The Utility of Religious Devotion
December 17th, 2009 | 
Author: I have a weird way of defending the faith, which probably makes me a rather lousy apologist–which is why I don’t apply the moniker with much enthusiasm. The things that tend to resonate with me don’t tend to resonate with others, which means if I wasn’t a volunteer at this job, I’d probably get fired. Nevertheless, through some stroke of divine intervention, I am a member of FRG, of which the ‘F’ stands for FAIR. While I can never remember what FAIR actually stands for (seriously, I’d have to google it right now to find out), I’m pretty sure the ‘A’ stands for apologetics.
So yeah, I’m an apologist…sorta. What’s more, I’m an apologist in much the same way as I’m a Mormon. Afterall, every Mormon has a duty to defend the faith, right? Frankly, I don’t even see clearly where to draw the distinction. Some of us are philosophers. Others are Priests. Some of us are scientists. Others are poets, painters, or preachers. Some of us are warriors. Others are all of the above, etc., etc., etc. With my meager education in the social sciences, I tend to view religion, for better or worse, through that lens. Is there anything wrong with defending the faith from multiple points of view…the best way you know how?
Another reason I don’t apply the moniker of ‘apologist’ with much enthusiasm is because I’m not motivated by the same influences you’d expect to inspire a truly dedicated apologist: Duty to God, love of mankind, etc. (or am I being too romantic?). If you dismantled me and studied my core parts, you’d be surprised to find the heart of an anti-Mormon ticking in the middle of it all (I’m kinda like Batman…I’ve got all these evil qualities that I try to use for good). Would a good apologist say that “Everybody should be a little bit Agnostic” to his friends? I doubt it, and yes, I do say that from time to time. I also like to tell people when “God is trying to pick a fight with you” and that “you should totally not put up with it.” Even worse, I adamantly cling to beliefs that I know probably aren’t true…such as Yahweh being worshipped anciently by the Israelites as a ‘volcano god’. Weirdly enough…while Mormonism is teaching others to be all “peace on earth, goodwill towards men,” it’s transformed me into a bit of a scrapper.
I don’t mean to over-do this, so let’s get the elephant out of the room. Am I an anti-Mormon? No. But like an anti-Mormon, I’m often driven to the brink of insanity by doubt, which shifts between doubt in God, doubt in religion, and doubt in self within any given period of time. I belong to a family where seemingly healthy Latter-day Saints tend to drop like flies. After all, mama was a Danite, and so I wonder just how much of that true, believin’ Ephraimite blood flows through my veins and those of my kin.
So I’ve become partial to a rather multi-tiered approach to belief and testimony. While some are asking ‘Is it true?’ and more steadfast members are proclaiming ‘It is true’, more often than not, I’m simply asking, ‘Is it useful?’ This has always been my springboard. I didn’t start with the assumption that there is a God, but the assumption that man needs God. Religion is a huge part of our moral history and heritage. That alone should make it worth our reverent consideration.
Because I value utility, I’m likewise prone to ask, not which religion is true, but which religion is the best…erm…make that ‘good’, ‘better’, and ‘best.’ For instance, I REALLY like Hinduism, but am rather indifferent to, say, its offshoot, Buddhism. Anyway, it just so happens that I think Mormonism is the best. To begin with, I appreciate it’s emphasis on education, work, duty, self-improvement, and freedom and accountability. For something that is so often dismissed as merely a means of social control, phrases like “to act for themselves and not to be acted upon” seem totally to defeat its nefarious purpose.
There’s also a tremendous emphasis on social and economic justice–which I like–despite some people’s best efforts to ignore this fact. Mormonism is neither Capitalist nor Socialist, and hates them both like the dastardly stepchildren they are. Mormonism neither prefers to enslave us to the State nor the Economy. Furthermore, it doesn’t advocate, as many Utah bred, born, and raised Mormons might imagine, obtaining Socialistic ends through Capititalistic means. Satan loves false dichotomies, and Mormonism loves to expose them for what they are. It is, in fact, social capital, not economic or political capital, that Mormonism clearly espouses and elevates. This, to me, is one of the most obvious messages of the Standard Works. What’s good for the economy is not always good for the people. Repeat that to yourself three times please–especially if you’re an American. And what’s good for “Mother Russia” is not always good for the people either. Families are good for individuals. Individuals are good for families. Furthermore, if there’s one thing we should know by now, it’s that communities should be indistinguishable from extended families who love and value each other very much. Enoch was a city, not just a man.
