I'm tired and I don't want to go to swim practice. But I skipped yesterday so I figure I should go today. It's been a couple of weeks since I blogged and just a few minutes ago I was reading my friend Samantha's blog. She had this link off to the side that was entitled "seven exciting posts" or something along those lines. So I was reading through all of them and there was this one post that really got me thinking. On it, she had posted this question:
If you were not born or raised into the religion you grew up with, would you still be a member of that church?
The answer to that question would probably be: no. There are only about (give or take a few thousand) twelve million Mormons worldwide. That's not even one-tenth of one percent of the world's population. Besides, I have already decided that if I wasn't Mormon, I would probably be agnostic. Or Amish. That would definitely be up there on my list. [Atheists just seem so extreme to me (I don't know why but that's just my mental picture).] However, in growing up Mormon I have come to appreciate my religion. Many people would say that my religion's standards are too restricting; they don't let you have fun or whatever. But this is the way I see it: are the things that my church advises us not to do really "fun" or is that the world's (or even the media's) definition of fun? Do you have to participate in certain activities to enjoy life to the fullest or be accepted? I'm pretty sure I'm not missing out on much by not drinking alcohol, smoking, or doing drugs. In living the standards of my church (e.g. dressing modestly, following the Word of Wisdom, being charitable, etc.) it has helped me to become a better person. I'm not saying that I'm this great person who's practically perfect because I absolutely do not think that at all. But in being a member of my church, I think it's just really opened my eyes to things that I wouldn't have seen or noticed otherwise. For example, many people believe that the Earth was created by the Big Bang. Well I'm not going to lie, I don't know if there was some massive explosion and our Earth was created but one thing I do know is that our world just seems too complicated, too convenient, to have just been an accident. (Just in case you didn't know, I don't really believe in "accidents" unless it's like bumping into someone in the hall.)
Overall, I'm grateful for my religion and the role it plays in my life. A lot of people argue that your religion has nothing to do with the person you are. I respectfully disagree.
