The LDS Faith on Trial in 2012

I had hoped it would not come to this.

However naïve I was, my hope was that the number of people who would attack the LDS Church itself during the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign would be relatively small. However, I see now that this hope was utterly in vain.

• Despite statements by religio-political group officials that Mitt Romney’s Mormonism was not a factor in the South Carolina primary, people interviewed by The Daily Caller spontaneously brought up Romney’s faith as the reason they were leery about voting for him. On Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, the interviewer also pointed out that being Mormon hurt Romney in South Carolina.

• Heading into the Florida primary, it is noteworthy that at Rick Santorum’s speech in Coral Gables today, the Los Angeles Times reported that “people sat in front of giant posters warning voters that Mormons worship false gods.” The Times reporter interviewed a Santorum supporter holding a poster saying, “Americans, Beware. Mitt Romney is a lifelong Mormon.”

• The person who introduced Santorum at his speech today was Rev. O’Neal Dozier, whom the Palm Beach Post reported as saying that “The American people will not vote for a Mormon to be a president of the United States.” This is the same man who told the SunSentinal last October that “Mormonism is a cult … Once people really understand Mormonism, they will begin to lose faith in Mitt Romney.”

Examples could be multiplied. The overall conclusion seems inescapable: in this presidential election cycle, at least through the Republican convention in August and quite possibly through the election itself in early November, the LDS Church and the Mormon faith will be on public trial.

I have long known that anti-Mormon authors, predominantly evangelicals, have spread misconceptions and misinterpretations about the Church. What is apparent from these articles, and from the comments I received in response to my recent online article on why evangelicals are opposed to the LDS faith, is that huge numbers of people actually believe this anti-Mormon trash-talk. They really believe that:

• Mormonism is an unchristian cult.
• Mormons teach that Jesus is not even divine.
• Mormons teach that Jesus and Satan are somehow equal or in cahoots because “they are spirit brothers.”
• Evil things happen in LDS temples.
• Mormons forcibly convert people posthumously.

and a ton of other things that are equally false.

Please understand—for me, this is not about the presidential election. (My own political stance is in a different direction.)

My concern is about spreading the truth about the Church and the Gospel. On the one hand, anti-Mormon lies and misrepresentations are getting unprecedented play in the media. On the other hand, this “Mormon moment” is an opportunity, largely still unrecognized, to spread the truth about the Church and the Gospel.

So what is to be done?

 Let me tell you what I am doing, and what it is that you might do to be a part of it.

Three years ago I started a blog, LDS 101: The Latter-day Saint / ‘Mormon’ Faith, to answer basic questions about the faith. I didn’t know much about blogging then, and was not able to generate sufficient interest in the blog to keep it going. Now, however, I know a lot more about promoting a blog, and so I have reactivated it. (My first substantive entry: “Do Mormons Teach that Jesus and Satan Were Spirit Brothers?”)

My plan is to use that blog to answer specific anti-Mormon claims, something that is outside the mission of the Church web site most of the time.

There are two ways that you, readers of this blog post, can be a part of this (and I know that that includes a lot more people than the official “followers” of the blog):

1. When you come upon people who bring up specific distortions or falsehoods about the Church or its doctrine, please refer them to LDS 101. I may very well have addressed that specific distortion or falsehood. If I have not done so yet, the readers are welcome to bring up their own questions or issues for future posts.

2. Drop in yourself. Critique what I have to say so that I can make it better. Suggest questions or issues for me to address.

These are things that anyone can do. If we all contribute, we can stand up for truth together and further that cause. I hope you will take me up on this invitation.

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Copyright 2012 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.

 [The image of the Nauvoo Temple ruins was obtained from Steven D. Cornell’s utah-rchitecture blog, and is in the public domain.]

New on "LDS 101":Do Mormons Teach that Jesus and Satan Were Spirit Brothers?

This post on the LDS 101 blog deals with something that anti-Mormons often throw against the Saints: the idea that 'the Mormons teach that Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers!' (cue creepy music crescendo). Enjoy.

Rebooting the "LDS 101" Blog

It has become clear to me, from the comments I've been getting to my recent online article on why some evangelicals oppose Mormonism, that there is not only a great deal of misinformation about the Church--but tons of people actually believe the misinformation. So, to avoid this blog being completely overwhelmed with responses to the trash that people believe about the LDS Gospel, I am reactivating my blog, "LDS 101: The Latter-day Saint / 'Mormon' Faith." Drop on by.

Do Rational People Believe in Mormonism?

It has long been observed that Latter-day Saint theology and scriptures include many distinctive beliefs, beliefs that are quite different from those of majority Christianity. But in the minds of a lot of people, unfortunately, "different" means "strange," even "weird." The cheap shotgun overview of LDS theology that The Book of Mormon musical springs onto people without context or explanation lends itself to this sort of interpretation; I am sure that I am not the only Saint who has had a long-time friend say, after viewing a number from the musical, that "You believe some weird" things.

