Joseph Smith Among the Prophets

The Last of my Recycled Essays:

Perhaps no other American is as controversial as Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Mormon Church and a self-proclaimed prophet. Such claims as he made, to have been visited by God, the Father, and Jesus Christ; to have been called to be a prophet to preach the Gospel to a world in apostasy are at least shocking and incredible and at most outrageous. Joseph Smith, his life and his legacy deserve close attention, then, for if true, his claims are the most important message since the discovery of the empty garden tomb.

To understand the issue, however, one must first understand what a prophet is and only then can Joseph Smith be measured against this rubric. To dismiss Joseph Smith as a prophet because he does not fit one’s own definition of “prophet” is a circular argument since that wholly depends upon the person’s preconceived image of what a prophet is. We must, therefore, look to the Bible, the record of God’s prophets to begin to understand what a prophet is. In the popular imagination the role of a prophet is to tell the future. This is, however, only one aspect of a prophet’s calling and likely not a major one. So, what does the Bible tell us a prophet will be like?

There are two words in the Bible that are translated as prophet. One is the Hebrew word Nabi (or Navi), and the other is the Greek Prophetes. Both have the basic meaning of spokesman or one who proclaims something. A prophet of God, therefore, speaks in the name of, and hence with the authority of, God. A prophet says, “Thus saith the Lord.” Joseph Smith was such a spokesman. He spoke in God’s name. To him, the Lord said, “I give unto you my servant Joseph to be a presiding elder over all my church, to be a translator, a revelator, a seer, and prophet” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:125).

This mouthpiece of God speaks God’s word. The Lord said to Moses concerning Aaron’s role as Moses’ spokesman: “Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet [hence, his spokesman]” (Exodus 7:1). In a latter revelation to Moses the Lord said:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Peter thus said in his epistle that “prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). The Doctrine and Covenants (hereafter D&C), which is a compilation of revelations given to modern prophets of the Mormon Church, echoes this statement saying that, “whatsoever they [the prophets] shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation” (D&C 68:4).

The Bible is a collection of the inspired words and deeds of prophets. Thus, the words of prophets become scripture. Isaiah was a man who saw great visions. Paul was a prophet whose inspirational teachings form the bulk of the New Testament. The revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith including the Book of Mormon and the visions and revelations recorded in the Doctrine & Covenants testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He spoke the words he received of God in visions and revelations. These words became scripture, just as in biblical times.

The message for which prophets are spokesmen is of the mission of Jesus Christ and the importance of obeying God’s commandments. In Revelation 19:10, an angel tells John that, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” A prophet, who must by definition have the spirit of prophecy, must also therefore have a testimony of Jesus. Jesus commanded His disciples to read the scriptures, comprising essentially the Old Testament, explaining that, “in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). He later testified that every prophet wrote about Him:

These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me (Luke 24:44).

John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, “there is not a greater prophet,” had as his primary mission to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Of him, no record details miracles or great prophesies of the future. Instead, he taught the people to prepare themselves for Jesus’ coming and when that came he willingly stepped aside (see Luke 7:28 ff). Joseph Smith likewise testified of Jesus Christ. In a vision he received on February 16, 1832, he and an associate Sidney Rigdon saw Jesus Christ much as Paul had centuries earlier. They declared:

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (D&C 76:22-24).

For Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ was the central figure in every doctrine and deed. Joseph Smith taught that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all mankind and provides salvation to all those who love and serve him. Prophets also denounce sin and call people to repentances. In 2 Kings 17:13, we read:

The LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

It is the duty of prophets to call people to repent and return to God. This can be seen in many instances. In 2 Kings 12, we read that Nathan, the prophet, was sent to call David to repentance because of his sins with Bathsheba. Nehemiah was sent to call the people of his day to repent and rebuild the temple. Jonah was sent to preach against the wickedness of Nineveh. Joseph Smith said, “This we believe to be our duty-to teach to all mankind the doctrine of repentance” (History of the Church 2:255). It is the duty of a prophet to denounce sin, call people to repentance and to worship the God of Israel. This last duty, namely calling to worship the God of Israel is essential, for Moses warned that false prophets could accurately predict the future, but if they used these “miracles” to lead people away from the God of Israel, then they would be false prophets (Deuteronomy 13:1-10).

The Lord says further, “If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream” (Numbers 12:6). Prophets, then, have dreams and visions in which the Lord is made known unto them. Peter also mentions this as what may be termed the prophetic pattern. In Acts 10:39-44, Peter teaches that God reveals Jesus Christ to chosen witnesses, the prophets, who then teach the world about God. Every prophet is chosen by God, taught by angels or through dreams and visions and finally commissioned to teach others. Isaiah fits this pattern. In a vision recorded in Isaiah chapter 6, this great poet-prophet saw the Lord on His throne surrounded by angels. He is forgiven of his sins, and charged with a mission.

This vision and the charge given to the prophet is the Sowd, the sacred and oftentimes secret intimacy that prophets obtain with God. Sowd in Hebrew translates as counsel, assembly, secret, or divine intimacy. At its root it refers to private correspondence or counseling. The Prophet Amos said, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret [Sowd] unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). That is, the Lord will not act until He has revealed His counsel, His plans, and His secrets to the Prophets. Thus another role of a prophet is to be a diviner, through revelation, of God’s deed present and future. This can refer to prophesying the future, or to determining what work is of God right now and what His will is regarding human actions.

Joseph Smith and his mission fit this ancient pattern perfectly. As a young man, confused but full of faith, he prayed to God. According to Joseph Smith’s own account, he saw in vision, just as Moses, Isaiah, and Stephen had, the God of Israel. Just as was the case with Isaiah his sins were forgiven and like Moses he learned the true nature of God. In subsequent visions he was taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by angels and through multiple revelations which are recorded as sacred scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants. He was commissioned by God to translate the Book of Mormon as testimony to Jesus Christ and to Joseph Smith’s own divine commission. He was shown God’s counsel and prophesied many things that have since occurred.

In connection with this divining of counsel, it is interesting to note that the Samaritan women whom Jesus met at the well in Sychar said, “I perceive that thou art a prophet” (John 4:19), when He told her about her life previous to meeting Him. Prophets, then, are given such spiritual insights as necessary to fulfill their missions. In this capacity a Prophet may rightly be called a Seer. When Saul sought out a man of God who could give him advice on what course he could take, the record states, “Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer” (1 Samuel 9:9). A Seer, then, is one who sees what is ahead, who understand the operations of God in the world. He sees accurately not only the future, but also the present and the past. Through this divine insight he can perceive God’s workings in the world.

In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in November of 1831, the Lord said of Joseph Smith’s mission:

Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments (D&C 1:17)

The reasons given were:

1. That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord (v. 20)

2. that faith also might increase (v. 21)

3. That mine everlasting covenant might be established (v. 22)

4. That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple (v. 23)

Joseph Smith was commissioned to be an instrument in the hands of God, but only one of many, who would lay the foundation of God’s Kingdom here in these days. As a Seer and Revelator he taught truth and revealed many things to come, as a Prophet he preached repentance in God’s name and taught the testimony of Jesus Christ, and as translator he translated and published the Book of Mormon. Finally, as a prophet he was a leader. In Hosea we read:

And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved(Hosea 12:13).

