I heard today that one of our candidates for office wants to dismantle the national parks. That isn’t as bad as another political meeting I attended where an office holder and a member of the audience got into a love fest over the possibility of eliminating not only national parks but public roads and public schools.
Really. Really? Do these people understand what they are proposing? The idea of a utopia free of strong government and public projects appeals to these people. A lot of people in this area must agree because they vote for the same party year after year. I suggest they use their free time to visit a country that is living the model of freedom they espouse. Why don’t they take a junket to Somalia to see how nice a land can be when the population is free of political structure and education.
The fact that in a county filled with people who profess to follow the Lord, people who should live lives filled with charity, people who should work together as the body of Christ, people continue to vote for leaders who represent platforms based on selfishness, hate and fear is troubling. If democracy means our leaders represent us, represent us in government but also represent our values, then I can’t accept that the gospel is working in my area.
When a local leader is questioned about apparent bribes and favors his poll number go up. That does not bode well for us. A generation ago the same party that is in power talked of family values. Then came the stalking, the prostitutes, the hot tub party with a minor, the fraud, the booze, this list goes on. Today we don’t hear about family values we hear about freedom and state’s rights. I believe the only right these people want is more power for themselves.
We are bombarded with messages of hate and fear that are not spread by people who care about the truth. There is such a fear of anything short of complete individual freedom (read leave my money alone) that I expect to hear the scriptures paraphrased to “whenever two are gathered in my name…it’s socialism!”
Across the nation the same party these people are associated with has issues with racism, perverse e-mails, homophobia, and a curious embracing of ignorance as a value. Is that representative of us? (Odd how no one mentions the perception that the majority of the party doesn't value our religion much.) Of course simply voting for the other party won’t change things in the long term. The people who love power and their own wisdom may simply shift their allegiance and we won’t bother to learn about them.
We appear to be an intellectually lazy people. It does not appear that we are lead by leaders with vision and integrity. In a few days the majority of people in this area will go to church where they should learn about Christ. A few days later they will go to the polls where many will vote based on fear, hate and petty greed.
Will we choose the right? Only politically I suspect.
On second thought, Jesus lived in a land with no national parks, no large public school systems or fire stations. He didn’t have hospitals and highways. There were no big public water and sewer systems. He didn’t benefit from educated people finding cures for leprosy and smallpox. If that life was good enough for him I suppose I can’t complain about where our leaders want to take us.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
We Can Change the Church.
Why do so many people quietly dislike the culture of the church? Why do we wish it would change, that someone would step up and, from our perspective, put things right?
Well, we are that person. We need to think long and hard about what is the gospel and what is the baggage left behind by generations of well meaning but less than inspired church members or new ideas dragged into the church by people with self serving political or economic agendas.
We can start with simple things. If we are comfortable that the Lord won’t mind if we wear flip flops to church then we should wear flip flops. If we think that white shirts are fine for missionaries but are an affectation of mid twentieth century fashion for the rest of the population then we can wear blue shirts or stripped shirts. (Can we move beyond the pantyhose generation? Are they for wearing to church or for dressing like a skank?) The list goes on.
Do we desperately want a tattoo or a piercing? It may be a fading fashion but we can get a Madison, a nipple piercing, or a Hello Kitty inked on our bums and no one ever needs to know about it. At least until we are old and our grandchildren laugh as they change our diapers and give us sponge baths.
Are your ward's hymns sung too slow? Let’s ask our choristers why we can’t sing with joy and energy? If that doesn’t work then we can bake cookies for our organists and suggest they just play faster. They probably want to and our encouragement maybe all they need to step things up.
Do our leaders take the boys hiking and waterskiing while the girls stay home? Let’s organize other parents into adventure groups to show our girls we know they can do anything they want to do. We can take the lead and the organization can catch up later. Do our leaders talk down to girls? Well, let’s take them aside and explain that we recognize the gender issues of our culture and that regardless of that burden, we have high expectations for them in this world and we know they can learn the skills to solve the tough challenges they will face just like men do.
I have a friend who is so disappointed that good people are not speaking up in response to the closed minded loudmouths who are leading our popular culture. He has inspired me to make some changes in the way I approach our church culture. I don’t think conflict and contention will help us, but I think it is time for some small steps in leading by example.
Think of the issues that are troubling for our community. Immigration, race, gender issues, greed, substance use, chastity (and of course flip flops and white shirts). Are we dealing with these issues with charity in our hearts or are they an excuse to mock individuals or hate entire groups?
If we want to change how our culture deals with these issues we can start by dropping our concern with appearances.
I know we should avoid the appearance of evil, but concentrating on the appearance of good isn’t much better. Remember, we should be doing unto others as we would have done unto us. No one said we should appear unto other as we would like them to appear unto us. I take that back, business leaders, media personalities and politicians may embrace that idea. But I do not endorse it.
Let’s stop listening to the petty anger in the world, stop worrying about small differences in fashion, stop spending energy on actions that don't build others, and start looking for the good in others. That is how we can change the church. And if not the church, then ourselves.
Thank you friend for speaking up.
Well, we are that person. We need to think long and hard about what is the gospel and what is the baggage left behind by generations of well meaning but less than inspired church members or new ideas dragged into the church by people with self serving political or economic agendas.
We can start with simple things. If we are comfortable that the Lord won’t mind if we wear flip flops to church then we should wear flip flops. If we think that white shirts are fine for missionaries but are an affectation of mid twentieth century fashion for the rest of the population then we can wear blue shirts or stripped shirts. (Can we move beyond the pantyhose generation? Are they for wearing to church or for dressing like a skank?) The list goes on.
Do we desperately want a tattoo or a piercing? It may be a fading fashion but we can get a Madison, a nipple piercing, or a Hello Kitty inked on our bums and no one ever needs to know about it. At least until we are old and our grandchildren laugh as they change our diapers and give us sponge baths.
Are your ward's hymns sung too slow? Let’s ask our choristers why we can’t sing with joy and energy? If that doesn’t work then we can bake cookies for our organists and suggest they just play faster. They probably want to and our encouragement maybe all they need to step things up.
Do our leaders take the boys hiking and waterskiing while the girls stay home? Let’s organize other parents into adventure groups to show our girls we know they can do anything they want to do. We can take the lead and the organization can catch up later. Do our leaders talk down to girls? Well, let’s take them aside and explain that we recognize the gender issues of our culture and that regardless of that burden, we have high expectations for them in this world and we know they can learn the skills to solve the tough challenges they will face just like men do.
I have a friend who is so disappointed that good people are not speaking up in response to the closed minded loudmouths who are leading our popular culture. He has inspired me to make some changes in the way I approach our church culture. I don’t think conflict and contention will help us, but I think it is time for some small steps in leading by example.
Think of the issues that are troubling for our community. Immigration, race, gender issues, greed, substance use, chastity (and of course flip flops and white shirts). Are we dealing with these issues with charity in our hearts or are they an excuse to mock individuals or hate entire groups?
If we want to change how our culture deals with these issues we can start by dropping our concern with appearances.
I know we should avoid the appearance of evil, but concentrating on the appearance of good isn’t much better. Remember, we should be doing unto others as we would have done unto us. No one said we should appear unto other as we would like them to appear unto us. I take that back, business leaders, media personalities and politicians may embrace that idea. But I do not endorse it.
