"If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we’re up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along.”
Charlie Rose: An Interview with Carl Sagan, May 27, 1996
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
No Conflict: An American Christian Looks at the Age of the Earth
From time to time I hear some religious people believe the earth was created in 6,000 years. I was never taught that, but I can see where it comes from.
One day God, who can do anything, announces a plan to build the earth. He lays out the plans and says that it should be done in 6,000 years. Then, having other things to do, he turns the earth project over to his angels. I don't know how many angels there are, but let's assume it's a bunch. The first thing they do is look at the plans. Since they are God's plans they look great. The angels get to work. They start by organizing themselves into appropriate committees. Planning committees, review committees, supply committees, and relevant sub-committees, then boom! 4+ billion years later the project is done.
Now, scientists might estimate that the world took 4 billion years to organize, I might know the world has 4 billion years on the clock, and the angels must know that the world took 4 billion to build. But if anyone asks how long it took, nobody wants to argue with the boss' announcement that it was a 6,000 year project.
One day God, who can do anything, announces a plan to build the earth. He lays out the plans and says that it should be done in 6,000 years. Then, having other things to do, he turns the earth project over to his angels. I don't know how many angels there are, but let's assume it's a bunch. The first thing they do is look at the plans. Since they are God's plans they look great. The angels get to work. They start by organizing themselves into appropriate committees. Planning committees, review committees, supply committees, and relevant sub-committees, then boom! 4+ billion years later the project is done.
Now, scientists might estimate that the world took 4 billion years to organize, I might know the world has 4 billion years on the clock, and the angels must know that the world took 4 billion to build. But if anyone asks how long it took, nobody wants to argue with the boss' announcement that it was a 6,000 year project.
Monday, January 27, 2014
LINKS: Please Don't Say This Anymore
When poverty is discussed, all too often I hear the phrase..."If you teach a man to fish..."
And in my mind I picture people living in this world.
Talking about people living in this world.
If you don't live by the water and if you don't have money to buy fishing gear what use is it for some rich people to share their hobby?
If you think a man should learn how to fish then take the time to learn where he can fish and give him the tools to fish with. Make sure you buy him a license and give him a ride to the water, and then bring him home. Take the time to teach him how to clean the fish, and cook the fish, and to protect the future of the fish.
In this modern world with urban living and so many rules protecting established businesses, if you just teach a man to fish, then you have nether fed him for the day, nor have you prepared him for a lifetime of feeding himself.
And in my mind I picture people living in this world.
Talking about people living in this world.
If you don't live by the water and if you don't have money to buy fishing gear what use is it for some rich people to share their hobby?
If you think a man should learn how to fish then take the time to learn where he can fish and give him the tools to fish with. Make sure you buy him a license and give him a ride to the water, and then bring him home. Take the time to teach him how to clean the fish, and cook the fish, and to protect the future of the fish.
In this modern world with urban living and so many rules protecting established businesses, if you just teach a man to fish, then you have nether fed him for the day, nor have you prepared him for a lifetime of feeding himself.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
St Martin-in-Provo
As a child I remember visiting St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Standing in the church some adult told the story of a brave priest who stood up to popular opinion and left the door to the church unlocked so that the homeless would have a place to sleep in the heart of the big city. I looked around what appeared to me to be a fancy church and I could understand why people would want to protect it. I also through that the priest had the right idea. There, in a city filled with palaces and museums, was one place where no matter how poor you were, no matter how low you were on the social scale, no matter how damaged you might be, there was one place that would let you in on a cold night.
Now, I understand that there were risks in the priest's behavior. Risks to the building and risks to the random individuals that might enter it. But it was still the right thing to do.
We have a chance to do the same thing. With winter approaching Provo I can see the need for a refuge for those who have nothing. Perhaps one of our leaders will be as brave as that English priest and suggest that when the new temple is finished we could open, if not its doors to the homeless, at least the doors of the parking garage*. Each night after the temple closes a group of brethren could volunteer to let the homeless sleep in the lower levels of the garage where the depth of the earth will insulate the ground and keep the people from freezing. Early in the morning as the temple opens the homeless could wander out, the area could be cleaned, and the temple patrons could park. It wouldn't take many people to support the operation and the cost would be minimal.
Who knows, if it works they could try something similar in Salt Lake City with the big new mall that sits empty between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.