A prophet is set to lead the covenant people of the Lord. Paul said that the “household of God” is built upon a “foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19-20). Apostles, as can be easily shown, are prophets also, since they have the spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus Christ, but as apostles they have a special mission to go forth and proclaim Jesus Christ’s resurrection (see Acts 1:22). Prophets and Apostles lead the people of God. In this capacity, Joseph Smith was the leader of the Mormon Church, “called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first elder of this church” (D&C 20:2). Until his death in 1844, he led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Prophet and Apostle of god. Joseph Smith guided the Mormon Church through persecution and trials.

It must be remembered, however, that prophet are human agents working for God and are thus fallible. James said of Elias (i.e. Elijah), that he, “was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5:17). Commenting on this passage Joseph Smith said:

I was this morning introduced to a man from the east. After hearing my name, he remarked that I was nothing but a man, indicating by this expression, that he had supposed that a person to whom the Lord should see fit to reveal His will, must be something more than a man. He seemed to have forgotten the saying that fell from the lips of St. James, that Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, yet he had such power with God, that He, in answer to his prayers, shut the heavens that they gave no rain for the space of three years and six months; and again, in answer to his prayer, the heavens gave forth rain, and the earth gave forth fruit. Indeed, such is the darkness and ignorance of this generation, that they look upon it as incredible that a man should have any intercourse with his Maker. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 2:302)

Of himself he later said, “I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught” (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 6:366). The Prophets and Apostles of God are human and hence fallible, but the inspired words they reveal, as Peter said, come from the Holy Ghost who is a revelator to mankind. Like Isaiah, Samuel, Moses, Noah, Paul, and Peter before him, Joseph Smith had his faults, which makes his miracles and teachings all the more amazing and inspiring, for God works always through weak and erring servants to accomplish His great purposes.

Perhaps it is the faults of the prophets that make some people reject them. Jesus Christ once remarked that, “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57). To neighbors, Jesus was merely a carpenter, the son of Joseph, but to those with faith He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Similarly with the prophets who, unlike Jesus, were not sinless, they are often rejected for trivial reasons. Some rejected Joseph Smith as a prophet because a business venture he participated in failed, or because he enjoyed playing sports. Others were offended by his denunciation of their actions. Finally, on June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob with faces painted black while he sat in jail awaiting trial on false charges. Like Paul before him, Joseph Smith was jailed, persecuted, and finally killed. Many prophets and apostles have been killed because of their teachings and deeds and Joseph Smith was no different.

In every possible test Joseph Smith compares favorably with the prophets of the Bible. Like them, he spoke in God’s name and the revelations given to him have become scripture just as Paul or Moses did. He had the testimony of Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophecy, and so devoted his ministry to testifying of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. He was commissioned by God through visions and the visitations of angels to do God’s work here on earth and so received authority to act and speak in God’s name. He was a prophet, a seer, a revelator, a translator, a missionary, an apostle, and a martyr for he was hunted and murdered by angry mobs because he dared to speak against their traditions and because his teachings and deeds stirred up controversy.

Ultimately, one must look at the fruits of Joseph Smith’s mission. To know if Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, one must study his teachings and his deeds. These can be found first and foremost in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. If the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, then Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God and while argument and evidence may be compiled for pages upon pages, only the Spirit of God will ultimately reveal to a person whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet. Why this matters, even and perhaps especially for Christians, is that if Joseph Smith was a prophet, then Jesus Christ has a message for the whole world and especially for those who claim to believe in Him. This message is that His Church has been established by prophets and is now being led by them through inspiration of God. For non-Christians, the message is one of faith and hope, that Jesus Christ lives again and through His power all may be resurrected and saved.

The Good News of the Book of Mormon

The Gospel

The fourth Article of Faith of the Mormon Church says:

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This represents the basic foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Mormon Church. These steps are what a person must do to enter a covenant with Christ and enter the path that leads to Eternal Life. The word Gospel is a contraction of “Good” and “Spell” and means literally the good story or good news. The Good News of Jesus Christ is that He suffered for our sins, died, and was resurrected from the dead. This constitutes the Atonement of Jesus Christ through which all mankind can be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven through faith, repentance, baptism, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endurance to the end. The Book of Mormon usually refers to this as the Doctrine of Christ.

Mormons teach that the fullness of the Gospel, or the complete teachings about the Gospel as well as the authority to perform baptism and the covenants God makes with man were lost from the earth in the centuries following Christ’s death and resurrection and that these teachings and this authority were restored through modern day prophets beginning with Joseph Smith. Part of that restoration was the Book of Mormon, which the Lord gave to help us understand more fully this essential doctrine. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ said, “the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fullness of the gospel” (Doctrine &Covenants 42:12). Contrary to critical attacks, the Book of Mormon does explain the fullness of the Gospel. Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to some of the ancient inhabitants in the Americas and said this:

Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you--that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil--And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world. And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father [ … ] And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end (3 Nephi 27:13-17, 19; pg 459, emphasis added).

This describes the basic elements of the Gospel according to Mormonism:

1. Jesus came into the world to do the will of the Father
2. The Father’s will was that he die on the cross and draw men unto him through the Atonement and Resurrection
3. Men will return to Father to be judged of their works
4. Only those who have faith, repent, be baptized and endure to the end will be saved
5. Through faith, repentance, baptism, and endurance to the end through the power of the Holy Spirit, a person’s sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ which atoned for all sin.

The Apostle Paul said something very similar about the basic nature and emphasis of the Gospel. He said to the Corinthians, “[W]e preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23). To the Romans he said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). Through the power of the Gospel, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ becomes active in a persons life, and they become clean from all sin.

This is the good news that lifts up mourning hearts, brings hope to those in despair, comforts and restores lost souls, and makes possible every good thing. This is the foundation of the teachings of the Mormon Church. The Prophet Joseph Smith said,

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it. But in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of the spiritual gifts according to the will of God, the restoration of the house of Israel, and the final triumph of truth (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 3:30).

Faith

Faith is more than believing Jesus exists, it means believing Him when He says that you will be forgiven of your sins and saved in His Kingdom. This faith includes two parts:

1. The belief that all who live on Earth are granted salvation from death (physical resurrection) through the Atonement

2. That salvation from sin (or spiritual death) is obtained through sincere repentance, resulting in forgiveness for sin through His grace, and by following the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ.

Mormons are encouraged to develop their faith through study, prayer, service, and obedience to God's commandments. Faith is a form of spiritual work and character-shaping, in conjunction with the miracle of Christ's Atonement. Mormons often refer to their personal faith as their testimony and refer to telling others about their faith as "bearing testimony."

The Book of Mormon discusses how to develop faith (see Alma 32:18-43, pgs 289-291). We begin by being humble and teachable. If we are arrogant, the Spirit of God cannot work within us. Second, we desire to believe. The Book of Mormon compares this to planting a seed and watering it. We plant the seed by desiring to believe in Jesus Christ and in the Book of Mormon, which teaches of Him. We nurture the seed through prayer, scripture study, service to others, and keeping the commandments. As we do this, the Holy Sprit will enter our hearts and we will know that what we are studying and doing is true. If we do not experiment with our faith by keeping the commandments, praying, and attending church, the Spirit will not tell us whether the scriptures are true.

Repentance

Once a person begins to develop faith, the next step is repentance. Repentance is a wonderful gift from a loving Father in Heaven. Through repentance we can overcome weaknesses and move beyond mistakes we have made in the past.

