Mar
2
2010
Poor Wayfaring Man
Here is another example of LDS Church leaders retiring unwanted doctrine by playing with the concepts of “policy” and “doctrine” in order to avoid violating LDS stare decisis.
Despite early acceptance of black men into the LDS priesthood, the Church, beginning with Brigham Young in at least 1852 (and possibly earlier, with Joseph Smith), taught for more than 100 years that black people bore the Mark of Cain, which labeled them as a cursed and disfavored people in the eyes of God, and unable, therefore, to be part of the LDS priesthood. Continue reading
2 comments | tags: Brigham Young, Curse of Ham, David O. McKay, general authorities, General Conference, Gordon B. Hinckley, Jeffrey R. Holland, Joseph Smith, LDS Church Policy, LDS legalism, LDS morals and ethics, Mark of Cain, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon History, PBS documentary, policy vs. doctrine, Priesthood, priesthood authority, prophets, racism, Sterling McMurrin, Wilford Woodruff | posted in List Item 01, List Item 03, List Item 07, List Item 11, List Item 12, List Item 13, List Item 16, List Item 18, List Item 19, List Item 21, List Item 22, List Item 23, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Feb
18
2010
Poor Wayfaring Man
Here is another post inspired, in part, by a reader’s comment. Deep Throat in the Deep South, in a comment rich with interesting Mormon cultural material, wrote the following:
Every blessing we have is predicated upon a law. You break the law, the blessing is gone.
There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (D&C 130: 20-21)
One must be intelligent not to confuse administrative actions with the Gospel of Jesus Christ (i.e. truth) in its purest mode. There is a different between administration of earthly issues, the Truth of the Gospel, and, and what I call the “Doctrine of the Culture,” that some people cling to instead of the doctrine.
As a Mormon, I struggled with the legalistic LDS belief that all blessings a person receives from God are actually dependent upon his or her obedience to a specific Law (or body of Laws) of Heaven. The reason I struggled is that I could never pin down exactly what the Law was, despite the fact that I was desperate to follow it. (That seems to be a common theme in the LDS Church.) Continue reading
no comments | tags: Apostasy, Book of Mormon historicity, Boyd K. Packer, Brigham Young, doctrine & covenants, general authorities, Gordon B. Hinckley, heresy, LDS apologetics, LDS legalism, LDS spirituality, Leaving the Church, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon fundamentalism, Mormon History, obedience, polygamy, priesthood ordinances, prophets, skepticism, testimony, Truth | posted in List Item 01, List Item 19, List Item 20, List Item 23, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Nov
25
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
I was browsing the internet the other day and found a really interesting blog that discusses events and hot topics at BYU’s Provo campus. In this post about the conflict between the religious world and the secular world, the liberal-leaning Mormon author seems to support (very tentatively and with ample obligatory qualifications to deflect charges of heresy, since he is a BYU student) the view that the creation account in Genesis (six days, etc.) is just a metaphor, not literally true.
This seems like a neat and tidy way to avoid conflicts between science and religion–just treat the religious view as a divinely-inspired metaphor only.
Continue reading
no comments | tags: Bible historicity, Book of Mormon historicity, BYU, creationism, fundamentalist religion, heresy, LDS apologetics, LDS dogma, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon internet, science vs. faith, skepticism | posted in List Item 01, List Item 05, List Item 08, List Item 09, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Oct
26
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
The “Covenanting with the Lord” program, discussed in the previous post, is interesting to me because it puts to the test the promises of the Lord found in LDS scripture, and the beliefs of the mainstream LDS Church regarding those promises. It is anchored in the concept of testimony, relying on a person’s ability to discern the promptings of the Holy Ghost to come up with solutions to a given problem. Once a solution is found, especially if it requires divine intervention, it is presented to the Lord for ratification (and miracles).
Continue reading
no comments | tags: Covenanting with the Lord, Covenants, criticism, general authorities, Holy Ghost, LDS missionary work, LDS spirituality, Mormon Doctrine, obedience, spiritual discernment, testimony | posted in List Item 01, List Item 06, List Item 10, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Oct
25
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
I have had experiences with testimony. Lots of them. Here is Example 3:
When I had been proselyting as a missionary for just about three months, my Mission President (the volunteer LDS clergy supervising the activities of the entire mission) assigned me to work in a new city with a partner (i.e., a “companion”) who was in the final month of his two-year term of missionary service. The Mission President met with me to tell me I was chosen for the assignment because this missionary needed a faithful, enthusiastic companion to try a new method of proselyting that had the potential to usher in a surge of baptisms in the mission. It was called “Covenanting with the Lord”.