*As I recall, from time to time the homeless in Provo were housed in the Hotel Roberts which stood close to, if not exactly where the new temple parking garage will be built.
Now, I understand that there were risks in the priest's behavior. Risks to the building and risks to the random individuals that might enter it. But it was still the right thing to do.
We have a chance to do the same thing. With winter approaching Provo I can see the need for a refuge for those who have nothing. Perhaps one of our leaders will be as brave as that English priest and suggest that when the new temple is finished we could open, if not its doors to the homeless, at least the doors of the parking garage*. Each night after the temple closes a group of brethren could volunteer to let the homeless sleep in the lower levels of the garage where the depth of the earth will insulate the ground and keep the people from freezing. Early in the morning as the temple opens the homeless could wander out, the area could be cleaned, and the temple patrons could park. It wouldn't take many people to support the operation and the cost would be minimal.
Who knows, if it works they could try something similar in Salt Lake City with the big new mall that sits empty between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.
*As I recall, from time to time the homeless in Provo were housed in the Hotel Roberts which stood close to, if not exactly where the new temple parking garage will be built.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
How Can You Promise Me Heaven?
How can you promise me heaven when you can’t provide on
earth?
How can you promise choirs of angels singing praise when my
ears ring with the sound of my neighbors mocking of the poor.
How can you promise mansions in heaven when we have no
shelter for the homeless?
How can you promise infinite wisdom when our leaders vote to
destroy our education system?
What makes you think we will live united above when down
here we can’t abide those who cross borders, are gay, or don’t look like us?
How can you claim we can progress forever when you can’t see
past the number of piercings in my ears or the color of my shirt?
How can you promise divine forgiveness when our politicians
pass petty laws to punish those who make difficult personal choices they
disagree with.
Why do you promise a future of charity and love from the pulpit when so
many voices in our community promote greed and fear?
Why do you extol the potential of women in the next life when
you exclude them from leadership today?
How can you promise me heaven when you can’t provide on
earth?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Really
It is great that the Church took a strong stand against racism recently (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/racial-remarks-in-washington-post-article).
Now I hear that the Church owns a radio station the airs Rush Limbaugh (http://www.bonneville.com/?nid=42).
I'm happy that we are working to put racism behind us. It looks like we will have to keep working on our respect for women.
(Don't even get me started on what our "LDS" legislators are doing to our hope for education.)
Now I hear that the Church owns a radio station the airs Rush Limbaugh (http://www.bonneville.com/?nid=42).
I'm happy that we are working to put racism behind us. It looks like we will have to keep working on our respect for women.
(Don't even get me started on what our "LDS" legislators are doing to our hope for education.)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Skinny Genes
So I hear some kid in Idaho is all worked up because some girl at BYUi has skinny genes. She can't take a test. She is embarrassed at school all because of her skinny genes. And I figure, hey, why is it anyone's business if she has skinny genes. In today's world, lucky her. Leave her and her skinny genes be!
Turns out they were talking about pants.
Now that is even sillier.
Turns out they were talking about pants.
Now that is even sillier.
Monday, December 12, 2011
TBM, TBML, HASM, or FPR? Now add BCM
It is time for a new Mormon acronym. Let's go with BCM for "Business Card Mormon." A BCM is the type of person who will not acknowledge any scripture outside the one verse that suits their immediate need. The one verse that possibly supports some passionately held typically worldly view. Hence, they can carry their scripture(s) to church on a business card. They don't need all those other verses, chapters, books, etc.
There are a great number of BCMs in the blogosphere at this time. Sometimes you can even meet them in person if you pay attention at church.
Try this, enter a blog discussion that is looking at immigration in the United States. If you try and say anything about charity, kindness, families, or common everyday respect for other humans--BAM! Someone drops the 12th Article of Faith and there can be no further discussion. The 12th Article of Faith is all that matters. If you mention anything else the BCM will imply that you are something of an apostate, unpatriotic, and lacking in any understanding of the gospel. The "gospel" of course being that one verse the BCM likes. Now, some people might read, oh, say the 13th article of faith, with its mention of being benevolent or doing good to all men. Some people might even read the Book of Mormon and learn from the stories of pride, humility, charity and migration. In fact there is nothing stopping us from using all the scriptures from Genesis to the proclamation on the family. But the BCMs appear to know better.