To repent we must acknowledge our mistakes and weaknesses. We must take responsibility for our own actions and recognize that what we have done has hurt others and offended God. Second, we must forsake the sins. This means we must stop doing it and never return to it again. We must, if possible, make restitution. This means that if we stole something, we should return it or pay the person for what we took. If we lied or hurt someone’s feelings, we must apologize. Restitution is not always possible, but we must always apologize and ask for forgiveness from those we offended or hurt. God is able to heal all wounds and when we trust in Him, we can be forgiven. Finally, we must ask for forgiveness from God through prayer.

When we have done this, we have this promise from God:

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins--behold, he will confess them and forsake them (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43, pg 106).

When we have sincerely repented, we have God’s promise, and God cannot lie, that we are forgiven. To become clean from all our sins and become a new creature in Christ, we must follow repentance with baptism. However, as everyone continues to make mistakes, we must repent throughout our lives and continually turn towards God for strength and forgiveness. Through the sacrament, called by other denominations the Eucharist, which Mormons partake every Sunday, we renew the covenants made at baptism and thus renew the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Mormon Church says:

Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you (D&C 33:11-13).

Since this Gospel is the rock upon which the Mormon Church is built it follows that these are the first steps taken by converts to the Mormon faith. After faith and repentance, a person is baptized by immersion for the remission of sins.

Baptism

Baptism by immersion is a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5)

Baptism also serves a sign of one’s covenant with Jesus Christ to take His name upon you and serve Him and keep His commandments until death. Mormons call this the baptismal covenant. It includes:

1. Taking the name of Jesus Christ upon us and become one of His people
2. Bearing one another’s burdens
3. Mourning with those who are suffering and comfort them
4. Standing as a witness of God at all times and in all places
5. Serving God and keeping His commandments (See Mosiah 18:8-10, pg 181)

God in turn promises that those who keep their baptismal covenants will

1. Receive a greater portion of His Holy Spirit
2. Be redeemed (i.e. saved)
3. Rise in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just Inherit Eternal Life

Since a person must exercise faith by following the commandments and repenting of one’s sins, Mormon do not baptize children until they reach the age of accountability, which is understood to be around eight years old.

Baptism by water for the remission of Sins

When a person is Baptized, he or she commits to follow Jesus Christ. Those who are to be baptized dress in plain white clothes to symbolize humility and purity. The person baptizing must hold the priesthood, which is authority from God to perform ordinances in the Church. All adult male members of the Mormon Church can be ordained to the priesthood. The prayer for baptism is simple and straightforward. The officiator holds his right arm up, bows his head and says:

Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.

The officiator then dunks the person completely under the water to symbolize the death of the old self, burial, and the promised resurrection through Jesus Christ.

Baptism by Fire and the Holy Ghost

Baptism is actually composed of two parts: baptism by water and baptism by fire. John the Baptist said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). It is through this baptism of the Holy Ghost that a person will be cleansed of his or her sins. In the Mormon Church, this ordinance is called confirmation and it typically occurs in the Sunday services in the week following baptism.

In confirmation, also called the laying on of hands, a priesthood holder lays his hands upon the new members head and gives him or her a blessing. This blessing is similar to a prayer. He will call them by name and through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, confirm them a member of the Mormon Church and give them the Gift of the Holy Ghost, which means the right to have the Holy Spirit as a constant companion. Finally, he pronounces blessings and promises as the Spirit inspires him and will close in the name of Jesus Christ.

Enduring to the End

Jesus Christ said to his disciples, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt 7:14). Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is the gate that leads to the Way. The Book of Mormon teaches this more clearly:

For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive (2 Nephi 31:17-18; pg 114).

Once we have entered the path, we must continue on the path that leads to Eternal Life. Mormons call this enduring to the end. Again, the Book of Mormon gives us a good explanation of what this means. It says:

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life (2 Nephi 31:20; pg 114).

We must endure with steadiness in obedience to Jesus Christ’s commands, being filled with hope and love. We must feast on Christ’s words, which means we must continue to study His words in the scriptures and as given by revelation through living prophets. This corresponds to what the Apostle Paul said as he discussed faith, hope, and charity (see 1 Corinthians 13). Enduring to the end does not means that Mormons expect to be perfect. Part of enduring is continuing to improve oneself through repentance whenever something is out of harmony with God’s will. Because people continue to make mistakes, the Lord has provided a way to renew these covenants. Every Sunday Mormons partake of the Sacrament, usually called the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper in other churches. The Sacrament consists of broken bread and water to symbolize the body and blood of Jesus Christ. For faithful Mormons this represents a renewal of the covenants and commitments made at baptism and an opportunity to meditate upon the atoning mission of Jesus Christ.

Enduring to the end also requires service to others. The Book of Mormon teaches that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17; pg 148). A person endures by growing in Godly attributes. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a modern prophet like Joseph Smith in the Mormon Church said:

The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord's teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something (The Challenge to Become, Conference Report, October 2000)

He says further,

From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts--what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts--what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.

Peter said something similar in his general epistle. He counseled the righteous followers of Christ in his day to become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). To do these, he says, we must “add to [our] faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

The Book of Mormon described one individual who endured righteously. His name was Ether and he was a prophet to a wicked people. Of him the Book of Mormon says:

For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled---Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, be led to glorify God (Ether 12:3-4, pg 509).

This path of hope and faith in God which brings men to do good is the narrow path that Jesus spoke of that leads us toward Eternal Life, which is to know Jesus Christ and God (see John 17:3) because we have become like them (see 1 John 3:2). Then, through power of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, those who have followed this path will be cleansed from their sins and taken at last to Heaven to dwell with Christ and God for ever.

On Being a Mormon Missionary: Faith and Reason

I wrote this in college:

Sometimes during my studies in college and graduate school I felt as though I were some sort of mythological beast like the fabled Yeti or -- to take something from part of the country -- a Jackalope. I am a faithful, believing, run of the mill Mormon. I am also a student at a major university studying history. In a sea of doubt, pessimism, and agnosticism my colleagues find my faith both baffling and strange and have sometimes remarked in passing how sad that such a capable person should be under the sway of such delusions. My native shyness often led me to avoid confrontation and debate, but here I wish to reply to those people to all the others who have made similar comments over the years. Most of the discourse I see relating to Mormon missionaries on the internet and in the media is cynical and critical. The authors highlight the minority of cases where a missionary hated his mission experience or where missionaries clashed with ministers of religion or seers of secularism. I want say the seemingly unsayable: I enjoyed my mission.

Like the majority of young Mormon men, I served as a Mormon missionary when I turned 19. Since my sixteenth birthday, I had been saving money for this foreseen event. My meditations and my prayers over this future were generally one and the same, or at least they flowed so naturally one from another that I was never quite sure which I was undertaking. I determined that I would not go unless I felt and knew in my heart that is was the right thing. The Prophet Joseph Smith said once,

[T]he things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity-thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart! None but fools will trifle with the souls of men. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 3:295)

In Mormonism, God is not to be found simply through mere musings as in Natural Theology, but through experiences with Him and those experiences come from service to God and to mankind. As Joseph Smith said, what are needed are time, experience, and ponderous thought. The truth of a thing is to be found in the doing of it. So, I studied and lived what I read and in time, there came a conviction that God lives and that the Book of Mormon was true. As a Mormon missionary I spent two years teaching that to everyone I met. Another essay at another time will perhaps deal more fully with my basis for theism, but here let me say that faith is not irrational. It is not illogical. It arises from a spiritually yearning and understands that sometimes, to be understand, a fact must first be accepted and placed in the best light or in the most charitable regard. Logic, as my professor of philosophy at college said repeatedly, is merely a tool that constructs a priori assumptions and like a machine computes the necessary conclusions. It is not knowledge in and of itself, but a framework for organizing knowledge. A person of faith is just as capable of reason and inquiry as the most ardent adept of Positivism.

