Lately I have been pondering a lot on the purpose of
religion as an organization. As a private, solitary creature, a definite
introvert, I prefer that my sacred experiences either occur in private or are
shared with a small number of people of my choosing. As my relationship with
the Lord is something that even as an English major I do not have the words to
describe, I also tend to not feel that all my moments of continuing conversion
to the gospel should be put on display for the world to witness. So partaking
of the Sacrament in a large group setting can feel unnatural to me, as can
attending the temple with a room full of strangers. Sometimes I just want to
worship in private, and I don’t understand why I have to worship in a group.
But as much as I believe that certain experiences should
occur in private settings, also believe in the scriptures and the words of
modern-day prophets, and I do believe that God is speaking through them when
they emphasize things such as weekly church attendance, monthly visiting and
home teaching, sharing testimony of the gospel with others, and other sacred
experiences that require a group setting to occur.
Why, though? Why does the Lord emphasize this idea of
“community conversion” so much when He also very much wants us to have our own
personal relationship with him? Why do we go to church instead of just studying
our scriptures at home on our own, or even with our family? Why this need for a
religious organization, instead of just a religion?
As I’ve pondered this over the past several months, the
Spirit has let seep several eternal principles into my heart, as well as into
my mind. A lot of them come from the talk “Why
the Church” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson from this last General Conference. The rest of them come from Mosiah 18, a
wonderful chapter on how the church as an organization is meant to function.
Because I have a lot of thoughts on this topic, I will be posting one or two insights at a time, rather than overwhelm you with all of them all at once. But to start with:
It strengthens my testimony to hear like-minded people speak
of the same things that are in my heart. Hearing others’ perspectives helps me
to look at things in a different light, giving me a more complete understanding
of the gospel. It helps me to know that I am not the only one who believes what
I believe. Sometimes it helps to realize that I’m not the only one who doesn’t
have all the answers, but that I’m also not the only one who is willing to
press on in faith anyway. It helps to know that other people exist who
sacrifice for family, for God, for religious freedoms. The whole is more than
the sum of its parts, and I feel this sometimes when I’m with a group of people
– my ward, my Relief Society, my visiting teachers, my online missionary
committee – who are trying to help other people find more hope, faith, and love
through coming unto Christ. These people
strengthen me and help me feel less alone as a valiant follower of Christ.
Which brings me to my next point: Our baptismal covenant
includes going to church. Not just so we can take of the Sacrament, or else
church services would only be ten minutes long. To strengthen others in the
same way that they strengthen us. In Mosiah 18:8-10, Alma says to the people he
has been preaching to:
as ye are desirous to come into the
fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s
burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn with those that
mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort . . . Now I say
unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have ye against being
baptized in the name of the Lord?
We promised at baptism to serve God, and what that promise
really meant was that we would serve His children. “Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
When we serve others, we strengthen our relationship with God. We understand
better the love He has for us because we feel more of that love for other
people inside of us. We start to understand the significance of the Savior’s
sacrifice for us as we too learn the hardship and joy of sacrificing for other
people. Our callings refine us, humble us, help us understand who, exactly, the
Savior is on a deeper level: “If I then , your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” The Lord knows us
perfectly because He experienced our sufferings in the Garden of Gethsamene (see Alma
7:11-13) We come to know who He is and what He did for us as we too "bear one another's burdens" as we strive to fulfill our baptismal covenants.
And on the other side of things, we learn to accept the
Savior’s love and forgiveness as we allow other people to love and forgive us.
We learn to accept the Savior’s infinite saving gift as we let other people do
things for us that save our day. We learn how to love, and we learn how to be
loved. Both are an essential part of who we need to be to experience true joy,
and these are principles of the gospel that cannot be learned in isolation.
I think it's good to worship sometimes in groups--but I think it's often overdone, where the groups we worship with are far too large and where we forget to worship in private also.
ReplyDeleteI do think that if our leaders were more introverts instead of extroverts, that our large wards would be smaller and our temple rooms smaller and less crowded...
It's hard to make a church organization that works perfectly for extroverts and introverts. I think the trick is that we each have to find our own balance. For example, it helps me to go to the temple when I know there will be fewer people there, or to do initiatories instead of an endowment session - initiatories are more private, and often I find I can think better there (although no matter what, the Spirit that's in the temple always helps to clear my mind). Or with church, talking to someone one-on-one rather than trying to get involved in a group conversation. Also, if there's a smaller class such as Gospel Principles rather than Gospel Doctrine, I tend to go to that. We need both relationships with fellow saints as well and our own private relationship with God, and it is a matter of each of us figuring out the balance that works best for us.
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