Myths about Mormons – Mormons aren’t Christian

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. My church has taught me that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God. He came to earth as a man to suffer and die for my sins and the sins and pains of all others in the world. I believe that salvation comes through Christ alone.

Christus Statue found at the LDS Salt
Lake City Visitor's Center 

One my favorite scriptures on this topic comes from The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Second Nephi 25:26 reads “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophesies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

The term “Christian” has ancient roots. Wikipedia has a great summary of the history of the word. Originally, “Christian” was used as a derisive term for followers of Christ. The use could even denote slave-like ownership by Christ. Along with the term Nazarene, Christian differentiated Jews who believed Christ was the Messiah from those who did not. Paul endorsed the term Christian as being accurate in indicating our dedicated, dependent relationship with Christ.

Mormons – whose nickname, interestingly, was also a derisive name initially – feel the same relationship with Christ that early Christians felt. It is this dedication, love, and reverence of Christ that earns us the title Christian. In biblical terms, we are truly Christian.

Some will argue that because we do not follow the Nicene Creed or because we believe works are important we must not be Christian. I would argue that we are simply a different “brand” of Christianity. We simply adhere to the initial definition and meaning the term Christian. If you want to distinguish us, I suggest the term “Biblical Christians.” This could help explain differences in our Christianity while not ignoring our deep dedication to and love of the Savior.

I would like to offer one comparison before ending this post. In Buddhism there are three major divisions: Therevada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Each of these sects is equally Buddhist. No one Buddhist would deny that a follower of another way were less a Buddhist than he. But they have very essential differences. For example, Therevada Buddhists do not believe in the Cosmic (or divine) Buddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Likewise, Evangelical Christians are different from Catholic Christians are different from Mormon Christians, but we are all Christians. We may have different understandings of how our Christianity affects our lives, but we are all essentially Christian. We follow Jesus Christ – He is our Lord.

I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I know that were it not for Jesus, I would have no hope of salvation. It is His grace that allows me the chance to repent and become perfect. I am grateful for His sacrifice in the garden, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the tomb that broke the bounds of death. I know He lives. 

My Favorite Spot of Time

You wonder how these things begin. Well, this begins with a glen. It begins with a season which for want of a better word we might as well call September. 

It begins with a forest where woodchucks woo and leaves wax green and vines entwine like lovers. Try to see it. Not with your eyes for they are wise, but see it with your ears: the cool green breathing of the leaves. And hear it with the inside of your hand: the soundless sound of shadows flicking light.
Celebrate sensation! Recall that secret place, you’ve been there, you remember. That special place where once, just once, in your crowded sunlit lifetime you hid away in the shadows from the tyranny of time. That spot beside the clover where someone’s hand held your hand and love was sweeter than the berries, or the honey, or the stinging taste of mint.
-The Fantasticks

Autumn is a wonderful time of year. I used to say summer was my favorite because I could play outside and get tan, but that’s not really a love of the season, just a love of the activities. Since coming to college especially, I’ve realized what autumn means to me. For some unknown reason, I experience typically “spring” emotions and ideas in autumn: romance, rebirth, and hope.

Romance is always the first to come up in the fall. As soon as the air turns chilly in the mornings, a mounting excitement blossoms. It grows stronger each day until that day when the evenings too are chilly. And then the excitement becomes a wish: I wish to wander in the chilly evening with someone special. It doesn’t matter if I have a specific someone in mind – no, that is unimportant. What matters is that autumn evenings are perfect for long walks. Feel the rustling of the leaves, taste the chill in the air, breathe in the exhilaration of walking at night.

Rebirth may actually show itself in the spring, but autumn is even more so a time of new beginnings. The school year, for one thing, begins in the fall. But more important, now is when the full splendor of the leaves is seen. This is the culmination of their life here – once this is done, they leave and make way for the new growth. Seeds will fall now that make spring possible. So much potential is seen in the fall. This is when the patterns are created that will lead to our spring.

Associated with this cleaning of the slate that autumn brings is the feeling of hope I get. No matter how bad the year was, no matter the relationships formed or lost, no matter what I feel I messed up on, and no matter what I planned on doing, autumn is when I feel most hopeful to improve. The good things from the past year will either stick or disappear throughout the autumn. The bad things can fall with the leaves and I can forget them.

This hope is the most powerful feeling autumn brings me. Over the past few days as autumn as crept down from the mountains to the valley floor, I have reconsidered my career, dedicated myself to new goals, and discovered new faith within myself. I have the hope that my career plans will work out, no matter how unsure I feel today. I have hope that with the good start I’ve made on my goals that I can progress and fulfill them. And I have hope that my new faith will make me a better child of God and bring me closer to His presence.

Myths about Mormons – Introduction

I am currently enrolled in the Survey of World Religion class at BYU. Through lectures, videos, and visits to local worship centers, I am being exposed more fully to the beliefs and practices of religions I knew little about – sometimes just the name.

As I study and learn, I almost constantly discover misconceptions I had about religions. I thought the Hindu idea of reincarnation meant you would be forever re-born. Progression in this life was the goal, but I never had any idea that release from rebirth and the illusion of individualism, maya, was the driving desire of Hinduism. I didn’t know Buddhism came from Hinduism. And I’m sure as we study more religions that I will find and correct even more and worse misconceptions.