What does a Mormon missionary do? This question no doubt bewilders some. Some, whose own lack of strongly held values so distorts their perception of the world, refuse to believe that someone would truly devote two years of his own time; delay school, career, dating, and friendships; and at his (or her) own expense spend day after day sharing a message he knows most will reject. It seems a quixotic errand and perhaps it is. But, let me place myself on the witness stand as one who did it and does not regret it. For two years I wore out shoes and grew calluses from daily walking and labor. I was rejected, spat at, pelted with rocks (and once with ketchup packages), insulted, harassed, nearly arrested twice, and once threatened at gun point.

I will not try to claim that I enjoyed this negative treatment. Sometimes, though, I could understand the person’s frustrations and anger. It can be irritating to have someone approach you and try to steer you into a conversation about something as deeply personal as religion. However, my experience has taught me that most people, once my fellow missionary and I could sit down with them and discuss frankly one another’s beliefs enjoyed the conversations even if they chose not to believe in what we taught. Some were devotedly antithetical to our beliefs or practices and would likely have been upset my mere presence in their vicinity. To all who were willing to listen I taught my beliefs and bore somber testimony to the influence God and my commitment to Him have had in my life. In those two years I learned more about myself, my God, and my fellow men than in any other comparable period and it is not unlikely that I will be mining these experiences for the rest of my life.

Among my most cherished memories were many pleasant discussions with people of every walk of life from the educated to the ignorant, from the deep-rooted American to the most recent immigrant. I learned quickly that debate and disputing were worthless ventures. I am convinced, and my subsequent life has convinced more of this, that truth and understanding are the greatest victims of forensics. The result is usually the same: both sides become more convinced of the truthfulness of their own position and the issue becomes more polarized than before. In confessing that insight, I feel as I am committing a sin against modern society where debate has become per se a value. Let me clarify that I am not referring to disagreement or discussion, but rather to that puerile variety of parallel argumentation that so dominates our public discourse where speakers, who cannot truly be called interlocutors, speak so singly and disconnectedly that there is no exchange of ideas or even a recognition of the other’s point of view. It is rather the solipsistic pontificating of pundits and spokesman.

As Mormon missionaries , we were taught -- and I aimed -- to share our message, invite others to consider it, pray about it, and live it, but nothing more. True, we were sometimes goaded into debate and I succumbed to too many such baitings, but more often than not I and my fellow missionaries testified and warned and invited others to hear our message without ill feelings. Some have tried to argue that our reticence to debate evinces some deeply harbored fears on our parts about the veracity of our message; but such criticism is misguided. We merely recognize that rarely does any good come from such debate and the casualty of such battles is usually the good relations among people. Most of those who wished to debate us were so lacking in the ability to listen and grasp another’s point of view, that debate would have been merely a battle of wills and egos.

So, you might ask, why do we do it? Why do we risk stirring up such controversy and rancor? I am convinced after much experience that it the missionary work of this Church that inspires such vehement diatribes against us more than any peculiarity of practice or principle. Many groups similarly have divergent beliefs about God and salvation, but no other group makes such an effort to ensure that everyone else knows about them. I can only answer by saying that our belief compels us to do so and were we to ignore the imperative to share this message we would wallow in enervating hypocrisy. We believe that our message can soothe hearts, strengthen relationships, and enable all people to understand and worship God. This belief will cause controversy and earn us the ill assessment of many who hold that truth and values are relative, but to cease to share our message would be as good as denying that we believe it and that we cannot do; I cannot do that, for I have had too many experiences which have confirmed to me the truthfulness of this message and the necessity of sharing it with others. I have seen faith, both in God and in self, work too many miracles for me to step aside now and say I will not work to help others because I might offend some. Life has taught me this: someone will be offended no matter what I do, so I will live so as not to offend my conscience for that will be my constant and eternal companion.

My plea is for this: that people take more time to understand one another in our public discourse, particularly with regard to religion. This appeal has been made before and will be made again. I suffer no delusions that this little essay will have some grand effect on society, but hopefully someone will listen. True discussion and true communication about ideas and values requires that first we understand our interlocutors views and beliefs. Too many people assume all too quickly that they know what someone else believes about this or that. Such intellectual mondegreens stifle our ability to communicate for language and discourse is fluid and highly dependent on socioeconomic conditions. It is not enough to know what God and grace and values mean to us, we must understand what they mean to others. If not, we will blithely and arrogantly attack straw men of our own creation because, as Cervantes said, “they might be giants.” Then when we have bested our chimerical adversary, we will proclaim unilaterally and pointlessly our hollow victory.

Go to the source and ask a Mormon what a Mormon believes. Those who devote their energies to tilting at Mormon windmills and slaying Mormon chimeras will no doubt continue to claim that all Mormons lie about their own beliefs or hide the truth about what Mormons really believe. No doubt they will continue asserting that Mormon missionaries are highly skilled propagandists and purveyors of misinformation (nothing could be farther from the truth), but such claims are circular and rely on the assertions of prejudiced and blind eyes. As a former Mormon missionary who was proud to serve his faith and still follows that tenets of his religion, let me say that while we in America and the West will most likely continue to disagree, the first step toward improving our discourse, is by improving our listening.

Unless we first seek to understand, we can never be understood. I have grown weary of the prejudices, the casual slights, the quick dismissals and the self-righteous indignation of those who attack not just my faith, but all faiths and beliefs systems. These willfully ignorant and prejudiced attacks come not only from other religious leaders, but also from secularists who are so isolated in their own belief systems that they believe anything else must be irrational. Such dismissal of even the ability of others rationally to disagree with you and rationally to believe something you find fantastic will only serve to divide and exacerbate our public discourse. Let me end as I began by saying the unbelievable: I believe in God and in the message of Mormonism and I do so with full understanding and with every faculty of my mind. I do not ask any readers to suddenly convert to my faith, but rather I hope they will with an open and inquisitive mind seek to understand those of us who still believe in faith and hope through a living God.

The Mormon Temple and Temple Ceremonies: A Pattern for Everlasting Life

I recently found a few old essays I wrote on the Gospel that I thought I should share. Not that I think my thoughts are all that valuable, but they might be of interest to someone other than myself:

The Temple

The ancient Israelites called their temple, the House, the Sanctuary, or the Edifice (Bayith, Miqdash, and Heykal, respectively). When and how the word temple was chosen to refer to the sacred structures built and dedicated to God, or to gods, is likely lost in prehistory, though we can speculate. Temple comes from the Latin templum, the same root from which we derive template. The signification of both words being that something is measured and patterned. Ancient Roman temple precincts were often used for "measuring" the flights of birds or looking for other omens. Though of pagan origins, this word can appropriately be applied to Mormon temples and the sacred, Christ-centered temple ceremonies that are performed within them. Mormon temple ceremonies and the temples themselves lay out a pattern for life, including pre-mortal, mortal, and post-mortal, as well serve as a school for integrating one's life and for understanding the purpose and direction of one's life within the eternal world. It is also a place set apart from the world where worshippers can go to seek in quiet meditation, cut off from all distractions, answers to their prayers.

