Lately, I've been dabbling on Twitter/x (@upward_thought), searching for those searching for greater light and truth. It's been a while since I've had overtly religious conversations with people outside of the LDS sphere. Boy, am I disappointed.
I'd say that more than 75% of people claiming to be Christian know and care less about how Jesus actually is than your average atheist. Instead, they are like pull-string talking dolls with the same 3-4 brainless slogans, depending on their sect. These are not sincere people; these are not people who think and feel according to the light they have. Meanwhile, it's not hard to find someone who, in spite of claiming that they don't believe in God or aren't sure if he exists, actually live life at least quasi-intentionally.
The way must be cleared, and it will be, as greater challenges are continuously poured out to reveal the limits of what people mistake for sufficient foundations. Lord, may the dead branches be removed as the living branches begin to grow.
Throughout time, there have been a few people who undertook an unconstrained search for truth, trading up for better ideas wherever they could find them: Christ chief among them in every way, including demonstrating what the world does to such people.
I'm left to think of a song by Jorn that is highly unlikely to affect you as it does me:
They're all in it for the business
But me I'm in it for the heart
I’ll never sell my soul to greed
I'll take the nails and bleed
Hammered to the cross, yeah
Led up to the cross
How I wish there were more people who were in it for the heart, who saw source of truth and a reason to search for more and better, rather than an excuse to close one's mind to what they don't already believe.