Why Do People Need a Church?
The establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its subsequent development was miraculous. It required an incredible amount of faith and sacrifice on the part of the members, and revelation from heaven. Those who have visited the historic sites at Kirtland recognize just how unmagnificent (a new word I came up with) the beginnings of the church were. In a small room above a small store in a small town was a magnificent school of the prophets. It would have been a big joke if it weren’t for the fact that it actually was a school of prophets where the Father and the Son appeared in that room.
I do not think I am the only one who has wondered why we have churches in the first place if our relationship to God is such a personal thing. It is a good question, and one not easily answered. We know that Jesus commanded the people in the Book of Mormon to “meet together oft” and participate in the ordinance of the Sacrament. Another reason given is so that we can edify one another. A third good reason is to teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. But all of this together does not guarantee that a person will develop the necessary faith in, relationship to, and understanding of God that enables the atonement of Christ to bring us to salvation.
If we consider the church to be a vehicle that can get us to our ultimate divine destination, if we steer it correctly, then we can see its value. Imagine trying to get to Hawaii without a boat or aircraft. If you were a really good swimmer and had some way to eat and drink while you swam, it would be technically possible. Becoming like Father in Heaven without the restoration would be technically possible, but about as unlikely as getting to Hawaii without some kind of vehicle. That is a good way to think about the church. It has priesthood keys to perform essential ordinances, living prophets to steer it, a strong organizational structure, and like-minded members, and most importantly, Jesus Christ at the head, that make salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven possible.
We often say that we believe or know the church is true, but I don’t know what such a statement means. True? What do we mean by true? If truth is knowledge of things as they were, are, and will be, it seems like we could substitute the word real for true. The logic that would follow is that the church has some way of revealing reality itself to us; and by reality I mean the reality of everything.
Is the church a vehicle, or does it have in its structure and authority the means that would enable a person to come to know themselves and God as they really are? If that is the measure of a true church, then it would be worthwhile to explore it, participate in it, and discover all it has to offer us. I would argue that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is as simple as it needs to be for a child to benefit from it, and complex enough for the great minds and spiritual giants to not fully grasp it.
The key to knowing the church is true can only come by way of personal revelation. The best way to have such revelation is to fully participate in the church. Serving and being served in the Kingdom of God on the earth is the reason for the church, and it is in such service that we gain the confidence of God. When God has confidence in us, he reveals himself to us.