Perhaps nothing else about Mormonism evokes so much horror ignotium as do Mormon temple ceremonies. Professional anti-Mormons scour their thesauri for every dreadful and sensationalist adjective they can find in order to provoke those who know little or nothing about Mormon ceremonies into developing a primal fear toward Mormon temples. In a day and age such as ours I cannot understand this, though certainly fear-mongering has always been present in this country’s public discourse, used and exploited by those who want power, but have no ideas or platforms to support them. Instead, like school-yard bullies they intimidate and provoke because, as any teacher will tell you, they are themselves afraid and must divert attention elsewhere to assuage their weakened self-confidence. Mormons need not stoop to attacks, though sadly some have, but I will not dwell any longer on such puerile and vicious attacks. My message is a positive one.

For Mormons, the temple is the utmost goal of spiritual life and the symbol of their belief in life beyond death and of this life's relevance to our eternal existence. Worshippers of God have always had temples, or at least have striven to erect them. Jacob, the father of all Israel, resting in a place called Luz, saw in vision a ladder that reached to heaven at the top of which stood God who there renewed the covenant with Jacob which He, Almighty God, had made with Jacob's fathers. Upon awakening, Jacob called the place Bethel, meaning “the House of God”. Covenants and temples, then, have a long history. When buildings were not available, the Lord's people used mountains and thus the temple was called the "Mountain of the Lord's House" (Isaiah 2:2). Jesus taught frequently in the temple and after His death, the Apostles continued "daily with one accord in the temple" (Acts 2:46). Malachi prophesied that the Lord would come suddenly to His temple (Mal. 3:1).

Mormon Temples today are built for the purposes of providing ordinances and covenants. According to Mormon beliefs, covenants are central to man's relationship to God. Through covenants, man enters a relationship with God through which he (or she) will be saved. There is no doctrine taught in Mormon temples which is not taught publicly, but the ordinances and covenants made within the sanctuary are guarded and kept sacred. Some are offended by this supposed secrecy about Mormon temples, but it is well to remember that Jesus himself commanded such reticence in divulging certain things. Time and again, when Jesus healed people, he commanded them not to tell anyone and to his disciples he enjoined, "neither cast ye your pearls before swine" (Matt 7:6), meaning that sacred things should be given or shown to those who stand outside the law, compared here to "swine," the archetypal animal forbidden by Mosaic law. Then as now, no doctrine is taught secretly, but certain ordinances and rites should be held sacred and not performed publicly lest they be mocked or trivialized.

Mormon temple ceremonies are rooted in Mormon understanding of Deity and man’s relationship to Him. These fundamental doctrines regarding God and man’s identity and destiny are what most distinguish Mormon beliefs and practices for they are the starting point from which the Mormon concept of life and man’s destiny must be understood. Without understanding these fundamental beliefs, no one can understand the Mormon doctrines which are dependent upon them. Too many people studying Mormonism, whether honestly seeking to understand its beliefs, or else trying to discredit them outright, neglect to begin with these fundamentals. As they build their picture of Mormonism beginning with the branches and neglecting the roots, they merely construct an anemic straw man which reflects their own preconceived notions and prejudices more than Mormon doctrine.

It must first be understood that Mormons believe that all mankind are literally the spirit children of Heavenly Parents. Paul referenced this in his address on Mars’ hill where he states that we are God’s offspring (Acts 17:29). For Mormonism, belief in a pre-existent life as spirits living in the presence of God is vital to understanding our life here. Personal identity is as eternal as are our spirits, but it would be more correct to state that we are spirits, inhabiting tabernacles of clay which are mere coverings to our true self. In a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord declared:

Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be…For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element inseparably connected, receive a fullness of joy (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29,33)

In that primeval childhood we had the power to learn, grow, and ultimately to decide. Every man and woman who has or every will live upon this earth made the choice to come here to be tested. In another revelation it states:

[A]nd he [Jesus] said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their first estate [i.e. the pre-existence] shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate [i.e. this life] shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever (Abraham 3:24-26).

It is important moreover to note that Mormonism does preach the inherent sinfulness of man; there is in Mormonism no original sin. The same revelation quoted above further teaches that, “Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the traditions of the fathers” (D&C 93:38-40). Man’s nature can, in Mormonism, be described as weak and susceptible to sin, but not inherently evil. Sin in this sense corresponds to the original Greek word used in the New Testament and often anglicized as hamartia, which literally means missing the mark, or erring. Fallen man is estranged from God by our weakness, but we choose to become either good or evil since both impulses exist within every person.

Furthermore God, our Heavenly Father, is an embodied, glorified, and perfected spirit and seeks to help His children become perfect just as He is perfect (see Matthew 5:48). This perfection is not simply to be void of sin, but to be perfected by having a perfect, resurrected and glorified body, just as He has. Jesus set the example in this and made this perfection possible by this atoning sacrifice which began in the Garden of Gethsemane, continued through the cross and the tomb and reached its culmination with His resurrection which opened the doors for all mankind to be resurrected with a perfect, immortal body. He is thus the central figure of human life, pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal. God and man are in one sense very close and yet still so distant. God, man, and the angels, in one sense, are of the same species, but of varying degrees of perfection, mankind being the lowest. This doctrine does not denigrate or lower God, but rather exalts man. The Psalmist says in wonderment:

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels[literally: the gods, the Hebrew word here is Elohim], and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalms 8:4-6).

We are God’s offspring with the potential to be like Him. John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). God and Christ are two separate, glorified beings united in all things. Jesus taught that we must become one just as the Father and the Son are one (see John 17:20-21). This unity is no metaphysical confusion of substance and essence, but a union of minds and hearts, glory and power, toward which all mankind should strive.

Man’s relationship to God is governed by covenants, two-way promises which bind hearts and souls together in sacred communion. God, who cannot lie or fail to fulfill His promises, extends the gift of Eternal Life to those who fulfill their covenant of faith and faithfulness. This is not to say that man earns his salvation by fulfilling his covenants. Far from it. Rather, God has established basic actions which must be fulfilled in order for God to grant the gift of Life to His children.

It is the relationship of a Father to His children. The child, incapable of meriting anything of himself whereby he can earn what he desires, asks his father for help. The father, fully capable of granting the child’s wish, instead desires that his son or daughter grow and develop. Any parent knows that if you simply give a child everything he or she wants, the child will grow up spoiled and immature. So, rather than simply granting the child’s wish, the father requires something from him. He requires that the child clean his room or help with the dishes. In doing so, the child grows and develops. The desire is granted, but the deeds did not truly merit the reward, just as our paltry righteousness does not merit salvation. What brings us salvation is our covenant with God who promises to cleanse us and purify us and bring us back to Him in exchange for our humility, our faith, our repentance, and our continuing to improve ourselves through righteous living. Through this covenant God grants us the power and opportunity to become perfect just as He is perfect, but such perfection will not occur until the resurrection and the final judgment. The crux of all this is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, which enables us to be forgiven and to return to God’s presence. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an Apostle in the Mormon Church said this:

[W]e conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become (Conference Report, October 2000).

How does this relate to the Mormon temple and its ceremonies? It is the central message and focus of all temple activities and ordinances. The temple represents a microcosm of man’s journey through life from pre-mortal to mortal to the unimaginable glories of eternity. In the temple this journey is taught through symbols and allegory much as Jesus taught through parables so that different people at different stages of spiritual and personal growth could listen to the same message and learn what is most needed for them at that particular point in the spiritual growth.

The Mormon temple ceremonies consist of a symbolic presentation of man’s journey coupled with the covenants and promises God makes to man and the covenants and promises man makes to God. Thus the pre-existence, the creation of the world, our journey through life and our eventual return to God are all depicted and promises and covenants are made. In the temple, all Mormon teachings about life, its purpose and direction, about families, and about our ancestors and descendents are brought together and unified. Through temples, links are forged which can bind families and generations together.

