Spirituality

Even though I don't live in Utah right now, and haven't for 2 1/2 years, I still look at Deseret News online because I love Utah and like knowing what is going on there. Tonight I was scanning the headlines and saw an article about spirituality. I read it and thought it was interesting. The article was about a study that was done showing that there are a lot of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. Researchers said that the good news for churches is that a majority of people believe that there is some kind of spiritual aspect to life, but a lot of them have a disconnect with that when it comes to organized religion. They infer that maybe people don't trust organized religion.

I began thinking about how back in the 1800's when most people went to church. Spirituality and religion went hand in hand. Today, it is definitely not like that. Religion is almost taboo and self enlightenment the popular trend. People speak of spirituality as meditating, communing with nature, getting your life in balance or even just taking time for a bubble bath every once in a while. I do think that all of those things can strengthen spirituality, but religion is the fundamental basis for spirituality. I can't even imagine what my spirituality would be without the gospel and Church in my life. There I learn more about the nature of God, what His plan for His children is, the importance of ordinances and commandments in drawing closer to Him, and what it means to be spiritual beings. Being "spiritual" alone isn't enough - religion is necessary.

It is hard for me to express my feelings about this because I feel it so strongly. I know that without religion in our lives we miss a huge part of our spirituality. Furthermore, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Christ that teaches us eternal principles to guide our spirituality so that we can return to live with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and our families eternally.