I suspect that BCMs do not read the scriptures much, or at least they don't do so with charity in their hearts. In fact, I suspect that the current crop of BCMs are influenced more by the still small voice of cable "news" and talk radio than a more spiritual guide. But that is just my assumption. I don't have a favorite scripture to back it up.
There are a great number of BCMs in the blogosphere at this time. Sometimes you can even meet them in person if you pay attention at church.
Try this, enter a blog discussion that is looking at immigration in the United States. If you try and say anything about charity, kindness, families, or common everyday respect for other humans--BAM! Someone drops the 12th Article of Faith and there can be no further discussion. The 12th Article of Faith is all that matters. If you mention anything else the BCM will imply that you are something of an apostate, unpatriotic, and lacking in any understanding of the gospel. The "gospel" of course being that one verse the BCM likes. Now, some people might read, oh, say the 13th article of faith, with its mention of being benevolent or doing good to all men. Some people might even read the Book of Mormon and learn from the stories of pride, humility, charity and migration. In fact there is nothing stopping us from using all the scriptures from Genesis to the proclamation on the family. But the BCMs appear to know better.
I suspect that BCMs do not read the scriptures much, or at least they don't do so with charity in their hearts. In fact, I suspect that the current crop of BCMs are influenced more by the still small voice of cable "news" and talk radio than a more spiritual guide. But that is just my assumption. I don't have a favorite scripture to back it up.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Vote, vote while you can
In Utah there is a law requiring you to present I.D., like a drivers license or a concealed weapon permit, before you can vote. Identification costs money. Identification requires you to have transportation to the government offices that can issue your identification. In the past, two hundred years ago, only property owners could vote. In the near future it looks as though in Utah only owners of automobiles will have the vote.
In Utah I’ve heard that there is a new law allowing towns to cancel elections if there are no opposing candidates on the ballot. This sounds good. It saves money. But what happens when one person, and only one person decides to run against an opponent? Now they have to justify the cost of the entire election simply because they wanted to live within their rights. It sounds like euthanasia for democracy. If your election is weak is it really best to just let it die?
When you add those laws to the recent secret meetings on redistricting Utah (our right wing leaders insist that they aren’t secret meetings, its just that they are the only people who can attend), their attempts to block access to communication by office holders, and some people’s concerns that democracy is equal to socialism, it appears we are well down the road to losing our voice.
If we don’t vote out the far right soon we may find that it is no longer an option for us.
In Utah I’ve heard that there is a new law allowing towns to cancel elections if there are no opposing candidates on the ballot. This sounds good. It saves money. But what happens when one person, and only one person decides to run against an opponent? Now they have to justify the cost of the entire election simply because they wanted to live within their rights. It sounds like euthanasia for democracy. If your election is weak is it really best to just let it die?
When you add those laws to the recent secret meetings on redistricting Utah (our right wing leaders insist that they aren’t secret meetings, its just that they are the only people who can attend), their attempts to block access to communication by office holders, and some people’s concerns that democracy is equal to socialism, it appears we are well down the road to losing our voice.
If we don’t vote out the far right soon we may find that it is no longer an option for us.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Purse & Script
Recently a number of blogs (here and here) have looked at the ideal of perfection and the trouble it causes. Those blogs made me ask myself where do we get our ideas of what perfection is?
Consider the scripture Matthew 5:48 which tells us to be perfect. What is perfect? Whose idea of perfect should we follow? I submit that we can look at the ten commandments, the simple straight forward commandments, to get a good idea of what perfect is in God‘s eyes.
Are you killing people? Are you messing with your neighbor’s spouse? Do you steal or lie? Do you respect you parents? Do you put God first?
There is nothing in the scriptures that tell you to have a clean kitchen, to bake you own wheat bread, to make center pieces for church lessons, or to wear a white shirt. I think our ideas about perfection come from two sources: The consumer driven world we live in. The world of TV shows and intense consumer marketing. And a church that once, a century ago, that was near financial bankruptcy but now has all the money it needs. That money pays for buildings, books, manuals and travel. That purse and the scrips it pays for create a environment where more and more content heads our way to show members just how perfect they should be. But that content may not be helpful. In fact, it may be a distraction.
