In my old age, I've come to realize that these things are more for giving the appearance you believe to others, than to yourself.
For example the LDS church opened up a new temple in Utah and the hype was surreal. I couldn't talk to any of my Utah friends and not hear about it. Hundreds of thousands went through the temple open house and literally the city had a huge celebration. Then it opened. People that have gone say it's practically deserted inside. Funny that. People were literally lining up with others to see. But when they can go by themselves at any time they don't go. I used to think that these were silly little things to reaffirm people's faith, to convince themselves they're not wrong. I think now it's more that they want to convince others they're not wrong.
