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.

In Narnia Again

The Dawn Treader is probably my favorite of the Narnia books. At least, it was. As I grow, my favorites change. Lewis explains that any book that's good to read as a child should be good to read as an adult. Narnia for me is like that. But as the reason I like them changes, my favorites change too. For example, when I was little, I definitely didn't like The Silver Chair. This summer, in preparation for class, I re-read the entire series. I absolutely LOVED The Silver Chair this time through. Partially because I had just hiked through a mountain cave that week, but also, I think, because I appreciated different elements of the story. 

Last time I read Narnia, two years ago, I wanted the feel of something more, something beyond my boring, normal life. The sense of potential. Dawn Treader gives that in spades. I feel great ability, adventure, and shared excitement with the children. The Silver Chair brings out the weaknesses of the children much more strongly. It wasn't such a heroes and villains story. Sure there were good guys and bad guys and a great adventure, but there was more. I didn't need what else was there. It was just a good story, and Dawn Treader gave me more of what I needed in my life. But now I am older and I see that life is that exciting. I don't need the Dawn Treader to let me feel that feeling of journeying and adventuring. Now The Silver Chair shows me a mirror where I can see the mistakes I have and may yet make. 

Reading these books again and again as I grow helps to illustrate how lasting and true a good book is. The meaning and significance may change over time, but a good book can always offer me something important to my life, whether it's the first or thousand and first read. I still read my favorite picture books because where they once gave me limitless thoughts of grown-up adventures, now they provide me with peaceful images of childhood joy.

"The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man nothing else that he builds ever lasts monuments fall; nations perish; civilization grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts, of the hearts of men centuries dead.” -Clarence Day

Seeking the Wandering

Often you hear of Christ the Good Shepard searching for His lost sheep. Usually this conjures up images of various Mormon paintings and the idea of a lost soul wandering in sin. The "black sheep" are also the "lost sheep." They don't know where they should be, and they really don't care. Tonight, as I was reading for my New Testament class, I read a story that changes that image for me.

In John chapter nine, the story is told of a man, "blind from birth" who is healed by the Savior. After he is healed, the man returns to his home and is seen by many who know him as the one who "sat and begged." The Pharisees claim that whoever healed him is a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath, but others argue that a sinner can't perform such miracles. The city is in an uproar. They go to the man's parents, demanding to know the full story. The parents decide to stay out of it. They affirm that the man is their son, and tell their friends "he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." I immediately thought of a man about my age. Across cultures and ages, 21 has been the basic point for a man to come of age, give or take a few years. If he wasn't my age, this man was probably younger than me.

As the interrogation continues, he resolutely sticks to his faith in the man who healed him. When asked once more to explain how it happened, "He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?" When his testimony is bluntly rejected, he is cast out from the city.

Now comes the important part. Jesus often seems to wander around the Judean countryside with little purpose or direction. On His way, He meets people and performs miracles. But verse 35 says "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" He had heard that someone had been cast out for His sake, and He found him. That means He was searching. The Shepherd was seeking His lost sheep. But this sheep wasn't a sinner. This sheep was a faithful follower of Christ. He didn't know where he needed to be or what to do, but he was firm in the faith of what he did know.

Every faithful disciple of Jesus has days where they feel lost and alone. This world is scary and confusing. It is impossible for us in our mortal life to always know where we should go. But we can be sure that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is always looking for us. He will be there and seek us when we stumble. As we wander the hills of this world, trying to find Him, He is walking them too. He searches for us, calling our name. As we call back to Him, we will eventually come Home and dwell with Jesus and Our Father.

I know that God lives. I know that Christ is my redeemer. I know that He will continually seek us and not allow us to become lost so long as we are searching faithfully for Him. As we search prayerfully with faith, we will be aided in our journey home.