Lately, I have been thirsting for a little religious diversity. Don’t get me wrong, I love my ward, but I am fascinated to know what it is like to attend services of other denominations. I kinda wish I lived in the south so that I could go to one of those services where they “take up” serpents, or roll around on the ground muttering gibberish, or perform “miraculous healings”.

 

Ok, maybe not the snakes one.

 

While talking with a friend of mine about my desire to explore, he recommended that I try a U U service, to which I replied, “What the Heck is that?”.

 

Turns out that United Unitarian was the Heck, and I recently had an opportunity to attend one of their services. When I walked through the doors I was immediately greeted by a nice lady who asked if I was new, and then informed me that I could wear a name tag if I liked. I didn’t want to offend the first Unitarian I met, so I scribbled my name on a “Hello my name is” tag, and I found a seat near the back. As I looked around, I was amazed at the diversity of the congregation. Unlike the LDS version, this group of followers were dressed from Sunday Best, to Just Rolled Out of Bed. Several looked as though they had just left a SLC punk convention, while others could be seen with a thermos of coffee in tow.

 

I was delighted and fascinated to say the least.

 

As it turns out, I had chosen a special day to attend. Once a year the congregation turns it’s hour-long service over to the youth. Now I know what you are thinking, and no, this was nothing like the primary programs we have all come to love and anticipate, and which those of us in a singles ward find ourselves missing out on.

 

While there was a still a decent amount of music involved, these youth were presenting songs like, Let it go from Frozen, Is there anybody out there by Pink Floyd, and my personal favorite, The Birthday Songby Peter Mayer. The age of the youth seemed to range from 12 to 18 years old, and the spectrum of race, fashion, and personality was as diverse as the congregation they arose from, with one apparent commonality, they were probably one of the happiest bunch of teens and pre-teens I had ever seen.

 

What was that all about?

 

Overall, the program was light hearted and entertaining, but my favorite part by far was when several of the youth stood up and shared their thoughts on the experiences they had all had of attending the church services of several different denominations, including an LDS service. I was stunned, impressed, and a little jealous. As part of their normal curriculum these kids had been able to immerse themselves in cultural and religious diversity, with the intention of becoming more knowledgeable, and in doing so, becoming more loving, understanding, and tolerant of those whose beliefs differ from their own.

 

I was nearly dumbfounded (jaw most likely on the floor) as I listened to these teenaged kids speaking with a maturity and perspective that I didn’t reach until well into my mid to late 20’s. They spoke of tolerance, they spoke of allowing everyone their own path, and they spoke of the relentless quest for truth and deeper understanding. Theirs was not an attitude of exclusivity, but one of inclusion regardless of your personal spiritual beliefs, or lack thereof. One of the gals remarked concerning her own experiences,

 

“I’m an atheist but I go to church, and I enjoy church. My friends say that’s impossible, and I say, Then how am I doing it?”

 

Another boy remarked about,

 

“The importance of talking about the hard issues, and talking about what you believe.”  

 

He also said that it was critical to

 

“Keep an open mind, because once you stop attempting to change another person’s mind, you set yourself up for higher understanding.”

 

Several of the kids mentioned their experience at the LDS service, and while none of them had anything negative to say about their time there, it was amusing and eye opening to hear the way they described the services. I believe the words “Long”. “Clean cut”, “Uptight”, and “Very VERY long” were all thrown out at some point. The observation that stood out to me the most was when this cute little gal remarked that,

 

“Out of all of the services, the Baptist had the most energy, the Buddhist had the most Joy, the Hindus had the most fun, and the Mormons seemed….sort of…sad.”  

 

She meant no disrespect, and I felt no offense, instead I took it as one of those mirror being held up to myself, and more specifically, to my faith moments.

 

I know that there is an abundance of love and joy that radiates when people, all people, come together in the spirit of love and brotherhood. Neither the Baptist, nor the Buddhist, nor the Hindus, or even the Mormons have the market totally cornered in that regard. I think that what this experience taught me, is that there are a million and a half ways that people Come to God, Find purpose, and Connect with those around them. Some do it through shouting and jumping, some through electric guitars, some with colorful dirt fights, and some with watching a group of toddlers act out the lyrics to Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam.

 

No matter how, where, or what  we choose to worships, I can only see benefit in celebrating and cultivating the difference, as well as the similarities. Who knows, perhaps it might not be a bad idea to dedicate one YM/YW night to attending a service like the one I was able to attend.

If for no other reason than the potential of free food and watching monks play on their cell phones.