Sariah's idea about the afterlife

A few weeks ago, Sariah asked me a question.  She asked if maybe the way things work is that what you believe (specifically about the afterlife) will come true for you.  She used the example of reincarnation, "So, if I believe in reincarnation, maybe I'll be reincarnated."  I told her that was a possibility.

Then, it really hit me just a couple of days ago.  What if it really was like that?  What if believing in heaven made it so that you go to heaven.  I realize that the way I'm saying this, makes it sound a lot like magical thinking.  I can't express it like I felt it.

So, then, I had to stand back and ask myself if it would be worth it for me to believe in an afterlife so that I could have the chance of going there when I die.  I worked through that question before I was sure for myself that Mormon Doctrine wasn't for me.  I asked myself whether it wouldn't be worth it to live it just in case it really was the Truth.  I decided it wasn't worth that amount of pain.

And, funny thing is, given the possible chance that believing in something would give me the option of not being totally obliterated (well, except for those pesky physical atoms of my body), I don't choose believing.  Weird?  Maybe.

I really, really like my life.  I'm doing better at living in the moment than I ever have before.  All of that focusing on eternity did not make me happy in the past.  Why would I pick it up now?  Doesn't make logical sense and it doesn't make emotional sense either.

It was an interesting thought experiment though.