religion How has religion impacted you?

[ash's_eyes she/her]

I have found a couple threads today where people have been discussing religion and I'm amazed at how respectful they have been, I love it!

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sticking to a common theme in this thread, I don't know which part of my life isn't affected by my religion. There are inumerous ways that my faith has impacted my life, and I will share just one.

Without my faith in a loving Heavenly Father, my mental health... well I don't know exactly where I would be, but it would not be good. When I get into a bad spot mentally, I always go to prayer. I am really bad at talking to people about my problems, even my parents. Prayer is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes. I know that there is a loving God who hears what I am saying, and truly cares about me too. Almost every time, I feel an immense comfort and like a weight has been taken off of me. 

Without this belief, I don't know if I could go on with all that I am doing. Emotionally, I would be in a pit and maybe even on the edge of my own honor chasm. My faith  and the strength that God has given me has kept me going all this time. I am not happy all of the time, but it helps me to focus on the good and find joy in life and the journey.

[Rune he/him]

I am also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (so surprising) and I've found that, for me personally, I am unable to comprehend how different my life would be and the changes it would have on the way I view the world and how everything would fit together.  Religion is a very integral part of my and as such I find myself always applying it to my life and views.  It helps me get through every hard time and become better because I have a reason for becoming better.  I would be a completely different and worse person than I am now without my faith keeping me on the straight and narrow.

[HOID WANTS INSTANT NOODLES he/him]

I am the son of two christian priests and have grown up with the church being so integral to my life i cant imagine life without it. I have gone through a lot of difficult times and had lots of mental health problems and have doubted before but I have found that my belief in God has helped my get through these chalenges. I likley would have commited suicide in the past if I hadnt felt like I had god above to listen and care about my problems. I think that the modern problem with the christian church is how much hate there is. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors if they are different in faith, political views, or even sexuality. We make it about who we are against and not about supporting everyone and spreading gods love. THe church has made me a better person. Also the book that decided me on chrstianitly was mere christianity by C.S Lewis. would reccomend it to anyone having doubt problems.

[Liahona]

How has being religious impacted me? Well, I'm alive, and I enjoy being alive. Religion is responsible for at least ninety percent of that.

[chongjasmine]

Being religious impacted me in the sense that there is one more person I can talk to-- Jesus Christ.

And I enjoy talking to Him.

I tell Him about many things in my life and pray to Him when I am in troubles.

I get to hear Him talk to me in dreams and the bible.

Being religious gets me a best friend-- Jesus!

[Lord Gregorio he/him]

Lol haven't seen this before, but I personally think it's hard to see exactly how religion impacts our lives due to we (normally) don't know what it's like without it. Though I do think it makes me happier and have more purpose. I think religion is a great thing to give more purpose to people's lives.

It also seems to have kept families together (from my experience) as well as help bring them back together.

[Szeth's Facepalm]

On 3/25/2022 at 6:32 PM, Orlion Blight said:

Basically loads of religious trauma that I have to deal with to this day. 

And I shan't say more on the matter! 

Same :/

Religion was *not* great for me. It's lovely to see all the people for whom it worked out, but the impact it has had on my life thus far has been overall negative and very, very difficult to overcome. Like orlion, i shan't get into the nitty grittys :)

[Mason Wheeler]

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, my faith hasn't "impacted" me so much as defined me.  Without the Church:

• My parents would never have met each other at BYU, so I wouldn't be here
• I would have had far less of a reason not to make certain harmful life choices that I've managed to avoid
• I would never have served a mission in Argentina, ended up learning Spanish, developing a life-long love for the people, their culture, and particularly their food
• My brother wouldn't have gotten me, as a birthday present back in 2006, a couple books by an up-and-coming LDS author, called Elantris and Mistborn.
• I would have missed out on multiple different career opportunities that came via friends from church, including the one that brought me to where I'm living now, which is where I met my wife

In a very literal sense, it's made me who I am today.  The person I would be without it would be unrecognizable.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Sorry to necro, but I wanna talk here for a bit maybe.

I am one of those members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think there's too many of us on here... maybe too little... hmmm... 