Pause for a moment an ask yourself, “Do I need all the material items of my culture to be perfect?” Things like granite counter tops, smart phones, another pair of new shoes, and four wheelers. The answer is no. Now, ask yourself, Do I need a church building and manuals to be perfect according to the scriptures?” Once again the answer is no. Jesus didn’t hand a manual to the woman by the well. He didn’t gather the twelve to a last supper in the cultural hall. He let the world take care of the world and he lead by the spirit.
We are a people who are blessed with abundance. An abundance of goods and an abundance of expectations and rules. I admit I enjoy the abundance of goods and I chafe are the abundance of rules. But, like a child who has been given so may birthday gifts, we try to carry them all around with us. We carry the social expectations of for both materials goods, behavior appropriate to our status, and a tightening number of pseudo-religious rules on dress, conduct, and lets face it, politics.
I suspect that bit by bit we have burdened ourselves with so many cultural ideals (scripts) of perfection that we can do nothing but fail. Sadly, I don’t think God really cares about most of the things we worry about. May I suggest we take a look at the many things we have been told to worry about beyond the commandments and that we evaluate each of them. Is this something God really cares about? (Does God worry if I wear flip flops, does he want me to conform to Republican politics, should I clean my bathroom more than once a week) Think about it. Pray about it. Is it something that effects my purse or my soul? Is it something God asked me to do or am I following the script some person wrote to fill their own need? When we've looked at the things we worry about, we can take the things we don’t need and throw them out. Each person will find a different list that fits their life. Each person will add more or discard other items as they progress (for all I know you can't enjoy church if your bathroom isn't clean, so you keep that on your list if you need it).
In the end I think we will find that the only way to hold to the iron rod is if we unload our burdens so we can keep one had free to hang on. And the only way we will be able to walk through the straight and narrow gate is if we unload the extra burdens that block our ability to more forward. In fact, if we unload enough of our own self-imposed burdens we might find we have a hand free to help someone else.
Consider the scripture Matthew 5:48 which tells us to be perfect. What is perfect? Whose idea of perfect should we follow? I submit that we can look at the ten commandments, the simple straight forward commandments, to get a good idea of what perfect is in God‘s eyes.
Are you killing people? Are you messing with your neighbor’s spouse? Do you steal or lie? Do you respect you parents? Do you put God first?
There is nothing in the scriptures that tell you to have a clean kitchen, to bake you own wheat bread, to make center pieces for church lessons, or to wear a white shirt. I think our ideas about perfection come from two sources: The consumer driven world we live in. The world of TV shows and intense consumer marketing. And a church that once, a century ago, that was near financial bankruptcy but now has all the money it needs. That money pays for buildings, books, manuals and travel. That purse and the scrips it pays for create a environment where more and more content heads our way to show members just how perfect they should be. But that content may not be helpful. In fact, it may be a distraction.
Pause for a moment an ask yourself, “Do I need all the material items of my culture to be perfect?” Things like granite counter tops, smart phones, another pair of new shoes, and four wheelers. The answer is no. Now, ask yourself, Do I need a church building and manuals to be perfect according to the scriptures?” Once again the answer is no. Jesus didn’t hand a manual to the woman by the well. He didn’t gather the twelve to a last supper in the cultural hall. He let the world take care of the world and he lead by the spirit.
We are a people who are blessed with abundance. An abundance of goods and an abundance of expectations and rules. I admit I enjoy the abundance of goods and I chafe are the abundance of rules. But, like a child who has been given so may birthday gifts, we try to carry them all around with us. We carry the social expectations of for both materials goods, behavior appropriate to our status, and a tightening number of pseudo-religious rules on dress, conduct, and lets face it, politics.
I suspect that bit by bit we have burdened ourselves with so many cultural ideals (scripts) of perfection that we can do nothing but fail. Sadly, I don’t think God really cares about most of the things we worry about. May I suggest we take a look at the many things we have been told to worry about beyond the commandments and that we evaluate each of them. Is this something God really cares about? (Does God worry if I wear flip flops, does he want me to conform to Republican politics, should I clean my bathroom more than once a week) Think about it. Pray about it. Is it something that effects my purse or my soul? Is it something God asked me to do or am I following the script some person wrote to fill their own need? When we've looked at the things we worry about, we can take the things we don’t need and throw them out. Each person will find a different list that fits their life. Each person will add more or discard other items as they progress (for all I know you can't enjoy church if your bathroom isn't clean, so you keep that on your list if you need it).