The current U.S. presidential campaign is going to bring much more public attention to distinctive LDS beliefs, such as our beliefs about the origin of the Book of Mormon (the real-life scripture, not the musical); Joseph Smith's visionary experiences; the doctrine of exaltation; the premortal existence; the three postmortal degrees of glory, and so forth -- hey, these days even the practice of tithing is getting scrutiny in the media. I could go into the historical and theological foundations for belief in each of these items of doctrine, and perhaps in future posts I shall. For now, however, I'd like to consider something a bit more emotional, the sort of knee-jerk reaction that I'm hearing more of lately: "How the heck can rational people even believe stuff like this?"

This was brought to mind by a reader's response to a piece I wrote recently for the Yahoo Contributor's Network regarding why evangelical Christians oppose the LDS faith. One reader responded:

Never mind talking about whether or nor they [i.e., the LDS] are Christians. Ask them about Jaredites, Nephites and Lamanites in North America between 1000 BC and 400 AD. It is the most bizarre histroriography imaginable. As the late columist Bob Novak once rhetorically asked "How can any rational person believe this?"

We'll return to the matter of Book of Mormon historiography on another occasion. As it happens, the late Robert Novak, political columnist, had not actually asked this question himself. In reference to the run-up to Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Novak had mentioned that there was a big difference between the opposition to Romney the Mormon in 2008 and the opposition to John Kennedy the Roman Catholic in 1960, when a number of conservative Protestants voiced concerns that a Catholic President would take orders from the Vatican. As Novak put it:

Nobody is suggesting that Mitt Romney as president of the United States would be taking orders from the president of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. The Republican whispering campaign against Mormons is broader-based on ridicule of the church's doctrine. I have heard Republicans who have read the Book of Mormon express astonishment that any rational person could believe that fanciful stuff. [Emphasis added.]

Here is how I responded to my reader, and how I would like to have responded in 2006 to Novak's unnamed sources (edited, and links added):

Consider this. The fact is that many people, including many esteemed in their professions, believe LDS theology and claims about the Book of Mormon.

Let's consider just a few of my personal acquaintances. Here in New York, I've known four top biomedical researchers at the prestigious Rockefeller University who are faithful, believing, and practicing LDS -- two of whom served as my bishop, and the third of whom was in my stake presidency. My friend Rob Comstock, at the top of the game of the fashion industry, appears in one of the "I'm a Mormon" spots. Another friend of mine, Admiral Paul Yost (Ret.), commanded the U.S. Coast Guard. (For that matter, I myself am an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a distinction of note.)

Beyond my own acquaintances, two of today's best-selling fiction authors, Stephenie Meyer of Twilight fame, and Orson Scott Card of the Ender books, are practicing Latter-day Saints, as is nonfiction business and lifestyle author Stephen "7 Habits" Covey. I could go on for pages mentioning physicians, medical researchers, creative arts professionals, university academics, attorneys, financial professionals, business leaders, and so forth, all practicing Latter-day Saints.

The point: You don't get to these sorts of positions by being irrational. The evidence clearly shows that huge numbers of rational people believe LDS theology. This does not prove it true, but it does prove that Novak's unnamed sources were foolish. People who would actually like to learn about the LDS faith held by some of our more scholarly Saints might find it beneficial to consult Susan Easton Black's edited book, Expressions of Faith: Testimonies of Latter-day Saint Scholars, or Henry Eyring's Faith of a Scientist.

 Yes, rational people believe in Mormon doctrine. Latter-day Saints need to be aware of what is apparently a widespread prejudice regarding our rationality. Beyond that, as my late mother, brought up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan would have put it, "you need to straighten them out." Indeed.

Of course, all of this raises the question of how rational people came to believe in the Book of Mormon. But that is a topic for another post.

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[The reproduction above of Rodin's The Thinker was obtained through Wikipedia and is in the public domain.]

Why Evangelicals Oppose Mormonism

Never more than this presidential election season has the stark opposition of many evangelical Christians to the LDS faith received more attention in the national press. Yet, the reasons for that opposition are unclear to many people, and for that reason I suspect that many people in the public are confused about that most basic of questions about Mormonism: "Are Mormons Christian?"

In my latest piece on the Yahoo Contributor Network, I hope to bring some clarity to this issue. It is titled, "Why Evangelicals Oppose Mormons: Word Games and Fear." Them's strong words -- but, I dare say, accurate ones. And it's no picnic being called a cultist, either -- something that many evangelicals say every day, concerning up to one-quarter of the American population.

Do feel free to send this post around by e-mail, by means of the "envelope" icon below.

Mitt Romney's Tithing

Readers who know me personally know that I will not be voting for Mitt Romney's party come November. (After all, I have just renovated the Mormons for Obama blog.)

