Faith alone, or alone in faith?
A thread on PostMormon.org titled “Different church or no church“, began with the question, “Has anyone joined or become active in a different faith?” Many have responded to this question with a variety of answers and experiences. Some wrote of how their personal faith and beliefs have led them to either seek God via another church, and some described how they do not believe in God anymore at all. I thought I would share my thoughts on this.
Before joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was a devout Christian. In fact, my initial reaction to learning about the LDS Church was to seek to show that it was not a proper Christian church and a hindrance to the salvation of my Mormon friends. I hadn’t been raised to be a Christian. Life just sort of led me in that direction.
Over time, however, my perception of Mormonism changed. I came to feel that the LDS Church was not only a proper Christian church, it was the ONLY TRUE Christian church! This change in perception led me to be baptized and become active in the LDS Church.
As I’ve written before, my experiences as a Mormon missionary challenged me to reconsider my view on Mormonism, Christianity, and religion. I studied a great deal and prayed fervently for answers to the many questions which I could not ignore. The worldview of Mormonism did not agree with me. The theology of Mormonism did not agree with the evolution of Christianity. Likewise, I came to accept that Christianity was only a small piece in the evolution of world theology, not anymore or any less valid than Judaism, Islam, or any other faith. Even my belief in God was on trial, and God’s nature highly questionable. All of this caused a very difficult internal struggle within me.
In order to calm the inner conflict, I eventually accepted that religion can not be boxed. I accepted that it is okay for me to have shifting beliefs based upon my understanding of the world. Religion doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. There can be compromise.
This compromise has made it difficult to imagine seeking communion with another church. While I consider myself a Christian, I do not agree with the Savior-God myth applied to Jesus. This, obviously, separates me from mainstream Christianity, even while I agree with the attributed teachings of Jesus.
I believe that there is an intelligent God who created all things. I don’t know, and I don’t worry about, God’s attributes. I think most see God as a perfected reflection of themselves anyway. To strive to be like God is to strive to be your best self, however you define what “best” is.
I don’t know if God hears or answers prayers. I do pray on occasion, but I’ve found that prayer as a form of reflection and meditation is more beneficial than prayer with the expectation of a divine answer. Straining our ears and senses to hear the whisperings of the divine creates additional stress upon ourselves when the answers we seek seem come from within ourselves anyway.
I believe all people have the ability to seek the blessings of God, but I do not believe that God pours out special blessings upon people for the things they do. What church you go to, how much money you donate, how much time of devote to scripture study, or how often you pray does not determine the quality or quantity of the blessings in your life. It is written in the Bible that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. I would add that God causes the drought to fall upon the just and the unjust as well. God’s creation allows for the sustaining of all. Sometimes we will find fortune, and other times we will have none. Sometimes we must seek the blessings of God actively in order to find them.
So with all this, my answer to the question is no, I haven’t joined another church. While I miss the fellowship, I know that I would find it difficult to support beliefs which have been boxed. I suppose the closest thing to my belief system would be Unitarian Universalism. But my desire for fellowship as not yet matched the requirement to get up and drive to the next city over to attend a UU service.
I may be alone in my faith, but I see it as having faith alone. My faith is independent of churches or scriptures. My faith is my own, and I accept all responsibility for it. I could be totally wrong in my beliefs. If I am to be judged for them, I hope that God will know the intentions of my heart and be lenient. Any reward given by a God who is unable to do so is of little value to me anyway.
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