Religion what is it good for?

[_stemelbow]

I decided to use Zeezrom's question as a backdrop:

Zee says: Why not just get rid of eternal sealings altogether?

My belief is nothing. Its just something inside me and believe you me that's not saying much of anything. Thus, nothing. I think its in part guiding me, but perhaps its not. Its just little. Its just something far apart from the whole wide big and complicated world, and I describe the world that way because I can't in all my efforts pretend to comprehend all that is understood, or even known in this world--me and my slow brain. Shoot. Its not easy and its frustrating I suppose, but I figure there's not a lot I can do about it, so whateves. But I'll put some of my belief on display here. There's some amount of pertaining to the question quoted.

In my view there is nothing in this world without the love and admiration that exists between one soul and another. I realized this years ago. People that I loved died. People that I admired left. Some I haven't seen or spoken to in years. Some went off to war and as a result changed--and not necessarily in a bad way. Belief became to me all about "what is love". Not being able to grasp anything philosophically (I read Kierkegaard's Works of Love, which will come highly recommended from me, and some other material) I turned inward. I learned quite quickly that I had some amount of control over my love. I could love whoever I wanted. People who were annoying to me I learned to appreciate and love. It was a sheer delight for me--all this journeying only to arrive at such simplicity. At that time as much as anything I felt I realized why love was central to "great commandments".

I won't neglect the sealing question. How am I to love all people? Well for one, in any meaningful way, its impossible. There are too many people. I won't ever get to know very many at all, relatively speaking. I can only love some. Sealing to me is so narrow, sometimes when I think about it. We talk about being sealed as families, but that's just too small. Families are important but they're only important if you learn to shed much of yourself and live outside of family a little. For me sealing families is just the beginning. If the gospel's purpose is to help us be better than anything associated with it is to teach love. Sealing is just an ordinance to bind loving relationships. It goes for generations in families and if its truly an important ordinance for all throughout the world's life, then officially sanctioned sealings will cross all sorts of barriers and not just families.

I stop and think about what stops love from being the life of everyone and realize the enmities created in people's souls grows out of differences. Differences of opinions, nationalities, ethnicities, religion, cultures, and in some cases families. You see, the lack of love, or enmity if you will, between Kevin and Will as an example is that which derived from years of disagreeing about, well, somewhat petty things (sorry about this rather unsophisticated example). Unity would have to be the solution. If we were all able to see the big picture, differences would disappear. We woudl know and understand better. We wouldn't quibble about the KEP or whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet. We'd know exactly what we were talking about and we wouldn't have to resort to the silliness that comes of our disagreements. Its a way small picture explanation I offer but its what i hope for--a better place. I don't see any better options out there outside of Mormonism though. If Mormonism is true, if sealings are ordinances designed to rightly sanction any possible harmonious relationships we can have for each other then there's nothing grander in my view. There is purpose to it all and there is hope that one day we'll see a true utopia. Love, cameraderie, unity, and sheer wonderfulness will be all that we deal with. Its all we can hope for.

I could go on, but I'll elave it there. In this sense religion to me, and particularly my religion, is expressly purposeful because of love. I end for comments to consider so I can reevaluate my thoughts and perhaps respond with some more.

[_Morley]

...There is purpose to it all and there is hope that one day we'll see a true utopia. Love, cameraderie, unity, and sheer wonderfulness will be all that we deal with. Its all we can hope for. ...

Emphasis mine.

I truly mean no offence, Stem, with what I'm about to say. However, I can't imagine a deeper, darker pit of hell than what you describe.

[_stemelbow]

I truly mean no offence, Stem, with what I'm about to say. However, I can't imagine a deeper, darker pit of hell than what you describe.

No offense taken. I can't really imagine why, but no bother. I won't worry about it.

[_Some Schmo]

I agree with the importance you place on love, but I question the idea that the church is the place to express it.

Love is nothing great if it's conditional, and if there's one place I learned all about conditional love, it's the church. Expressed acceptance from my parents and church members was completely contingent on maintaining belief. If I felt just as accepted as an inactive member as I did active, then I think you'd have something, but your comments on differences of opinions getting in the way of love strike me as the critical thing learned in church. The church actually fosters withholding love over disagreements. They may not say it explicitly, but it's certainly implied.

But yeah, in the immortal words of John and Paul, all you need is love.

[_Morley]

I truly mean no offence, Stem, with what I'm about to say. However, I can't imagine a deeper, darker pit of hell than what you describe.

No offense taken. I can't really imagine why, but no bother. I won't worry about it.

Because it describes the death of thought, a murder of the intellect.

[_Buffalo]

In many ways the reality (no consciousness/awareness after death) is kinder than the religious fantasy (eternal bliss that would become boring very quickly or eternal misery)

[_stemelbow]

I agree with the importance you place on love, but I question the idea that the church is the place to express it.

Love is nothing great if it's conditional, and if there's one place I learned all about conditional love, it's the church. Expressed acceptance from my parents and church members was completely contingent on maintaining belief. If I felt just as accepted as an inactive member as I did active, then I think you'd have something, but your comments on differences of opinions getting in the way of love strike me as the critical thing learned in church. The church actually fosters withholding love over disagreements. They may not say it explicitly, but it's certainly implied.

But yeah, in the immortal words of John and Paul, all you need is love.

You describe what many others have described after leaving other religions. Indeed I recall quite a few people saying such things when they joined Mormonism. I make that point only to emphasize the enmity. its not just a Mormon thing. Surely Mormons make mistakes and its eems like as time goes on more andmore make more mistakes and bigger mistakes. That doesn't look good for the religion. But in terms of sealings I feel I have some thing to discuss. If sealing is commanded of God and sealing is official binding of love that we can have for each other, or rather is an ordinance designed to honor love and make love more meaningful to us, then Mormonism does offer much. If there is a God, then it only makes sense that He would want to establish a way for all people to find love and unity amongst each other. That to me is Mormonism, even if its not to others.

Thus, religion is good to me. Sealings are purposeful and should not be done away with.

[_stemelbow]

Because it describes the death of thought, a murder of the intellect.

It doesn't describe any such thing to me. Indeed thought would not only be honored but it would have the opportunity to go far beyond what we are able to acheive now.

[_stemelbow]

In many ways the reality (no consciousness/awareness after death) is kinder than the religious fantasy (eternal bliss that would become boring very quickly or eternal misery)

Not unlike Morley, I truly mean no offense, when I say this. It seems to me you are talking out of your butt a bit, Buffalo. How in the world can you know eternal bliss would become very boring very quickly?

Let me think of it this way. If love is truly a noble thing. If its something we wish to acheive, then it seems silly to assume if we were able to acheive it, that it would be boring once we do. Doesn't it?

[_Buffalo]

In many ways the reality (no consciousness/awareness after death) is kinder than the religious fantasy (eternal bliss that would become boring very quickly or eternal misery)

Not unlike Morley, I truly mean no offense, when I say this. It seems to me you are talking out of your butt a bit, Buffalo. How in the world can you know eternal bliss would become very boring very quickly?

Let me think of it this way. If love is truly a noble thing. If its something we wish to acheive, then it seems silly to assume if we were able to acheive it, that it would be boring once we do. Doesn't it?

Isn't it right there in the scriptures - without misery, we can't know joy? Anything repeated often enough becomes dull. It goes with the whole sentience thing.

In many ways we in the first world are living in a paradise, compared to the rest of the world and compared to the world even 100 years ago. But we don't feel like we're in paradise. Whatever the conditions, we adapt to them and it becomes normal.