Let’s stop listening to the petty anger in the world, stop worrying about small differences in fashion, stop spending energy on actions that don't build others, and start looking for the good in others. That is how we can change the church. And if not the church, then ourselves.
Thank you friend for speaking up.
Friday, September 24, 2010
White Shirts with Dirty Collars: Utah Valley Mormons and the Environment
Winter is coming and with it the dirty air. Each winter we drive our cars, heat our homes, build our fires and all of that adds to the dirt in the air. I remember one winter when I had a small child that some people didn’t take their babies to church to be blessed because the air pollution was so bad it was not safe. What was our community’s reaction to the problem? Nothing. We acted as though our own actions were an unsolvable problem created by nature. And I suppose that is true, though it was not a problem brought by mother nature, it was the result of our human nature.
I debated writing about our need to find a way to improve our lives. I wanted to write about how we could work together and develop a new way of live that would allow us to enjoy so many modern conveniences without polluting our environment to the point of danger. A sustainable way of life that we could share with our children. But then I stepped back and realized that we are not prepared to move forward. We have not put in the effort to understand our world and the tools available to us so that we can take on new challenges. I realized that even if we did pause for a moment to look at our future we would only attempt half hearted and poorly thought out solutions. And that in the end those programs done on the cheap for political show might be worse than doing nothing at all.
I began to think about my grandmother who used to worry about preparing for lessons on the cultures of other people. She did not grow up traveling but there was something in her life that made her and my grandfather want to know more about the world. Ultimately thy did travel and they encouraged their family to learn and to travel. Today it seems that our culture has lost that energy along with the desire for improvement and is turning its back on building for the greater good.
When I look at our leaders I don’t see a team with the education, understanding and determination to solve our difficult problems. Sure, they can build roads, and I enjoy good roads, but they don’t appear to even notice that our air is bad and our limited water is used to keep silly lawns green in the desert.
This week I read how the Chinese are worried about their pollution and they are working hard to find solutions. Why are the supposedly godless communists able to see through the smog while those of us who think ourselves as chosen are more concerned about trivial political sound bites. The author of the article suggested that educated communists understood that sick people were bad for business. That concept appears too complex for our community despite their love of freedom (which I’ve come to understand means a love of money).
How can a people with an eternal perspective be so short sighted?
I suggest we go back to some of the values my grandparents held, that reading good books and learning skills is important. That learning about other lands and respecting the good they have is of value. I suggest we worry less about pop culture notions regarding our founding fathers and spend less time listening to blow hard commentators and the radio and TV. We might spend that time researching real solutions to local problems. Better yet, we might insist that our children learn about science, research and critical thinking since they will be the ones who have to clean up the mess we are making.
One final note on Latter-day Saint thought: If we believe that the Earth will become a paradise, just who do we think will clean it up?
I debated writing about our need to find a way to improve our lives. I wanted to write about how we could work together and develop a new way of live that would allow us to enjoy so many modern conveniences without polluting our environment to the point of danger. A sustainable way of life that we could share with our children. But then I stepped back and realized that we are not prepared to move forward. We have not put in the effort to understand our world and the tools available to us so that we can take on new challenges. I realized that even if we did pause for a moment to look at our future we would only attempt half hearted and poorly thought out solutions. And that in the end those programs done on the cheap for political show might be worse than doing nothing at all.
I began to think about my grandmother who used to worry about preparing for lessons on the cultures of other people. She did not grow up traveling but there was something in her life that made her and my grandfather want to know more about the world. Ultimately thy did travel and they encouraged their family to learn and to travel. Today it seems that our culture has lost that energy along with the desire for improvement and is turning its back on building for the greater good.
When I look at our leaders I don’t see a team with the education, understanding and determination to solve our difficult problems. Sure, they can build roads, and I enjoy good roads, but they don’t appear to even notice that our air is bad and our limited water is used to keep silly lawns green in the desert.
This week I read how the Chinese are worried about their pollution and they are working hard to find solutions. Why are the supposedly godless communists able to see through the smog while those of us who think ourselves as chosen are more concerned about trivial political sound bites. The author of the article suggested that educated communists understood that sick people were bad for business. That concept appears too complex for our community despite their love of freedom (which I’ve come to understand means a love of money).
How can a people with an eternal perspective be so short sighted?
I suggest we go back to some of the values my grandparents held, that reading good books and learning skills is important. That learning about other lands and respecting the good they have is of value. I suggest we worry less about pop culture notions regarding our founding fathers and spend less time listening to blow hard commentators and the radio and TV. We might spend that time researching real solutions to local problems. Better yet, we might insist that our children learn about science, research and critical thinking since they will be the ones who have to clean up the mess we are making.
One final note on Latter-day Saint thought: If we believe that the Earth will become a paradise, just who do we think will clean it up?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
We Don't Want You
This week I saw a video trailer for a painting by an artist whose work I find offensive. He falls into the group of cultural leaders whose views, words, and actions I am unable to reconcile with charity. It is constantly puzzling to me how people can profess to follow the lord and at the same time embrace the values of these leaders. My desire was to write a post asking these people to go away and let the church grow without the burden of their ignorance, hate, fear, and greed.
As I gathered my thoughts I kept returning to a story I heard in conference years ago. It was the story of a boy who in his desire to be popular chased away another boy who was in need of friends. With a little searching I found that story. It is The martyrdom of Andy, by Ben Burton (Look for Powerful Stories from the lives of Latter-day Saint Men, Leon Hartshorn, comp.)
Clearly I have no right to ask people who are doing bad things to leave the church. It would be the wrong thing to do. I understand that their hate had called up my hate like one rotten banana left in a basket will ripen a bunch of green bananas overnight.
Still, it makes me sad that children will see the followers of these people and think that they represent the gospel. They will grow up thinking that pictures born of hate and fear are symbols of the right and the books based and published through ignorance and fear teach the truth. They do not. It makes me tired and embarrassed to think I will not only have to explain to people why the church I belong to is different, but why it tolerates stupid, greedy, and deceitful people. When I think of Lehi’s dream I think these are the people who make the fog we must wander though. (And, to be fair, I wonder how much I’ve contributed.)
I have no right to ask these people to leave, it is the Lord‘s church and he will do as he sees fit, but I will have to work long and hard to understand why I should stay with them.
As I gathered my thoughts I kept returning to a story I heard in conference years ago. It was the story of a boy who in his desire to be popular chased away another boy who was in need of friends. With a little searching I found that story. It is The martyrdom of Andy, by Ben Burton (Look for Powerful Stories from the lives of Latter-day Saint Men, Leon Hartshorn, comp.)
Clearly I have no right to ask people who are doing bad things to leave the church. It would be the wrong thing to do. I understand that their hate had called up my hate like one rotten banana left in a basket will ripen a bunch of green bananas overnight.
Still, it makes me sad that children will see the followers of these people and think that they represent the gospel. They will grow up thinking that pictures born of hate and fear are symbols of the right and the books based and published through ignorance and fear teach the truth. They do not. It makes me tired and embarrassed to think I will not only have to explain to people why the church I belong to is different, but why it tolerates stupid, greedy, and deceitful people. When I think of Lehi’s dream I think these are the people who make the fog we must wander though. (And, to be fair, I wonder how much I’ve contributed.)
