One People

One of the things I love most about my church (@churchofjesuschrist) is that wherever I go in the world, I automatically have a home & family. We might laugh that it’s the purple carpet and floral couches in all our buildings that feels so familiar, but it’s really the light I see in the people. They are so quick to open their hearts, open their homes, treat me like an old friend and welcome me right in. Twice a year our church has a conference and I love the unity of feeling connected to all these good souls across the world. I love belonging to something that’s so much bigger than myself. We (the members & the institution) aren’t perfect and, like any organization out there, there are times we’ve gotten it wrong. Times we still get it wrong. But I feel empowered by our collective faith. I feel hope that even when we get it wrong, we can stand back up and keep trying to do it better. I feel strength in the simplicity of our Christianity—that it can boil down to the most basic things: love God and love others as yourself (so also, love yourself). It gives me purpose and strength to offer my hands up to the cause and try to bring some good to the world in whatever ways I can. And I’m grateful to how many (both in my church and otherwise) stand shoulder to shoulder with me as we all keep planting good seeds with the faith that they’ll make our world better ❤️🌎🌍🌏❤️ [“One People” 30x40, available at @davidericsonfineart]