Religion

 

As most of you know, I moved to Utah about a year ago.  This state has always been predominantly Mormon, and depending on where you live, the percentages are different.  In the Salt Lake City area, the percentage is about 50% Mormon, and in the rural areas, I would expect that it approaches 100%.  Here in Cedar City, it is about 70% Mormon.  We have about 15 LDS Churches and also a LDS Temple.  That’s a lot of churches for a town of 36,000 people!  In addition to that, most other religions are represented, including Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 

I have never been a church goer, and was briefly a Presbyterian in high school.  I have always said that religion didn’t stick!  Lucky for me.  George Kavassilas talks about the God Matrix of religion that is designed to entrap and enslave humanity through its dogma and control.  That certainly seems to be going on in this community.

My family is not religious for the most part, and even throughout my whole adult life, I very rarely had friends or acquaintances who went to church.  Even if they did, they didn’t talk about it at all.  You would think that in a predominantly Mormon community, that religion would be a common topic of conversation.  Not so.  The only person who talked a lot about it was Paul Smith, my CRV instructor. 

So here is the interesting part.  In activities that I have participated in, with people that I am just meeting for the first time, or people in my subdivision, the subject of one’s religion comes up frequently. For the most part I do not know what religion these people belong to, but they seem to have a need to identify themselves as religious God loving people.  Like putting on a big badge.  I hiked with a new group yesterday, and the same thing happened.  Mormons here do not do that.  They seem to be secure in their faith, and know who is LDS, and who is not.  It is a somewhat closed group, too. 

I finally asked myself about what is going on here.  The best I can come up with is that because of the predominance of Mormons, the members of the other religions have to amplify and make clear their identities as non Mormon as a subconscious energetic counterbalance.  Not that I agree with any of this.  When someone brings up any version of their religious persuasion, I can see a kind of netting start to form around their bodies.  That must be the God Matrix showing itself.  It feels so mechanical and robotic to me. 

Anyway, I will keep observing this behavior in others.  I am hiking with the same group next Saturday and will have my eyes and ears open!  Above and below are some photos from yesterday’s hike.