I have no right to ask these people to leave, it is the Lord‘s church and he will do as he sees fit, but I will have to work long and hard to understand why I should stay with them.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
When did the conservatives become the communists?
During my childhood I heard about the terrible things the communists did.
They spied on and accused their neighbors.
They instilled fear in their communities.
They banned religion.
They built walls to keep people from moving.
Now I watch as so called conservatives spy on people.
They spy on people and make lists and accuse people.
They appear to enjoy instilling fear in our communities (the idea of “terror babies” comes to mind).
They try and ban certain religions from assembling.
They build walls that try and limit people’s ability to move about.
Let’s change their nickname from “Neo-Cons” to “Neo-Commies” because the people who claim they are protecting us are the people we need to be afraid of.
They spied on and accused their neighbors.
They instilled fear in their communities.
They banned religion.
They built walls to keep people from moving.
Now I watch as so called conservatives spy on people.
They spy on people and make lists and accuse people.
They appear to enjoy instilling fear in our communities (the idea of “terror babies” comes to mind).
They try and ban certain religions from assembling.
They build walls that try and limit people’s ability to move about.
Let’s change their nickname from “Neo-Cons” to “Neo-Commies” because the people who claim they are protecting us are the people we need to be afraid of.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Mormons & Zombies
The great attraction of zombie stories and films is the suspension of social constraints. In a zombie situation you are free to do as you please. Everything you could want is available and free for the taking because everyone is gone and they left their stuff. Well, they aren’t physically gone. The people still exist, just at lower level. And since they are at a lower level and they threaten you it’s okay to shoot them. It’s a better world than if a neutron bomb had killed everyone and left their stuff. There is no radioactive residue and there are fewer bodies to clean up since the zombies are helpful with that aspect of global collapse. Another bonus with zombies--all those guns you own are suddenly practical everyday useful tools.
Looking at the attitude that cable TV loud mouths, Tea Party enthusiasts and right wing politicians have shared with our community it appears that they fit into the role of zombie attack survivors. They are threatened; they look at certain groups as lower than they are. They seem smug with by suggesting hints of violence. They build up arguments that justify their hate. They say and do things that hurt people and they justify in by arguing that upholding the law is vital. They have created the perception that literally crossing a line in the sand is far worse than murder or assault. They want “us” to be afraid of “them.”
If Jesus were here would his first concern be about the violation of misdemeanor law? Or, would he ask why comparatively wealthy people add fear to the lives of the poor? Would he worry about how many undocumented people are in jail or would he go visit them?
Our community will make choices over the next few months that will affect us for years. If we make choices based on fear, not knowledge and not charity, we will regret them and our children will live with the damage we have done to our neighbors. We live in the shadow of some poor choices our community made in the past. We can’t change the past, but we can shape the future.
Looking at the attitude that cable TV loud mouths, Tea Party enthusiasts and right wing politicians have shared with our community it appears that they fit into the role of zombie attack survivors. They are threatened; they look at certain groups as lower than they are. They seem smug with by suggesting hints of violence. They build up arguments that justify their hate. They say and do things that hurt people and they justify in by arguing that upholding the law is vital. They have created the perception that literally crossing a line in the sand is far worse than murder or assault. They want “us” to be afraid of “them.”
If Jesus were here would his first concern be about the violation of misdemeanor law? Or, would he ask why comparatively wealthy people add fear to the lives of the poor? Would he worry about how many undocumented people are in jail or would he go visit them?
Our community will make choices over the next few months that will affect us for years. If we make choices based on fear, not knowledge and not charity, we will regret them and our children will live with the damage we have done to our neighbors. We live in the shadow of some poor choices our community made in the past. We can’t change the past, but we can shape the future.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Farewell to the Freedom Festival. We'll Miss You. Come Back When You Get It Right
For as long as I can remember Provo City has embraced the fourth of July. The balloon launch, the parade, and the Stadium of Fire all contributed to the festive atmosphere. Over the years there have been a glitch or two, an MC who told jokes for soldiers not families and fireworks that were a little more than people expected to name a few. Recent years the festival has featured popular cable TV personalities that made some people uncomfortable. This year, just when the problem appeared to be solved with a host that didn’t threaten anyone things looked to be back on track. Then Monday the train that is the Freedom Festival ran straight off the tracks.
Monday the parade marched down the streets of Provo and wiped the future of the festival into the ground. I seams the parade organizers let incumbent politicians ride in the parade and they of course were all Republican. Then they stood by while Republicans campaigned along the parade route while the Democrats obeyed the rules and kept to their float.
The festival appears to claim that it is a private event and it can do what it wants. That may be true, but BYU is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is also a private organization, but one that cannot take sides in political campaigns. By appearing to use BYU facilities to support the Republican party the festival has placed the university in the position of having to defend its neutrality or simply cut ties with the festival.
The politics of cutting ties is strong. The church has a problem with its image when it comes to race relations. Anyone who grew up in the church knows how hard we have worked to fix the wrongs of the past and to correct the perception that we are racist. That all went to pot recently when politicians in the west with LDS ties embraced laws and policies that are seen as racist. Add to that the motto of the candidate for senate who marched through Provo this week…”Take America Back.” Take us back to what? The basic constitution, thirteen colonies and slavery?
The Festival needs to regroup, the university needs to protect itself from exploitation, and the people of Utah Valley need to think about what freedom really means.
Monday the parade marched down the streets of Provo and wiped the future of the festival into the ground. I seams the parade organizers let incumbent politicians ride in the parade and they of course were all Republican. Then they stood by while Republicans campaigned along the parade route while the Democrats obeyed the rules and kept to their float.
The festival appears to claim that it is a private event and it can do what it wants. That may be true, but BYU is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is also a private organization, but one that cannot take sides in political campaigns. By appearing to use BYU facilities to support the Republican party the festival has placed the university in the position of having to defend its neutrality or simply cut ties with the festival.
The politics of cutting ties is strong. The church has a problem with its image when it comes to race relations. Anyone who grew up in the church knows how hard we have worked to fix the wrongs of the past and to correct the perception that we are racist. That all went to pot recently when politicians in the west with LDS ties embraced laws and policies that are seen as racist. Add to that the motto of the candidate for senate who marched through Provo this week…”Take America Back.” Take us back to what? The basic constitution, thirteen colonies and slavery?
The Festival needs to regroup, the university needs to protect itself from exploitation, and the people of Utah Valley need to think about what freedom really means.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A Good Turn of a Phrase
I read a good phrase the other day “History running backwards.” or something very similar. I’ve lost the author’s name, my apologies, but I like their idea.
America, with our Tea Parties, our Hancock Society, and our other angry political movements keeps looking to the past for a model for how to live. I like the idea of learning from the past but I don’t want to live there.
Do we really want to live in log houses and burn wood or worse (manure) to stay warm and cook our food? Do we want to ride horses? Even old cars that didn’t have roofs and were started with cranks don’t to hold much attraction in day-to-day life when we have GPS and highways. Why then do people want to go back to the bare constitution that the founding fathers wrote? Every law that has been added to our books has been added for a reason. If we turned back the clock today would our modern leaders give us two hundred years of comparative peace? Or would we find ourselves in another civil war within a few months or weeks? The way I see it, the people who want more state power don’t want power for me or you, they want it for themselves (I don’t trust them).
