What Is True Religion? You Wouldn’t Be as Surprised as I Was in the Past

The context you have about religion is probably different from mine.

Believe it or not. If you asked me about what true religion is about 16 years ago, I would've answered you differently.

Now, I'll tell you what true religion really is and how I learned about it.

It was Sunday.

In a few days, I will join other young people to train at the Missionary Training Center in Quezon City, Philippines.

I was 23, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all my life, I've been waiting for this moment where I'd get a chance to serve the Lord for 18 months as a sister missionary.

Note that during that time, I was still naive about what really happened during the foundation of the church I belonged to. All I really thought was I was serving the Lord and his church. I never thought that I was only serving this church. For more information, click this story.

At this time, I was in a relationship with a young man who was also about to serve his full-time mission. And at this particular time, we were walking at the beach.

Suddenly, I asked him if he could join me in visiting an elderly lady who lives nearby, just a few meters from the beach.

She was one of the pioneer church members I belonged to, at least in our stake.

So, we dropped by this sister's house, and she welcomed us in. I can still remember the smell when we got into her house. It smelled like old books, just like how you would smell when entering an old library.

She let us sit at the dining table and was so sweet to give us a bookmark with quotations from the scriptures as a gift. She cut and decorated them herself. She said that she was happy that we were about to serve our mission and mentioned a little about her mission with her husband in the past.

As we thanked her, she decided to take out a hymn book and sang one hymn for us. We sang with her.

I couldn't remember what we sang. I only remembered how we tried hard not to laugh because we somehow found her shaky voice funny.

I know. That wasn't nice at all. She was an old lady; of course, her voice was shaky. But we really appreciate her sweetness and kind heart.

After the hymn, she asked us this one question, a question that I thought I already knew the answer. But I didn't.

She asked us this.

Do you know the meaning of true religion? What is the true religion?

My boyfriend and I looked at each other, and we looked back at her. I told her that our church is the true religion. Then I told her the full name of our church.

I was surprised when she told me that I was wrong.

In my mind, how could an active church member, a pioneer, or a person who served in many callings in the church during her lifetime say that my answer was false?

She asked us to open the New Testament, in the book of James 1:27

Slowly, I opened it. Then she let us read the answer.

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

True religion is charity. Practicing it. Being it.

It's not about loving your own. It's not about loving your religion only because you believe it to be the only true one, above all the others. Or you are only loving the people who belonged to your church. Or loving only the people who accept your faith or what you believe in.

True religion is loving everyone no matter what background, no matter what culture they practice, no matter who they are. It is loving without judgment. It is loving without any condition.

It is unconditional love.

Charity.

Your neighbor,

Wam