I haven't posted in a while, but that's mostly because my faith is changing lately and I'm really searching for the voice I want to have moving forward. I'm not sure if Ezekiel Evanson is the part of me that should be speaking, mostly because I feel like my real voice should be a voice that encourages understanding and cooperation between Mormons and everyone else. I feel like I should be an advocate for the Church, mostly because we focus on the negative things more than we should. I'll post more later, but I wanted to share a small thought from conference. A couple different talks spoke briefly about how some people on the Internet overemphasize the faults of the Church and church history. Initially I thought, "Oh sure, there's the church defending itself and tearing down its critics." Then I evaluated whether or not it really was true or not.
Here's my conclusion. The church is NOT the church I was lead to believe growing up. However, it does a lot of good. It's not perfect, nor are its members, but its still beneficial. Religion is super personal, and I think that if the LDS Church can bless the lives of its members, that's a good thing. Critics tend to be extreme, and focusing on anything negative too much taints your vision of how things really are. I'm going to stay a member of the Church, but I'm doing it my way. I report to God, but will respect the leaders of the Church. I don't see the leaders of the Church as these highly esteemed holy men like I once did. I see them as men like me who have greater responsibilities than I have. My job is to make the world better within my sphere.
I would say follow the 13th Article of Faith. None of us really know God or even "the good", but a book I'm reading summed up one of Socrates views as, "It isn't in the thing sought for, but the seeking that matters." So follow the 13th AoF, even if you can't begin to comprehend the object of what you yearn for. In my mind, that is both being loyal to God and true to yourself. If that places you firmly inside or outside of the LDS Church, then so be it, right? As far as my journey thus far, I have realized the creeds and dogmas of LDS Church are an "abomination", but that the covenants are true, truer than I had ever imagined. The covenants are meant to bind, to bring about remembrance and "re-member-ance". They promote a certain mindfulness, drawing us closer to God, each other, and yes, even the Earth. I will always contend that Mormonism is a beautiful religion. Unfortunately, it carries a lot of unnecessary baggage, and it's up to the individual to cast it aside.
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