A few years ago I heard a joke about Utah politics…The Democrats can’t get past 1960 and the Republicans desperately want to go back to 1860. Here’s my suggestion. Let’s look toward the future because like it or not that is where we are going in our shiny air conditioned cars and our comfortable houses with electricity and indoor plumbing. Is that really such a bad thing?
America, with our Tea Parties, our Hancock Society, and our other angry political movements keeps looking to the past for a model for how to live. I like the idea of learning from the past but I don’t want to live there.
Do we really want to live in log houses and burn wood or worse (manure) to stay warm and cook our food? Do we want to ride horses? Even old cars that didn’t have roofs and were started with cranks don’t to hold much attraction in day-to-day life when we have GPS and highways. Why then do people want to go back to the bare constitution that the founding fathers wrote? Every law that has been added to our books has been added for a reason. If we turned back the clock today would our modern leaders give us two hundred years of comparative peace? Or would we find ourselves in another civil war within a few months or weeks? The way I see it, the people who want more state power don’t want power for me or you, they want it for themselves (I don’t trust them).
A few years ago I heard a joke about Utah politics…The Democrats can’t get past 1960 and the Republicans desperately want to go back to 1860. Here’s my suggestion. Let’s look toward the future because like it or not that is where we are going in our shiny air conditioned cars and our comfortable houses with electricity and indoor plumbing. Is that really such a bad thing?
Why the Church will Move to Missouri
Technology has changed the way we live. I can sit at home and access information from around the world. For years I’ve been able to see world news on TV. Now I can read the news and watch videos, send notes and talk to people across the globe and even read books while never leaving my sofa. Distance is no longer a barrier to communication. Even residents of the remotest islands can communicate with the world for a few dollars a minute. The church can communicate worldwide via e-mail and phone calls with only a few moments delay. They can fly leaders to formerly remote lands or bring local leaders to Utah in a matter of hours and for a few thousand dollars. Location-wise it appears that there is no need for the church to move, as one place on the globe is so much like another.
But there is of course a very good reason why the global church should move—it needs to get away from the Mormons. Those following the gospel of Christ and those living the Mormon culture have begun to travel two distinct paths and the church cannot let the culture slow it down.
Something has gone wrong
Let's look at local politics here in Utah. I had a neighbor who was taught by her father that if she would always vote Republican she would never go against “The Brethren.” That sums up the local perception that the church is aligned with the Republican Party. For years some people outside the church have complained that the church controls the Republican Party. That is simply not true. My observation is that in some circles it is the Republican Party that controls the church. Utah Republicans have become so isolated from active political discussion and debate that they have lost the ability to judge their positions in relation to common sense and, more significantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider what happened with Salt Lake decided to pass a rule that would allow same sex couples to have benefits. Did the church oppose that? No. The church supported it. Did the Republican legislature follow the example of the church? No. The legislature didn't know what to do. They were so far down a religious path of their own invention that they could not longer understand the right thing to do when the question was placed in front of them.
What is the religion of the Republicans? It is, of course, money. A few days ago I read an essay in an online publication that purported to address Mormon issues. It didn't take long to see that by Mormon they meant cultural Mormon, not members of the church who follow Christ. The author of the article professed to be “a capitalist and a Christian.” I assume this was not satire. His goal was to understand the intersection between these two facets of his life. I have no doubt this author was sincere, but he was also clueless. This very question is clearly spelled out in the scriptures. One cannot serve God and mammon. There is not intersection between the two paths. You are on one or you are on the other. Two thousand years of history and an MBA do not change the nature of this human dilemma. If this brother really believes he can understand his life and serve Christ through capitalism he has his agency. If he wishes to share his rationalization and the editor wishes to promote his views they are welcome. But they should know they are leading people astray and righteous people should have the courage to call them out for abandoning the gospel.
The belief that money is moral has become so widely pervasive in Mormon culture that we as a society have no idea what true morals are. Right has become wrong and wrong has become right. Those were my thoughts as I listened to the radio one morning. The state legislature had just passed a bill that could take away health care from poor sick children. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." Utah said, "Let the children suffer. Someone else can take care of them." It sounds petty, but as I listened to a woman talk about the moral choice of saving a little money, the moral value of a possible small reduction in her taxes that would make her free I was touched by the joy in her voice. Joy, pure happiness, rapture brought on by what she saw as the moral goodness of the legislature's actions. It was a cold heartless chill that made my soul ache. Utah cared more about a few cents a year in taxes than children in pain. Utah thought the possibility of saving a few cents, which the typical taxpayer would probably never actually see, was the moral choice over providing a few minutes with a doctor that would change the entire lives of hundreds of children. It was wrong. There is no gray area in judging the good and evil of this. In my world people voting to share a few dollars to change the lives of children is good. In their world making a show of saving a few dollars is righteousness. Let someone else help the children.
Good has become evil and evil has become good.
Greed is bad. We sit and watch as our governor helps a mining company get approval to mine on the same day that company gives him thousands of dollars. His staff tells us it's not a bribe and it appears that our community believes it! And why not? Perhaps we respect him for it. He lives larger than most of us so his ethics should compensate for the situation. I've watched people I had always looked upon as moral leaders cheat the system for pennies and congratulate themselves for being savvy. People work around the tax system to save a few dollars on their home or they ask for a water cup at a restaurant and fill it with soda. Our ancestors learned to be frugal out of necessity. Our generation is just cheap. And cheap has become a virtue we prize above honesty. We all know the phrase "Save money, live better." That is a tag line for a big store; they are not the words of Christ.
For a long time I did not understand how I could belong to the same church as these people.
Maybe I don't.
We've been raised to read the scriptures each day. It’s a habit that was instilled in me from when I was a child. Today I know people who spend hours a day listening to the scriptures as they work. For a while I shared a workroom with two men who listened to different things as they worked. One man listened to the scriptures each day. He was smart and kind and gentle. After a few months I watched as he changed the direction he was going in life and began looking into a career where he could help children. Another man at work spent just as much time with his headphones on, but he was listening to talk radio wags. He was smart, but he was controlling and narrow-minded. I don't know what happened to him but I've met a lot of people like him recently. There are so many people in our community who listen to this radio personality or that one and then watch another one on cable TV that they think the craziness these people spew is normal. Hour after hour, day after day, into weeks and years our neighbors have handed over the hours that make up their lives to people who have no interest in helping their fellow man. Their only interest is hooking enough ears and catching enough eyeballs to make their sponsors happy. And what about these people who follow them? They are angry about things that aren’t true. They worry about problems they don't have. They say things that no decent person should say. And because there are so many of them in our community people accept it as normal.
