It was 161 Years ago today that Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley and declared "This is the Place" for the Mormons to settle and live in peace. Today the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the world.
It baffles me though, how misunderstood we are still to this day. We are very much still pioneering our way through the wilderness of ignorance and misunderstanding and trying to establish a place of peace.
Several months ago I struck up a casual conversation with a woman as we both walked across a parking lot toward our respective cars. She was very friendly as I suppose she found me to be and for quite a while we stood chatting at our crossroad point, neither one of us wanting just yet to end our conversation and separate to our cars. Our enjoyable conversation was religious in nature, but then she learned that I was LDS. Suddenly this new found friend started bringing up points of contention. I tried to keep the conversation as it was, sharing with her that I was a fellow Christian who also loved and served Jesus Christ. She never saw it that way. After pushing several points, she ended the conversation by telling me that she felt sorry for my deception by Satan and that she would pray for me. (Which is fine, I could always use a prayer).
I was sad that I lost a friend before I had the chance to make one. Here we had two women, both who love Jesus Christ, both who accept Him as their personal Savior, both who feel desirous to serve him and love him all the days of our lives, two women who could encourage each other and rejoice in a mutual knowledge of Christ's grace and goodness. But Satan is good at what he does, isn't he? Instead of celebrating our common feelings, he had inserted somewhere in this woman's teaching that Mormons believe in a different Jesus Christ, so therefore no Mormon is a Christian.
One of the ministers often heard on Christian radio spends hours of air time teaching others how to confuse and "catch" Mormons in their words and he prides himself in the fact that he has been the instrument in making several missionaries leave their missions. Now I have heard his testimony of Jesus Christ, and I've heard him talk about some of the desires of his heart, which I believe to be good. I think he's a good man, and I am baffled that he would feel the need to attack us as the enemy. I ask myself, "Why are you so threatened by us? Even as I hear what you teach about us, do you have any idea what we teach about you?" Brigham Young said:
"The Kingdom of God consists in correct principles; and it mattereth not what a man's religious faith is; whether he be a Presbyterian, or a Methodist, or a Baptist, or a Latter-day Saint or 'Mormon' or Campbellite, or a Catholic, or Episcopalian, or Mohammedan, or even pagan, or anything else, if he will bow the knee, and with his tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and will support good and wholesome laws for the regulation of society, we hail him as a brother, and will stand by him while he stands by us in these things...for we have long sought to find a people that will work in righteousness, that will distribute justice equally, that will acknowledge God in all their ways, that will regard those sacred laws and ordinances which are recorded in that sacred book called the Bible, which we verily believe, and which we proclaim to the ends of the earth." (Brigham Young, 3/15/1848, quoted in Ensign April 1971, pg. 43)
I can imagine that every pioneer who was forced to leave their homes asked themselves the same question I do, "Why are you so threatened by us?" I wonder if today's personal extermination decrees aren't just as damaging as yesterday's public ones.
But, this blog isn't about having all the answers. But now that I've gotten my word in edgewise, and in the spirit of "carry on, oh Pioneers!" I wrap up with a quote Bruce R. McConkie's GC 10/84 address: "The church is like a great caravan--organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place. What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or what predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on. Are there storms that rage along the way, floods that wash away the bridges, deserts to cross and rivers to ford? Such is life in this fallen sphere. The caravan moves on. Ahead is the Celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest. Thank God that the caravan moves on!"
Carry on, carry on!
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5 comments:
Welcome to the blogging world - I hope to catch some good insight from you as I do on our girls nights out. By the way - we are due for another. If you ever have any questions about blogging, just let me know.
Very well written, daughter of mine! You probably already know you got some of your Grandpa's dna genes for creative writing. Your message was very poignant (sp?) and it will be interesting to see if anyone is able to answer your question "Why are others threatened by the LDS people?" Keep up the good work! Hope you post your thoughts often. They are valuable! Be sure to let me know when you do. x o
Interesting topic. I too have asked myself the same questions. Some of which have recently resurfaced from the cobweb infested corners of my mind.
My 2 oldest children had the opportunity to go to the “Mormon Miracle Pageant” this summer in Manti, Utah. While they were there they were approached by a large number of people both youth and adults who were handing out anti-Mormon literature. Apparently they were on all sides and at all entrances. (To their credit, they quieted down during the actual Pageant)
It was obviously an awkward situation for when they returned they were joking about some of the “smart-alecky” comments members of their group said or actions they did towards those who were protesting. (A common way all teenagers seem to deal with awkward situations is to poke fun and try to tear down, in the hopes that they can “rise” above the pursuing feeling of insecurity) We had a long talk about our actions, our agency, the cost of that agency as well as the consequences that stem from exercising it.
I had a hard time convincing my children that regardless of the protestor’s actions their intentions were good. They were, after all, taking hours and days if not weeks out of there daily lives to help people “come unto Christ” as they saw it.
The more we talked, however, the more I realized that it was the action of the adult protesters that gave my kids such a bad taste in their mouth. Rather than using Christ’s example of gentle persuasion like some of the youth did, the aggressive tactics of the adults seemed to have been taken straight from G.W. Bush’s “Shock and Awe” playbook. The anger and malice spewed from the adult’s blow horn was what the kids brought back with them, not the compassion of a concerned brother or sister.
I would love to hear from someone not of the LDS faith give their take on this topic. I am not looking for any stories of how they were offended by this person or that person of the LDS faith, but some real answers as to why, of all the evils in the world, do people work so hard to smother the light and tear down the testimonies of people who are trying their hardest to be the best servants of the Lord as they can?
I wanted to re-emphasize, that I hold no hard feelings toward those people out there that are spending time and energy to convince their brothers and sisters under God of the assumed error of their ways. I know personally the courage, resolve, and love required to spend hours under the sun in hopes that ones efforts will bring even one soul unto Christ. It’s what this country could use right now. I am however looking for real answers, not just an assumption based wholly on the conclusion of rumors spread and ignorance unabated.
Thanks in advance!
CK
"It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself." JS History 1:23
"...serious reflection then, and often has since..." Apparently, there are things(events, experiences, relationships, etc.) in our lives we may never understand. When Joseph Smith describes his vision he describes the contrast between the power of darkness with the power of light; and, then in verses 21-26 the word persecution is used 10 times.
Why persecution and misunderstandings? verse 20 "...It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to PROVE A DISTURBER AND ANNOYER OF HIS KINGDOM; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me?..."
Therefore, "But strange or not, so it was..."
carry on
I think you've hit the nail on the head with the question "Why are they so threatened..."
A popular radio host spends each night of the week "bashing" a different religion. One night is for LDS bashing, another for Catholic, another for Jews and so on. Why spend so much time and energy on tearing down groups of people whose aspirations are to follow the commandments, do good works and fellowship others into doing the same?
One point that always comes to my mind as well is that Christ does not use contention to teach His word. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace...
One cannot possibly gain a testimony of Christ through namecalling, threats, and other such tactics that some people use to attempt to dissuade others from investigating the church or listening to any of its teachings.
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