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What, Me Worry?
By: hawkgrrrl
With the increased scrutiny of the church in the media recently, a new fear-promoting rumour has apparently begun to circulate. From a memo the church has released:
“The following statements are being attributed to Elder David A. Bednar about what he purportedly said would happen if Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination:
· That persecution to the Church would increase and be more intense than any yet experienced in our lifetime.
· That sacred elements of the Church would be disparaged.
· That our testimonies would be tested.These statements are distorted and inaccurate and should not be used, repeated, or passed on to others. Kindly inform those who use them or send them to you that they are spurious.”
So, of that list, sacred elements of our faith being disparaged has certainly happened, whether as a byproduct of the election or the advent of the internet. As a good friend cheekily pointed out, the biggest problem with the world gaining access to the temple ceremony information via Google and YouTube is that now everyone can get through the veil into the Celestial Kingdom. There goes the neighbourhood!
The third item, testimonies being tested, is an inevitability for some. In my view, whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and more empathetic. Maybe we’ll start getting more comfortable with faith being faith rather than trying to force fit our faith into the cruel shoes of “knowing.” Maybe we’ll all gain a dose of humility in the process. Will we land at the cool kids’ table? Well, it’s religion. Is there a cool kids table?
The first bullet, that persecution of the church would increase and be more intense than any yet experienced in our lifetime, seems entirely relative. For those who’ve lived a fairly sheltered religious existence where Mormonism is a well understood majority or even a fairly well accepted minority, this may be true. For those of us who grew up being asked if we had horns under our hair or if we were going to have multiple husbands (at the time I wasn’t sure I was even going to have one boyfriend let alone multiple husbands!) or told that a friend’s pastor said we Mormons were hell-bent on world domination and killing Christ at the second coming . . . meh. I’m not that worried. And if you have always lived a sheltered Mormon existence, you are probably going to continue to be mostly insulated from the effects of negative press.
The last thing we need is a bunker mentality that pits us against the world, especially when the treatment of the subject so far has been measured. For every detractor, there have been supporters. For everyone treating what Mormons hold sacred lightly, there are those calling for tolerance and respect. And for everyone on the outside trying to make Mormons look bad, there are several on the inside doing a fine job of just that. Some of the best defences of the church have been written by former and lapsed Mormons who are able to interpret LDS culture for a non-LDS audience in a way that promotes respect and understanding. He that is not against us is for us.
On the upside, we’ll have to scrutinize and let go of some things that are not good (like sexism, homophobia, weird indefensible doctrines, white-washed history, and insular attitudes). We’ll have to develop a thicker skin. We’ll also be seen as much more rational and tolerant than many might have expected (and than a few of our peer religions in the religious right). We will ultimately find greater acceptance, which is perhaps the greatest fear of our religious competitors. Religion in general will take a big hit, though, because that’s one of the key defence plays: that we’re no weirder, just newer than other churches. Mostly I welcome the changes that this scrutiny will bring. We’ll become better in the process, like not stuffing ourselves silly with junk food right before a beach vacation where people will take pictures of us in our bikini. Fellow Mormons, it’s time to hit the gym and be ready to show our stuff. Like it or not, it will be seen, in all our muffin-topped glory.
Now is the time for the church to shed unsavory aspects of our culture that have previously been unchecked because they will now be brought to light and discussed in a public forum by our detractors. And change agents have taken notice. Skinny jeans sexual harassment went viral. GLBT students at BYU held an open forum discussing their sexual orientation as faithful members that I can’t imagine having been done by the majority of strange bedfellows the church worked with on Prop 8. Comments about racist folklore were immediately and sternly disavowed.
What other positive changes do you foresee for the church and Mormon culture in general as a result of this increased scrutiny?
Prague is lovely this time of year.
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OP:hawkgrrrl,
I think Romney will be questioned on his Mormonism concerning the founding of America, how the Constitution came to be, how America will end….
Also, where are the women on your team? Why do you have so much money.