But, to be serious, my church has impacted me in ways I don't know how much I can explain. God is so much to me, as is the concepts of what lies beyond this life and before. I love the scriptures, I love how the Lord has touched me and even talked to me (feel free to not believe me there). The Lord's influence on my life is enormous. because of what I believe I've been able to dodge so many bullets, I've been able to help people when if I didn't know what I know I wouldn't have been able to, my parents met because my mom had a prompting to join the military, we moved to [REDACTED] for four years on a prompting and it blessed our life enormously, I have the faith that I will see my grandfather again because of what I've learned and because of the feelings that I have. My outlook on the world is influenced heavily by my religion, a lot of what I've said online that has promoted equality and understanding, that stems from what I've learned in the Church.

My religion is so much to me, it's carried me through the dark times and through the light times. This verse from psalms sums it up quite nicely "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." He is there, religion is there, the light is there. 

 

 

Now, I am genuinely interested to ask this question. Respectfully, @Kaymyth, with your beliefs, how do you view books like the Kane Chronicles which deal with the ancient Egyptian gods in a fantasy outlook?

[Kaymyth she/her]

On 8/13/2023 at 1:38 PM, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

Now, I am genuinely interested to ask this question. Respectfully, @Kaymyth, with your beliefs, how do you view books like the Kane Chronicles which deal with the ancient Egyptian gods in a fantasy outlook?

I haven't read the Kane Chronicles themselves, but in general I look at it all with a dollop of humor. Some people do their research and others...don't.

(Cut to memories of me choking with laughter while watching Moon Knight with all of the avatars and even the gods themselves using the Greek version of their names, instead of anything resembling what we think the ancient Egyptians called them. I keep waiting for my spouse to stuff a lump of chocolate into my mouth when I go off on TV-watching rants, but he seems to enjoy my pedantry.)

I will say that I absolutely adore the Brenden Frasier/Rachel Weisz Mummy movies (all 2 of them, the 3rd doesn't count), and while they do wander off into the ridiculous, they at least make a good effort. The whole "Anubis is a dark, scary entity!" bit makes me roll my eyes every time (I've always had an impression of him being very gentle), when characters speak in any form of Kemetic, they do properly call him "Anpu".

[The Aspiring Archivist any pronouns]

It's fascinating to me seeing the variety of experiences on this thread. I am and was raised Christian, originally in an independent church that has now changed to Baptist (most independent churches are basically Baptist anyway). At the moment however, I think I'm agnostic, or maybe an atheist. This is mainly just because my belief has eroded over time because of the pure silence I have received. Any time I've prayed, no matter how or how often, I have felt not so much as a presence. This was initially quite painful, but now I feel that it's more comfortable for me to think the way that I do.

I think the primary way it's affected me is not in any spiritual way, but in my community. I'm surrounded by Christianity, I even go to a Catholic school. It can be uncomfortable, but it's not too bad. Being immersed in this religion while not really following it myself has taught me to respect it and all others from an external perspective, which I think is a good trait to have.

Edited August 14, 2023 by The Aspiring Archivist

[Lego Mistborn he/him]

My faith in god gives me purpose. I too, as you can see by my signature, am LDS. As such, I believe in deification/theosis, which is the process of becoming like unto God, in this case, literally becoming as God is. This belief is in my opinion a central tenet to both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and my personal outlook on life.

It has inspired how I:

• Approach gaining wisdom
• Care for and love others, friends or not
• Strive to follow the commandments
• Deal with adversity
• View the prospect of creating a family one day in the future.

I know that my church is controversial and I understand how it can be hard for those who've been raised different to understand the logical processes that lead me to believe. It's not as though my beliefs have never made life difficult before either. I spend probably 6+ hours a week driving to or from or at church, plus plenty of other time fulfilling my callings, attending early morning seminary, etc. My brother's have been refused places on all star teams because they won't play on the sabbath. I've been bullied and my love life has been turbulent at times, yet I still feel it's worth it. 

For whatever reason, the prospect of being able to create something as beautiful as this earth and learning the mysteries of the universe is enough to keep me going in between bursts of spiritual outpouring.

One other thing. I had a chance to receive my Patriarchal Blessing. It is a special priesthood blessing in which a patriarch(a office of the Melchizedek priesthood) receives guidance for you directly from God. While I hope to still have a long life ahead of me, already this blessing has helped me to make decisions regarding my plans for the future and has confirmed a number of what I now know to be inspired ideas. I know that my Heavenly Father wants me to serve a mission and what he wants me to follow as a career path.

