Why Does Religion Matter?

Mormon Newsroom has released a five-part series about why religion matters; it's a good question, and I try to help people find the answers every day as a missionary. When I ask simple questions—questions like "do you have a faith in Christ?"—I receive a variety of responses. Some people claim happiness where they are, others say they believe but that it hasn't made a difference, others say they don't care. Just last night, a woman curtly said, "I'm Christian, and anything else beyond that is none of your business. Actually, I'm offended you asked."

So why do I ask? I ask because no matter who people are, they long to know God. I was interested by what agnostic writer Julian Barnes meant when he penned "I don't believe in God, but I miss him" (Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of [2009], 1). As human beings, we long for the infinite and eternal.  

And we hate endings. Elder Uchtdorf teaches that often "grief is caused by what seems to them as an ending. Some are facing the end of a cherished relationship, such as the death of a loved one or estrangement from a family member. Others feel they are facing the end of hope . . . Others may be facing the end of their faith" (Grateful in Any Circumstance).

Endings hurt because we are not meant to end. That is a precious truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ; He is "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end," and because He conquered death, so will we (3 Nephi 9:18). All people will rise again, and immortality is our destiny (2 Nephi 9:21-22).

Even if we can't articulate this truth, our spirits know it. We long to know God, for "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). I want people to know their God, so I will keep asking and I will keep sharing. It matters; in fact, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is what we came to earth to accept. This religion is everything.