Continue reading
1 comment | tags: answers to prayer, Book of Mormon, Covenanting with the Lord, Covenants, doctrine & covenants, LDS missionary work, mission statistics, Mormon Doctrine, spiritual discernment, testimony | posted in List Item 01, List Item 06, List Item 10, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Oct
24
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
I have had experiences with testimony. Lots of them. Here is Example 2:
When I was 18 years old, I realized that I was mere months away from high school graduation, and that I was expected to follow through on my lifelong plan to go on a two-year mission for the LDS Church, during which time I would work to persuade people to join the Church. I decided that I should prepare for my mission by making an effort to learn more about the Church than I had learned in Sunday school and daily seminary classes.
I found a book on my dad’s bookshelf titled Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon. Continue reading
no comments | tags: answers to prayer, Book of Mormon historicity, burning bosom, doctrine & covenants, Holy Ghost, Indians and the BOM, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, LDS missionary work, Mormon History, spiritual discernment, stupor of thought, testimony | posted in List Item 01, List Item 10, List Item 23, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Oct
23
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
I have had experiences with testimony. Lots of them. Here is Example 1:
When I was a child, maybe 8 or 9 years old, I thought up the concept of reincarnation. I didn’t know it by name, and I didn’t know that anybody else had ever thought of it. What I did know is that I got a real charge out of contemplating the possibility that my soul could inhabit another body and I could live another life again after this one was over. The feeling I felt as I put the theory together in my mind was something I hadn’t felt before. It was a spine-tingling, euphoric, exciting sensation. Everything seemed to make sense at that moment, and for that moment I felt a sense of clarity, confidence, and peace about my future that overwhelmed my usual petty concerns and fears. I still remember it.
Continue reading
no comments | tags: answers to prayer, false doctrine, Holy Ghost, Mormon Doctrine, philosophies of men, reincarnation, spiritual discernment, testimony, The Gospel | posted in List Item 01, List Item 10, List Item 24, Mormon Doctrine, Mormon Stories
Oct
22
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
Every member of the LDS Church knows the importance of developing a strong personal or “spiritual” conviction (a “testimony”) regarding certain facts surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A testimony is considered a gift from God, delivered to a person by the Holy Ghost, a spirit-messenger of God, who communicates through a spiritual power that manifests itself in different ways to different people, typically as difficult-to-define sensations and thoughts. Every member is expected to have a testimony of at least the following key facts:
Continue reading
no comments | tags: Apostasy, Bible historicity, birth control, Book of Mormon historicity, caffeine, early Christiantiy, evolution, gay marriage, Heavenly Father, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, LDS spirituality, Mormon Doctrine, orthodoxy enforcement, polygamy, pornography, pri, Priesthood, priesthood healings, prophets, spiritual discernment, testimony, The True Church | posted in List Item 01, List Item 10, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Oct
20
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
In 1844, in the wake of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s murder at the hands of a mob in a Carthage, Illinois jail, he was eulogized by a very close friend, John Taylor, with the following statement:
“Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.”
Now, that’s pretty high praise coming from a Christian. Maybe a little too high? Continue reading
no comments | tags: Apostasy, Brigham Young, Conformity, criticism, Dallin H. Oaks, doctrine & covenants, John Taylor, Joseph Smith, LDS Hymns, LDS morals and ethics, LDS Social Circles, Mormon Doctrine, prophets | posted in List Item 01, List Item 02, List Item 03, List Item 04, List Item 07, List Item 09, List Item 21, List Item 22, List Item 23, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Doctrine
Oct
19
2009
Poor Wayfaring Man
There are basically two kinds of people who leave the LDS Church. I will call them “Jack Mormons” and “Apostates”. Apostates are people who leave (or are excommunicated) because they have stopped believing in some or all of the religious tenets of the LDS faith. Jack Mormons are people who leave (or are excommunicated) for reasons other than non-belief, like being unable or unwilling to follow the rules, or because of interpersonal conflicts with other community members.
Continue reading
no comments | tags: Apostasy, Book of Mormon historicity, Conformity, general authorities, inactivity, jack mormons, Jeffrey R. Holland, LDS Church Sunday curriculum, obedience, orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy, skepticism | posted in List Item 01, List Item 03, List Item 08, List Item 21, List Item 23, List Item 24, Mormon Culture, Mormon Stories