We Need Organized Religion

 

Get in the Lifeboat: Finding Safety in the Church

By Brother Bradley R. Wilcox

Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency

Value Organized Religion

Many people believe in God but not organized religion. They say, “I’m spiritual, not religious.” Typically that means they acknowledge God’s existence but do not want Him to ask anything of them, give them any commandments, or expect them to make any changes.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that spirituality—an individualized experience—might be all we would need if we lived alone on mountaintops, but we live in families, communities, societies. That’s why we need religion—the group practice of spirituality.⁷

It’s easy to sit alone on a mountaintop and say, “I love everyone.” Try feeling the same way when you are late for work because the driver of the vehicle in front of you is going so slow. You want to honk and yell at the driver. In that moment, you need the norms and standards of religion to help you bring mountaintop ideals like love right down to the reality of the moment when someone is being unlovable. That is what religion helps us to do.

Some people see no need for organized religion, and yet they demand organized schools, cities, stores, airports, and hospitals. They see the benefits of going to an organized hospital, where there are rules or expectations. We see the same benefits in our organized Church.

Being part of this organized religion blesses us and those we love in every aspect of our lives. Because the Church is organized, we can care for others more effectively together than we could ever do individually. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said that partway through the world pandemic of 2020, the Church had already participated in over 1,000 humanitarian aid projects in over 150 countries. We provided food and other necessities to care for millions in need. None of us could have done that on our own, but we did it together because we have an organized religion.⁸