In the end I think we will find that the only way to hold to the iron rod is if we unload our burdens so we can keep one had free to hang on. And the only way we will be able to walk through the straight and narrow gate is if we unload the extra burdens that block our ability to more forward. In fact, if we unload enough of our own self-imposed burdens we might find we have a hand free to help someone else.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Good Fences
When I hear people talk about building a big fence to keep people from the south from invading our state I sympathize with them. It looks like an easy answer to protect the good things in our culture. The problem is with the implementation. Most people I hear want to build a fence along the United States border with Mexico. I, on the other hand, don’t have a problem with Latinos, But, I can see the value of a fence along the Utah boarder to keep the republicans out.
The Latino people I meet are polite, they value their families, and they don’t cause me any trouble. The republicans, on the other hand, disturb me. For example, the Mesa Mormons and the California Tea Partiers who fled what they see as the wickedness of their home states are trouble. They act as though they have come to Utah to teach us “Utah values.” Well, they don’t have good values for Utah. Their hate, their fear, their racism, and the petty greed they promote does not make Utah a better place to live.
So, if they really want to build a fence I guess we should let them try. I just ask that they stay on the southern side of it.
The Latino people I meet are polite, they value their families, and they don’t cause me any trouble. The republicans, on the other hand, disturb me. For example, the Mesa Mormons and the California Tea Partiers who fled what they see as the wickedness of their home states are trouble. They act as though they have come to Utah to teach us “Utah values.” Well, they don’t have good values for Utah. Their hate, their fear, their racism, and the petty greed they promote does not make Utah a better place to live.
So, if they really want to build a fence I guess we should let them try. I just ask that they stay on the southern side of it.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Life's a Beach
A few weeks ago in Primary I thought about the song where the wise man builds his house upon a rock and I wondered, what is the rock? Of all the things in our culture that we attribute to the gospel, which things are the rock? Which things really matter and which things are we doing that are silly human inventions that waste our time, or worse, damage people's souls?
I wondered about the rock again today. Today I read that one of our community leaders has been indicted on no less than a dozen felony charges. I won't list them all, but it appears this has been going on for some time and people have talked about it, but it took a long time for anyone in power to do anything about it. What many people didn't know, until the local paper printed it, was that this community leader was also a stake leader.
So, where is the rock? Where are our leaders taking us when they make girls feel dirty for having their ears pierced twice while their colleague is apparently stealing? Where is the rock when we are pressured to wear the right kind of shoes to church or the right color of shirt while our leaders tell lies and some people think that is just part of doing business? Is that the rock?
Over the last few months I've read about race and the priesthood and I can't find the rock that policy was based on. I can see the procedures that blocked the changes needed to do the right thing and reverse it. But, oddly, no one seems to know the procedures that lead to instituting that rule. Isn't a rock permanent? If the rock was there in the beginning shouldn't the rock be there now?
I've read about the book Mormon Doctrine and how leaders knew it was not correct, but for whatever reasons--personalities or church politics--they let it be accepted for generations. That looks like sand to me, not rock.
I've read about a leader at BYU who was less than honest and yet he stayed in office while vigorously enforcing the Honor Code. Where is the rock there? How much irrational guilt did that man generate for no good reason while it appears he did his best to hide his guilt from others?
Perhaps these things don't matter. Perhaps the local politicians and leaders are right and God is a hard line conservative so he doesn't care if people starve or suffer as long as we all dress the same and act like we are doing good deeds.
Perhaps all he cares about is conformity. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we all wear the right clothes and follow our leaders, no matter what they do or ask, then the stealing, and the hate, and the fear in our community won't matter because we will finally be in Zion.
A Zion with no flip flops.
A Zion of white shirts.
A Zion with complete freedom for business.
A Zion where the poor have the "opportunity to solve their own problems" instead of getting help.
A Zion where ears are pierced only once, if at all.
A Zion with committees and councils who can create an ever growing list of unwritten rules for us to worry about and enforce.
Perhaps that is all the rock is. I for one will be very disappointed if that is all God can offer. In fact, if that is all the rock is then, as they say, "life is a beach" because all I can see today is so much sand.
I wondered about the rock again today. Today I read that one of our community leaders has been indicted on no less than a dozen felony charges. I won't list them all, but it appears this has been going on for some time and people have talked about it, but it took a long time for anyone in power to do anything about it. What many people didn't know, until the local paper printed it, was that this community leader was also a stake leader.
