I need to respect other's faith better

 I need a little more humility.

More holy envy and less holy enmity.

Now most people reading this are probably well aware that I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are also probably aware that I'm an active participant in the church and our local congregation. I pray, I read my scriptures, I attend church services. I sincerely do what I can to live a good life, follow the teachings of Christ, his prophets, and scripture. I do what I can. I often fall short, but I'm trying to maintain some semblance of a forward progression. 

That said, I have a brutal confession. I don't always give that grace to others who are religious, especially other Christians, and that's a problem. It's one I need to work on. If I expect, or at the very least hope, people to give me the benefit of the doubt I need to start giving it to others.

I think the struggle I have with this comes from two things that build on each other. The more I reflect on this the better I can address my own shortcomings. The say the first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one. I hope that I'm successful in that regard.

The first stumbling block is that I hold religious people to a higher standard than I do others. Morally speaking I automatically hold those who profess faith to my knowledge of their doctrine, dogma, and morals. This has two shortcomings, one I'm not always as aware of others faith and beliefs as I hope. The problem with holding people to standards you don't fully understand should be readily apparent and it's something I'm trying to rectify by both learning more and letting go of my expectations. The second main shortcoming is that I don't live up to my own standards. I curse, I have lied, I have a temper, I consume media some may find questionable. If I don't fit the model outsiders expect of a "Mormon" how can I hold others to a standard? It's not fair and its something I need to stop doing as I work on being a better member of my church.

The second struggle I have is that the worst treatment I've received due to my faith has been from people who profess themselves to be christian. This has been one of the hardest pills for me to swallow and I'm afraid it's truly harmed my view of Christianity at large. I'm not going to take the time here to hash out the theological differences between my denomination of faith and the others of the Christianity. They can be substantial or slight depending on one's view point. It's been my experience that those differences can be used as a justification for poor treatment or outright hostility and discrimination. What I've often failed recognize and remember is that these are the actions of individuals, and they are the minority of interactions I've had with people of their denominations. I can't let the few truly horrific interactions cloud my judgement of the group as a whole. 

Now this whole post may seem a bit out of the blue. But I've been reflecting on this at large for a few reasons. One, I'm seeing political divisions in my own faith and it's resulting in some implicit and explicit confrontations over piety and faithfulness. It's a division that's even more apparent in Christianity at large. It's something I wish we wouldn't do. Because faith and politics are impossible to reconcile without compromise. I need to start recognizing that when looking at an impossible decision I'll prioritize different aspects of the same gospel. I need to remember that we're all trying to make the best compromise we see fit. It's not that we're trying to break things down but that we're trying to do our best. That's a hard thing to do, but I can do better.

Second, I'm going to be attending an evangelical university in a couple weeks. Part of the requirements over the next couple quarters will be a new testament and old testament survey course, a religion and psychology course. I'm looking forward to them. I've loved learning about other faiths, yet I haven't always had the same desire or openness toward other christian denominations. It's time that changed. If I can find commonalities between my faith and Islam, my traditions and Jewish traditions, commonalities in thought between scripture and Buddhism, then I should be able to find commonalities over scriptures I share, a belief and testimony in the same Savior. 

It's become apparent to me that some of the groups that I've struggled to understand, empathize, or even just coexist with share a testimony of the same Savior I do. That's a problem and a failing on me. One I need to change moving forward. I need to grant the grace I need and desire. I'm not a judge of people's faithfulness, thankfully. So I need to truly stop acting like one. 

I think if I can do this, then maybe just maybe, some part of this chaotic year will be a bit more peaceful. It maybe a lofty goal, but I can't underestimate the impact of one person anymore.