Many people have made the claim that people only believe in the church because they convince themselves it is true. They say that either people have a want or a need to believe. According to their criticism, people either want to believe it is true because they feel like there must be more to life than what is presented. The people that have a need to believe fall in the category of people that have strong social and/or cultural ties to the church.
First of all, I would like to say that this may be true for some people. However, people make it sound like the only reason people believe in Mormonism is because they convince themselves. I think it is true to a degree just like anything, but that is like taking a small percentage of people and making them seem like they are the majority. Unless we took a poll, we would really never know for sure. The other issue is that we are dealing with the individual and trying to generalize the group with a very broad brush. I can't really speak for others on the hows and the whys.
However, I can tell you about my individual case. I am telling you now that I have felt something that has touched my heart. I can't explain it and will not go into too much detail at this time, but it happened as I read the Book of Mormon. It changed my whole outlook on life.
I think in a way, we can choose what we believe.
Joshua 24:15 "choose you this day whom ye will serve"
God has given us free agency and I think that includes our thoughts as well as beliefs. I suppose that if I decided I am going to like country music, I could download all the songs and convince myself that I really like country music, even thought I like classical and jazz.
However, my conversion to the Book of Mormon was completely different. I truly felt an external force at work cheering me on. Although I had friends and family in the church, that had nothing to do with my conversion. I felt a spiritual connection between God and I. When I look at those poor people looking for physical evidence to authenticate the Book of Mormon, I can't help but feel sorry for them as that journey will only lead to disappointment and resentment. The only evidence one needs of the authenticity of the message in the Book of Mormon is to read the words and I am confident you will feel the same spirit that I did.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
You are so incredibly stupid.
Your lack of logic is SO cringe-worthy that I'm ashamed to associate with a fellow mormon like you.
Also, when you feel the need to comment over at Zelph's blog, please make your statements are at least philosophically tight.
Your lack of analytical skills makes me think that you're a teenager.
Post a Comment