Since Mormon belief teaches that man is an eternal being with a pre- and post-earth life, it makes sense that temple ceremonies are performed for those who did not have the opportunity to accept them. If, as the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach, Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, then what of those who died with no opportunity to hear of Him? Three possibilities exist:

• They will be eternally damned
• They will be saved
• They will have an opportunity to accept Jesus

Choices one and two are damaging to the Christian message. (1) means that God will unjustly condemn those who for no fault of their own could not learn of Him and (2) weakens the very foundations of Christianity by asserting that salvation is possible without Jesus. The Bible teaches that:

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water (1 Peter 3:18-20).

Christ taught the unrighteous spirits living in prison so that they “might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6). Mormon temples provide places where the necessary ordinances of baptism both by water and by the Holy Spirit can take place and thus give those spirits in prison a chance to accept Jesus. They will not be forced to accept either Him or the ordinances, but through the temple ceremonies, they have the opportunity thus showing that God can be both just and merciful toward His children. Temples also provide a place where husbands and wives can be married for eternity and be bound to their children by the power of God through all eternity. Thus the human family is united, both past, present, and future in the ceremonies of the Mormon temple.

The Mormon temple and its ceremonies represent the very essence of Mormon belief about God, Jesus Christ, and the eternal nature and destiny of all mankind. Within the temple, the ceremonies seek to bind the human family together and to God through covenants with Almighty God. Mormon temple ceremonies cannot be understood in isolation from Mormon beliefs, but when studied together they show the beauty, the power, and the faith that impels Mormons to share their message with the world. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He died and was resurrected in order to redeem all mankind, is the greatest message of hope in this world and the Mormon temple reflects the culmination of Jesus Christ’s and man’s covenantal relationship.

Mormons Invade the Arab World

Mormons are often the subject of conspiracy theories. Usually, however, those theories are confined to the United States and maybe to a lesser extant the UK, Canada and perhaps Mexico. Other places simply do not know enough of Mormons to extrapolate detailed conspiracy theories about them. Typically, in my own experience, we are confused with the Amish or the Jehovah's Witnesses or some such group. I recall once seeing an article in a German newspaper about Mormons around the time of the 2002 Olympics which included a photo of "Mormons" going to church. The picture showed a small log cabin with various people in pioneer dress entering. Where that picture came from I have absolutely no idea.

So imagine my surprise - to use an overly trite phrase - when today I read an article in Al-Majalla, an Arabic weekly news magazine from Saudi Arabia which has ties to The Economist, and discovered therein proof that Mormons were attempting to corrupt the youth of Morocco and make war against Islam.

In the March 23-29, 2008 issue (number 1467), on page 94 there is an article by Muntasir Hammada called The Arabic Maghreb . . ِA Christianizing Attack Cloaked in the Slogan of Religious Liberty. Maghreb, for those unfamiliar with the term, refers to the Arabic speaking portion of North Africa minus Egypt (and sometimes Libya). Mr. Hammada declares:

International evangelizing groups are undertaking a Christianizing assault aimed at the children of North Africa [. . .] Other groups attract youth from the region who are seeking to immigrate to the European shore from Mediterranean neighbors by distributing financial enticements which the missionaries offer to encourage the youth to apostatize from their religion in exchange for an entry visa to Europe . . .

[Note: all translations are my own]

The article goes on to say that Christian missionaries are attempting to entice the ignorant and the poor in Morocco and Algeria with promises of visas and money into embracing Christianity. It claims that these converts are then used as spies, for America and Israel, of course, and that many are reduced to slavery. Missionary tracts and visual aids are sneaked across borders into Muslim countries and fake companies and fake charities disguise evangelizing activities. To be fair, the article says that native Catholics and Orthodox are not involved. He pins the blame on evangelical protestants from Europe, but mostly from America.

After discussing various studies by Islamic scholars in the Maghreb which claim that hundreds of secret missionaries with American funding are infiltrating Morocco and Algeria, Mr. Hammada argues that most of the converts will return to Islam because these "conversions" (quotes in Mr. Hammada's text) were made under duress and therefore will never divert true Muslims. He concludes by wondering whether this phenomenon is part of a Western Strategy to create in the Arab World a Fifth Column that will dilute the strength of Islam. He notes with horror that representatives of what he calls the "Secular Current" have called for renaming the "Ministry of Waqfs (a type of Islamic charitable foundation) and Islamic Affairs" as the "Ministry of Religions." This, he concludes, is just the tip of the ice berg of what is being done in the name of "respecting the doctrines of 'Freedom of Belief,' and 'Freedom of Thought,'" phrases that conspiracy minded Muslims believe mean inevitable Americanization, destruction of their cultures and traditions, and the destruction of Islam.

It is in his discussion of the American-funded, doubly duplicitous spies masquerading as missionaries masquerading as charity workers that he makes the following statement:

In order to accomplish this work there have been here in Morocco for more than three years at least, Christianizing Americans, whose number has been estimated at around 900 Christianizers (according to 2006 statistics), undertaking concerted Christianizing assaults in the cities and villages under the guise of fictitious and real companies such "Global Education," which has been accused of spreading American Evangelicalism. Moroccan security reports, according to what appeared in the francophone "La Gazette Du Maroc", have revealed the duplicitous work these missionaries have undertaken: namely, Christianizing on the one hand and spying on the other hand for various countries, including Israel. (Moroccan censors note that on the side of a philanthropic shipment overseen by American forces in the city of Tantan (Southern Morocco) under the auspices of the administration for a school for elementary education, school supplies were distributed and placed in the container was a piece of paper bearing the name and address of a church in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States for the Church of Jesus Christ of Last Day Saints!."

[parentheticals and exclamation point in original; note also that the author uses the Muslim form of Jesus' name, Issa, instead of the Christian name for Jesus, Yasu'a, he also says last day instead of last days]

To say I was startled is an understatement. I have never run across the Mormon Church in an Arab publication ever. Period. I have seen some literature published by the Church in Arabic and two websites about the Church in Arabic, one of which I had a hand in establishing, yet never have I run across Mormons in a purely Arab context. I did, incidentally, hear a rumor that the Egyptian paper, Al-Ahram, ran a really biased article on the Church, but still. Arab news sources are generally Mormon-free zones. I wholly suspect that these school supplies were nothing more than school supplies. I feel confident in saying that no attempt was made to subvert the youth of Morocco in the name of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Last Day Saints," which I am sure is related the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints somehow.

Let me say, however, that I have no doubt but that there is truth in some or even many of his accusations in general. During my mission, I met various protestant Christians who admitted to sneaking Christian books and pamphlets into China, Turkey, and various other countries. I read a blog by a girl who was with the Peace Corps in Morocco who admitted to sharing Christian literature with people in Morocco, a deed strictly forbidden, I might add, by the Peace Corps. The Mormon Church, however, only goes in the front door. It is counterproductive and immoral to do missionary work on the sly.

So some of his accusations do not surprise me greatly. It is mostly his style and his habit of using insinuation that disturbs me. He implies that these Christianizers, as he calls them contrasting them with Muslim missionaries, are funded by the Western and part of a conspiracy to dilute the Arab World and weaken it. He calls Christian converts a "Fifth Column," though he contradictorily asserts that there are no real converts just confused teenagers who have been tricked by Westerners into betraying their "Mother Religion", as he calls it. They will return in the end.