Consider sitting in Sunday school where we learn how the good people in the Book of Mormon took in and protected their threatened neighbors. They gave land to their neighbors and defended them from their enemies. Their neighbors would die before they would offend God. They were different, and they were good. In that same classroom a few days later someone will offer their small-minded rant on the dangers of illegal aliens in America. Illegal to whom? They are not illegal to God. They are only illegal because one group of people have labeled them as such. The message from the Lord is drowned out by the message of people who are paid to anger. I was never baptized a member of the Church of Sean Hannity and the Limbaugh-day Saints but some days it's hard to tell. We as a people should take a few moments to quietly ponder the wisdom in the words of King Benjamin. Instead we spend hours listening to the kookiness of Glen Beck. I don't think our brothers and sisters are any better off following these people that they would be following any other worldly ills—tainted sports, beer & booze, drugs, and pornography. Let's add useless anger and hate to that list. Hating immigrants or liberals or gays is a great way for Satan to crowd the love and charity out of our hearts. You can sit at home and get worked up. You can talk to like-minded friends who will reinforce your adopted views, and you can point to popular people across the country who share and promote these "values." But you won't be doing God's work. To paraphrase an old saying: for evil to succeed all it needs is for good people to grow hateful.
I know there are many arguments for hate but they are all wrong. Racism is not righteous indignation. Gay hating is not loving your neighbor. Being “liberal in your giving” is not a communist plot; it is a commandment from a prophet. Why don't we understand that there is no more a righteous political party than there is a righteous car company? The Lord doesn't ask us to be Republicans or Democrats any more than he asks us to drive Fords or Chevrolets. People who say otherwise are liars. When the church authorities tell us that they do not support any specific party and we nod and wink to one another that we understand what they really mean, we are following the liars not the Lord.
Try this: those who market politics have told us that we have to choose the left or the right. It is us against them. Well, that isn't the case. Politics is not a spectrum; it is not a line where we stand in a row judging our neighbors by how distant they are to the right of left of us. Imagine that politics is a ball. Either you have your life in balance or you are falling off one way or another. It doesn’t matter if you fall to the left or the right or the front or the back, you end up at the bottom with everyone else that has fallen off. Look at the news today. No one can tell the liberal crazies from the conservative crazies. People on the far right are buying books written by the people on the far left. They don't know what they believe. They are just angry and they hate the government, but if you believe in democracy, the government is us. That's right, we have become a nation that hates itself, but won't admit that we have any flaws. We can't move forward like that. It won't work for our nation, it won't work for our neighborhoods, it won't work for our church.
The Church of Christ is not the same as Mormon Culture
Mormon culture at church is also holding the church back. Martin Luther nailed his list to a church door when the Catholic Church needed to change. Hopefully our church can move on with less damage to the architecture. Mormon culture needs to shed its baggage. We truly have a beam in our eye when it comes to loving our neighbors. I shudder inside when I hear sisters explain that the shoes they've worn to church are not flip flops because they have two millimeters of heal. Who cares? Why are we worried about whether someone has a wafer of a heal on her shoe or not? Are they happy? Are they sick? Does their family have an income? Are their children lonely or hungry? Is their heart broken? I don't know, but they aren't wearing flip-flops and that's what counts.
The brethren with their white shirts are no better. When we see a man at church that we know abuses substances and cheats on his wife it is fine. Maybe he is trying to improve his soul, and as long as he wears a white shirt he will be accepted. Unlike a brother who is honest, kind and caring but wears a shirt with stripes or even a t-shirt. He is suspect and probably shouldn't pass the sacrament, say a prayer, or give a talk. Something has gone wrong.
Many religions have a defining fashion moment that establishes what righteous people wear. For Greek and Catholic monks that day was in the middle ages. For fundamentalists in the west it appears that the 1930's set the trend. And for some reason Mormon culture picked the mid-twentieth century corporate attire as the divine garb. I suppose that makes sense. We assume our grandfathers were righteous men and they wore dark suits and white shirts so we must conform. The truth, I suspect, is that the adoption of the white shirt as the uniform of the priesthood coincides with the transformation of the church structure from a religious brotherhood into a corporation. As the church worked its way out of the poverty of the early 20th century it promoted the values of business. By absorbing so many business people into church leadership the religious culture was blended with business culture. In a time when the divine law of consecration was easily confused by outsiders with communism the church culture was also quick to embrace capitalism. We are now paying for that rationalization.
Two thousand years ago Jesus walked the hills and shores of the holy land and invited his followers to be shepherds and to become fishers of men. I imagine today he would walk the halls of convention centers and hotel ballrooms to invite his followers to become multi-level marketers of men. The scripture about the joy of bringing one soul vs. the joy of bringing many souls unto Christ really makes me want to build my downline. Spiritually speaking of course.
My concern about business and the gospel is not a joke. During Sunday services I often look around at the dour faced leaders in their drab suits. My eye circles the audience looking for light but it finds only tired, worn, and resigned expressions. Our meetings are meetings of form not substance, reiterations of policy, not celebrations of good news. Our talks and sermons are well patterned and acceptable, but there is no sign of happiness. I hear church leaders order us to do better, but better often translate into a need for a better number for their reports, not finding and filling the needs of our neighbors.
I find myself thinking I don't want an eternity in a heaven without flip-flops and where men wearing white shirts count up their numbers as a form a praise and worship and conform to pointless fads. My secret wish is to go to a hell with writers and artists and fallen but kind-hearted people (you know, they kind of women who wear flip-flops and men who wear t-shirts because that is all they can afford). How bad would eternity be if we were surrounded by people who lived the best lives they could and who would not be defeated in their desire to do good despite the obstacles our society put in front of them? People who somehow faced the ugly trials of the world and kept a little joy in their hearts? I compare that to the people we hold up as social and political leaders. I look at them and wonder if I really want to meet God. I don't know God, but I've met his kids and some of them—including many who claim to represent him—are jerks.
Why do I feel that the canned lessons in our manuals and the businesslike form of our local leaders are not going to bring me to Christ? Those dour-faced leaders are just the first line in rank after rank of dour-faced leaders who bring us program after program, write manual after manual, and give talk after talk in and endless succession while I think of a kind-hearted woman who cares for her adult sibling week after week. And after years of dealing with another woman who is a friend of hers, I discover that she takes take time to help the sister who cares for her sibling when she sees a need. These women are not related. She is not her visiting teacher. There has been no assignment, no program; neither committee nor council met to create a sign up chart to be filled out to show that they cared. I don't even know if all these women are members of the church, but they, not the dour-faced men, are the people who taught me what it means to be Christ like.
Royalty or Aristocrats?
The modern church with its success has raised this concern: by working to be a world leader have we encouraged people to be worldly leaders? Is business success considered spiritual success? I know it's not. Utah is still a small community in many ways, and I've met too many people who have crossed paths with worldly successful Mormons who do not behave in a manor that is in any way more appropriate than other wealthy people who lack the gospel. By becoming a global church and not a Utah church the foibles of Utah Mormons may be less of a distraction to those seeking to do good.
