Lessons from the Future of Evangelical America

The Christian Science Monitor put out an article (thanks, Drudge, for calling it to my attention) regarding the potential demise of mainstream Evangelical Christianity in America.

The author predicts that "millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline.... The grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close."

It's a bit bleak but brings out some interesting premises that I'd like to put out there:

1. Too much attention to causes can drive the focus away from the faith. The author cites attention to gay marriage and pro life and other cultural/moral issues as a significant cause for a generation to be able to articulate their religions on viewpoints such as these but still be unable to succinctly explain their faith.

I personally struggle with the line between proper expression of the cultural application of moral viewpoints with a need to merely exemplify correct principles and allow for a measure of agency in those around me, particularly as doctrinal tenets become a question of public policy.

2. A certain measure of orthodoxy is required for a religion to have any kind of roots. Joseph Smith's comments that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things will never generate faith sufficient unto salvation comes to mind.

I'm always grateful that I grew up in a faith that holds its youth to high standards while never slacking on the teaching of scripture and basic doctrine. I never felt that, for example, being encouraged to wear white shirts on Sundays and not drink Coke overpowered instruction on faith, the Atonement, and scripture.

Good Clip Explaining a Mormon's Experience

Thanks to my friends at timetokeepscore.blogspot.com for bringing this to my attention.

The following video is of a Harvard undergrad from Blackfoot, ID, who was given the opportunity to share her perspectives as a Latter-Day Saint as part of a larger panel discussion series on religion at Harvard.

It's very well done and she's asked some tough questions. She's not speaking officially for the Church in any way, but I feel that she does a very nice job of representing the Church's viewpoints and that her personal take can be useful for anyone who's curious. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.


Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

It's OUR Job...

I came across this bit of numbers from Pew, and thought I'd pass this on. According to a recent study, 57% of Americans either mostly or completely agree that it's the government's job to care for the needy.


I want to clarify one thing. It's NOT the government's job to care for the needy. That implies that it's "someone else's" job. It's all of our jobs to care for the needy. All of us.

This is about as preachy as I'm willing to get, but I despise the notion that conservatives somehow have it in for the poor, the less fortunate, minorities in difficult situations, etc. when that's not usually the case. What is the case is that there is a strong mistrust of the government's ability to create and administer effective programs for the kind of relief that's needed that will most promote permanent extraction from a bad situation.

That being said, we cannot nor should not allow the existence of such problems to provide an excuse for not doing our part, nor should we assume that the government bears that responsibility alone. It's our job.

Thougts on Mormons and Prop 8

There has been a bit of press lately covering both protests to the passing of California's Prop. 8 and the LDS Church's (Mormons') reaction thereto. I've followed the back and forth from afar as it's been several years since I've lived in California. But, I have sought out and appreciated the opportunity for good dialogue with friends who opposed Proposition 8, while at the same time saddened to hear of my niece's experiences being spat on and cursed at for supporting it.

There's not much that I can offer on the subject that hasn't already been both against (Stay classy, Roseanne) the Mormons' participating in Prop 8 and in defense thereof, but I would like to put out a few thoughts for those who are interested.

First off, although I'm bummed that the Mormons have become almost the sole face of Pro-Prop 8 California when the church itself paid out no institutional money in support of the proposition, when the anti-Prop 8 campaign was in total better-funded than the pro-Prop 8 campaign, when at best I figure there are 200,000* voters in California who are actively-practicing Mormons of voting age, I forced myself not to be surprised by that despite my initial bewilderment once I thought about how involved that extreme minority of voters became.

I can only hope that Mormons in California behaved themselves civilly and with class, if for no other reason than to do as little as possible to justify allegations of bigotry and intolerance that are being cast. I hope that pro-Prop 8 folks did and continue to follow the official direction given by the church with respect to the appropriate mode of support for that proposition.

What I do hope, most of all, is that we Mormons welcome the inevitable protests to Proposition 8 and other similar amendments nationwide as long as they are kept cordial and civil towards religious practice. The Mormon Church said this on the subject:

While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.

Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information.

But I hope that we Mormons welcome the opportunity for dialogue and understanding that healthy protest can foster. Being overly defensive or overly zealous typically does little other than reinforce viewpoints either in your favor or against you, and without good dialogue and perspective we will never reach an understanding of how best to handle this issue that has potential to be so terribly divisive. No matter how future elections shape the policies of the varying states or, as I feel is inevitable, the nation, there will be a large body of people who will feel robbed of something special and sacred, and we will be forced to reconcile those feelings to continue to exist as neighbors in a spirit of social compassion and of patriotism. Both parties are under obligation to work together in a way that allows us to agree to disagree in some measure of harmony. Otherwise, we undermine what we view as the righteousness of our own position.

*My estimated number is based on the just under 800,000 Mormons in California. Figure only about half are actively-practicing, half of that half are under 18, and that's where I get to 200,000. It's a dirty method, but I don't know of nor could I find any information as to Mormon voter registry or turnout, though my suspicion is that it's not tremendously different than any other group of potential voters. Also, I know at least anecdotally of several Mormons who did not vote for Proposition 8 and I imagine that they are not terribly unique.

Saddening News

I came across this article (AP article printed in Utah's Deseret News) that made me kind of sad, and opened the door for a bit of reflection:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700257923,00.html

It's a short story, but to save the click the upshot is that the front doors of the Mormon temple in Minnesota were burned by an arsonist. Fortunately, the building itself was not seriously damaged, but the sacred nature of the building makes it horrifying to imagine what would have happened had it burned down.