Are there things I don’t like about Mormonism? Yeah, we have some compatibility issues. Doubt is a foe I tend to manage with a certain degree of finesse. Unfortunately, Doubt has a bigger, scarier brother, and his name is Dread. Mormonism incites a lot dread in me. Like you, I look forward to Christ’s Second Coming with many warm feelings of enthusiasm and joy. But to believe in the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior is also to acknowledge humankind’s inability to solve the problems that have plagued it since the time of Adam (warfare, scarcity, oppression, darwinism, inequality, etc). Believing in Christ means at the same time knowing we cannot save ourselves and will have to be bailed out time and time again, and that we all, in one way or another, will fail (one, two, ..a hundred times) before we succeed. Ultimately, it’s slightly bittersweet to me. Lets face it…most of us ‘bear the mark’ to one extent or another, and knowing that the world, ie, “worldliness” will fail is a bit unsettling to say the least.
But you have to weigh the pros and cons–or maybe others aren’t nearly haphazard and audacious as me (and good for them). So while you may not agree with my two-tiered approach, at least I have a backup plan that’s rescued me more than once, even if I am guilty of relying on it a bit too much when struggling with personal demons (Doubt, Dread, and Despair). And who knows…maybe one day I’ll run into someone just like me…one who takes solace in the utility of religion. Maybe that person is reading this blog. Who knows…?
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Please realize as you read my comment that I am not judging, I’m just trying to understand your points a little more.
Noah, do you love God? If yes, then how can you possibly say that you only appreciate your religion for of its utility? God loves you and provided this church for all of our benefit, but this church isn’t just about how much we can GET out of it, it’s about how much we can GIVE. Jesus said let he who is the greatest of all be the servant of all. I think that you’re wrong: religion is not totally about what you can get out of it, it’s about shifting your desires from selfishness to charity.
And we don’t really know exactly when or how the Lord will come and begin His reign, however we do know that we must prepare the Earth for his coming. Maybe he won’t even come until we’ve fixed some of these problems? I hope we can do a good enough job of preparing the world so he doesn’t have to fix everything for us.
Noah, you are a deep thinker and I think that’s cool. I like your posts because they are intellectually stimulating. Thanks for posting, dude!
I appreciate our little exchanges, so I’m glad you like them, too. The above post is somewhat challenging, and admittedly, it was meant to be that way. I hope I have not been too self-indulgent in sharing my own perspectives–as part of me does believe someone may read it and benefit from it.
Before I get started, I want you to know that I’m less interested in being right than not blatantly wrong–that may just be the most important thing anyone needs to know about me. Being absolutely right about anything is somewhat of a pipe-dream anyway. Sometimes I’ll throw ideas out there, not because I’m confident they are true, but because they are things we ought to consider, even if they don’t lead us to any concrete answers. So I encourage you to remind me (and others) how things REALLY are, and I will continue to assert that not everything is as crystal clear as we want it to be.
To begin, I want to address the areas where you’ve simply misunderstood and misrepresented me because I want to get them out of the way as quickly as possible.
First, I absolutely did not say (or mean to say) that I only appreciate religion for it’s utility. To make myself clear, it is one of numerous ways that I appreciate religion. Furthermore, it’s a fallback plan. Remember the Nephite Pride Cycle and remember that testimonies, too, go through cycles; they are dynamic, ever-changing things. I’m merely asking which is better? Simply doubting Mormonism’s truth, or doubting its truth but acknowledging its utility. Furthermore, the utility of the thing tells you it’s true! If the fruit is desirable and wholesome, than chances are that it is good for you, too.
Second, Evaluating religion in terms of its usefulness is not necessarily a selfish endeavor. For example, asking yourself if religion is a useful way to serve others is not selfish. Asking yourself if religion is a useful way to build a relationship with God is not selish. I do not ask on my own behalf; I ask as a representative of the human race. Is religion useful to you, me, and everyone? And of course, the Lord’s way is certainly better than man’s.
Third, I never said the Church nor the Saints would fail–not in any absolute way, that is. I said “worldliness” would fail, but warned that most of us are (at the very least) a little bit worldly. I’m not lamenting the Atonement, but that Christ will have to bail us out of our “worldliness” until, as Joseph Smith rather peculiarly said, we learn to be Saviors of ourselves. Do you suppose that is an easy journey for us?
The first thing you asked me is whether or not I love God. Frankly, I don’t know if that’s an accusation or a sincere question. The best I can come up with is, ‘I don’t know.’ I love godliness. I love what he represents. I love what he means to me. I love the promises and expectations. I love my wife–if that makes any sense. However, if I had to answer honestly, I’d have to say (and I doubt I am alone) that I’m more inclined to keep him at arm’s length than draw as near to him as possible.