Along the lines of worldly Mormon leaders are those who consider themselves Mormon royalty. How strange that a god who loves all his children would pick a few to love more. Of course he doesn't, but that doesn't stop people from using their church calling or their family history as a prop to set themselves above others. It is not unusual to meet people who, after long days of contemplation and prayer, have joined the church. Their actions lead to the sacrifice of relations with family, friends, and employers. These people appear to be among the chosen for their sincerity and devotion in following in the footsteps of Christ. They are often an example to members who were born into church families. Then these people cross paths with "Mormon royalty" and they cannot reconcile the love the Lord has shown them with the disdain in which they are held by people who appear, through earthly social conventions, to be examples of the church in action. Long time church members and residents of the Wasatch front know from experience that anyone who boasts of their church connections is an ass and a liability to righteous living, but new members often lack the understanding that even people who are born in the church need to be born again. It appears that some families go generations without understanding this fact. These people are not royalty in the divine sense that they will take the lead in serving the downtrodden. They are the royalty like the gadflies surrounding a decaying court. They are too proud to serve and to prominent to discard. They are the baggage that we must carry as a legacy and tribute to their ancestor who served well in a time of crises. The burden of these "aristocrats" can be reduced as the church's history expands beyond the pioneer tales and the leadership pool grows deeper than the east bench of Salt Lake City currently allows.
As the church moves away from the small enclave of Mormon culture it can move away from the traditions, customs and attitudes that local members have allowed to cloud their view of the gospel.
Why do I think the church will move? Because in a way it already has. When I travel I see congregations with a different feel. When I talk with visitors to Utah I hear their happiness at being around so many members and then as time goes on I see them yearn for the active church in their home ward. I see that the church has two branches. The old traditional branch that has deep roots but there is little growth left in it and much that should be pruned. And I see the new branch that is grafted onto the roots. This branch, the living church, is growing rapidly and holds the future. In time this branch will need more root than the old church can supply. The new branch deserves fresh soil where it can be tended. In the end it may grow to provide the shade and shelter the old church needs to survive the buffeting the world will bring.
But there is of course a very good reason why the global church should move—it needs to get away from the Mormons. Those following the gospel of Christ and those living the Mormon culture have begun to travel two distinct paths and the church cannot let the culture slow it down.
Something has gone wrong
Let's look at local politics here in Utah. I had a neighbor who was taught by her father that if she would always vote Republican she would never go against “The Brethren.” That sums up the local perception that the church is aligned with the Republican Party. For years some people outside the church have complained that the church controls the Republican Party. That is simply not true. My observation is that in some circles it is the Republican Party that controls the church. Utah Republicans have become so isolated from active political discussion and debate that they have lost the ability to judge their positions in relation to common sense and, more significantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider what happened with Salt Lake decided to pass a rule that would allow same sex couples to have benefits. Did the church oppose that? No. The church supported it. Did the Republican legislature follow the example of the church? No. The legislature didn't know what to do. They were so far down a religious path of their own invention that they could not longer understand the right thing to do when the question was placed in front of them.
What is the religion of the Republicans? It is, of course, money. A few days ago I read an essay in an online publication that purported to address Mormon issues. It didn't take long to see that by Mormon they meant cultural Mormon, not members of the church who follow Christ. The author of the article professed to be “a capitalist and a Christian.” I assume this was not satire. His goal was to understand the intersection between these two facets of his life. I have no doubt this author was sincere, but he was also clueless. This very question is clearly spelled out in the scriptures. One cannot serve God and mammon. There is not intersection between the two paths. You are on one or you are on the other. Two thousand years of history and an MBA do not change the nature of this human dilemma. If this brother really believes he can understand his life and serve Christ through capitalism he has his agency. If he wishes to share his rationalization and the editor wishes to promote his views they are welcome. But they should know they are leading people astray and righteous people should have the courage to call them out for abandoning the gospel.
The belief that money is moral has become so widely pervasive in Mormon culture that we as a society have no idea what true morals are. Right has become wrong and wrong has become right. Those were my thoughts as I listened to the radio one morning. The state legislature had just passed a bill that could take away health care from poor sick children. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." Utah said, "Let the children suffer. Someone else can take care of them." It sounds petty, but as I listened to a woman talk about the moral choice of saving a little money, the moral value of a possible small reduction in her taxes that would make her free I was touched by the joy in her voice. Joy, pure happiness, rapture brought on by what she saw as the moral goodness of the legislature's actions. It was a cold heartless chill that made my soul ache. Utah cared more about a few cents a year in taxes than children in pain. Utah thought the possibility of saving a few cents, which the typical taxpayer would probably never actually see, was the moral choice over providing a few minutes with a doctor that would change the entire lives of hundreds of children. It was wrong. There is no gray area in judging the good and evil of this. In my world people voting to share a few dollars to change the lives of children is good. In their world making a show of saving a few dollars is righteousness. Let someone else help the children.
Good has become evil and evil has become good.
Greed is bad. We sit and watch as our governor helps a mining company get approval to mine on the same day that company gives him thousands of dollars. His staff tells us it's not a bribe and it appears that our community believes it! And why not? Perhaps we respect him for it. He lives larger than most of us so his ethics should compensate for the situation. I've watched people I had always looked upon as moral leaders cheat the system for pennies and congratulate themselves for being savvy. People work around the tax system to save a few dollars on their home or they ask for a water cup at a restaurant and fill it with soda. Our ancestors learned to be frugal out of necessity. Our generation is just cheap. And cheap has become a virtue we prize above honesty. We all know the phrase "Save money, live better." That is a tag line for a big store; they are not the words of Christ.
For a long time I did not understand how I could belong to the same church as these people.
Maybe I don't.
We've been raised to read the scriptures each day. It’s a habit that was instilled in me from when I was a child. Today I know people who spend hours a day listening to the scriptures as they work. For a while I shared a workroom with two men who listened to different things as they worked. One man listened to the scriptures each day. He was smart and kind and gentle. After a few months I watched as he changed the direction he was going in life and began looking into a career where he could help children. Another man at work spent just as much time with his headphones on, but he was listening to talk radio wags. He was smart, but he was controlling and narrow-minded. I don't know what happened to him but I've met a lot of people like him recently. There are so many people in our community who listen to this radio personality or that one and then watch another one on cable TV that they think the craziness these people spew is normal. Hour after hour, day after day, into weeks and years our neighbors have handed over the hours that make up their lives to people who have no interest in helping their fellow man. Their only interest is hooking enough ears and catching enough eyeballs to make their sponsors happy. And what about these people who follow them? They are angry about things that aren’t true. They worry about problems they don't have. They say things that no decent person should say. And because there are so many of them in our community people accept it as normal.
Consider sitting in Sunday school where we learn how the good people in the Book of Mormon took in and protected their threatened neighbors. They gave land to their neighbors and defended them from their enemies. Their neighbors would die before they would offend God. They were different, and they were good. In that same classroom a few days later someone will offer their small-minded rant on the dangers of illegal aliens in America. Illegal to whom? They are not illegal to God. They are only illegal because one group of people have labeled them as such. The message from the Lord is drowned out by the message of people who are paid to anger. I was never baptized a member of the Church of Sean Hannity and the Limbaugh-day Saints but some days it's hard to tell. We as a people should take a few moments to quietly ponder the wisdom in the words of King Benjamin. Instead we spend hours listening to the kookiness of Glen Beck. I don't think our brothers and sisters are any better off following these people that they would be following any other worldly ills—tainted sports, beer & booze, drugs, and pornography. Let's add useless anger and hate to that list. Hating immigrants or liberals or gays is a great way for Satan to crowd the love and charity out of our hearts. You can sit at home and get worked up. You can talk to like-minded friends who will reinforce your adopted views, and you can point to popular people across the country who share and promote these "values." But you won't be doing God's work. To paraphrase an old saying: for evil to succeed all it needs is for good people to grow hateful.