(photo from http://www.lds.org/temples/main/photo/0,11505,2020-1-105-0,00.html)

It made me think of a sad memory. For those of you who aren't Mormon, during high school I attended class every school day from 6:00-6:45 at my church. It's a program called Seminary where we spend one year each on the books of scripture the Mormon church considers canon (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants). Outside of Utah and Idaho, it's held at the church building in one of the classrooms, and we usually would roll out of bed, throw on something presentable, cover our bedhead with some form of hat, maybe brush our teeth, and attend this class where dedicated teachers tried desperately (with more success than they probably appreciated) to teach us the gospel of Christ and the scriptures. On Fridays we'd have donuts or something similar. Good times.

One morning, we arrived to find our little classroom in shambles. The carpet was incinerated, there was smoke and soot stains on all of the walls, the room's lone window was broken, and in almost the direct center of the room was a small crater with the telltale broken glass of a liquor bottle around it that had been converted into a Molotov cocktail.

It was obviously quite a solemn experience to see the room in such a state. As I look back on it in light of the news in Minnesota, a few things strike me. I'm fairly certain that although the requisite Police report was filed in conjunction with the insurance claim, there was no report to any media. I don't imagine that it got much attention publicly, and the very private way in which we merely took our books from the closet of the damaged room into another room in the building without even an afterthought is apropos of how the Church handles theses situations generally--understated, low-key, very little response at all. I'm actually curious as to how the AP even caught wind of the story of the temple in Minnesota.

Part of what disturbed me a bit, and you'll forgive yet another rant, is that although the fire was characterized as arson, the police don't suspect that it was a hate crime. I wonder what it was characterized as, then. I hope I'm not being over-sensitive, but I can't help but think that the reason it's not being called a hate crime is because it is perfectly acceptable to treat the Mormon faith publicly in a way that it would completely unacceptable to treat most other religions.

The mainstream media commonly misrepresents the Mormon faith, commonly taking as authoritative the opinions and declarations of non-members, former members, or pure rumor as representative of the Church. If the media were to approach any other cultural, social, or ethnic group similarly I'm sure there would be at least some feedback if not outrage.

On some level, I appreciate that the Church takes the posture that it does. I'm not sure I want my Church to have a special interest group or a lobbying firm or a foundation dedicated to making a stink every time there is a misunderstanding or an error based on stereotype or what have you. But at the same time, you have to admit that there's a bit of injustice in that.

When it's all said and done, I don't think we quirky Mormons have that much to complain about. The Mormon faith has probably never been seen in a better light than it is right now. Mormons typically do well in business, don't face barriers to entry in the work force, have a good support system in place, and by no means suffer a lot of the indignities and prejudice that other cultural, social, or ethnic minorities face. We do face a lot of bigotry from within mainstream Christianity, but apart from being blown off or having our faith discounted out of hand by those whom we can easily write off as those who "know not what they do," we have it pretty lucky.

But still, it hurts to have one of your most sacred structures, a symbol of your faith and worship of God, be desecrated. I don't care what the police don't investigate. That temple is located in the middle of a middle class residential neighborhood. Whoever tried to set it on fire did it knowing what the structure stands for and for whom. And that's just sad.

Personal Wealth and Spiritual Health

One of my sisters-in-law recently posed an interesting question that made me think. After considering Christ's rather austere life, one might ask whether a minimalist life in terms of material wants and needs is elemental to one's discipleship. On the other hand, maybe the consequences of living a good life following Christ's teachings will inevitably lead to some form of material gain that can put one in a better position to serve others and follow Christ.

Offhand, I'd say that, as with most lifestyle choices that aren't specifically commanded one way or the other, there are pros and cons. They can bring us closer to God or push us away from him. All of us are born with a conscience that comes from God and/or have the proper gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us discern whether the choices we make regarding our expenditures and material possessions really are drawing us closer to Heavenly Father or leading us away from him.

I recently read a passage near the end of The Book of Mormon with my family. Mormon, a prophet, talks about a couple of concepts about discerning whether things are good or evil that can apply here. On the one hand, he says that a bitter fountain can't bring forth good water and that a good fountain can't bring forth bitter water. This would seem to indicate that there are certain things that are just inherently good or inherently bad.

On the other hand, he talks about a different kind of thing by saying that if the thing persuades us to do good and to follow Christ it is of God. If it persuades us to do evil then it's not of God. That would seem to indicate that it's the effect that things have on us that make the thing good or bad, as opposed to an analysis of the thing's character. I would think that if a thing were inherently evil then we would have been commanded against it for our own protection. The Savior warned us that it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the gates of heaven, but didn't say that it was downright wrong. There is a commandment to seek first the kingdom of God and a warning that one cannot serve God and Mammon, but that's different than a "Thou shalt not..." statement.

All that has been commanded that I know of regarding finances and lifestyle are tithing, generous offerings, wise investments, no misuse of church resources for those investments, savings, and food storage.

Going back to my first thought, there are probably those of us for whom wealth could become a great evil. It could cause us to become prideful, to serve Mammon, to contribute to inequalities that lead to the destruction of the people of God all throughout the The Book of Mormon, to fill our lives with activities that distract us from the most important things, and to distance ourselves from the Spirit. Those same resources could enable us to give generously to others, to serve those who are less fortunate, to serve missions for the Church, to provide assistance and support to our families and children, and in so doing draw us closer to the Spirit.

If we're being honest with ourselves and seeking the Spirit, I think we'll know into what category we fall. I'd be very curious to see what you folks out there think. Let's hear your thoughts.