But fair is fair. I for one have had enough with articles in the American press insinuating that there is something nefarious about Mitt Romney giving millions to the LDS Church in stock. I have so had enough that I have just published a piece through the Yahoo Contributor Network on this issue, titled, "Heart of Romney Furor: He's Just Being a Good Mormon." Read and enjoy.

Christmas Reflections, 2011



"Adoration of the Wise Men," Murillo, 17th ct.

It’s Christmas Eve in midtown Manhattan. My wife has just returned from picking up some sundries at a local clothing store, where she was mistreated by staff, and actually held by the shoulders and repositioned out of the way, by one fellow on a quest for bargains. “New York is a rough place on Christmas Eve,” she told me on her return, and so it is.

There has certainly been a manic feel in the air over the last week or so. Yesterday I passed a fellow while crossing 57^th Street at 6^th Avenue. In that strange modern custom whereby people advertise the most intimate details of their lives to total strangers as they yell into their mobile phones, I heard this gentleman shouting, “It’s crazy! Out of control! I just spent $600 on gifts . . .” before he walked out of range.

Again, so it is, crazy and out of control. It is a commonplace observation to note that Christmas has become overly commercialized. But distortions always have something that they are distorted from, so we might well look to see what is the pure impulse that is at the heart of this holiday that has become so identified with heavy expenditure. And here we find something to ponder. For although buying is not at the real heart of the holiday, giving is.

The late Gordon B. Hinckley, then the second counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church, had this to say about the meaning of Christmas:

Christmas means giving. The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave his life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship. There is more to Christmas than neckties, earrings, toys, and all the tinseled stuff of which we make so much. (“‘What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?’,” December 1983 Ensign, emphasis in original)

The traditional interpretation that Latter-day Saints make is that Jesus was actually born on the ancient equivalent of April 6, 1 bc, and that Jesus was crucified on the same date in 33 ad. So it is that the day of Jesus’ birth marks his Father’s gift to us, and the day of his death marks the gift to all humanity of the Atonement of Christ—and it is the same day.

The world knows little of this. For the world at large, the whole gift-giving-at-Christmas meme begins with the arrival of the Wise Men, the Magi, who came to adore the infant Jesus, and bestowed upon him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This moment has been immortalized in uncounted works of art through the centuries, such as the 17^th century work by Murillo shown above.

So what does that all mean for us? What is it that we are to learn from all this collection of gift-giving, giving that is conducted even on a cosmic scale? Perhaps we can learn something from Murillo’s painting, above.

There is Jesus in a manger, attended by his mother Mary and Joseph. There are no supernatural elements in the painting, no nimbus of glory here that says This child is the Savior of the world. (Well, maybe there’s the tiniest hint of a nimbus about baby Jesus’ head. But I’m guessing that no one is really noticing this.)

To someone completely ignorant about Christianity, this looks like quite the curious visit: some extraordinarily well-dressed, well-to-do individuals, heavily guarded (see the pointy spears) and laden with some very serious bling (note the jewel-encrusted gold box at the foot of the manger), who have visited a very ordinary-looking family in the humblest of circumstances. (The place surrounding the manger has collapsed timbers and disordered stonework.)

Now, we who know the account in the New Testament know why these powerful individuals were visiting this family of seeming nobodies. The Wise Men possessed special knowledge that this was Someone Special. And that is what prompted everything: the long and arduous journey, the expensive gifts, the danger.

But let’s consider this. Latter-day Saints, too, possess special knowledge. We know that the people we pass by each day are not nobodies; each one of them is a literal Child of God, with a divine birthright that includes the potential of veritable exaltation to godhood. That’s everybody, including the people who live beneath bridges, or huddle in the cold in doorways and alleys just off the street.

So here’s my thought, my suggestion for acting out the spirit of giving in a Magi-like way: Bring some gift to the homeless tonight or tomorrow. Pizza works very nicely, take-out sandwiches, food of just about any kind, really. Orange juice or simply pure bottled water. In many cases, baby food. Yes, you may well be working outside of your comfort zone to do this. (On the other hand, I’m sure the whole journey-across-the-desert-sands thing was a bit uncomfortable for the original Magi, too.)

Twenty centuries ago, God gave us His Son as the ultimate Christmas present. That baby was honored by some of the greatest people of that generation, even though he was in a smelly stable, born to a poor family. (In a way, for that night at least, Jesus Himself was homeless.) It would be a particularly appropriate way of commemorating that birth to go bring gifts to those whom the world least honors, for each of them is also a Child of God.

As President Hinckley continued:

Christmas means giving—and “the gift without the giver is bare.” Giving of self; giving of substance; giving of heart and mind and strength in assisting those in need and in spreading the cause of His eternal truth—these are of the very essence of the true spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Copyright 2011 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.

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[The image is a reproduction of the painting “Adoration of the Wise Men,” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). The image is in the public domain, and was obtained through Wikipedia.]