Ask a Mormon #2

I think it's about time I do another one of these.

Why are you called Mormons? The name Mormon is an unofficial name that both member and non-member people have been caling us for I don't even know how long. I'm pretty sure it was a misunderstanding of the title "Book of Mormon". People must have thought it was a book written to explain the church, not the other way around. The church is based on the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was composed somewhere around 400 A.D. and the Church was built upon the finding of it by Joseph Smith under the direction of the angel Moroni.
The reason the Book of Mormon is called what it is, is becuase it was composed mostly by a Man named Mormon who lived obviously around the time the book was created. He wrote very little of it though, in fact only 20 pages were written by him. What he did, is that he took multiple, ancient scrolls from times before and after the birth and resurrection of Christ and assembled them so that only the important parts were contained in the book. He mentions several times in the parts that he wrote that he was solely under the direction of God.
He ended up dying before the book's completion and his son Moroni finished it and added his own words to the end of it. He named it after his Father, probably a mixture of honouring his memory and acknowledging that he did most of it in the first place.

How can you stand to live like that? Yes, it's true, Mormons do have a fair number of rules we are oblidged to live by. Some think this is brain washing, but they don't understand that every single one of us has the choice to quit anytime we'd like. That (I think) is what is so amazing about our church. Yeah, sure it's hard sometimes, but even though we're in no way being forced to follow Gods comandments most of us still do.
I'd also like to throw in that God doesn't randomly put restrictions on us because he thinks it's funny or something. There are reasons why. The Word of Wisdom for example tells us not to smoke, drink coffee or tea or do anything else that is unhealthy for us. Although we are not being forced to abide by these rules, we understand that everything we're not supposed to do will keep us healthy.
Oh yeah, and I can live like this because I know it's right. Nothing in the world could prove to me otherwise and I know for a fact that being a part of this church has blessed me deeply. To be honest with you, if I hadn't been taught to live by the rules of Mormonism I'd be one messed up kid.
Some say that plenty fo kids grow up just fine without those rules and restrictions. They live and learn. I'd like anybody with that view to take a look at a good mormon and compare them to just another random person.
If you could compare me to one of my friends you'd notice that I'm probably happier, more patient, more selfless, more determined, more understanding and whole bunch of other things.
Although I am just one person, it could just be chance that I have abided by the rules of the church my entire life and that I'm probably the most content person you'll ever meet, but hey, I'm only one person.
Besides, I'd rather learn and then live than live and learn.