This has been my longest post in a while, and perhaps ever, which can also tell you how dearly I hold my faith.

If anyone has questions about anything I've said, feel free to ask me and I will happily elaborate.

[Experience he/him]

Being religious has been sooo important to me. And that doesn't mean I've been some perfect Christian my whole life, quite the opposite actually. I've had plenty of doubts and everything. But I can't deny the wonderful experiences I have had when I have felt God's Love. I know that He loves me and that He loves each of you. And I know that every person has the opportunity to learn of His Love too. I understand that everyone has their own beliefs, and I respect that. But my beliefs have changed my life for the better, and I hope that they will continue to do so forever.

[Edema Rue she/her]

Hi, I don’t think I’ve posted here. I don’t have a long story, but without my religion (the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), I wouldn’t be alive today. That’s all.

[Channelknight Fadran]

I grew up LDS, but am currently agnostic.

[Chaos he/him]

Hey, I just wanted to quickly pop in here. There have been several comments that people's faith have helped their mental health. As someone who has struggled with mental health, I'm sincerely glad! However, I do want to strongly recommend seeing a psychologist if you have any mental health problems. At least for me, religion did nothing to help. So I would just say, please don't be afraid to go to the doctor and seek help! And again, if religion helps, I am glad. But I want you to know that if depression or something comes back, don't feel like you're unworthy of help. Help exists, and everyone wants the best for you. If divinities exist, I think He/she/they would want you to use the tools they gave you to help.

Anyway, sorry for the off-topic ramble. Take care of yourself and be well.

(I've spoken about my own beliefs in the Shard, so I won't use this thread to blab there. It's always interesting though to hear about people having experiences so completely foreign to me, though! Thanks for writing them, even if I don't get it.)

[Eran of Arcadia]

For what it's worth, not only does my faith help me deal with my mental health issues on its own, but my religion specifically played a role in getting me to see mental health professionals.

[Chaos he/him]

5 hours ago, Eran of Arcadia said:

For what it's worth, not only does my faith help me deal with my mental health issues on its own, but my religion specifically played a role in getting me to see mental health professionals.

I'm so glad to hear it!

[The cheeseman Don't you dare go Hollow!]

I am a Christian, technically my denomination is Reformed Baptist, but I'm not totally sure. Growing up the grandson of a preacher, I have been surrounded by the Gospel my whole life. Sometimes, I can be stubborn, rude, and quite sarcastic, but I hate to imagine what I would be like without the Holy Spirit.

Being Christian has quite literally kept me alive. On that, I will not be elaborating.

It has also informed almost every one of my beliefs, and has led me to not quite purposefully cause a number of very loud arguments with friends of mine who either are not religious or are of a very different denomination.

Edited August 16, 2023 by The cheeseman

[Ψιτιsτηε Βεsτ]

I would not give it up for anything.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have seen many miracles in my life, and have seen many things that have testified truth to me. By these experiences, and the knowledge I have gained, the church has become one of the most important things in my life, so to me, it means everything.

[CuratorOTL IG]

I'm going to preface this with I am a Protestant Christian from a Lrotestant Christian house. My family has always been very involved in the church. However, as might be common, growing up with Christianity all around you can so exiles make you numb to all of that, to the point where you believe it but don't really feel it. This happened to me, and during the heights that numbness, my life nearly fell apart. I grew apathetic and uncaring to most things, including my friends and family. I didn't care about God or anything.

Thankfully, God wouldn't give up on me. I've recently experienced a religious awakening in my life, and have grown much closer to God. My life has been so much better since then.

Christianity influences almost out everything in my life, from my relationships to my work. Since the 3rd grade, I've always wanted to be a writer. After my religious awakening, I've allowed God to speak through me in all of my books. Oftentimes I will put religious imagery or symbolism, but not so much that it ruins the story. This is the sweet spot that I think for Christian fiction.

I'm also a very logically minded person, and I've obviously had my doubts. I've done my research and determined that my faith is logical. As a side effect of this, I've grown very interested in the intricacies of the Beliefs of other religions.

My faith has literally been a life saver at certain points through my life, dragging me back up from the deep of depression and despair