I believe in God–whether as a person or a principle, that’s a little hazy some days. Now and again I believe in myself, and on a good day, I believe that God believes in me. My argument is that we may not know as much about God as we think we do, and we know even less about ourselves and our neigbours. However, at least we can take the most tangible parts and evaluate them objectively and recognize their utility…that yes, even if it isn’t just about the getting, it has given us a lot.
And that’s the point I would like to make here, if you will allow me to go on the offensive: The getting is just as important as the giving. We are neither saved through grace nor works, but a series of covenants…a process of giving and getting. Getting the things you truly need, whether it be through hard work or outright begging, will make you a more generous, more forgiving, and more Christlike person. A lifetime of not getting the things you need can have all sorts of chilling effects. In most ways, my storehouse is full, but I know firsthand how it feels to be robbed(, betrayed, and abandoned), and I’m convinced that nobody ever fully recovers from that in this life.
Anciently, we prayed to the sky to give of its rain, the earth to give of its fertility, the sun to give of its life-giving light, and as absurd as our first fathers may seem to us, they probably knew more about covenants, sacrifice, and reciprocation than we could ever hope to. All things denote there is a God, but we live a life of disconnect from these things. I sit in front of a computer most days to sustain my family. I know a lot about making the rich richer, but not a lot about covenants and reciprocal relationships. So yeah, giving is good, but receiving is just as good, and one is not without the other. It’s only selfish when you don’t acknowledge and give thanks to the source of the “gettings”.
Pardon me for my misunderstanding of your central message. I tend to get distracted by the length of the post so that I forget what I’m reading.
I think that’s great that you don’t care about being wrong. There are many people who get so absorbed in their own ideas that they won’t accept anyone else’s. I don’t care so much about being right as I do about understanding a friend–you. You have to be careful about what you say, because you can confuse the heck out of me–and probably our readers too–when you say things like, “I’m not sure that God is a person or a principle some days.”
Haha this is great! It makes me laugh, but I still learn from reading this at the same time! You are a very good writer! Keep posting!
Thanks, Sadie. I’m glad you liked the post. I hope others are reading and enjoying it, too–especially those it might benefit.
Erik, I stand by what I said. However, you seem to be questioning the appropriateness of my post rather than the strength of my claims. Therefore, this discussion may be more wisely conducted privately.
You know my email addy.
Hmmm… there are a few things I think I can relate to here. I approach things very intellectually. In my opinion, being a member of the Church, from a purely intellectual and common-sense approach, makes sense. It’s a great way to raise your children, it gives one a sense of community, it provides religion (which helps man, in his basic worldliness, to learn to look outside of himself, and also to have something to turn to in times of need) and the rules that some think are stifling are really just telling us not to do certain things that are not in themselves socially meaningful anyways. (And in my opinion, if it isn’t beneficial, and can actually lead to harm, why do it?!) So why not follow rules that are going to keep you safer, healthier, and less prone to embarrassing facebook tags? And if it’s not true, well, doing all that we do isn’t going to hurt our chances of getting into Heaven, so we might as well do all we can, just in case–sort of like studying the whole book instead of just the chapters we think might be on the test.
I think that looking at it from that way is a very good starting point for some people. At the same time, those things will only get you so far. If you don’t start feeling it in your heart, for yourself, eventually you’re going to lose interest. I don’t think that you get that personal testimony from blind faith either. God gives us witnesses of His power, His love, and the truth, and He does it a lot. It’s the little things: maybe every time something is weighing on your mind, someone talks about it in a lesson at church on Sunday; maybe you’re having a rough lonely day and for some reason someone calls to talk and you have a great conversation. Things that aren’t readily noticeable, until you look back and think “wow, that happened at exactly the right moment for me.” But even with a personal testimony of some things, that doesn’t negate Doubt! And why should there be anything wrong with that? When we doubt, we question, and when we question (without preconceived attitudes), we learn. We might even learn that the Church (as an organization) is not perfect! (gasp!) But of course not, because we are all just people, and not a single one of us is infallible.
I like your point of view, because I think that the youth of today are being led to be more cynical and jaded than ever before. Reading your posts can be comforting to those who don’t want the “God solves everything for you if you just get baptized, then your life will be candy and flowers forever” approach! I just hope that underneath all that sarcasm and cynicism, there is also peace and hope.