People Believe Whatever They Want

According to Reuters, Mormons are leaving the Church in greater numbers than usual. And if you believe the New York Times, Mormons who stay are oppressed and out of touch. In a day when long-deluded Mormons have access to all the truth the Internet has to offer, why would anyone still believe?

Responding to this idea could take a couple of years’ worth of blog posts. But if I could boil it down to one reason why I, a fairly educated and intellectual person, believe that God lives, He speaks to His children, and His words are found in the Book of Mormon, it would be this: I choose to.

I have weighed the evidence of personal experience, my most treasured values, opposing viewpoints, and plenty of harmonious ones to arrive at my belief system. Ultimately, after the weighing and the sifting, the contemplating and the praying, I am a Mormon because I choose to interpret the positive—at times miraculous—experiences I’ve had in this religion as coming from God. Likewise, I choose to interpret the few negative experiences I’ve had in the Church as coming from imperfect humans who have as much of a right to make mistakes as I do. Could I just as easily choose to believe I must have been deceived regarding the source of spiritual epiphanies that have convinced me Mormonism is true? Sure. But that’s the beauty of it. I get to choose.

Sometimes I think the value of faith (which the Book of Mormon says starts with a desire to believe) gets overlooked in our secular, scientific, show-me-the-proof kind of society. Believing in something mainly because I want to doesn’t seem like a very valid approach to life. Except we all do it—atheists and faithful alike. As Rabbi Shmuley Boteach pointed out, “Even men of science can believe things that can be construed as highly irrational.”

Whether you believe in the Book of Mormon or the big bang theory (or both), those beliefs are chosen in the midst of competing theories and criticisms. And there will never be enough evidence to force someone to believe or to prohibit him or her from believing. Why? Because it’s important to God that we participate in selecting our beliefs and that we choose them willingly. What we choose to believe reveals who we are—our most cherished values and our character.

But the choice itself is not the only important part. It’s also the motive behind the choice that truly defines me.

For example, do I choose to believe in LDS doctrine because I can skew it in such a way to congratulate myself, sit assured in self-righteousness, and look down on everyone who isn’t as enlightened as I am? Do I choose to believe because my position in Mormon culture, social life, and family tradition is comfortable enough—whether or not I’ve ever seriously studied the Book of Mormon or partaken of the deep spiritual experiences the Church has to offer? Do I stay because prayer, experience, and study have produced both evidence and happiness in my life that I could never discount?

As for those who leave the Church, do they choose to do so because they want to draw closer to God and they feel that their leaving is His will? Do they leave because they cannot muster the desire to have faith, and to stay would be dishonest? Do they leave because the lifestyle is inconvenient and they’d rather gain approval from mainstream society? Or do they leave because their position in Mormon culture, social life, and family tradition is uncomfortable enough—whether or not they’ve ever seriously studied the Book of Mormon or partaken of the deep spiritual experiences the Church has to offer?

Only God knows. 

I hope I have enough self-awareness to truly recognize which category I fall into.