Thinking about this makes me wonder more about the misconceptions people have about Mormons: what they think, where the idea came from, and how it affects our relationship with those outside our religious culture. I grew up around non-members. I didn’t have any close friends – very few friends of any sort, for that matter – within our church for most of my adolescence. Through this experience, I’ve been exposed to some of the misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Friends have told me about other ones. And I’ve seen some on the internet. Other things I have not been asked about or personally noticed, but I can just guess from looking at our culture that it wouldn’t be hard to be confused – and rightly so.

Many times members of the church respond to these misconceptions with offense, derision, or shock. I know I have done so at times. Perhaps a blog would be a safer and easier way to clarify my beliefs. It removes the danger of a reactive statement that isn’t quite accurate or kind. And it gives us all a chance to come back and review – you to re-read my statement, and me to correct it if I discover that I was also unclear.

As I hope is clear, I am anything but an expert on my own religion. I have lots of experience, faith, and understanding, but I do not know all the finer details. I am not a church historian who has studied the teachings of our prophets in detail. I have studied more or less depending on my stage in life but these studies have always focused on where I need greater understanding for my own personal growth. Therefore, all my knowledge is colored and balanced to suit my individual needs. But that does not discount the knowledge I do have – it simply explains why I will not cover some topics.

This will be a challenge and a learning experience for me, and I hope it will be a learning experience for many others out there. To help make these posts make sense, I want to define a few things in how I think about my beliefs.

1.    The Gospel: This is the “good news” that Christ taught when He lived on earth. It is most especially focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that “great and last sacrifice” that was offered to save all men from temporal and spiritual death.

2.    Doctrines: The actual teachings that direct my life. Doctrines explain how this life works, why I am here, where I will be going, and what I need to do to return to my Father in Heaven. For my part, I consider it doctrine if it was taught as a law in the scriptures or through modern revelation. Some doctrines are less so laws as we think of them in daily life and more laws as in “laws of nature;” the doctrine explains the way creation and life is.

3.    Instructions: Guidelines for living my life, given through modern revelation and scripture. Most doctrines are also instructions, but not all instructions are doctrine. For this second instance, I follow the instruction not because it in itself is determinate in my salvation, but because I believe obedience to the prophet is a doctrine that is part of my salvation.

4.    Culture: Aspects of being Mormon that may be based in doctrine or instruction but have really been created by the members through the way they interpret and live the doctrines. I’ve noticed these create a large amount of the confusions over Mormonism, not to mention small debates (or sometimes major arguments) within Mormonism.

Thanks for reading along. I pray that this blog will help me to better understand my own beliefs as I strive to share and explain them. I also pray that those reading will be helped in better understanding my religion and my personal beliefs.

Back to the Basics

As the new year gets underway, changes can occur suddenly. I’ve moved into a new apartment with roommates I love, even though I’d never met them. My classes are new and my work schedule changed. Even church has changed. We are in a new room, and Relief Society is using a new book, Gospel Principles.

When this new book was announced, I heard several responses. Some thought that another book that had been planned was just not ready, so this was to hold us over for a year. Others thought that it was a sign that an influx of new members around the world was imminent. Most of the opinions were negative. “I want the meat of the gospel, not the milk.” The most ardent opinion was expressed by a friend of mine who is a convert. For her, the milk was given at 16 years of age. It was recently learned and taken fully to heart. My opinion however, is that this is a much needed lesson manual. We need to really understand the milk before we can consider the meat.

In my experience, the basic principles of the gospel, those that are vital to salvation and even exaltation, are covered in Primary, and then become part of “The List.” Read your scriptures, pray, go to church, fast. We rattle them off as quick fixes to the problem of the teacher picking on us. Or we are told “don’t just give me the list, think about it.” I feel that this list is much more important than we realize. I personally believe the church is true. I follow the teachings. But I often don’t have a testimony of those teachings. I will readily admit that I don’t read my scriptures every day. Why should I? It’s just part of “The List,” and since I’m doing all the things that require thinking, do I need to worry about that? YES. I do need to read my scriptures every day. I am working hard to make that change in my life. If it’s just a basic though, why do I need it so desperately? I need it because the deeper aspects of the gospel will never be understandable without a basic understanding of the scriptures.

The entire gospel principles book is full of these gems. I was so excited to get my hands on it yesterday in church. The very first lesson was on the reality of God, who He is, that He loves me. Last summer, I received a stunning witness that this is true. It changed my perspective on the gospel. I no longer live it because my parents taught me to and I believe them. I live the gospel because I know that my Heavenly Father wants me to, so that I can come home to Him. This change happened when I was 19 years old. Young women of 14 and 15 years old are treated as if they should have this type of understanding of the gospel. I believe that many of them don’t have that witness. I didn’t. And I don’t think that’s bad, or unnatural. We are taught well and act on the teachings of our parents. Members raised in the church may not have a strong testimony of these basics.

As we study the gospel principles this year, I pray to receive a witness from the spirit of their truthfulness. If we approach this study with excitement and dedication, I believe all members around the world will find something new that will strengthen their testimony and possibly change their life. We cannot contemplate the deepest aspects of the gospel without first knowing the basics. It would be like telling a 5th grader to solve a quadratic equation. Someday that 5th grader will learn and understand quadratic equations. But first we need to teach them how to multiply and divide whole numbers.

I for one am very excited about the upcoming year. Honestly, I have never been so excited for a church manual. I know that if I give my fullest to the lessons, I will learn and grow this year as I come to understand basic principles of the gospel I follow.