So, where is the rock? Where are our leaders taking us when they make girls feel dirty for having their ears pierced twice while their colleague is apparently stealing? Where is the rock when we are pressured to wear the right kind of shoes to church or the right color of shirt while our leaders tell lies and some people think that is just part of doing business? Is that the rock?
Over the last few months I've read about race and the priesthood and I can't find the rock that policy was based on. I can see the procedures that blocked the changes needed to do the right thing and reverse it. But, oddly, no one seems to know the procedures that lead to instituting that rule. Isn't a rock permanent? If the rock was there in the beginning shouldn't the rock be there now?
I've read about the book Mormon Doctrine and how leaders knew it was not correct, but for whatever reasons--personalities or church politics--they let it be accepted for generations. That looks like sand to me, not rock.
I've read about a leader at BYU who was less than honest and yet he stayed in office while vigorously enforcing the Honor Code. Where is the rock there? How much irrational guilt did that man generate for no good reason while it appears he did his best to hide his guilt from others?
Perhaps these things don't matter. Perhaps the local politicians and leaders are right and God is a hard line conservative so he doesn't care if people starve or suffer as long as we all dress the same and act like we are doing good deeds.
Perhaps all he cares about is conformity. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we all wear the right clothes and follow our leaders, no matter what they do or ask, then the stealing, and the hate, and the fear in our community won't matter because we will finally be in Zion.
A Zion with no flip flops.
A Zion of white shirts.
A Zion with complete freedom for business.
A Zion where the poor have the "opportunity to solve their own problems" instead of getting help.
A Zion where ears are pierced only once, if at all.
A Zion with committees and councils who can create an ever growing list of unwritten rules for us to worry about and enforce.
Perhaps that is all the rock is. I for one will be very disappointed if that is all God can offer. In fact, if that is all the rock is then, as they say, "life is a beach" because all I can see today is so much sand.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Can You Leave A Church You Don’t Belong To?
Someone I know has left the church.
It was a struggle for them.
They did not make the decision lightly.
Their family is hurt.
Their social position has changed.
And after I learned the reasons they left I have found myself wondering why?
Why did they leave the church?
So many of the issues they had with the church were not gospel issues.
Jesus taught us to love.
I’m sure they would still agree with that.
Jesus taught us to forgive.
I’m sure they would agree with that.
Jesus taught us to have charity in our hearts.
Actions indicate that charity is still in this person’s heart.
So why did they leave?
I think in part it was because of all the junk they had been taught that people accept as part of the church. The junk are the ideas and rules and customs with no truth behind them.
They are the inventions of wishful thinkers.
They are the imagined answers of people who wanted answers, and when God did not provide answers then people invented them so that they could look wise or, at best, put their own minds at ease.
They are appealing answers and beliefs that people can agree on and conform to.
But agreement is not revelation any more than agreement is science. And while conforming to Christ’s example is a worthy goal, conforming for the sake of conforming is simply following fashion.
They are the made up rules that make us look effective while they distract us from doing real good in the world.
They are the comfortable bonds that slow us down where the truth would set us free.
They are things that we think we hold dear, but find we cannot defend in our hearts or in our prayers.
I think of this junk as a pile of sand that comes between us and the rock of truth. When the world blows the sand away we may find we have wondered a step or two and are no longer standing on the rock we thought was beneath us. Perhaps that is what happened here.
I think the person I know will seek out truth. I hope that search will bring them back to the gospel.
The gospel as taught by the Lord, not the gospel of folklore, politics, and traditions.
Having left, this may be the last place they look. But I believe that if they look long enough they will find what they are searching for and they will also find they will be welcomed back. (And perhaps they will have something they can teach us.)
Someone I know has left the church.
What was it they left?
What should we do to help them back?
It was a struggle for them.
They did not make the decision lightly.
Their family is hurt.
Their social position has changed.
And after I learned the reasons they left I have found myself wondering why?
Why did they leave the church?
So many of the issues they had with the church were not gospel issues.
Jesus taught us to love.
I’m sure they would still agree with that.
Jesus taught us to forgive.
I’m sure they would agree with that.
Jesus taught us to have charity in our hearts.
Actions indicate that charity is still in this person’s heart.
So why did they leave?
