Mormons/LDS: Can you imagine what your life would be like if you didn't have the Church?

Question

I hear all the time in F&T meeting that members just "don't know what they'd do or where they'd be" without it; that they'd be lost and without purpose. Do you feel the same way?

Answer 1

I'm sure I'd be able to find some purpose in life without the Church, there are 6 billion + people that are doing it right now.
I always wonder when people say that, if they mean a) if they left the church; b) they never found it; c) the church disappeared one day; or d) the church was never restored.
Each of those seem to have different implications.

Answer 2

I've said it in F & T meetings that I don't know where I'd be without the Church in my life because I know that is true. I might be in jail or in the ground, dead before I expected to be because of my unhealthy life style.
I am a much better person because of the way of life that the Church expects of me/teaches me. The standards are high and that is why most "Christians" shy away from the teachings. They are considered too strict. The BOM is another testament of Jesus Christ and it backs up so much of the Bible, is easier to read and understand. Don't know why so many peole give it a hard time. But if you are of one heart and mind it will make sense. There is a different language that LDS members understand.
I will always be LDS as I do know that Heavenly Father has placed living prophets on the earth once more. The LDS Church is the only church on earthh that has living prophets. Gordon B. Hinckley is my personal hero. I have heard him speak live. I sat not 15 feet away from him and felt of his great spiritual power. I do not have the brain capacity to even begin to know what it will feel like to see the Saviour and kneel in His prescence, if I even get the chance. LDS is here for eternity.

Answer 3

I think the only people that can imagine what life would be like if we didn't have the Church/the Gospel/etc would be those who have had it, been either disfellowshipped or excommunicated, then were well on the road back or who had already come back. It's these people who not only know what it's like to have the Gospel, but who have lost it due poor decisions, and are working towards getting it back.

I'm a convert and while I can remember what life was like before I became a member, I didn't know what I was missing, so I don't think it can be the same.
I know what these Brothers and Sisters in F&T meeting are trying to say, and while I agree with the sentiment, it's not the same.
(Does this make sense at all? It makes sense the way I'm thinking it, but I wonder if it's as clear when I'm typing it.)

Answer 4

My life would probably be the same as it was before I found the church. I still followed the teachings of Christ and lived the best that I could live, but I wouldn't say I would be lost without a purpose. If you need to church to feel like you have purpose then something is wrong. Our purpose here is to try our best to follow our Lord and savior and make the right choices. You don't need the church to know these things, just a common knowledge of Christ teachings.

Answer 5

I don't have to imagine what my life would be without the "Church". if you mean the building. Now if you mean Church meaning doctrin then that is another story. I can live without a building but to live without my relationship with my heavenly father is something that I have chosen to live with. That is really what our religion is all about. A relationship with our heavenly father. Asking this is like asking a Methodist, Baptist or anyother religion what they would do without their "chruch".

Our religion is a way of life, not just a list of do's and don'ts. It carries us through all things. To many people concentrate on what they think they know about our religion. Sure there are guidelines of things that we shouldn't do and yes there are commandments. We still have the right to choose to do or not do those things. Of course when we choose to not do these things there are consequenses. The same as any good parent would have with their children. We have a relationship with our Heavenly Father and we are his children... all of us including those who are not "members". He love us all the same.

The acceptance of membership in the LDS church simply means that we choose to accept a higher law and the consequesnces that go along with it. After living that law for many years to take it away whould be the same as taking away guidelines and allowing anything and everything to happen, and yes that could be a "lost" feeling.

I am a convert to the chruch and do know what it is to live "without" the church... meaning the guidelines. I feel more confident knowing the boundries... and not having to guess.

Answer 6

Maybe I would still be like what I am today even if I didn't have the church 'coz I grew up this way because of my parents' good examples and good nurturing...what I know and believe is that I'm so grateful for having the gospel in my life...I'm so thankful for all the knowledge I learned from being LDS and I truly feel that being a member of this church makes me a peculiar one that would serve as a good example to others.

Answer 7

As a teenager, I was not rebellious, I had a decent relationship with my parents, did good in school and had great friends. However, I wasn't a member of the church in my youth, and I feel that what the church has given me as an adult is knowing that my life has purpose, being born was not an accident or random, and that as a member of the church I am surrounded by goodness and pureness which gives me peace in my heart and a joy that nothing else can match.

Answer 8

Unlike many members of the church, I actually DO KNOW where I'd be without the church because I've been there.

First stop is Lazy Land.

Second comes vulgarity

Third comes infidelity

Fourth comes intoxication

Fifth comes promiscuity

Sixth comes attempted suicide.

This isn't necessarily the path destined for every apostate, it just so happened to be the case with me. Though I should have never ever left, I feel in some ironic ways that all this has etched my testimony in stone.

Answer 9

I definitely wouldn't be the person I am today. I may not even be alive today, if it weren't for the gospel.

I was a stupid teen, heading down the wrong path. I was involved with gangs, doing drugs and drinking. I was always getting into fights and doing poorly in school.

Things did not change right away, after being baptized. It has been a long and difficult journey.

BUT knowing that I have a Savior that loves me, and to know that I can be a good person, regardless of what is in my past, is what has kept me going.

Had those two dear missionaries never found my family, I'd surely be lost. I wish I knew where they were, so I could thank them personally. I am so grateful for the impact they had on my life.

*If any fellow Latter-day Saints here know an Elder Steiger or Elder Williamson who served in the Sacramento, CA mission (in 1997). PLEASE tell them thank you for me!

Answer 10

That's something I don't actually think about. I'm very grateful to have my faith, whether or not you (or anyone else) shares it, it's my faith, and it's something no one can take away from me. I don't know what I'd be doing. Certainly I'd be doing something much, much different and my life would be much, much different...but then that would be true too had I gone to say Mount Royal College instead of Utah Valley State College, wouldn't it? I would have missed out on some of the amazing opportunities I had but would have had other different experiences.

So who can possibly say?