8 Faith Traditions I have Holy Envy for as an Active Latter-day Saint

The core truth claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that the fullness of the Gospel has been restored, along with the authority to administer it. We are often quick to acknowledge that all religions have aspects, shards, or parts of truth. But sometimes we conflate having the fullness of the gospel with living every aspect better than others.

Many times, the shard of truth other religions have, they honor with more devotion and faithfulness than we pay to that particular aspect of the gospel. We can look at the various religions of the world and acknowledge that we have Holy Envy, aka admire and appreciate their dedication to the truths they hold. And hopefully aspire to be more like them. Within that understanding of how I am using the term, Holy Envy, I wanted to point out 8 different Faith Traditions and an aspect or two of them that I have Holy Envy for. Not that we don’t have the truth, but they live it better than we do.

1st Eastern Orthodoxy: Music

No other faith tradition rivals the Eastern Orthodox embrace of music. Literally every aspect of their worship is infused with singing, chanting, or music. Truly, if the Lord’s “soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto [God]” (D&C 25:12), then the Eastern Orthodox tradition is an example to Latter-day Saints on how to truly sing. I have Holy Envy for their sacred approach to music in worship.

2nd Judaism: The Temple/Word of Wisdom

Within (Orthodox) Judaism, their devotion and love of the Temple is ever present. Faithful Jews to this day still pray towards the temple that was destroyed nearly 2000 years ago, not because they worship the building, but because they understand its importance in their covenant relationship with God. Latter-day Saints have been repeatedly counseled to focus on the temple, yet many Saints live in the shadows of temples and fail to regularly attend the temple. Imagine the transformation of our spiritual lives if we were to focus on the temple to the degree that the Jews do?

More than the temple, I have Holy Envy for how the Orthodox Jews regard the Law of Moses. If you ask an Orthodox Jew, “Why don’t you eat pork?” You won’t hear them talking about carcinogens, they will tell you it is because of the Law of Moses that was given to them by God through the prophet Moses. Imagine if Latter-day Saints took this same approach to the Word of Wisdom? Rather than going over all the health reasons for not drinking or smoking, or abstaining from tea/coffee, we simply replied, “Because God, through His prophet, asked us not to.”

3rd Catholicism: Defending Life

There are many amazing aspects of Catholicism, but the main one that I have Holy Envy for is their dedication to defending life, particularly the unborn. Our doctrine, if understood as taught by the prophets and not activists and influencers, would require us as Latter-day Saints to lead out in this battle, but instead, we fall short of our doctrine and the words of the prophets.

In any battle to defend the unborn, the front ranks of the side for life is filled with Catholics. I see so many Latter-day Saints who waver in their commitment to defend the unborn. They want to be nice, or avoid politics, or they talk about the agency of the mother. But the Catholics are unashamed in defending life. I wish we could have the commitment to life that the Catholics have.

4th Islam: Fasting and Prayer

There is no better example in all of the world of prayer and fasting than Islam. Their example during Ramadan is humbling. Nearly a full month of fasting from Sunrise to sunset. Whereas it is not the “Law of the Fast” that we practice of 2 meals and 24 hours. It is, from my experience, observed with far, far, far more widespread faithfulness than our Fasting. There are SOOO many blessings promised to those who faithfully observe the Law of the Fast, blessings our families and congregations need… But many Saints go without because hunger is uncomfortable… I have Holy Envy for the culture of fasting within Islam, and wish we could follow their example better!

5th Sikhism: Service or Sevā

When I think of service to others, I think of the Sikhs. Many Latter-day Saints know very little about Sikhism, but on my mission, I grew to love their zeal towards “Sevā” or selfless service. And while in college, we studied Sikhism and how central to their religion is the idea that we must serve all mankind, regardless of who they are. We learned of their Golden Temple in Punjab, India, that feeds 50,000-100,000 people EVERY SINGLE DAY. Truly, they serve others and feed the hungry as Christ has commanded us to do!

