The Logic of Going "All In"

Ever since Elder Sabin gave his talk, I knew I was going to have to write this blog post. Some years ago, I thought about the logic of being committed to one's religion, even if it's not "the right one." There are many good churches, and some are better than others. Theoretically, a person would do well to leave their church if they found a better one, but it can be difficult to evaluate churches, and conversion may not be worth the risk. If a person is born into a good church, and they convert to a better one, that's good, but if they accidentally convert to a church that's not as good, that would be a step backward for them.

Meanwhile, God judges people according to the light and knowledge they have, so if they continue in the light they have and remain faithful to the church they were born into, they'll probably fare fairly well in the afterlife. Of course, if they happen upon a church that is clearly better than the one they already follow, they should convert, but if the church they're in and the church they could convert to seem equally good, it's probably wiser for them to stay where they are.

Simply put, if a person is born into a good church, and they are faithful to it, that's a good thing. If they convert to a better church, that's better, but if they convert to a lesser church, that's worse. In some cases, the potential benefits of conversion are offset by the risks. And, of course, if a person is born into the right church, the true church, and they convert away from it, that's pretty bad.

I am certain that my church is a good church, and I have reason to believe that it's the right one, so for me to convert to any other church would be a pretty big risk. Instead, it would make sense for me to be as faithful to my beliefs as I can be, so if my church happens not to be the right one, at least I'll have been faithful to a good one.

This is, obviously, not the best reason to live one's religion, especially when one encounters a religion that may be better than the one they currently follow. I expect that God wants us to prayerfully explore all our options and to make adjustments when prompted to. But, in the absence of churches that seem and feel better than the one we currently follow it, we would do well to follow our church's teachings as far as they can take us. It may not be the best path, if our church isn't the right one, but at least we'll still have made some spiritual progress on the path God placed us on.