WHY I LIKE
GOING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS
When attending church services, I
absolutely get inspired and feel inspired from several aspects. Here’s some of
the reasons why I like going to church with my family on Sundays…
§ The camaraderie with a group of
people that feel the importance of worshipping and showing reverence for God.
§ The opportunity to review and renew
covenants and commitments to do better, do more, try harder, and at the same
time appreciate the lessons learned, mercy extended, and patience provided when
I fall short.
§ The heavenly music and inspirational lyrics
that lift my spirit and brighten my soul.
§ Hope… for a better world, hope for
people to value service and kindness over commerce and materialism, and hope
for a better tomorrow, a better marriage, a better me.
§ Seeing young families, especially
young mothers and fathers who have minimized their weekend rest, cut short
their sleep to rise early, feed and dress and prepare their children, pack for
church, then get themselves ready and show up with a ‘greater purpose’ and a
higher objective in mind.
§ Watching people forgive others for
their inconsiderateness, lack of empathy, rudeness, self-centeredness and lots
of other shortcomings. Such an example of forgiveness and Godlike love to me.
§ Knowing of many individuals with struggles
– health, finance, relationships, employment, etc. and the responding courage
and faith to face the storms of life and look forward to something better. And
also knowing that there are many other who are silently struggling with trials
of every kind and still bravely put on a smile and give of themselves to
encourage and lift others.
§ Single parents who are valiant at
teaching their children principles of righteousness and of God’s ways
regardless of their personal challenges, regardless of their level of
difficulty from the lot they’ve been dealt.
§ People who value the idea of
nourishing the spiritual aspects of life and make conscience decisions to
elevate the priority of spirituality among the myriad of choices that compete
to occupy their lives.
§ The elderly whose commitment to
endure, regardless of their frailness, regardless of being thought of as being
outdated, and regardless of their gray hair (or lack thereof); their eagerness
to share experiences and wisdom and spiritual insights that inspire, encourage
and righteously persuade our younger generations.
§ The primary age children, their
vibrance and enthusiasm, their love for life, their wide-eyed and optimistic hope for their future, and their contagious happiness
and goodness.
§ The idea that a group of faulty,
less-than-perfect people, intentionally set aside a few hours each week to work
on trying to become better; to grow their relationship with their Creator; to
sing (not because they can carry a tune or read music – because many can’t),
but because they want to express themselves in a community of praising and
praying and thanksgiving to and for the Savior of the world and for what He’s
done for them. There’s a strength in this kind of spiritual community that
can’t be found anywhere else on a regular basis.
§ I love the feelings of peace, of
heart-calming security, a place of refuge from the personal soul-wrenching
storms of life, as well as from the worldly storms all around us. These unique
kinds of soothing feelings are challenging to find almost anywhere else in the
world – I haven’t found them on exotic beaches, in world-class hotels, in
nationally televised sports arenas, at world-gathering events, at political
rallies, visiting world famous archeology sites, working for fortune 500
companies, sitting inside the space shuttle, in amusement parks, when meeting
celebrities, at world-class restaurants, on fabulous vacations, hiking in the
Redwood Forest or in remote back-to-nature retreats, visiting historic sites or
exclusive museums or extravagant concerts, or for that matter, anywhere else.
But I do feel them frequently on Sundays in church.
§ I’m inspired by the weekly
reconfirmation that God knows me; that He loves me; that I’m one of His
children; that I have a purpose in life; that life has meaning; that we can
develop a relationship with our Creator and He wants to have a relationship
with us; that there’s always something new to learn – a new perspective, a new
insight, a new layer of understanding; that God has a plan and how I fit into
the plan; that mortality is a testing place and we’re going to make mistakes,
but that’s part of the plan, and every day can be a new day to start over, a
fresh start, a clean slate where we can learn to improve and progress.
§ How scriptures are as relevant today
(maybe more so) as they were thousands of years ago, to look forward to
searching them, and how to open them up, read them, benefit from them, grow
from their teachings, gain heavenly wisdom from them, and learn to love and
treasure them.
§ To not be so quick to judge others or
their situation, their circumstances, their background or history or their successes
or shortcomings; or to make comparisons between other people or with me.
§ Because of attaining personal growth
from a wide range of teachings on topics like, long suffering, patience,
happiness, joy, trials, blessings, charity, relationships, solving problems,
grace, mercy, justice, obedience, repentance, love, tolerance, judgment,
finances, atonement, sacrifice, service, commitment, and much, much more; how
these qualities work and how to apply them in my life to my benefit and my
family’s.
§ How to communicate with God, to seek
His will, understand His understanding, gain insight to His thoughts; to hear
His voice and follow His Spirit; to get His advice on important life-decisions;
to build a trusted relationship with a generous and loving friend; how to
receive revelation to improve life, respond to challenges and answer meaningful
questions.
§ To accept callings to serve and
develop leadership qualities, develop a work/service ethic that is much more
outward focused and less focused on myself; to understand the dynamic
relationship between work and personal growth and blessings; to ‘get lost in
the service of others and discover how my personal challenges are often
comparatively minute to the load of burdens others are bearing.
§ A place where we learn to make earth
a little more like heaven; to work on purifying our lives and our homes.
§ A rewarding place – not so much that
the people are overwhelmingly good, but a place where the people are trying to
be good and intentionally trying to become better. Honestly, I don’t know of a
place where my family can interact with a group of people assembled several
times a month to try to improve themselves and be more like the Savior.
§ I’ve found the Savior’s presence
there; I find it in the lives of those trying to emulate His goodness; in their
faith in His atoning sacrifice; in their desire to learn about Him and their efforts;
in trying to follow Him; in their hope for His grace to cover them; in their
hope for His healing power in their lives; in their hope for His mercy and
advocacy with the Father on their behalf; in the hope that the power of His
redemption will extend to them; and in their hope for His eventual Second
Coming and their reunion with Him.
For me, there’s real intrinsic value,
added value in my life because of attending church. I’m surrounded by people that
are better than me, and I’ll keep going in hopes that some of that goodness
will rub off.
_______________________________________________________
Wm. Calvin Hughes |
June 30, 2019 | Lake Elsinore, CA
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