Dave's Mormon Inquiry

Mormons, Evangelicals, and Mockery

I was gratified to read a piece posted at Patheos last week by Timothy Dalrymple titled "Why Evangelicals Should Defend Mormons From Mockery." The argument, of course, runs both ways: neither group should employ mockery as a tactic or quietly cheer its use by third parties when directed against the other. The author is quite frank about the problem, while also noting it is getting better:

High-level evangelical-Mormon conversations are taking place even now and are clearly edifying both sides. Mormon leaders have been receptive to evangelical experts in historical theology, and have learned why the church historically has avoided some of the formulations Mormons use. The trajectory of Mormonism’s development is a positive one. Yet evangelicals have also, before and alongside these more charitable recent efforts, caricatured Mormons and perpetuated falsehoods about the official doctrines and teachings of the LDS Church.

Mormon Boundaries

So I stumbled across a short book titled Judaism's Great Debates (Jewish Publication Society, 2012) by Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz. It includes an interesting chapter on defining boundaries, an issue that is familiar to Mormons. Why do we Mormons sometimes seem so eager to push people onto the other side of a formal membership line? Why do we still have the equivalent of heresy trials, and why are they so poorly managed?

The chapter highlights the story of Baruch Spinoza, a 17th-century Jew living in Amsterdam who became one of the finest philosophers of his time. A brilliant student, Spinoza initially questioned traditional Jewish teachings. He went on to reject Mosaic authorship of the Torah and to formulate some of the earliest critical studies of the Bible. He was excommunicated from his Jewish congregation for heresy in 1656 at the age of 24.

The Mormon Generation Gap

Although the vast majority of Mormons identify themselves as Republican, the younger generation is not necessarily voting with their parents. In this election, religion is not the driving force behind at least some of the Mormon youth vote.

source: abc News

LDS historian Matthew Bowman, quoted in the article, traces the gap to the new openness to American society that emerged under President Hinckley.

Looking for Middle-Earth

In the New York Times travel section, "New Zealand's Hobbit Trail" recounts the unexpected surge of Middle-earth tourism that has flooded New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings movies hit the screen ten years ago. The quote that got my attention: "Movies — ephemeral, imaginary — have a way of sending fans in search of something real." Made me think of all those Book of Mormon tours that take Mormons with some money to spend off to Central and South America in search of Nephite ruins.

Elder Holland on Love and Loyalty

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is known for his eloquent and moving calls to repentance aimed at motivating members of the Church to live the gospel more fully. He often includes lengthy vignettes drawn from LDS and Christian history in his talks. Elder Holland followed this approach in his October 2012 Conference talk about love and loyalty, opening with a long story freely expanding John's account (John 21:1-14) of a post-resurrection encounter between Jesus and some of his apostles, who were back in Galilee — fishing.

Priesthood Session Notes

President Uchtdorf conducted the Priesthood Session. I was pleased to see President Monson speak for about 25 minutes as the concluding speaker. He looked good and sounded good. Here are my notes which were taken on the fly, so check with the actual transcripts (out in a few days) before you make any serious life changes based on these notes.

Cafeteria Conference?

There's a surprisingly prevalent view within the Church that at General Conference we should listen carefully for what we need to hear. This approach is generally presented as a form of personal revelation: if you listen closely, you will discern what God wants you to hear. That really isn't much different from a cafeteria approach to Conference: listen for what you want to hear; ignore the rest. Brethren, turn off the TV and go do your home teaching ... no, that's not it. You should be reading your scriptures daily ... no, that's not it. Let me tell you a story about when I played basketball in college ... yes, that's it! That's the piece of Conference that I'm supposed to listen to!

Mormon Peacemakers

And Evangelical peacemakers, too, both discussed in Evangelicals vs. Mormons: Blessed Are the Peacemakers at First Things. The short post touches all the usual bases (How Wide the Divide, the Millet-Johnson partnership, Ravi Zacharias, politics makes strange bedfellows), then details some local activities that have promoted Evangelical-Mormon understanding in the Salt Lake City area. The LDS writer concludes:

It is a powerful thing, we discovered in each other’s churches, to be embraced by people with tears in their eyes who have connected with you as a fellow child of God after years of suspicion and presumption.