camp alpine.
we go to a church that believes in families. it believes in families so much it buys recreation properties all over the place, staffs those properties with full-time missionary volunteers, and equips those properties with all the goodies a families could wish. ropes courses, zip lines, archery ranges.
the fee to use the property and everything on it is something like $1 per person.
which frees us up to live what we know. instead of seeking after riches we seek to follow the Savior and we trust that He'll give us richness in our families. when we pay our tithing faithfully (we pay 10% of all we earn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) we know it will come back to us in blessings every time.
i remember when i was young i would hear my wealthy peers talking about their weekends at sun-river. i don't even know where that is but i'm pretty sure it's exclusive and spendy by the social status it supported.
i think there's a danger in our church, though. not in the set-up but in the people. it could easily become an exclusive, club-like world. the kids at school might hear my children going on about camp alpine with their friends who are also members of the church. camp alpine might feel like sun-river to someone on the outside.
anyone can go there.
because the camp is maintained by the church there are high standards of conduct. drinking and cursing would be completely out of place there. some behaviors totally acceptable in our society (like unmarried couples sharing a tent) would be a break of sacred trust there.
so members of the church are sometimes hesitant to invite friends who do not share their views. not because they don't love them, just because it's embarrassing to say, "we want you there but you can't smoke" and it's even harder to say, "come with us but please dress more modestly."
it makes me think of the scripture in James 1 of the Bible (love that chapter) that lays out exactly what religion is supposed to be...
"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."
i read that...pure religion is not an elite social club only for people who fit the mold. it's about lifting others who need lifting.
but i am going to be totally honest, it is a lot easier to keep myself unspotted from the world when i'm surrounded by people with high moral standards.
camp alpine is the way i imagine a swimming hole in the 50s. the people there wouldn't dare leave trash behind and nature is as pure as dirt there. total strangers stop for friendly chats as they weave around the lake in canoes. everyone seems to be watching out for every child and if someone wanders off (which has been known to happen) the whole camp mobilizes in prayer and search action.
it's almost unreal.
in a world where individual freedoms are priority and individual responsibilities to the community are shrugged it can be hard to feel entirely safe.
i hope my friends and family not of our faith that have come with us to camp alpine have been able to feel that safety and that peace.
what they are feeling is our religion, pure and undefiled.
if my kids talk about their weekends at camp alpine i hope the do so in humility. i hope they realize what a blessing it is to belong to our church and what a responsibility they have to be what they believe.
i am overwhelmed by the blessing the camp has been and will continue to be to our family.
it's exactly what we hoped for them.
(more about lds camps here.)
the fee to use the property and everything on it is something like $1 per person.
which frees us up to live what we know. instead of seeking after riches we seek to follow the Savior and we trust that He'll give us richness in our families. when we pay our tithing faithfully (we pay 10% of all we earn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) we know it will come back to us in blessings every time.
i remember when i was young i would hear my wealthy peers talking about their weekends at sun-river. i don't even know where that is but i'm pretty sure it's exclusive and spendy by the social status it supported.
i think there's a danger in our church, though. not in the set-up but in the people. it could easily become an exclusive, club-like world. the kids at school might hear my children going on about camp alpine with their friends who are also members of the church. camp alpine might feel like sun-river to someone on the outside.
anyone can go there.
because the camp is maintained by the church there are high standards of conduct. drinking and cursing would be completely out of place there. some behaviors totally acceptable in our society (like unmarried couples sharing a tent) would be a break of sacred trust there.
so members of the church are sometimes hesitant to invite friends who do not share their views. not because they don't love them, just because it's embarrassing to say, "we want you there but you can't smoke" and it's even harder to say, "come with us but please dress more modestly."
it makes me think of the scripture in James 1 of the Bible (love that chapter) that lays out exactly what religion is supposed to be...
"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."
i read that...pure religion is not an elite social club only for people who fit the mold. it's about lifting others who need lifting.
but i am going to be totally honest, it is a lot easier to keep myself unspotted from the world when i'm surrounded by people with high moral standards.
camp alpine is the way i imagine a swimming hole in the 50s. the people there wouldn't dare leave trash behind and nature is as pure as dirt there. total strangers stop for friendly chats as they weave around the lake in canoes. everyone seems to be watching out for every child and if someone wanders off (which has been known to happen) the whole camp mobilizes in prayer and search action.
it's almost unreal.
in a world where individual freedoms are priority and individual responsibilities to the community are shrugged it can be hard to feel entirely safe.
i hope my friends and family not of our faith that have come with us to camp alpine have been able to feel that safety and that peace.
what they are feeling is our religion, pure and undefiled.
if my kids talk about their weekends at camp alpine i hope the do so in humility. i hope they realize what a blessing it is to belong to our church and what a responsibility they have to be what they believe.
i am overwhelmed by the blessing the camp has been and will continue to be to our family.
it's exactly what we hoped for them.
(more about lds camps here.)
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