Sunday Sermon: The Mormons Came Calling, And I INVITED THEM IN!!!
To those of us that are not Mormon, we see them as a mystery, and a lot of us see them as a nuisance. Yet when the Mormons came calling to my home, I let them in to my home three times! But before I tell you about that, please allow me to define what I mean by my new ‘Sunday Sermon’ feature here at Howefitz Blog.
I’m calling this feature ‘Sunday Sermon’, but it’s anything but a sermon. To me, a sermon implies someone will stand at a pulpit and relay his or her interpretation of a religious document as if their interpretation were the complete truth. Furthermore, they would expect you to buy in to their interpretation and take it on as your own.
My Sunday Sermons are anything but that. I will explore different questions of faith that I am having and look for thought provoking discussion in return. What I would like to do is present topics for discussion or thought that you may or may not have thought of yourself.
Let me start my discussion of the Mormons with this clarification: I believe that faith and spirituality is a cornerstone of family life. I was raised as a Christian (Methodist to be exact) and I do believe it made our family stronger and gave us support when we needed it most. But, my own personal beliefs I now feel are a very internal choice. I want to give my children that choice. I want to introduce them to ideas that I have been introduced to, and allow them to decide which way they want to go. Kat, the teenager, has gone the way of science. She embraces Quantum Physics and String Theory. I do as well, but those ideas don’t lend much to the human experience. So matters of religious faith are still important to me as well. So Sunday Sermons are about exploring all aspects of faith. Any discussion is completely welcomed here!
So, back to the current topic: Why did I let missionaries, or door-to-door Jesus salesmen in to my home? I was simply curious! Beyond the random mention in an Orson Scott Card book or blog post, I really didn’t have a clue what the Mormons were all about. The day they knocked, I had recently watched Bill Maher‘s ‘Religulous‘, where he claims that Mormons believe God, Jesus, and Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, all live on a planet by the sun. Really? They’re that crazy? I thought as I watched. So when they knocked on the door, I had to see for myself…
The first visit was an introduction. I admitted that I had been curious about the Mormon faith, and they gave me a small copy of the Book of Mormon and asked me to read through it and pray about it. I would receive an answer if it was absolute truth. I admit that I didn’t read the entire book, which is essentially a new Gospel written by an American, Joseph Smith, during the late 1800′s. I did read the part that was most interesting to me, however, the story of Joseph Smith.
Here is the Cliff Note version: Around the age of 18, Joseph Smith was questioning his faith. With the United States of America having religious freedom, there were certainly a lot of voices to listen to! So he began asking what the true answer was. Which church was right? He went out into the woods to go to the direct source. He prayed to God, who came down with Jesus and told Joseph Smith that there was a manuscript of golden plates buried in the woods. Joseph must find that tome, and everything would be made clear.
The Angel Moroni visits Joseph Smith
With the help of the angel Moroni, who was a resurrected indigenous American, Joseph found it, which was written in ‘Reformed Egyptian’. Joseph Smith was given the power to translate it. There was a lot of drama surrounding the translation of the text, but I won’t get in to that here.
The angel Moroni claimed that he was a member of a people that were brought to the Americas from Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Christ. He was the last prophet of those people, and had buried the book in order for it to resurface in latter times.
Given this information, I told the Mormons when they returned that I had given it a chance, and I was not receiving the call to that faith. I told them that I did find it interesting that The Church of Latter Day Saints kind of made Christianity more modern. That The Book of Mormon makes Christianity something an American can relate to was very interesting to me. However, I just didn’t hear the call.
They read a few passages and we prayed, then they left. I kept thinking about it, and read a bit more of the Book of Mormon, and they came back the next week with a DVD about Joseph Smith, which detailed the account of finding the Book of Mormon that I briefly relayed to you above. We prayed again, and I told them I’d call them if God answered and told me it was the truth.
Unless I’m just blocking Him out, He hasn’t.
RLDS church in Independence, Mo
I didn’t lie, it is interesting to me, but I certainly do not feel that the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints is the One True Church. Especially given that I grew up near Independence, MO, home of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, which I believe is now a ‘Church of Christ’. If this is the One Answer that I’m looking for, why did it have to be reorganized? When a band releases a second Greatest Hits album, which one is truly the greatest? It all comes back to personal preference. Which ever belief speaks to you at any given moment, that’s what you’re going to choose.