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I hope all the increased scrutiny will also encourage the Church to be more forthcoming and transparent about its finances.
I’m with you–I think the Church being under a bit of a microscope can only be a good thing. Maybe they will have to disavow a lot of things that make us look like we still live in the 1960s.
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#3:Zara,
I think the Church wants to live in the 1860s, not the 1960s. The 1960 Church was much more open and looking for new ways than the Church is today.
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The 1960s church did not allow blacks to hold the priesthood or women to pray or speak in General Conference. It has a long way to go, but it’s slowly making progress in beginning to realize that truly “all are alike unto God.”
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Chris,
They still don’t let women pray in General Conference.
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My stake doesn’t let women give the opening prayer in Stake Conference either.
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The level of persecution experienced by any faith — not just Mormonism — increases as it becomes a lever for political/economic powers to enhance or protect their own positions. It isn’t a matter of how cool you are or are not. Jesus himself wasn’t worth persecuting until His movement began to make political waves that affected entrenched religious interests that were tied to the Roman governing system. When that happened, perfection wasn’t enough to stop the persecution; Mormonism is a LOT less than perfect.
“Kill Romney” is shorthand for a campaign strategy in which a great deal of the world’s political and economic power is at stake. Tearing down Mormonism is a very handy lever to that end, and in DC, politics is now played with at least the bend-the-rules rivalry of a Penguin-Fliers playoff game.
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#8: Firetag,
“The level of persecution experienced by any faith — not just Mormonism — increases as it becomes a lever for political/economic powers”. Unless that Religion becomes THE major power. Think Catholic or Lutheran.
Mormonism will be challenged__not persecuted. A hot dedate within Mormonism is more likely an outside persecution.
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Firetag,
Remember we are dealing with democrats. They will trash the LDS church. I have already seen attacks by the democrat surrogates on MSNBC say JS started polygamy to conceal an affair. Another segment quoted 1 Nephi 12:23 “proving” the Mormons and their bible are racist. Add to this the fact the democrats can’t defend their economic policies or Obama’s record; they don’t have dirt on Romneys personal life; his (Romney) flip flopping has already been beaten to death in the GOP primary; and, above all the Dems will do anything to win and the Mormon church is a prime target. It is gonna get ugly.
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Will:
I never forget that we are dealing with a PARTICULAR Democratic machine notable for its historical corruption beyond the career of any individual politician. I would not attribute its faults to a whole party any more than I would attribute the excesses of the current GSA scandal to all Federal workers.
But I don’t believe the king will give up his power easily, to paraphrase another BofM passage. And I don’t believe one rises to the top of that Chicago machine without being as ruthless as your competitors.
If you are raised Mormon and are no longer Mormon, there has to be a credible story of when and how that happened. If you are born a devout Jew and become Christian, there has to be some “road to Damascus” experience to change a Saul into the Apostle Paul. If you are sired and mentored by radicals, join and rise in a corrupt political machine descended from and allied with gangsters and bombers, and then present yourself, with no explanation of how you changed, as a “moderate”, I will be ROTFLOL.
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#10,11-Will-Firetag,
I’m Shocked!-Shocked! Political machines in Play? Chicago vs Rockefeller? Maybe. See you in the polling booths_I will be in the one marked ‘D’.( For democrats, not devils- we have no horns)….
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Ahh, the “Chicago” way? As officer Malone from the “Untouchables” described it? (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That’s* the *Chicago* way!).
Anti-Mormon sentiment is so easy because it’s far more politically and culturally acceptable to bash Mormons than it is to bash Obama for being (half) black. Not that I advocate the latter. I told Polack jokes when I was a kid…by the time of Lech Walesa and Solidarity, I wondered why I ever thought they were funny. But there are some groups (Arabs, Muslims, white males, overweight people, and most Christians in general but ESPECIALLY Mormons) that are considered ‘fair game’ to ridicule. Equal rights and ‘tolerance’ are bunk. Some are more equal than other in Obama’s America.
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