From the last chapter of the book “The Power of Stillness:”
A Confusing Place
A couple who had spent most of their lives as active Latter-Day Saints asked to meet privately with their local leader about some spiritual concerns: “Is this it, Bishop? Is this all we can expect?”
Despite doing all they thought they were supposed to do, this couple struggled to feel the peace and contentment that many others in the ward seemed to find. But why? Compared to those experiencing a greater depth of joy in the gospel, why do some come to feel so much less nourished in their walk of faith, while still others feel deep conflict and pain?
As important as that question is, it doesn’t seem to invoke a great deal of curiosity anymore. Amidst the great angst of faith struggles, many precious brothers and sisters are more likely to simply conclude, “This just isn’t working for me.” And, as in a relationship that feels draining, or the job we just can’t get excited about anymore, what to do next often seems obvious and even inevitable.
An Understandable Step
It’s not hard to understand why people push away from things that are uncomfortable, painful, or draining. That’s how we tend to respond to emotional distress or physical pain. And it’s also often our strong inclination when relationships become hard: get some distance and maybe say good-bye. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised when this happens in our faith community as well.
While there are clearly lots of influences on our spiritual journey, most explanations of why people walk away from faith highlight some kind of deficiency, either within individuals or in the Church itself. We’ve tried to draw attention to some of the cultural dynamics above and beyond individual and institutional spheres that have very real, intrusive influence on every part of our lives. The fact is, we’re all “swimming in the same soup” when it comes to our consuming, distracting, deafening, accelerating, frenetic culture.
And just as an otherwise healthy brain and body can be ravaged by chronic stress, and a relationship full of positive potential can be corroded by heavy schedule demands, we’ve seen over and over examples of how tender spiritual lives become depleted and gutted by an inability to genuinely stop, deeply rest, and authentically commune with God. ~Jacob Z. Hess, Carrie L. Skarda, Kyle C. Anderson, Ty R. Mansfield, The Power of Stillness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), 194-95
Next post: ‘Experiencing the Gospel with Fresh Eyes’