This led me to think about cultural dialog and the missionary spirit generally. Mr. Hammada undoubtedly is well-read and well-educated. He can easily distinguish amongst the various branches of Christianity, unlike some Arab writers I have read who make the same error Americans do when they discuss Islam, namely, lumping a diverse and often dissenting mosaic of faith traditions and cultures into something called "Islam." However, he stills find it licit to see the worst in those outside his tradition and see only the best in those with whom he agrees. Standford did a fascinating study on this showing that people are more critical if they are told that the person whose speech they are watching belongs to a different party, whereas they accept those same things said by a person who they are told belongs to their party.

I have written earlier about the concept of listening more than speaking and of the importance of seeking to understand before speaking. This seems a prime example of that error, only seen from the other side of the looking glass, which makes it so much more apparent. It is easy to see the exaggerations, the fear-mongering, the over-simplifications, and so on when one's culture is the one being dissected by an outsider. It is much more difficult to see this fallacy when looking out and assessing another culture. It is healthy, I believe, for everyone to read a critique of their own culture from an outsider. One should not head, necessarily, these criticism. That is not the point. The point is to understand both how others perceive you and to understand how people often misconstrue and misunderstand others. This will lead to self-reflection in the way we criticize and evaluate others. We can also learn the unintended consequences of our own thoughtlessness.

As I shared this article and my thoughts about it with a coworker, he responded with a critique of missionary work and evangelizing. He feels, if I understood him, that while he cannot accept total cultural relativism of the utterly permissive strain, he is uncomfortable with the idea of trying to convert others to your point of view. I am intrigued how secularists often see such a stark contrast between religious and secular ideologies as if trying to convert someone to liberal democracy or secularism were any less evangelistic than religious missionary efforts. I asked him if felt we should therefore accept Female Genital Mutilation or ritualized murder both of which are still practiced in some parts of the world. He said he didn't and recognized where I was going. His struggle, he said, was where to find those universal values by which to judge which acts are licit and which illicit.

The trouble is, however, or as Shakespeare called it, "the rub," is that there can be no universal standards without a God. Appeals to common humanity and the need to live in harmony have some merit, but only some. One could argue that no stealing means that everyone can securely own and use property and thus if all obey that we can live in some measure of peace. No murdering, of course, is essential for us to trust one another. The difficulty, however, seems to be that none of these have any emotional efficacy. If, as we are told, man is merely an animal and the mores we follow are dictated by the necessity of living together, then there is really nothing wrong with these acts per se, merely associated social opprobrium and therefore, if I can get away with it, then why not lie, cheat, and steal for my own benefit. In this system, the individual has no intrinsic worth, he is a creature in a society who must obey for the benefit of all. Of course, it is argued - and I believe rightly - that it is in our own self interest to cooperate. Working together is a social good in and of itself. However, this system does nothing to stay the hand of those who think they can "get away with it." Religion comes at this same problem from a completely different angle arguing that there are eternal verities and laws which man must obey regardless of whether he can "get away with it." I will discuss in some future article the contrasting frames of reference that make cross-cultural dialog so difficult, but not today.

However, by rejecting the last hope of the secular humanists, i.e. morals derived from social science, we are left with either anarchism or theism as the only alternative that I can reasonably see. Please, correct me if there are other options! It seems that we are left with eternal conflict between ideologies. As a libertarian, I advocate a vibrant market of ideas where everyone, no matter how odious his words, can try to convert people to his banner. I do not, however, believe that truth will inevitably win out, nor that there will come an end to strife amongst the various parties of this world. I do not even believe any one group (my own faith included) has a monopoly on truth.

The American poet James Russell Lowe said:

Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne, --
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.

I used to think he was speaking of martyrs whose ideals would eventually come to fruition and the rest of the poem, "The Present Crisis," is a romantic paean to tragically fighting on the side of right, though its "chosen heroes" often suffer as Christ did. This implies, sadly, that wrong will, at least in this world, be "forever on the throne." This constant babel of ideas and values will not cease while the world stands. Truth will be forever on the scaffold and wrong forever on the throne of this world. We are left as strangers and pilgrims in a hostile world.

Lehi said there must be opposition in all things and we learn further that the greatest gift given to man is his agency. If, then, we make agency the highest goal, we must maximize freedom. Freedom to disagree, freedom to hate, freedom to believe, freedom not to believe. We must be free to think that someone else is wrong -- something our politically sensitive times finds distasteful and which has lead to some strange bedfellows as Western liberal secularists go to great lengths to defend conservative Muslims, while at the same time attacking conservative Christians. I believe fiercely in what the Muslim theologians call "Ta'jil," which refers to delay of judgment until the Day of Judgment when only God would judge and make clear those things we now disagree about. Jesus said the same thing: Judge not! So my humble advice comes from the Desiderata of Max Ehrmann --often erroneously ascribed to that prolific author Anonymous:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Laus Clamitatis: The Praise of Failure

While speaking to a mouse whose house his plow had just overturned late in the autumn of 1785, Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote his most famous misquotation:

The best-laid schemes o'Mice an' Men
Gang aft agley
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy.

Some thing in his brogue makes it difficult for folks to remember this quote accurately, though strangely no one ever struggles with Auld Lang Syne, another product of Burns' prolific and pilfering pen. Still, I should not be sidetracked by linguistic pursuits. I have a story to tell.

Burns, as many poets, being a disillusioned romantic, only tells half the truth. The bleak half. Men's schemes do often go "agley," but not always to man's detriment. We are fortunate, in fact, that our plans do not always work out, for man is a myopic, tendentious, and narrow beast whose dreams, born of the detritus and debris of a cluttered subconscious, are too insular to befit truly the majesty of opportunities available in this world. Ways, as Frost said, lead to other ways and we cannot return and I believe we are the better for it. We must move forward. That is the only way to travel. Regrets and other attempts to live in the past fail. Always. It is a fundamental law of the universe. Time flows onward.

We should therefore keep living life, because we never know where it will take us. Try not to fail, of course, but if, after failing, we pick ourselves up, bruised and bloody though we may be, even these failures may be stepping stones and not grave stones.

* * *

It had been a weekend of feverish preparations. I'd read two complete books and countless websites and articles to get ready. I had written three condensed reports. I had learned the proper protocol and consulted everyone I could. Still, sweaty and shaky, my mind in a haze, I was admitted to Her Royal Highness's presence.

The ups and downs of fate that had brought me to have an audience in the private chambers of a Saudi princess are a testament to the importance of not giving up. I have failed as often as I have succeeded and am ashamed to admit that I have let my failures too often weigh heavily upon me. Pride is damning. It was pride that kept me from admitting that I had failed at my attempts to graduate from Princeton all alone. It was a destructive selfishness that drew me in upon myself to the point that I could not see beyond my own misery. It was pride that put me in the position to fail in the first place, because I had said to myself: sink or swim I'll go it alone. Still, there is something to learn in our failures, for in them we can see revealed our weaknesses. A weakness hidden, especially from oneself, is a dangerous minefield. We require signposts to warn us of our own pitfalls.

Fate, fortunately, had something else in mind. It brought me to Maryland to the home of my brother. In the year and some months since then, I have learned more than in any comparable period of time save only my mission, a likewise difficult and sometimes painful experience. I got a job much to quickly for a college drop out by using (or abusing) contacts. A few emails to an old boss put me in touch with my current boss working at a medium-size non-profit in DC which specialized in the Arab World. It is a stressful job that requires me to leave my comfort zone on a daily basis, but in time, the absolute necessity of a paycheck kept bringing me back and I found my comfort zone expanding and some of my former confidence, broken by scholastic failures, returning. I am reminded of what Alma and Amulek taught the Zoramites: sometimes terrible circumstances force us to be humble and humble people are meek and meek people are open to learn. So, stressed as I was, I endured.

