Religion....is it for you?

My experience with religion is one of an interesting kind. Growing up, our attendance with church was somewhat sporadic and when we did go it was mostly on special ocassions..; baptism, Easter, or something like that. Come to think of it religion wasn't a focal point of our everyday lives. We just kind of lived. We had our ups and downs within the family, but looking back I don't see how religion could of helped or hindered those mishaps. I look at religion as an institution that is "just there", kind of like a chair that sits in the room with other pieces of furniture. You can sit in it, or choose to go lower your posterior somewhere else. By no means is it a requirement to "sit in the chair of religion", but its there if you need it.

I joined the LDS church in February 2006. It was a time in my life where I sought out change. I had been an avid drinker and smoker, due to my own choosing. Even as I began to engage in those leisurely activities, I always knew that there had to be something more to life than this. Aside from wanting to change for spiritual reasons, I knew that I could not possibly continue a life like this, or I would be dead by 40. My wife and her family are of the Mormon faith and I began to explore it (not like I should of). I had two missionaries come by to teach lessons on their basic doctrines and beliefs. I have had so many influential people in my life that it has given me alternative views on life. My grandfather had always told me that you don't need to go to church in order to be "close to God." So I had always grown up believing that. As I expressed this to these two missionaries, my father-law-in explained that, while it is true that you don't need to go to church to be with God, you should surround yourself with liked-minded people to stay strong in belief.

Looking back I do see some wisdom in that, but that depends on the will power of the individual. Some people need to be around others to make them strong. They in essences become "dependent" on others for spiritual strength among other things. This brings me to one of the drawbacks about religion. It makes one dependent on certain rituals and customs in order to be "in" with the status quo in that particular faith.

In hindsight, what appealed to me in Mormonism was that it was something different. It played into my psyche of doing something different from what I explained earlier about the drinking and smoking. The doctrines went over my head and I attest this to by upbringing of being "religiously ignorant" of the basics of Christianity, never mind Mormon doctrine. Religion is a form of discipline that can help people live whatever life they choose to live. Some same its for a better life, but I would ask, "what's a better life?"