What's LfE About?

Hello there! Welcome to my Vegan blog. At the suggestion of a friend, I have decided to start blogging about life as a religious vegan. Part of this decision comes from my observation that there are very few blogs or websites about the experience of Vegans who are of my religious denomination (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and many Vegan blogs are full of snark due to the nasty nature of today's world.

I became Vegan because I love animals, was horrified by how they are treated, and was amazed at the incredible spiritual journey I experienced as I learned to think differently about the relationship between humans, animals, and God. Therefore I want to focus mainly on how being a Vegan has made my life better and contributed to my spiritual growth. Inevitably, I will have to share bad news on this blog as well, since the world has a long way to go before all violence against the innocent is eliminated.

At the side of the page you will see links to many websites. These are all websites which I have found helpful, informative, encouraging, inspiring, or amusing, in my journey toward greater compassion in Veganism, so I am sharing them with you in hopes that they will be helpful to you as well.

Being Vegan, to me, ties into a greater sense of conscience and social justice. I will be focusing mostly on animals, and particularly on "food animals" since they get the worst end of the deal and are the most ignored (people are much more horrified by abuse of a puppy than a piglet, even though a piglet has the same capability for pain and sorrow and is probably actually smarter than most puppies). However, I may end up posting things which have to do with greater issues of human and animal rights, environmental issues, health issues, and cultural sensitivity. I believe all of these things intertwine and they are all important. They will only change if people's hearts do.

 I chose the name Longing for Eden as the title of this blog because, as a Christian and a "Mormon", I grew up hearing about the harmony between humans, animals, and God in the Garden of Eden before the world fell into sinfulness. "Be the change you wish to see in the world", says Gandhi (one of my heroes), and that is what, as a Vegan, I am trying to do. I am trying to live the ideal way, the way we would all be living if the world was still like the Garden of Eden. Some people may say that this is a futile effort, because the world fell when Adam ate the forbidden fruit, and people's (and animal's) natures are such that there cannot be harmony or nonviolence in this life. I disagree.

I believe that humans were the ones who broke the peace between themselves, animals, and God. Therefore, we humans are responsible to put it right (with the help of God, of course). We broke it, we fix it. Some LDS people believe that when Jesus comes again, the world will magically be changed into an Eden-like paradise and no one will want to hurt anyone or anything anymore. But we also believe God will not force people to change or take away their agency. Therefore, the only way we will be ready for a world of compassion and peace is if we try right now to change our own hearts and the state of the world.

I would say more, but I'll save it for later blogs.

In any case, that's why I picked the title. Also, I like the initials: LfE. They make me think of "Life". Or "Leafy" (leafy greens being something we should all eat more of). Or even, if I say each letter, it kind of reminds me of the word "Elephant" (okay maybe that's a stretch)--Elephants are amazing animals. 

It could also stand for "Living for Eden", "Loving for Eden", "Love for Everyone" "Life for Everyone", something about Eating... because we all love Eating...

Well, anyway. This is my first time doing a focused blog, so you might have to bear with me a little bit as I learn the ins and outs. I will be sharing good Vegan products I find, perhaps some recipes, book reviews, Vegan news, and thoughts on current events.

Thanks for reading!