Four years ago, I began my journey to understand a religion that appeared to be genuine and easy to understand. But to my chagrin, this religion is decreasing in membership year after year. This is a religion I grew up with, where my father and mother were and are reverends of the church. I wanted to understand the core of its teachings, so I began with the most sacred doctrine of the church, which is the Ofudesaki. The Ofudesaki is said to be 17 chapters of verses that were written by God through the foundress, Miki Nakayama.

This book (Ofudesaki) explains what the purpose of life is, and why man was created. It gives us the instructions on how we as members of the church can begin to create a joyous life for all mankind. But as I began my translation and interpretation of this book, I found that the…