Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Break The Silence

I believe it is an essential ideal to be able to express ones opinion and beliefs. Quite often I hear a philosophy preached in entertainment media, news media, in discussions on the internet, and even in controversial discussions I choose to engage in. It goes something like this: "Don't preach to me and I won't preach to you", or "I'm not trying to shove my beliefs down your throat, so you don't try to shove yours down mine", or "Don't try to tell me how to live my life". The underlying idea comes branded in many different ways, but it is nearly the same chant, insisting that they are perfectly fine however they are and I need to shut my mouth.

This idea has existed throughout the ages and comes in many shapes and forms. I served a mission for the LDS Church and I heard this on countless doorsteps and in numerous discussions. If someone is perfectly content with their beliefs, what right do I have to tell them to change? If they are happy, shouldn't I just leave well enough alone? Shouldn't I just let them be? After all, considering the great controversy and stigma surrounding the Mormons, why should I go around preaching something I can't always prove beyond all doubt to be absolutely and completely correct? Not every church sends tens of thousands of people into the world to try and convince them to drastically change their lives and beliefs. In fact, relatively few have such a significant proselytizing effort. What makes this church so very special and right in doing what it does? Shouldn't we stop trying to force our ways on others?

There are many ways you can look at this problem. Let's consider a few...

The first way is that we should finally just join the crowd and stop being so pushy. Essentially that we should let people believe what they believe and just shut the heck up about what we choose to believe. Who likes it when someone is trying to change what they are used to, what they have lived their whole lives being content with?

Second, is the idea that we, amongst the crowd, have the real truth, and so we are justified in continuing to preach to everyone, everywhere what we know to be true. But on the other side of things, they don't have the real truth, so they should just stop perpetuating all that false garbage and start believing the truth. I will be honest... for a large part of my teenage years I entertained a philosophy not too far from this in my mind.

The third way to reconcile this is right in line with what the founding fathers of the United States held so close to their hearts. They cherished the concept of freedom of speech. The ideal that we should be able to express our thoughts, opinions, and beliefs freely, rather than being constrained by some other force to keep quiet or face consequences. If we believe something, why keep it to ourselves? If we found out how to be truly happy, why bite our tongue and cover-up what could bring great joy to many around us? Wouldn't you want to share it and help others find the same happiness?

It's true that many choose not to speak up about their beliefs, and to rather keep them to themselves. Perhaps they don't want to encroach upon the way others choose to believe. Perhaps they fear consequences, whether social, physical, or otherwise. But generally speaking, if we believe something, if we know something to be true or have confidence that it is true, is it not our very obligation to share it? Is it not the only right and honest solution to this great dilemma of the ages? If we care about truth, we must do our part and share those things we know or believe to be true with others. We cannot afford to keep quiet and withdraw when it comes to combating information we believe to be false with information we believe to be true.

So, my answer is that LDS missionaries are completely in the right in their courageous, persistent, and zealous proselytizing efforts. But my answer is also that other churches and others who believe differently are also completely in the right in their efforts to proclaim what they truly believe. It's time we abandon this idea that we should all just shut up and leave each other alone. We should instead be engaging and striving to lift one another up and working toward greater happiness and truth as a society.

Of course, along with this, I believe it is each of our responsibility to actively seek out truth. If we choose to ignore true and sensible information, or intentionally hold blindly onto false ideas or convenient "truths", we are doing harm to ourselves and others. What we choose to believe affects others around us and future generations, even if only in a small way. If we are just too lazy or apathetic to seek out truth over our own comfortable ways, we are doing society a disservice. We can and should each play a role in bettering society and furthering truth.

Now to practice what I just preached...

I believe very strongly, in fact I might say I know, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one and only church in these modern times that contains the fullness of God's authority and continuing revelation, the continuation of the early church built by Jesus Christ, which was eventually corrupted by man. I have come to this conclusion from various things in my life. Throughout my teenage years I gained a strong spiritual confirmation that this is God's church. As time went on and I invested my time in study, I found myself at the crossroads introduced by attacking arguments and literature. I chose to study and sift out the logical fallacies from credible truth, as well as to expand my understanding of many important concepts. As I persevered in this effort, I came to a sound belief in this as being the one church authorized by God and nearest His church in Christ's time.

As highly controversial as they are today, I know where I stand on major topics like homosexuality, abortion, etc. I have developed a greater understanding of God's overarching plan and the purpose of this mortal life. He has clearly revealed answers to many of these things. Perhaps I'll cover these topics individually in future posts, but I know where I stand and I know what's right. I make no apologies for this stance and my beliefs. I will continue to proclaim what I believe to be true, and I encourage you to do the very same thing.

The only thing worse than controversy is silence.