The Mormons didn’t speak to me, perhaps, because I’m too analytical. I didn’t want to hear the stories, and the lessons behind the stories, because I’m too caught up in where the stories come from. A book written in ‘reformed Egyptian’? What does that mean? According to what I’ve read online (reliable, right?!) reformed Egyptian is not mentioned anywhere else but the Mormon faith. Joseph Smith sat behind a curtain and translated aloud for one of his followers to transcribe it. There were 12 witnesses that held the golden plates, but where are they now? That we can’t find the stone tablets of Moses makes perfect sense to me, that was a very long time ago. But sacred plates made of gold from the late 1800′s? They’ve got to be around here somewhere.
One final demonstration of my overall thought process on faith:
I recently discovered a ‘Goth’ musical artist (and animator!) that goes by Voltaire. He wrote a song that I love called ‘God Thinks‘. The overall message of the song is that no one can know what God thinks, and don’t trust anyone that says they do. The final verses hit hard:
God thinks puppies need to drown and
God thinks babies need to die ’cause
God is neither good nor bad
God is you and me
God is everything.
I played that for Kat, who enjoys thinking about this kind of thing too. When the song was over she asked, ‘I don’t get it. Aren’t you a Christian?’
I was a little taken aback. We actually haven’t gone to church in a long time. I’m certainly not as devout as her statement made it sound.
‘Well, I’m Christian as far as I believe a man that went by Jesus Christ walked the Earth and did a lot of amazing things and got a lot of followers. But I also believe in Siddhartha Buddha and Muhammad.’
‘I didn’t want a discussion.’ She replied. I think I interrupted a phone call with a boy. My bad. I’ll give her some more time. 
So, what are the thoughts out there? If you are a Mormon, I’d love to hear from you. What draws you to that faith? If you’re not, are you a little bit curious? Do you think I’m crazy for inviting them in?
If you do want to know more, I’ve sprinkled the links in this blog with various sources, but I suggest you start with Mormon.org. Get it straight from the Mormons themselves.
Thanks in advance for the discussion!
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Tags: Bill Maher, Book of Mormon, Christianity, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jesus, Joseph Smith, Latter Day Saint, Orson Scott Card, Religion & Spirituality, Religulous
I don’t believe in any religion. None of it makes any sense. I had some mormons visit me about 10 years ago when I lived in Oklahoma. I let them in and they gave me the whole drill down on how they’re really christians and I shouldn’t fear them. I just wasn’t even remotely convinced. Probably because they couldn’t give me proof. But, then again, what religion can? That’s why it’s faith. I guess I just don’t understand that word very well.
Keith Wilcox´s last blog ..The Cozy Coupe: 30 Years Old
My problem is, I believe in all religions, from the aspect that religion shows us a lot about the human condition. In the end, religious texts are great stories that have a lot of lessons to be learned. A great fictional movie can scratch the same itch. That’s the aspect of the entire debate that fascinates me, and that I like to explore…
Twitter: CK_Lunchbox
says:
There’s a lot for me to say here, but I’m going to hold off on a bunch of it. You’ve taken on one of those taboo blogging topics and have done so with great care and respect. Kuddos to you for that.
There are a few religious posts on my site & I’ve written for several religious pubs. The thing is, if I were to say that I am a (organized religious I will refrain from naming), I would automatically be pegged into a hole that would be difficult to get out of because of what people of this particular faith have done to negatively impact this faith’s image. It’s a joke now. And growing up in this faith, I was told others including the Mormons were all headed for eternal damnation.
However, all the ones I’ve ever met (and I am friends with many), have been some of the most genuinely compassionate people I know. How can I judge that. In fact it’s not my place to judge. I can’t or won’t. I can only show compassion towards others and let the chips fall where they will. Those actions will make for of an impact than the moniker of one religion or another.
