WHY A NEW CHURCH
It seemed that our world was falling apart around us. Our children were rebelling, there was confusion in our minds, dissension in our home, conflict in our relationships. We wanted a solution which meant asking why and seeking answers and help. We wanted peace and happiness and were determined to find it. This meant a stronger commitment and more dedication to the moral principles we had been taught. Because our religion declared that it was the only true church we felt that if we had enough faith and would pray that we would find the truth in the principles of the church. We were also taught that the authorities were chosen and inspired by God, and that they were qualified, through inspiration, to help the members solve their problems.
We had always been ambitious, tenacious, questioning individuals so it was typical for us to approach finding answers to our problems in the following manner. We increased our activity, leadership, communion with the leaders and scriptural investigation in the church and it’s writings. We approached our desire to find answers and solutions with fervor and enthusiasm. We had faith in what we had been taught and believed a deeper commitment to our religious beliefs would guide us to the solution of our problems.
But something happened ... and no one was more surprised than we were.
It is meaningful to look back over each aspect of our increased religious commitments -- keeping in mind that it was a period of over 15 years.
1.
Our increased activity in the church brought us close to the members. There were pleasurable times in the social events. There is emotional rewards in being involved with people who have common goals and beliefs.
Our increased activity in the church brought us close to the members. There were pleasurable times in the social events. There is emotional rewards in being involved with people who have common goals and beliefs.2.Our becoming active in leadership offered personal satisfaction from our personal development -- but speaking and teaching required learning and investigating. This caused us to read, compare and question. We found that the pieces did not fit together. There were periods of confusion and some of the ideas we began espousing, when we were doing religious teaching, were not popular with the leaders. Sometimes the recipients expressed fear and rejection of our ideas.
Our becoming active in leadership offered personal satisfaction from our personal development -- but speaking and teaching required learning and investigating. This caused us to read, compare and question. We found that the pieces did not fit together. There were periods of confusion and some of the ideas we began espousing, when we were doing religious teaching, were not popular with the leaders. Sometimes the recipients expressed fear and rejection of our ideas.3.Our close involvement with the authorities was not what we expected. When we went to them for inspired answers to our problems we discovered they did not have answers - they were not trained experts and their advise did not offer solutions and often lead us into more problems. Following their structural procedures did not offer pleasure nor unity to the family or to other relationships. To the contrary - it made the problems more obvious. We discovered the churches teachings required faith and obedience without questions or answers to many things. They taught conformity not freedom; dependence not individuality; they encouraged a type of security that came from being dependent upon others, rather than from independence and security that is earned from one’s own individual actions. We were not being encouraged to form our own judgments, and develop our self-esteem which would help us to cope with the changes that are inherent with being alive and help us to be more capable of coping with our problems. We learned that these religious teachings were basic to creating the problems we were coping with. “Obedience to authority, faith without questions and answers are principles that attempt to nullify individual will.” Our children were rebelling and this is the typical behavior of a spirit that refuses to be controlled by another. We discovered that subconsciously we were attempting to force others to be good and obedient, and that if they would do what we told them they would be okay. This discovery was not easy. It took time and a lot of effort. Also, because we hadn’t found solutions by the methods we had previously chosen, we looked to other means for enlightenment. One of these was involvement with psychotherapy. It was this science that helped us to learn the art of introspection. (The art that helped us to discover our sub-conscious motivations and to become more aware of the moral values that we had accepted.)
Our close involvement with the authorities was not what we expected. When we went to them for inspired answers to our problems we discovered they did not have answers - they were not trained experts and their advise did not offer solutions and often lead us into more problems. Following their structural procedures did not offer pleasure nor unity to the family or to other relationships. To the contrary - it made the problems more obvious. We discovered the churches teachings required faith and obedience without questions or answers to many things. They taught conformity not freedom; dependence not individuality; they encouraged a type of security that came from being dependent upon others, rather than from independence and security that is earned from one’s own individual actions. We were not being encouraged to form our own judgments, and develop our self-esteem which would help us to cope with the changes that are inherent with being alive and help us to be more capable of coping with our problems. We learned that these religious teachings were basic to creating the problems we were coping with. “Obedience to authority, faith without questions and answers are principles that attempt to nullify individual will.” Our children were rebelling and this is the typical behavior of a spirit that refuses to be controlled by another. We discovered that subconsciously we were attempting to force others to be good and obedient, and that if they would do what we told them they would be okay. This discovery was not easy. It took time and a lot of effort. Also, because we hadn’t found solutions by the methods we had previously chosen, we looked to other means for enlightenment. One of these was involvement with psychotherapy. It was this science that helped us to learn the art of introspection. (The art that helped us to discover our sub-conscious motivations and to become more aware of the moral values that we had accepted.)4.The more we studied the scriptural writings of the church the more we realized there were inconsistencies. This inspired questioning and an insatiable desire to resolve the frustrations that come from discovering these facts. We began challenging the religious teachings of faith and prayer because they had not helped us to resolve our problems. Once we lost confidence in and rejected faith and prayer our minds were freer to investigate. Our burning desire to find answers led us to read volumes of books and ideas written on other religious philosophic principles, psychology, human relationships, other cultures, books written by philosophers: anything that offered us moral standards to evaluate and compare. We had always believed that being good was important, that moral principles were vital. What we were searching for was moral values that brought us happiness and joy; values that improved human relationships and individual development, but destroy them. By the year 1967, tenacity, fervor and effort had brought results. We had formulated a new standard of morality.
