by Stefani Andrews

Created on: July 28, 2008

While growing up in an extremely devout LDS (Mormon) family, I always felt that I didn't belong. There was always something that didn't seem to fit. I never felt comfortable with my family's faith. So as a teenager I decided to try and find somewhere where it all made sense. I wanted a faith that I could feel was right and correct down to the core of my being. Over the course of a few years I looked at so many different religions and so many different paths and it seemed that all I found was more questions.

In my Christian faith, I could not stand being told, "You can't know the answer because only god knows the answer. You'll find out when you die, if your good and get to heaven." or "The Bible said it's true." That drove me up a wall. I could not see how certain things in the Bible were possible if you took the stories as more than just parables meant to show you how to live, as opposed to actual historical events. I could not see how God could be both vengeanful and spiteful yet loving and compassionate at the same time. This in itself would mean that God was not perfect, which I was taught that he was. All the Christian based faiths that I researched seemed to inspire the same questions, with no answers.

Then one day I was sitting at the bookstore and my eyes fell on a book titled, Egyptian Paganism for Beginners. I had long been interested in the Egyptian culture and for whatever reason felt compelled to pick up the book. I could not put it down and sat there until the store closed reading it, then bought it and finished it at home.

What I found was a simple and beautiful faith. It made so much logical sense to me that I couldn't dismiss it. I read everything I could and again found that everything made sense to me logically. I decided to give it a shot. I have always respected nature and believed that God can be found anywhere. I have always believed that energy is something that can be manipulated and used for good purposes if one just concentrates hard enough. As I began praticing paganism I found that there was always an answer. The practice of this beautiful religion stirred me to my very core. I knew and felt in my heart that it was right for me.

The simplicity is what struck me the very most. Most mainstream religion is so confused and bogged down with details and rules. The simple rule of paganism encompasses anything and everything you could ever need..."An if it harm none, do what ye will". There is no hell, there is no devil trying to seduce you into doing wrong. As long as you harm nobody, even unintentionally, you are free to worship and live your life the way you wish to. That idea of acceptance and love is something that I feel is severaly lacking in the world at large, so I strive to bring a little bit of light to world through my faith in that way. That is why I practice paganism.

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