I have learned a great deal about office life and my circumstances force me to deal with the same people day after day, something I am typically loathe to do. I used to rotate cafeterias and restaurants at school lest any of the workers or fellow diners get to know me and start talking to me. This is not to imply that I am somehow gregarious now, but I have improved. I have learned one of the key lessons of life: I am not that special. My circumstances are not so unique that the laws of life and the world do not apply to me. It is pride that says: I do not need to abide by the rules of others. It is arrogance to assume that we can travel our idiosyncratic path and not follow the same "rules of the game" as others.

After nearly a year in this position I received a breathless phone call:

"Are you still interested in doing that project on King Faisal we talked about?" my coworker said as her slight Texan drawl sneaked through a few vowels.

"Sure," I said, "but this is a very time consuming assignment. I'm not sure I can do it and still work here and help get things ready for the Gala."

"No, that's fine. I understand. The Princess would like to meet with you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The Princess would like to meet with you and hire you to research her father. Can you meet with her tomorrow?"

There was a moment of silence until I found the bottom of my jaw and finally responded with a yes. A moment later and a phone call from my boss repeated the above conversation and added that I was to devote the next ten hours to preparing.

I left off work early and walked to clear my thoughts. I called every family member I could reach and was buoyed by their boisterous yeses. I walked vaguely in the direction of my apartment, 20 miles away, following the roads under which ran the subway. DC is a strange city. It has both depth and superficiality all stacked one on top of the other. There is beautiful architecture that uplifts and exalts and the most base, perfunctory soviet-style concrete that does not even deserve to be called architecture all of which is intermingled and interpolated. I walked for miles and could not bring myself to enter the stifling tombs of the Metro underground. My thoughts fly more freely in the open air.

I thought about a lot of things. I was planning to return to school. I was planning to buy a better car. I had a kinds of things in the works. I had plans, dang it. Of course, I had had plans before. I had planned to graduate Princeton and get a nice quiet academic job. I had planned to work for the CIA. I had planned to travel the world. I had had plans. Yet, here I was, despite all those plans, walking down the streets of DC contemplating a job offer that had never crossed my radar.

I had been recommended to work for a princess of Saudi Arabia as a researcher to help find materials to found an archive dedicated to her father, the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, was died in 1975. It was not, in my original understanding at this time, to be a very exciting job. Still, a princess is a princess and an invitation to a royal audience is to not be accepted or rejected lightly.

A strange thought occurred to me in my wanderings in and amongst the impressive array foreign embassies along Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues. I looked back over my past many years and then recalled something my boss, who is Mormon, said. She said that she thought God had placed me here for this job. That she and I met many years ago in passing at BYU, where I worked for a summer, just to get me to a place where I could work here and get hired by the Princess. Now, I believe in the scriptures, but there are things in them that I don't understand or concepts that I still struggle to accept. One of these has been the concept that God is operative in all aspects of our lives. On the surface I can accept it, but when I think about the thorny territory of human agency versus divine fiat, I struggle.

As I walked, I thought this just might be true. God had given me some scattered and completely random experiences that were beginning to come together. I had worked during my time at USU at the USU Special Collections and Archives where I processed and created new collections. I spent time assisting with book collections, photo collections, and even some limited time with the people who repair manuscripts and books, though I cannot claim any expertise. I had met Mona in passing only once, but both of us remembered the meeting and then we wind up in DC at the same time, me needing a job, and her needing to fill a job with someone with knowledge of the Arab World. At Princeton, though I did not graduate, I had worked in the map archives translating and cataloging maps of the Middle East and Europe. My gift for research and my penchant for calligraphy are what brought me to the attention of HRH Princess Haifa who asked me do some research. Though my initial efforts were at best abortive, I nevertheless must have made an impression.

So, here I am, about to meet with a princess for an amazing job opportunity. I, a little farm boy from Utah who isn't even sure his farm qualifies as a farm, full of doubt and prevarications, am about to go into the service of a world-famous princess to work on a project that will last for generations. I was admitted to her suite in DC with my boss and a coworker who also works for the Princess. I would say she is not what I expected, but I cannot honestly say what I expected a princess to look like. My only knowledge of princesses comes from tabloids about British royalty and Disney cartoons. She is a remarkable woman of grace, with graying curls and a Mona Lisa smile. I managed to introduce myself and fumblingly handed my report to her for her review. She introduced me to her two teenage sons who shortly excused themselves to visit stores in the area.

I had anticipated talking more and while I would normally have described myself as one nonplussed by celebrity and royalty - I did, after all, once meet Charles Grodin! Yet I was totally plussed. I spoke as clearly as I could and she complemented my research up to that point as my coworkers smiled at me and I turned beet red. It is not an easy thing to endure a compliment. We discussed details of my project and when I stumbled, my coworkers helpfully filled in the conversation.

It became clear to me that I had underestimated the project for which I was being tasked. I had expected a job that would take several months and involve culling newspaper archives and a few libraries, but Her Royal Highness quickly asked whether I would be able to visit every country His Majesty King Faisal had visited, and those countries which had relations with Saudi Arabia in order to acquire a thorough collection of all primary documents relating to his life.

I said yes. I said yes!! What was I thinking. Who agrees to that? I just said I was capable of creating an archive of the entire life of one of the most important political figures of the twentieth century. I am utterly insane. I am giving up school, a settled apartment, any chance of a long term relationship for the next year at least, all for a project I'm not sure I can do!!!

Her Royal Highness graciously thanked me and expressed her confidence saying she had finally met someone in whom she had confidence to do the work she needed done. The conversation turned to other matters, but I wanted out. My mind was whirring at the prospect of what I had just agreed to do, to become. Before we left, it was agreed that I would come to Riyadh in May for an exhibit on the life of King Faisal and there see the archives as they existed now in order to assess what needs to be gathered to complete the records.

I was then hit with the next in a line of many shocks that day: Prince Turki, brother of Princess Haifa and former Ambassador to the United States would like to meet with me. He, too, was impressed with the preliminary research sketches I had done and my plan for the archives. After a nervous lunch during which I managed to pronounce all Italian menu items as French and the French items as Italian, I was escorted to the suite of HRH Prince Turki there to discuss some more details. He had a dignified bearing and way of being silent that bore into my soul as I sat on the couch. We discussed much of what I had discussed with Princess Haifa, but this time I was all alone, save for the Prince's British secretary. We discussed his father, the King, and what he would like to see. He promised to have his people send me copies of all materials already gathered and then he asked me to draft an employment agreement, an agreement, not a contract, because, "Agreements are between friends and we are friends." It's the same legally, I suppose, but words are important in Arab culture in a way we utilitarian Americans struggle to grasp as we casually throw words around ignorant of their history and their impact.

The rest of the day and the days following have been amazingly normal. Normality seems miraculous when juxtaposed with the miraculous. So now I am preparing myself for a job that will take me to nearly every part of the world, from Texas to Paris, from Cairo to Moscow and, of course, here in Washington, DC. All this because I failed at college. Had I not dropped out, I would undoubtedly be in a comfy but staid tenure-track position having missed out on a great opportunity because I had never failed.