Diversity and Strength

One of the stand out thoughts rolling around in my head about my trip at the moment, is the recognition of the diversity and strength of peoples religious and spiritual beliefs.  I have a very strong set of beliefs, values and practices which are reflective of my spirituality.  I am not always a person who freely shares these with others, or do I think they are very evident to others, however I have a great admiration for people who live their life according to what they believe.   I will give a couple of examples.

 Yesterday, I came across two different instances of a Muslim man praying to Mecca on a street side.  In my four weeks here, I had not seen this, yet twice in one day seemed to be strange on one level.  One man knelt on a flattened cardboard box, the other on a beautiful prayer mat.  Both stopping their jobs as street vendors to observe and pray according to their beliefs.  What seems to make it even more striking is, this is being done in New York where there potentially is some strong anti-muslim perspectives.  I admired those men for living their beliefs on the busy streets of New York.

Another group of people that are more visible here are the Orthodox Jews.  I am fascinated to learn of all the different variations of the Jewish culture and religion.  One of the other social workers on the program is a practicing Jew. I have had a couple of conversations with her about her culture.  I have been particularly interested in their Shabbath (Sabbath) observance.  An hour before sun down their Shabbath begins on Friday afternoon.  From what I understand, during Shabbath they walk to where they need to go, don't use electricity or shop etc.  Even within the hospital system, it is accommodating to the beliefs and needs of the Jewish population.  In the hospital cafeteria Kosher food is served and their are Shabbath lifts which automatically will stop at every floor so the buttons do not have to be pressed.  Some may see these practices as extreme, however I'm not making comment on their practices, but on people willing to live their lives according to what they believe.  This practice is not often easily found.

LDS Conference Centre, Salt Lake City, Utah
 (it does fill up with Mormons)

My musings about these things actually started in Utah where I attended our church's semi-annual world wide conference.  Firstly, I had never been anywhere where there were so many Mormons gathered in one place and that could be particularly scary in itself, but I relished the opportunity to be gathered with others who share my beliefs.  There are 5 sessions of conference over Saturday and Sunday each lasting approximately 2 hours each.  At these sessions we hear from our church leaders including our Prophet (Thomas S. Monson) and of course the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  This is the first time I have attended conference in person.  We often get the sessions via satellite or video about a week later at home.  I find such spiritual strength and direction from participating conference.  Anyway I digress.

Protesters outside Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

Besides enjoying the spiritual feast the thing that really took me by surprise were the people protesting outside the Conference Centre.  I am fully aware and respect people do not agree with our beliefs or religion, however it strikes me as rather peculiar for people who profess to be "Christians", feel they have a right to pull down and stomp on others beliefs.   These people were not quietly demonstrating, but very vocal and denigrating.  In spite of this, the majority of conference goers went quietly on by.  I thought the protesters could have found a better way to spend their weekends, rather than hollering at the Mormons.

I don't really mind what religious, non-religious, or belief system people individually follow, I believe the common thread should be the ability to treat each other with respect and dignity.  Our ability to peaceably walk with others is indicative of the peace we find from following our beliefs.  I do not think there is anything wrong with standing up for what you believe, however I do think there is a problem when we start attacking another's beliefs.

Well, now that I have got that off my chest, I will step down from my soapbox before it collapses under me and I break my neck!  Next time, I will try and not be so serious