I know there are many arguments for hate but they are all wrong. Racism is not righteous indignation. Gay hating is not loving your neighbor. Being “liberal in your giving” is not a communist plot; it is a commandment from a prophet. Why don't we understand that there is no more a righteous political party than there is a righteous car company? The Lord doesn't ask us to be Republicans or Democrats any more than he asks us to drive Fords or Chevrolets. People who say otherwise are liars. When the church authorities tell us that they do not support any specific party and we nod and wink to one another that we understand what they really mean, we are following the liars not the Lord.
Try this: those who market politics have told us that we have to choose the left or the right. It is us against them. Well, that isn't the case. Politics is not a spectrum; it is not a line where we stand in a row judging our neighbors by how distant they are to the right of left of us. Imagine that politics is a ball. Either you have your life in balance or you are falling off one way or another. It doesn’t matter if you fall to the left or the right or the front or the back, you end up at the bottom with everyone else that has fallen off. Look at the news today. No one can tell the liberal crazies from the conservative crazies. People on the far right are buying books written by the people on the far left. They don't know what they believe. They are just angry and they hate the government, but if you believe in democracy, the government is us. That's right, we have become a nation that hates itself, but won't admit that we have any flaws. We can't move forward like that. It won't work for our nation, it won't work for our neighborhoods, it won't work for our church.
The Church of Christ is not the same as Mormon Culture
Mormon culture at church is also holding the church back. Martin Luther nailed his list to a church door when the Catholic Church needed to change. Hopefully our church can move on with less damage to the architecture. Mormon culture needs to shed its baggage. We truly have a beam in our eye when it comes to loving our neighbors. I shudder inside when I hear sisters explain that the shoes they've worn to church are not flip flops because they have two millimeters of heal. Who cares? Why are we worried about whether someone has a wafer of a heal on her shoe or not? Are they happy? Are they sick? Does their family have an income? Are their children lonely or hungry? Is their heart broken? I don't know, but they aren't wearing flip-flops and that's what counts.
The brethren with their white shirts are no better. When we see a man at church that we know abuses substances and cheats on his wife it is fine. Maybe he is trying to improve his soul, and as long as he wears a white shirt he will be accepted. Unlike a brother who is honest, kind and caring but wears a shirt with stripes or even a t-shirt. He is suspect and probably shouldn't pass the sacrament, say a prayer, or give a talk. Something has gone wrong.
Many religions have a defining fashion moment that establishes what righteous people wear. For Greek and Catholic monks that day was in the middle ages. For fundamentalists in the west it appears that the 1930's set the trend. And for some reason Mormon culture picked the mid-twentieth century corporate attire as the divine garb. I suppose that makes sense. We assume our grandfathers were righteous men and they wore dark suits and white shirts so we must conform. The truth, I suspect, is that the adoption of the white shirt as the uniform of the priesthood coincides with the transformation of the church structure from a religious brotherhood into a corporation. As the church worked its way out of the poverty of the early 20th century it promoted the values of business. By absorbing so many business people into church leadership the religious culture was blended with business culture. In a time when the divine law of consecration was easily confused by outsiders with communism the church culture was also quick to embrace capitalism. We are now paying for that rationalization.
Two thousand years ago Jesus walked the hills and shores of the holy land and invited his followers to be shepherds and to become fishers of men. I imagine today he would walk the halls of convention centers and hotel ballrooms to invite his followers to become multi-level marketers of men. The scripture about the joy of bringing one soul vs. the joy of bringing many souls unto Christ really makes me want to build my downline. Spiritually speaking of course.
My concern about business and the gospel is not a joke. During Sunday services I often look around at the dour faced leaders in their drab suits. My eye circles the audience looking for light but it finds only tired, worn, and resigned expressions. Our meetings are meetings of form not substance, reiterations of policy, not celebrations of good news. Our talks and sermons are well patterned and acceptable, but there is no sign of happiness. I hear church leaders order us to do better, but better often translate into a need for a better number for their reports, not finding and filling the needs of our neighbors.
I find myself thinking I don't want an eternity in a heaven without flip-flops and where men wearing white shirts count up their numbers as a form a praise and worship and conform to pointless fads. My secret wish is to go to a hell with writers and artists and fallen but kind-hearted people (you know, they kind of women who wear flip-flops and men who wear t-shirts because that is all they can afford). How bad would eternity be if we were surrounded by people who lived the best lives they could and who would not be defeated in their desire to do good despite the obstacles our society put in front of them? People who somehow faced the ugly trials of the world and kept a little joy in their hearts? I compare that to the people we hold up as social and political leaders. I look at them and wonder if I really want to meet God. I don't know God, but I've met his kids and some of them—including many who claim to represent him—are jerks.
Why do I feel that the canned lessons in our manuals and the businesslike form of our local leaders are not going to bring me to Christ? Those dour-faced leaders are just the first line in rank after rank of dour-faced leaders who bring us program after program, write manual after manual, and give talk after talk in and endless succession while I think of a kind-hearted woman who cares for her adult sibling week after week. And after years of dealing with another woman who is a friend of hers, I discover that she takes take time to help the sister who cares for her sibling when she sees a need. These women are not related. She is not her visiting teacher. There has been no assignment, no program; neither committee nor council met to create a sign up chart to be filled out to show that they cared. I don't even know if all these women are members of the church, but they, not the dour-faced men, are the people who taught me what it means to be Christ like.
Royalty or Aristocrats?
The modern church with its success has raised this concern: by working to be a world leader have we encouraged people to be worldly leaders? Is business success considered spiritual success? I know it's not. Utah is still a small community in many ways, and I've met too many people who have crossed paths with worldly successful Mormons who do not behave in a manor that is in any way more appropriate than other wealthy people who lack the gospel. By becoming a global church and not a Utah church the foibles of Utah Mormons may be less of a distraction to those seeking to do good.
Along the lines of worldly Mormon leaders are those who consider themselves Mormon royalty. How strange that a god who loves all his children would pick a few to love more. Of course he doesn't, but that doesn't stop people from using their church calling or their family history as a prop to set themselves above others. It is not unusual to meet people who, after long days of contemplation and prayer, have joined the church. Their actions lead to the sacrifice of relations with family, friends, and employers. These people appear to be among the chosen for their sincerity and devotion in following in the footsteps of Christ. They are often an example to members who were born into church families. Then these people cross paths with "Mormon royalty" and they cannot reconcile the love the Lord has shown them with the disdain in which they are held by people who appear, through earthly social conventions, to be examples of the church in action. Long time church members and residents of the Wasatch front know from experience that anyone who boasts of their church connections is an ass and a liability to righteous living, but new members often lack the understanding that even people who are born in the church need to be born again. It appears that some families go generations without understanding this fact. These people are not royalty in the divine sense that they will take the lead in serving the downtrodden. They are the royalty like the gadflies surrounding a decaying court. They are too proud to serve and to prominent to discard. They are the baggage that we must carry as a legacy and tribute to their ancestor who served well in a time of crises. The burden of these "aristocrats" can be reduced as the church's history expands beyond the pioneer tales and the leadership pool grows deeper than the east bench of Salt Lake City currently allows.
