Is it normal I'm Fascinated with the Human Mind?

Ultimately, I don't try to push my religion on others. If I want to talk about how great God is, I have a church that I can go to on Sunday to do so ;)

Well, first off, while some of the perceptions of certain aspects of Mormonism are true, many of them are not, and they are poorly researched as well.

I have many reasons and I will touch base on a few.

I have always believed in a God. My parents were not religious, but from the time I was a small child I believed in God. It's an aspect of my mentality that I have never been able to lose, no matter how much truth I find in atheism, I would much rather live my life by the way I feel than deny myself the pleasure of taking part in this belief.

The Mormon church is much more open to my philosophical interpretations of religion than many other churches. While they can be closed minded, having multiple reasons and philosophical interpretations as my beliefs is fine with them. They don't just say "believe it because you need to have faith", they encourage questioning of their beliefs.

The Mormon church is very family and community focused. Their churches are all run under the same ministry, so when you go to another town and go into their church, it's basically the same church, maybe with different leadership styles, but there is a sense of brotherhood in that church that I have not found in any other church.

While they are conservative in their beliefs, they do not discourage the use of birth control. While there is the occasional bishop that will say "You need to hurry up and have kids already", they acknowledge that it's not a horrid thing to not have kids.

Mormons believe that prophecy is not a closed canon. They believe that God has multiple truths he has yet to reveal to us. I feel that many other churches are mistaken in that there can be no other messengers of god. I feel that Martin Luther King was a prophet, as such with other wise historical figures. It is actually one of the articles of faith that people should be free to worship their God however they wish. Whether or not the congregation feels the same way doesn't change the validity of this teaching.

One problem I had with churches is that you never knew who did and didn't actually practice the religion. Mormons who practice their religion and ones who don't are pretty easy to distinguish. Actually, they will have a card stating that they have been practicing faithfully, it's called a temple reccommend.

The Mormon church addresses many fundamental flaws of society that living in a more disciplined manner could, not completely remedy, but help people live in a more fruitful manner. They promote education, planning of parenthood, earning your keep, doing the right thing etc. This may not sound different from other churches, but the experience is. You're going to have to take my word for this one.

If you have a sick child, if you can't afford food, if you need a job, need money, need help, they will provide it for you, and, as a member, I can see all around me that the money I pay for tithing DOES go to people who need it more than I do.

Although there are some stupidities and corruptions within the church, as any church, genuinely the teachings promote for a better cause and common sense in all daily life.

And yeah, the missionaries are annoying. Their beliefs can be annoying and their practices can be annoying, but I have prospered more by following their teachings and being a part of the Mormon community than I ever did as an atheist. It has opened my mind to religious teachings of every culture and with these teachings, I am able to appreciate the teachings of the Mormon church and the teachings of Christianity in general.

I'm not the best Mormon, but I am trying, and that's what they tell us to do. No one is perfect, but try. The Mormon church is the only church that I have been to that teaches repentence in such a deep manner. Some of the best people I know in that church lived worse lifestyles than I did.

I know that there is a higher purpose, I know that religion can be stupid and confusing at times, but I appreciate the water, and the Mormon church is the pitcher that holds it for me.

At the end of the day, I am grateful for what God has given me. I could have been born disabled, I could have been born to drug addicts, my life has not been perfect but I feel that they are right in one thing... I need to appreciate all that I have been given, and going to that church helps me with this appreciation and helps remind me that I am not the Alpha and Omega of my own life.

In the end, I believe that there is a higher power. Maybe the Mormon church is not a true church, maybe Christianity is not a true religion and maybe there is no God, but while I am here, and while I am alive, I will live my life as it is true because I was given the freedom to choose it.

I appreciate the faith, I can't control what the congregation and leadership does, and I will not apologize for anything they do. Another article of their faith is that I can not be held responsible for another man's trasngressions in the eyes of the lord, you can choose to respect that I may or may not have beliefs differing from yours or not. It is your choice. This is the mentality that our church teaches. And if you have come across people who are not true to these articles of faith, I can not help that they took the wrong lessons from the church. I don't believe religion should be held accountable for jackassery, jackasses should be held accountable.

I don't see myself as a lesser person for taking advantage of that freedom, just as I don't see an atheist as a lesser person or wrong for doing the same. This religion adds content to my life that helps me to be the person that I am. It doesn't work for everyone and may not work for you. Ultimately, you should do what it right for yourself and your conscience, don't let others tell you what YOU need to do to make you happy.