Daniel Jeffery BUTT

I love my brother more than anyone else in the world, but I can't handle his extreme moodiness sometimes. He can be so happy and friendly one minute, and grumpy and mean the next. It makes me so sad, especially when we have days off of school like this, and spend all day together. It would be so much easier if he would just .................AAAHHHo98uzhsiikaw3.jsa

But it's not just him. I know I'm a jerk sometimes too. And he truly thinks that JUST BECAUSE I'M MORMON I think I'm better than everyone else. So his view of my view of other people (does that make sense?) also puts a damper on things. He, like my dad, genuinely hates Mormons. My dad actually knows Mormons, and apparently had some bad experiences with some as a child. By no means is this an excuse for his generalization of Mormons as evil and Satanic, etc., but he actually has experienced knowing Mormons and being around them....my brother never has. His reason for hating Mormons is fueled by some unknown source; it's like he hates them just for fun. He makes it very clear at times just how much he hates them. Whenever he talks about them, he gets this look on his face like he just smelled his foot after running 7 miles without socks. It's pretty intense.

I just don't understand it. It breaks my heart....because whatever he thinks of Mormons as a whole is what he thinks of me. I don't know how to make him understand that I'm not just Mormon because I thought it would be cool; I want to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I AM a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I will be until the day I die, and for the rest of all eternity. That's a big commitment, and not something that I take lightly. I do stand up for my church. I do stand up for what I believe in. And it does create tension and arguments within my home. I am somewhat of a stubborn person, and I don't like to just back down in an argument, because I hate to let people feel like they can walk all over me. But I'm also trying my hardest to learn to stop and argument before it starts. It's just a long, difficult proccess that often drains quite a bit of my energy.

I need to pray every single day to be a positive example to my family. I want to show them that family is the central part of my life, just as it is central to the teachings of the church. I would do anything to show my family just how much I love them. Heck, I would do anything for my family. They need to see that, and I need to be the one that shows them. I have 8 months to really show that, and to improve the way that I approach the situations I am faced with. I should remember to pray for guidance and help in those times. Remember, remember.

Man, life can be hard sometimes when you're not perfect. Thank goodness I know someone who is.