The more we studied the scriptural writings of the church the more we realized there were inconsistencies. This inspired questioning and an insatiable desire to resolve the frustrations that come from discovering these facts. We began challenging the religious teachings of faith and prayer because they had not helped us to resolve our problems. Once we lost confidence in and rejected faith and prayer our minds were freer to investigate. Our burning desire to find answers led us to read volumes of books and ideas written on other religious philosophic principles, psychology, human relationships, other cultures, books written by philosophers: anything that offered us moral standards to evaluate and compare. We had always believed that being good was important, that moral principles were vital. What we were searching for was moral values that brought us happiness and joy; values that improved human relationships and individual development, but destroy them. By the year 1967, tenacity, fervor and effort had brought results. We had formulated a new standard of morality. By now they had been tested and integrated so that we had a moral basis which we understood and it was bringing the results we desired. Every aspect of our life had improved. (It was very noticeable in the behavior of our children.) We had been gradually replacing the values that we had been taught with new ones and slowly withdrawing from the church. It was a spiritual awakening with a new chance to improve our life. It was not easy, it did not happen overnight, there was no sudden miraculous feelings or insights. It had been a slow arduous, deliberate, insatiable desire to find a better way to live.
Early in the year 1967 it became evident that we could no longer permit ourselves to be affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints (Mormons). One of the principles we believed strongly was; having the courage to openly express our beliefs and not let the fears of losing friendships, being criticized and/or rejected, affect our actions. Also if one chooses not to be judged by the principles of others then they must let it be known and not be identified with or be affiliated with their organization.
So it was, early in 1967, that we terminated our membership in the “Mormon” church. Because of the structure of the “Mormon” church it was necessary to request excommunication. The children had been defiant to the church for many years so when we asked them if they wanted their memberships terminated at the same time, they enthusiastically replied: yes.
Our lifestyle in the following years was very different. One of the questions we were frequently asked was, “had we joined another religion”. This question interested us for different reasons. One, that in our search for new moral standards and the investigation of other religions, it became evident that no other formally organized religion had the same moral standards that we had developed. Joining an existing religion would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Also we noticed that people were identifying us as individuals that did not have strong moral and ethical standards because we did not belong to a formally organized religion. And it became more difficult to communicate with others because they felt some fear of being involved with people who they associated as being influenced by a devil.
So for many years we lived our religious principles independent of a formal organization. We studied, wrote scriptural writings, cemented our bonds with our children and ourselves and developed firmer convictions of our religious ideals. We changed most of our friends, became active in other types of associations. But, we missed the closeness of having socials and friendships with those who thought as we did, particularly on moral issues, but we realized why and accepted the reality of the situation.
Nice things started happening as the years went by. We had developed courses, written articles and essays on ethics and individual development. We found there were those who were interested in hearing and discussing our ideas. These ideas spread and individuals started expressing a desire to become more closely involved with us. When they realized we believed in very well defined religious principles their fear of being involved with us diminished and we found communication easier.
One of the joys of having beliefs that are beneficial, is sharing them with others and seeing them benefit from your efforts and ideas. And if these beliefs are good - the whole social environment improves.
Early in 1975 there were several individuals who wanted to get together to share ideas and enjoy each others companionship. It was these experiences that triggered the idea of forming an organized church, and we asked ourselves “ Why not a new church?”. Why not benefit from the things we had enjoyed in our involvement with our former religion. Why not promulgate our ideas and offer others the benefits of our efforts. Why not assist others to find independence, happiness and joy. Why not glean the benefits of belonging to a formal religious organization?
We were excited about the challenge. We felt proud of our achievements. We revered our beliefs and sensed the great potential of our new goal. We also realized the great responsibility involved. It would take a lot of time to organize the Scriptures, produce the descriptive brochures, accumulate the financial support and research the proper methods for organizing the church. We realized that our religious beliefs were difficult to live and that we would not attract great numbers of members. We also realized that there would be those who would become discouraged and leave the church. But our church would stand for quality - not quantity. And it was important to be realistic about what was possible.
We were delighted - it had been a long, arduous trip but the results were good and our future plans were exciting to look forward to.
Minutes were to be kept and records to be prepared. We had a great goal and we were happy.
1860 E Chalk Creek Road
Coalville, Ut 84017
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Phone: (435) 336-4302
info@churchindividualresponsibility.org
We wanted peace and happiness and were determined to find it.
