The only identity that matters

So, I kind of mentioned this topic before, and this is not the post that I'd anticipated writing, but it is the one that needs to be written. There are a lot of different ways that we label/categorize/identify ourselves, or people in general. And I don't intend for label to be a bad thing here. Labels can be bad, but they also help us organize and understand information, which is the general idea here.

Alright, what labels are there? How do we identify people? Ready? Go:
race/ethnicity
religion
profession
nationality
statehood
locality
hobbies
gender
sexual orientation
looks
dress
economic status
social status
educational level
political affiliation
ancestry
extracurricular activities
personalities
age
family (surname)
marital status

And that isn't even all of them, I'm sure. That is a lot of ways to be sliced, diced, and ordered. Given how much time we spend dividing ourselves up, it's no wonder everyone has such a hard time getting along! And as I've thought about all of these different labels, I've been challenged to think about how I label myself, and I want to tell you about the only identity that matters to me, the only one that I need.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (People call us Mormons, but being a Mormon isn't necessarily the same thing as being a member of the Church, as being a Latter-day Saint. Which may sound confusing, but it is the difference between the culture of an organization and the actual organization itself, if that makes sense). And being a member of this Church tells me everything about who I am, who I want to be, and who I can become. My faith tells me everything I need to know about everyone else, and how I should treat them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, when understood, has the solution to every social and personal problem that exists. It is the only organization I know of that really does offer the same promise to everyone, regardless of any other label they have. Don't get me wrong--the people in it aren't perfect, and sometimes things don't go the way they should. Imperfection is a preexisting condition of mortality. But the Church and the doctrine are perfect and beautiful and simple, and all the things that divide us vanish because everyone is there for the same thing--to learn about Christ and Heavenly Father and how to be better people, to help others, and to be happy.

But most importantly, being a member of this Church teaches me about the most important label that any of us have, which is a son or daughter of God. That is the only label that matters. Everything else is pretty unimportant in comparison.

So feel free to leave me out of the divvying up process, because I already have my label picked out. Other labels need not apply.