Clark Kent’s Lunchbox´s last blog ..Why I Hate Mommy Bloggers
Compassion is the key. Keeping an open mind about others’ faiths, and even attempting to see where they’re coming from, really opens you up to a whole new world view. I can’t stand the thought of someone burning for eternity because they disagreed with me. How would we learn anything if we all fell in line to the same way of thinking? If you believe in the story of the Tower of Babel, I would view the creation of many languages as a gift rather than a punishment. It would be the cause of differing cultures. How great would a food court at the mall be without Chinese or Mexican? I’m getting silly now, but I think (hope?) I’ve made the point that this world would be very dull without the variations it has in it. Why would even an almighty deity want to punish someone for contributing to that?
Twitter: CK_Lunchbox
says:
That last line was supposed to be “Those actions will make for more of a lasting impact for the good, than will the moniker of one organized religion over another.” I’d make a lousy editor.
Clark Kent’s Lunchbox´s last blog ..Why I Hate Mommy Bloggers
That’s alright, sometimes the brain just works faster than the fingers!
Twitter: hangglidded
says:
I was raised Catholic and my Mother found strength in those beliefs. I did not involve my children in any form of organized religion. I don’t believe there is a God but I do believe in the human spirit of goodness. I can’t believe in something abstract. If I were forced to choose a spiritual path, it would be Buddhism. I do believe there was someone named Jesus who existed with followers but there has always been and will be someone charismatic enough to have followers. Jim Jones comes to mind on the dark side of blindly following. As long as there are people so insecure, confused and in need of guidance, there will be someone who will lead them whether to the light or to the dark. It’s best to think for yourself using “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” philosophy.
I fall in to the same category. I’m not 100% convinced there is one almighty, all powerful deity controlling us all. I like to think that we have a say in our own existence and destiny. The Golden Rule certainly applies, as the good you put forth in to the world is always reflected back.
I do admire your thoroughness! I’m not sure I’d have the patience to go as far as you did but I do applaud the experiment. I’m also not convinced that organised religions as things in themselves have earned themselves much benefit of the doubt. Seems go me that the many individuals who show real compassion donal in the face of all the small print and footnotes thatbtheir religions entail. Scratch a repressive or bigotted socia. Practice and you’ll generally find a religious discourse underneath it.
But I would rigourously differentiate the religious from the spiritual and affirm the impossibility of accessing to any degree anothers personal experience of the latter. When I discuss these things with my 6 year old, I’m careful to provide equal ‘airtime’ to the competing points of view but always point out that these are stories people tell each other to explain the world and our place in it. Forgive the typos – my iPhone does horrible thighs to comments sometimes.
Dad Who Writes´s last blog ..Me, Tori Amos and Bjork
Agreed. These are great stories that can serve to teach us things about ourselves and others.
As for the typos, what do you expect when you’re typing on glass? Give me a full QWERTY any day!
I don’t think your crazy for letting them in. I see it more as a way of trying to better understand them and where they come from. I think many people fear this and that is why they reject anything else.
I dated a girl in high school who was Mormon and a lot of my friends were. I was not Mormon and didn’t believe the same as them, but I didn’t hate them because of their beliefs. In fact if hadn’t had a difference in our core beliefs I think she and I would have ended up married. We are still friends to this day.
The one thing I have always admired about them is their deep family values. I wish the “Christian Church” in America promoted them as much as they do.
I wrote a article on my blog about why Christianity Stinks and why I stopped calling myself a Christian refer to myself as a follower of Jesus.
I remember growing up in my small town and the Mormon church was not looked on favorably by the other churches and they were not allowed to take part in a multiple church service because of their belief systems. That made me pretty angry.
My wife and I hold the same belief system and we attend a Christian Church that is amazing and healthy. It’s like no church I have ever known. I appreciate all that they do and their ability to be real and transparent. It’s very refreshing.
Part of my job as a parent is to educate my kids and allow them to make informed decisions. I have told them I don’t want them saying they believe in something just because their parents do. They need to experience it for themselves and know it’s real. I also believe they need to be well educated to make informed decisions for their own sake. Whatever you believe, educate yourself and know what your talking about and don’t judge others because they don’t believe the same way you do. We all get to make our own choices ,that’s part of life experiences.
Chris´s last blog ..Real Authentic Men – Emotional Control
I like ‘follower of Jesus’. It doesn’t discount the others. Can’t I follow Jesus AND Buddha? They both existed, and they both taught amazing things. I’m all about the educating myself. I love learning about new beliefs and cultures. I wouldn’t trade this worldly experience for anything!!
