“The Lord has established The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to help you in [your] commitment to serve God and fellow men. Its purpose is to encourage, teach, life, and inspire. This wonderful Church provides opportunities for you to exercise compassion, reach out to others, and renew and keep sacred covenants. It is designed to bless your life and improve your home, community, and nation.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Yearning For Home,” General Conference, October 2017).
So often we hear the question, “Why do I need organized religion?” Or the common debate of being a spiritual person, but not a religious person. I have found myself in this conversation often over the last months.
Our spiritual journey isn’t just our membership in a church. That alone will not save us. Salvation comes only through the Atonement of Christ. Our spiritual progression is based on our relationship with the Savior, our striving to be like Him, and our repentance through His Atonement. Part of that process is making and keeping covenants with Him that come to us through Priesthood ordinances, but just participating in those ordinances is not sufficient. While the church provides access to those ordinances, it also provides us help in our journey to Christ. It provides us places and people to serve, an organization to build our communities, a place where we can support and learn from one another. The entire purpose for having an organized church is to help us come unto Christ. We can use the organization and structures provided to us by the church to build our relationship with Christ and further ourselves on the path back home to Him. On the other side, we must not rest on our level of church activity as a gauge for our spiritual progression. Simply checking the boxes of activity – attending church, paying tithing, doing home/visiting teaching – is not enough. We must continually work to improve our relationship with Christ and be both spiritual and religious people.
Meditation and Journaling Prompt: How do you feel about organized religion? How do you feel about your personal spiritual journey and your level of individual spirituality? Do you find yourself falling more towards one end of this spectrum? Where do you need help? What things are in place within the church to help you in that area?