6th Buddhism: Importance of Family/Ancestors

Within Buddhism, the importance of family and ancestors cannot be overstated. In nations like Vietnam, they did not even celebrate birthdays until the practice was introduced by the West, but they would always honor their family, often celebrating their life on the anniversary of their death. But regardless of where Buddhism is practiced, from Japan to Tibet, to India, the importance of your ancestors is a recurring theme. These themes also find recurrence in other similar regional religions of Hinduism and Confucianism.

Latter-day doctrine on the family is clear: our families can be together forever. We have a STRONG emphasis on seeking out our dead and doing work for them. I have Holy Envy for these traditions that focus so much on family, they treat the dead as if they are still present and part of the family. For truly, they are still part of the family even if they have passed on to the other side of the veil.

7th Jehovah’s Witnesses: Missionary Work

David O. McKay was the first prophet to teach “every member a missionary.” But if there is a church that truly embodies this principle, it is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have met SOOOO many Jehovah’s Witnesses, who joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses because they were praying for direction, and the local Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on their door later that day/week. I have Holy Envy for the total embodiment of this principle taught by David O. McKay. So many members get this idea that missionary work is for the full-time missionaries…. I wish they had half the vision of the Jehovah’s Witnesses!

8th Seventh Day Adventists: Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

The words “Sabbath” and “Sunday” appear a combined over 8,000 times in the general conference reports of the Church (For context, Tithing appears only 4,100 times). The prophets and apostles have repeatedly urged the honoring of this Holy Day. I think no other Church in the world honors the Sabbath Day better than the Seventh Day Adventists. (It is their main thing after all!). Whereas a lot of their focus is on the day of the week they observe the Sabbath, setting that aside, when it comes to the Sabbath Day, they truly seek to make it a Holy Day. They legit do a better job of following Latter-day prophetic teaching of what is appropriate to do on the Sabbath than most Saints!

Growing up, when my dad lost his job, he found temporary employment at the Walmart in Orem, helping check out/bag groceries. He was told he did not need to work Sundays. But soon they told him, due to increased business on that day, he needed to work from 9-5. I still remember him coming home, sad he had missed the opportunity to partake of the Sacrament, but telling us, “You can tell when church gets out, as a bunch of people in Sunday Clothes come in to buy snacks/treats…. I wonder if they knew what their breaking of the Sabbath Day costs me?” I have never forgotten the price my dad paid for members who broke the Sabbath Day on their way home from Church…

President Nelson has urged us to make the Sabbath day a sign of our love for the Lord. Yet I can’t help feeling that, like Ministering, we have resorted to being lower and lazier in honoring the Sabbath Day! (See Has Ministering Been Higher and Holier or Lower and Lazier?). I have Holy Envy for the Seventh Day Adventists, I wish we could follow their example, which would actually just be following the prophets in honoring the Sabbath Day.

Therefore What?

Boyd K. Packer compared the gospel of Jesus Christ to a piano in his Oct. 1971 hallmark address. He spoke of the fact that every church has ‘keys of the gospel piano’, and many play beautiful songs on the keys they have. But because of the restoration, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the full gospel keyboard. IE, none of these faith traditions has truths that we are lacking, but they have examples of faithfulness towards the truths they do have. Sometimes, no, oftentimes they have more faithfulness towards the truth than we have. We can learn from their examples in living truth.

Let us look at the religions around us and realize that all the good they do is because they play the keys of the gospel keyboard that they have. Let us realize that we are not limited to only a few keys! Because of the restoration, all their keys, plus all the lost keys of that keyboard, have been restored! We have a duty to learn how to play the ENTIRE gospel keyboard, as every key has a purpose. Yes, every single tradition talked about today has a LOT that they get wrong, but they have a lot that they get right. Let us look for the areas they get right and seek to emulate and follow their examples in following the gospel of Jesus Christ. Who knows, but along the way, some of them might become more interested in the Restoration because of us!

Are there any Faith Traditions you have Holy Envy for? If so, please comment and share them! And if you liked this article, you might also like these!