceptance.

but for respect.

a respect that i strive to give in return to every religion,

belief and union i stumble across.

being a fan of short. often inappropriate humor i personally guiltily love an app

by the name of Yik Yak.

Yik Yak: an anonymous social media platform where you can

post ideas, thoughts and comments without anyone ever 

knowing your whereabouts

or name. 

more often than ANY POST IVE COME ACROSS

is the hatred for mormons.

hatred is putting it nicely.

threats.

horrible obscene threats to rid the state of them.

rid the WORLD of them.

false and head scratching " facts" about us that couldn't

be further from the truth

public "service" calls to lock your doors when 

the two men dressed in white are seen in their neighborhood

. and intermixed with such posts are .  

"let our community practice what it wants!!!"

"LOVE IS LOVE"

"leave my boyfriend and our marriage out of your concern."

"God is DEAD and i believe that you stupid mormons"

not to mention nearly every SNL and late night
talk show as of late seems to love the staple humor of mocking the mormons
to get a quick and foolproof laugh from its audience

now these "yaks" tweets and posts are upvoted and approved

and the posts simply stating 

" i believe in god" 

are down voted to the point of removal.

( the sight removes posts after so many downvotes )

i sit and i read these "mormon" posts 

(giggling at most reading what we "believe")

and find my jaw dropping at others.

people demanding equality.

asking others to respect their religious views.

in the midst of begging for acceptance for their views

are posts completely bashing and mocking the other

can. you. imagine what would happen if i were to post

"gay couple roaming the neighborhood. lock your doors"

although my beliefs and religion do not support the union of same sex marriage

i cant imagine any member posting such a horrible thing. 

NO i am not naive
and I do not believe every member to be perfect

but regardless of our beliefs we strive to be CHRISTLIKE. 

accepting those things out of our comprehension or understanding.

and to LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR.

best BELIEVE if i saw a fellow member post such

a thing id be all up in their business making sure

its called to attention and frowned upon.

and although i believe in loving one another

i firmly believe that although we are taught

to accept others 

i also believe that god is an unchanging god

that this new decision will not change

his doctrine. his church or the plan he has

for his children
 i know that he DOES love everyone

however he does NOT accept people to live and act however

they want when its contradictory to his commandments.

there is a big difference here.

many believe that just because christ

walked among all walks of life without judgement

that he approved of sins, the sinners and the lives
they lead regardless of their obedience to his laws

as members of the church of jesus christ

we know this thought could not be further from

the truth.

just as a father will always love his children 

even if he does not approve of the choices they make

in no way is that child exempt from discipline 

or correction.

. . . . .

THERE SHOULD BE NO TOLERANCE FOR 

THE BASHING AND HATRED OF OTHERS

REGARDLESS of what you believe.

we as members of the church of 

jesus christ of latter day saints

 are commanded love one another 

and because of that

i sincerely love and accept all of those around me.

some days it is tough to understand or support

but i strive for something much more

i know i am not perfect.

i know my beliefs are not for everyone

and i know that in order to be able to 

worship freely i must understand and respect

others hoping to achieve the same thing.

to treat other's how i would like to be treated.

straight.

gay.

black.

or white.

athiest

buddhist

or mormon.

no one is perfect.

especially me.

i believe in a perfect church. not in its members.

i believe that we as members should accept and 

love those around us

so why is it that i am asked to keep god out of my scholarly

journals??

forbidden to discuss my god in social setting

and that my posts are torn apart and spit upon?

it breaks my heart

watching LGBT be mocked and bullied

believe me.

i knowwwwww

there will be members however who WILL unfortunately

participate in online hatred and bullying today and in many days to come

just as i know there are members of this incredible community

that DO love and respect my beliefs.

a community asking for equality is a beautiful thing.

community for dog lovers allowing to go into all parks

community of legging wearers like myself to freely roam the world
even if I'll never actually sweat in them 

all those in favor of this new law are asking that we accept it.

but we all need to understand that

if you are to ask for acceptance.

regardless of what that may be

freedom to preach

freedom to marry

or wear my dang leggings

we must in turn respect and honor other's

EVEN IF THOSE THINGS

may stand in the way or completely contradict

what we personally or as a religion are striving to 

achieve.

i.. isabelle baker

as a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints

cannot and will not sit here and demand acceptance of my beliefs

if i am not accepting and understanding of your own.

you name it. we as a nation and a people should learn to accept it.

does acceptance mean participate in it?

no.

"tolerate" has a horrible connotation

tolerance: to allow the existence, presence, practice, 

or act of without prohibition or hindrance; permit.

in other words..  a genuine happiness for other's

i. genuinely. love. others. being. happy

you cannot ask for what you will not give in return.

i do not speak on behalf of the church but myself when i say

i am happy to see loved ones and friends rejoice in their newly

found acceptance and equality.

i've liked a large handful of posts this weekend.

my timeline is rainbow 

and that is fine. 

i will attend these weddings and absolutely kill it on the dance floor

but please.. on your way to that wedding please be sure to tap the shoulder

of someone who may be picketing outside of another's temple and invite
them to stop.

or next time you whoever you are and whatever

you believe see a tweet degrading or disgracing another be sure

to love and support the targeted audience. 


and be sure that
the real "problem" is removed from the site

or think twice before posting if you yourself are the author.

GIVE what is you hope to RECEIVE

there will be members. non members. and people from timbuktu

that will unfortunately be hating and filling these columns with negativity

but that can change.

we have come a looooong way for one community today

i only hope that one day i TOO can see the day

where my beliefs. religion and are likewise

accepted.

celebrated.

and shared without hate.

down votes.

and negativity 

whoever you are

whatever you believe

be a good one.

no. be a kind one