An Everyday Mormon

Recently I attended a Saturday night session of Stake Conference with members of my local congregation.  This meeting only happens once every six months, when a handful of close by congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meet together to hear direction and counsel from presiding church leaders in the area.  For the special occasion, I decided to deviate from the cultural norm of wearing a white button down shirt with a tie to church meetings, instead opting to wear a purple button down shirt with no tie. You would think this wouldn’t have any effect on me whatsoever.  After all it is just a shirt. Before I even talked to anybody, I felt a bit off.  I’ve always worn a white button down shirt to church events just like everybody else.  I had never worn anything else and rarely did other members of my local congregation here at BYU.  I felt unworthy to be there, matter out of place, and lacking in my faith. Later I had someone jokingly...

God isn’t a word we throw about much these days.  It still places a prominent place on the back of American currency and is occasionally seen on your religious friend’s Facebook post.  Maybe we can blame the ever decreasing number of religiously minded people. Many are worried about offending those that do not believe in a higher power and avoid the word, aiming to be more inclusive. While surveys have shown over the past fifty years Americans’ belief in God has declined, I think just as important is how people view God.  Our usage of the word “God” has changed because people’s view of God has diversified. God for one person might be a more traditional Christian one that gave Moses the Ten Commandments or may be an animistic, supernatural force.  Some may not be too concerned with who and what is God but belief in a vague higher power to provide hope for a better life. A Pew research poll conducted in April of 2018 showed that 56% of Americans believe in the God of t...