It seams like Joseph Smith had a bad acid trip or smoked some really good weed… To each his own….
LOL! Don’t get crazy, Annie! Back then it would have been opium…
I too know some Mormons…..not scarey…good people. Religion can start some interesting conversation….We had a sermon at our church last Sunday which was very interesting! I wish you all could have heard it….It was about science verses religion…The Pastor invited a Professor of bio-chemistry from a local college, interestingly a catholic college, Rockhurst. This professor attends our church which is Methodist. They discussed how old our planet and solar systems are..where we may have come from and why we are here. The Bible says it took God 6 days to create our world..Science says it took 6 Epics or periods of time (exactly how much…they don’t know). Bible says we are 6000 years old. Science says 4 1/2 billion years ago..moon and earth..13 billion years ago…universe. They compared other science/religious issues as well, but I won’t take up anymore of your time on that. The point is that in the end, they both agreed that “The Creation Story” was written to know who created us and why, and there was no need to be concerned about the science of creation. The Professor’s understanding, was that scientists don’t know what REALLY started the creation event. Another interesting note was that Einstein was of Jewish faith.
Stories in the Bible were written by man, so are the stories all fact, or someone’s interpretation of what they witnessed at that time? Jonah and the Whale? Noah’s Ark? My pastor agrees with me on these stories….they were told to teach us something..literally true stoies?..maybe not, but they needed a way of teaching us about God and his love for us in a way that we could somewhat relate to. If we want to believe these stories as written, fine. I f we don’t, but we understand what we were supposed to learn from it, good.
Hindus believe we keep coming back after we die until we reach enlightenment and then we just disappear. Buddists believe you will go through a multitude of hell according to your sins. However there are many beliefs in these religions I agree with but I do not believe God wants to punish. God gives us free will…to believe as we will. The Native Americans believe in Mother Earth and look what we’ve done to her. Every religion believes in a higher power whatever that is to them personally. I believe religion is YOUR personal relationship with God…period.
I do believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as one. I don’t believe in a certain Doctrine..I couldn’t tell you everything about Methodism, to be honest. However my church family (and really, we have been going there so long…they are like family), I don’t know what I would do without them…the community of faith has helped me SO many times in my life and I have helped them…just today, I left church before the service started because I walked in the door and found out that a lady I dearly loved had passed away. I told the pastor I was leaving to go see their family. When I got there, I was greeted with open arms and appreciation…We cried …laughed…joked..reminisced…What a wonderful day I had today with my God and my family..God tells us we are worthy, and that’s all I need. When the Bble says “God created us in his image”, I don’t believe he meant we should look a certain way or have a certain name for our religious beliefs. I believe God is telling us to love as he loves. Seems simple enough to me. I love that!
Great post. I’ve had a lot of experience with Mormons, I lived overseas for eight years, and most places had Mormons…I’ve had more than one conversation with them. The only place where I didn’t see any was in the Middle East (and Pakistan). Anyway, to me it’s similar to other religions in that it brings in mythological elements to create their version of truth.
The fundamentals of what they believe, to any non-believer, seem intrinsically silly. They didn’t recognize black people as having full souls until the Seventies, Joseph Smith was a polygamist who continued marrying women (the youngest was 14, the church finally had a ‘message from god’ moment in the late 90′s and banned polygamy to earn statehood) against his wife’s wish, he advocated violence as a response to persecution (he initially refused, but Midwestern militias had their own fire-and-brimstone violence and they did ruthlessly badger the Mormons). After transcribing the tablets of Moroni the gold tablets mysteriously ‘disappeared’, no one but Joseph Smith saw them.
It’s simply one more myth, but it does give people consolation and the Mormon way of life is as good as any. It’s difficult, though, to argue that it’s not silly. The asshole in me likes to say that there’s one ‘m’ to many in Mormon…and I’m not suggesting that the word be ‘Ormon.
Recommended: Big Love (the series), and Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven
Anyway, Justin, good for you for letting them in. They are great people, and when I lived in Korea I frequently played basketball with them at their church. I feel sort of bad for knocking them, but man, their history is just so silly that I don’t see how anyone can believe it, and if that makes me a wiseguy (or idiot in their eyes) so be it.
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