I think in part it was because of all the junk they had been taught that people accept as part of the church. The junk are the ideas and rules and customs with no truth behind them.
They are the inventions of wishful thinkers.
They are the imagined answers of people who wanted answers, and when God did not provide answers then people invented them so that they could look wise or, at best, put their own minds at ease.
They are appealing answers and beliefs that people can agree on and conform to.
But agreement is not revelation any more than agreement is science. And while conforming to Christ’s example is a worthy goal, conforming for the sake of conforming is simply following fashion.
They are the made up rules that make us look effective while they distract us from doing real good in the world.
They are the comfortable bonds that slow us down where the truth would set us free.
They are things that we think we hold dear, but find we cannot defend in our hearts or in our prayers.
I think of this junk as a pile of sand that comes between us and the rock of truth. When the world blows the sand away we may find we have wondered a step or two and are no longer standing on the rock we thought was beneath us. Perhaps that is what happened here.
I think the person I know will seek out truth. I hope that search will bring them back to the gospel.
The gospel as taught by the Lord, not the gospel of folklore, politics, and traditions.
Having left, this may be the last place they look. But I believe that if they look long enough they will find what they are searching for and they will also find they will be welcomed back. (And perhaps they will have something they can teach us.)
Someone I know has left the church.
What was it they left?
What should we do to help them back?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Two Lists
Recently at church we were presented with two lists.
One list was love, charity, purity, honesty, humility, courage, and hope.
The other list was hate, rage, despair, jealousy, and pride.
Listening to some conversations at church reminds me of one of the lists.
The actions, attitudes, and rhetoric of state leaders we elected calls to mind one of the lists.
The voices that are popular in our culture find their energy from one of the lists.
The lesson taught that one of the lists will lead to misery, the other to goodness.
Who is leading us? Who are we following? The lists tell us.
One list was love, charity, purity, honesty, humility, courage, and hope.
The other list was hate, rage, despair, jealousy, and pride.
Listening to some conversations at church reminds me of one of the lists.
The actions, attitudes, and rhetoric of state leaders we elected calls to mind one of the lists.
The voices that are popular in our culture find their energy from one of the lists.
The lesson taught that one of the lists will lead to misery, the other to goodness.
Who is leading us? Who are we following? The lists tell us.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
We Believe All Things
It’s been an interesting week. I’ve been rummaging around through the same thoughts so its time to put them down.
In Utah Valley politicians do bad things and their popularity appears to go up. People around here listen to talk radio and watch cable TV shows where people lie, or at the very least they say a LOT of things that aren’t true. Some read books that are not the best books. People don’t want to spend a dime on education and are afraid that a classroom with a union joining teacher is the same thing as a gulag (not that they know what a gulag is). And people consistently invest money with crooks. Everyone knows someone who has been scammed and they’ve crossed paths with someone who has done some scamming.
Is this what the thirteenth article of faith refers to when we say “we believe all things“? Are we agreeing to be dupes?
What must outsiders think? What do we think of ourselves? What does the Lord think?
If we lack common sense in our politics and we lack integrity in our infotainment. If we distrust education and we don’t know enough to resist mortgaging our homes and handing our savings over to every slick pitchman that wears a white shirt and shows up at church from time to time, then why would we imagine that anyone could take us seriously when we talk about religion?
Maybe these are things God doesn't really care about.
In Utah Valley politicians do bad things and their popularity appears to go up. People around here listen to talk radio and watch cable TV shows where people lie, or at the very least they say a LOT of things that aren’t true. Some read books that are not the best books. People don’t want to spend a dime on education and are afraid that a classroom with a union joining teacher is the same thing as a gulag (not that they know what a gulag is). And people consistently invest money with crooks. Everyone knows someone who has been scammed and they’ve crossed paths with someone who has done some scamming.
Is this what the thirteenth article of faith refers to when we say “we believe all things“? Are we agreeing to be dupes?
What must outsiders think? What do we think of ourselves? What does the Lord think?
If we lack common sense in our politics and we lack integrity in our infotainment. If we distrust education and we don’t know enough to resist mortgaging our homes and handing our savings over to every slick pitchman that wears a white shirt and shows up at church from time to time, then why would we imagine that anyone could take us seriously when we talk about religion?
Maybe these are things God doesn't really care about.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Democracy and the Gospel--Can I Believe in Both?
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.
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.
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.
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