As the church moves away from the small enclave of Mormon culture it can move away from the traditions, customs and attitudes that local members have allowed to cloud their view of the gospel.
Why do I think the church will move? Because in a way it already has. When I travel I see congregations with a different feel. When I talk with visitors to Utah I hear their happiness at being around so many members and then as time goes on I see them yearn for the active church in their home ward. I see that the church has two branches. The old traditional branch that has deep roots but there is little growth left in it and much that should be pruned. And I see the new branch that is grafted onto the roots. This branch, the living church, is growing rapidly and holds the future. In time this branch will need more root than the old church can supply. The new branch deserves fresh soil where it can be tended. In the end it may grow to provide the shade and shelter the old church needs to survive the buffeting the world will bring.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Do We Honor or Do We Mock? What do Mormons Do With The Law?
The new immigration law in Arizona is being defended by people who argue that the Church teaches us to obey, honor, and sustain the law. It is too bad that the people making this argument do not follow the teaching of the church. Consider lesson 35 in the Aaronic Priesthood Manual. It tells us that…
"To honor a law is to feel that the law is more important than one’s own personal interests. It shows an understanding that without laws there would be chaos. We sustain the law when we uphold it, protect it, and keep it from disrespect. We believe in the importance of law and encourage others to obey the law."
People say the Arizona law was passed to show the United States Government that they had failed. That our national law and policies were not effective. In short, the Arizona law appears to mock our national law and our national leaders. The voices I hear and the items I read supporting this law are often very disrespectful. Furthermore the perception of many people is that the state, and the legislators, are putting their interest ahead of the nation's interest. (One sees no interest in the least in our society). By mocking the national law, by calling the federal government weak I do not see that they are encouraging others to obey the law.
The lesson also teaches that "...we should feel a brotherhood and love for all people in all nations of the world..." Does this law encourage brotherhood? Does it show love for all people?
Finally the lesson tells us "The example of our lives will influence others more than anything we might say." What kind of example have the LDS lawmakers been to the world?
The scriptures tell us to honor the law. I submit that following that guidance we are expected to pass honorable laws. Have we done that?
"To honor a law is to feel that the law is more important than one’s own personal interests. It shows an understanding that without laws there would be chaos. We sustain the law when we uphold it, protect it, and keep it from disrespect. We believe in the importance of law and encourage others to obey the law."
People say the Arizona law was passed to show the United States Government that they had failed. That our national law and policies were not effective. In short, the Arizona law appears to mock our national law and our national leaders. The voices I hear and the items I read supporting this law are often very disrespectful. Furthermore the perception of many people is that the state, and the legislators, are putting their interest ahead of the nation's interest. (One sees no interest in the least in our society). By mocking the national law, by calling the federal government weak I do not see that they are encouraging others to obey the law.
The lesson also teaches that "...we should feel a brotherhood and love for all people in all nations of the world..." Does this law encourage brotherhood? Does it show love for all people?
Finally the lesson tells us "The example of our lives will influence others more than anything we might say." What kind of example have the LDS lawmakers been to the world?
The scriptures tell us to honor the law. I submit that following that guidance we are expected to pass honorable laws. Have we done that?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Kids Games and Mind Games
When I was a child I was taught that I should not bring toys and games to church. Toys are distracting not only to the user but to those surround them. My parents taught me that and my primary teachers did the same. Now that I am older I’m ready for someone to teach adults to leave certain things home as well. Listening to a recent devotional I was intrigued with the idea of the gospel as a sanctuary. Going to church can help us find peace in an angry world but only if we all work to make church a peaceful place. Therefore I suggest that adults leave their personal political theories at home on Sunday. Please don’t bring your mind games to church.
What do I mean by mind games? Well, there are people who spend a lot of time reading the works of authors with their own moral and political ideas. There are a lot of people who spend their time listening to kooky radio personalities and eccentric cable TV hosts. If that is what entertains you that is your business but it is not the gospel. It is not the words of our savior and it is not the teaching of his prophets. Look, I don’t bring my hobbies to church and I’m not interested in your political/economic/moral hobbies when I am at church. I have no interest in listening to people’s rationalizations as to why something that sounds to me like hate or greed is somehow really part of the gospel. I’m pretty sure it’s not. There isn’t a web site or a cable program I can use to defend my opinion but I’ll trust my heart on this one. More often than not these people point to one or two isolated scripturse to justify the divine connection of their idea. Those justifications ring hollow when a deeper reading of the scriptures in undertaken.
Here is a quick list of popular personalities that are not people I wish to follow at church:
Cleon Skousen: Not a church leader, not a scholar, not how I want to spend my time.
Ayn Rand: Not my ideal of a Christian voice. Would you like your RM son to date her?
Rush Limbaugh: Does not make me think of charitable acts. Is he a role model for our children?
Sean Hannity: Arguing can be fun, but it is not productive. If you are concerned about the world then learn about the world.
Glen Beck: Sooner or later I think this train will wreak. I don’t plan on being on board.
If your thinking is based on these people’s ideas then I’ll invite you to keep that to yourself at church. We can all do our part to make church a sanctuary if we leave our games at home.
What do I mean by mind games? Well, there are people who spend a lot of time reading the works of authors with their own moral and political ideas. There are a lot of people who spend their time listening to kooky radio personalities and eccentric cable TV hosts. If that is what entertains you that is your business but it is not the gospel. It is not the words of our savior and it is not the teaching of his prophets. Look, I don’t bring my hobbies to church and I’m not interested in your political/economic/moral hobbies when I am at church. I have no interest in listening to people’s rationalizations as to why something that sounds to me like hate or greed is somehow really part of the gospel. I’m pretty sure it’s not. There isn’t a web site or a cable program I can use to defend my opinion but I’ll trust my heart on this one. More often than not these people point to one or two isolated scripturse to justify the divine connection of their idea. Those justifications ring hollow when a deeper reading of the scriptures in undertaken.
Here is a quick list of popular personalities that are not people I wish to follow at church:
Cleon Skousen: Not a church leader, not a scholar, not how I want to spend my time.
Ayn Rand: Not my ideal of a Christian voice. Would you like your RM son to date her?
Rush Limbaugh: Does not make me think of charitable acts. Is he a role model for our children?
Sean Hannity: Arguing can be fun, but it is not productive. If you are concerned about the world then learn about the world.
Glen Beck: Sooner or later I think this train will wreak. I don’t plan on being on board.
If your thinking is based on these people’s ideas then I’ll invite you to keep that to yourself at church. We can all do our part to make church a sanctuary if we leave our games at home.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Loaves and Fishes-Perhaps
Reflecting on the story of the loaves and fishes I realized that the miracle of the story might be as simple as Jesus asking for help and finding one boy who was willing to share. Perhaps heaven didn't need to provide the bread and fish. Perhaps other people, who had food but were keeping it for themselves watched the boy, felt the spirit and had a change of heart. Perhaps when they all shared, when they all took a moment to think about other's needs, there was more than enough food for everyone. Perhaps the lesson Jesus needed to teach was how we can solve our problems if we work together. With the fear and anger in our communities perhaps the miracle we need most is the miracle of changing hearts.
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