Why I love being a Mormon
While there are many reasons I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, here are just a few reasons of why I am a practicing and devote member of the church. Many times within the church and within the Bloggernacle (The Mormon Blogosphere) we focus so much of our attention on things that we need to improve on or lists of things we Mormon do wrong.
While those posts are useful in becoming better members and helping us try to see how we can improve ourselves as members of the church, sometimes we need to focus on what we do right. Sometimes we need to focus on all of the things that make us happy and why we continue to go to church despite the shortcomings of mortality that we are all subject to.
8 Reasons Why I love Being a Mormon
Genuinely Happy
The bottom line is that my religion makes me happy. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be a member simple as that. Obviously I face my own personal and family struggles just like everyone else but this religion truly does help me become happy despite the trials and challenges that I face. Many of these reasons will be explained below but suffice it to say, when it all boils down I love being a Mormon because it makes me happy.
30,000 Foot View of Life
Any project can become incredibly tedious and hard to persevere when you don’t see the big picture. Every worker has aspects of their jobs that are repetitive and tedious in nature. Whether you’re a professional athlete, a physician at a hospital or a secretary at a law firm, everyone performs tasks that could bog them down if they don’t see the big picture of what they are doing and how they are contributing to their companies and to society.
Being a Mormon provides that “big picture” view of life and what is ultimately most important for me and my family. It provides clarity and hope for me that even though I may be facing trials and problems in my life, there is a clear destination as to where I am going. It helps me to put my life in perspective and that I cannot tell you how important having that perspective is in ultimatley being happy (see point #1).
The Liberal Nature of Salvation
This is a doctrine that any “true” church in my mind has to have. It is one of the core beliefs as to why I’m such a devote member of the church. I cannot accept the idea that certain individuals will be denied an opportunity at salvation simply because they were born at the wrong time or place. It makes no sense to me whatsoever and any religion that claims to be the true church has to account for the entirety of the human race. Not just a selective group of individuals that happened to be born at the right time and place.
The doctrines of baptisms for the dead and family history to me is incredibly personal and ones that I absolutely love about the church.
The Focus on Education and Learning
While many critics of the church will say otherwise, the church really does place a heavy emphasis on learning and education. This doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone has to get a four year degree or go to graduate school but rather the idea of continuing to educate ourselves in understanding the world around us and the doctrines of the church.
Eternal Nature of Ourselves and Our Families
The human race really is just one giant family. There is so much happiness to be found in this life and I can’t image that this life is simply it. I completely understand where other individuals may disagree and believe otherwise but I simply don’t believe it. What makes more sense to me is the idea that this life is just part of a continuing eternal process by which we can live with our families forever. We are eternal by nature and that doesn’t end when we depart from this Earth.
For The Same Reason I Love Science, Mormonism Provides Answers to the World Around Me
Clearly anecdotal and not fundamental to any belief system but for me, it really does help solve some of the biggest questions I would have if I didn’t have the church in my life. The doctrines of the church provide answers that are straight forward and rational when I’m trying to figure out the complexity of the world and universe in which I live.
Temples
Absolutely love temples. Besides the fact that architecturally they are incredibly beautiful and amazing to see from the outside, the temples bring a peace and comfort that cannot be found anywhere else. It’s a place that I can go to to leave the stresses and chaos of the world around me behind and talk with my Heavenly Father. It provides a calming both spiritually and mentally. It allows me to meditate and to organize the chaos of the million things I have going on and thoughts running through my head. Words cannot describe the peace and comfort that going to the temple brings to me.
Prayer
While Mormons are not the only ones that pray, it is a part of my religion that I absolutely love. It may very well be the single most important aspect of my religion to me. The ability to speak and listen to deity and express in a physical manner the thoughts and problems weighing on me in my life is absolutely critical in helping me overcome the challenges I face. There’s a power in prayer that truly uplifts and strengthens me during my darkness moments. It also allows me to express my gratitude for the blessings that I have received. In short, prayer is the mechanism by which I develop my personal relationship with God.
Your Turn
Tell us what are some of the reasons you love being a Mormon below. We’ll share your thoughts in a future post we are going to be doing on this subject.
