“Do Mormons really believe that…?”

“Don’t Mormons …?”

I have heard all these questions in all their infinite iterations. They both delight and exacerbate me. I enjoy it when someone sincerely and honestly asks to learn more about my faith. I enjoy it when they ask me to clarify a misunderstanding they have had about Mormons and Mormonism. It gives me the opportunity to explain what Mormons really believe and what we practice. Yet sometimes, I am both saddened and frustrated by the questioning because of the endless misinformation and concerted attacks that are made against Mormons. There are too few attempts made to understand honestly what Mormons believe or what the Mormon missionaries teach. There are too many patronizing dismissals of Mormon doctrine and theology as unworthy of serious consideration or beneath the rudest contempt. Finally, there are too many people content merely to categorize and reshuffle their preconceptions and prejudices and claim that they have seriously thought the matter over.

What is needed are patience, understanding, and above all, a charitable outlook. Saint Augustine long ago noted that sometimes to understand, a person must first believe. I will allow something further: sometimes to understand, you must at minimum analyze the information as a believer. Read the Quran as a Muslim and the Book of Mormon as a Mormon, assuming you wish to understand what a Muslim or a Mormon thinks. To understand a religious outlook, it is best to understand and build from the assumptions a religious person would have. To do otherwise would be to attempt building an edifice on the wrong foundation. True, scholarly discourse allows for analyzing texts from multiple perspectives, but if the goal is to understand the faith and life of the believer, then you must undertake to read as a believer would. On no other basis can you begin to understand another’s point of view and hence begin a dialogue. Values, behavior, points of view, and so forth are dependent upon the assumptions, often a priori, of the individual. While certain values and behaviors, such as honesty and honor, are the logical outcomes of many possible foundations, some values, such as the practice of polygamy, are specific to certain worldviews. I see frequently in cross-cultural and cross-religious discourse such unamiable discourse.

Mormonism, because of its unique and separate history, has developed its religious vocabulary with some independence and linguistic idiosyncrasy. As a Mormon missionary I frequently reflected how those with whom I discussed religious ideas often used the same vocabulary with different meanings or different vocabulary with similar meanings. These conversations often reminded me of the possibly apocryphal tale about the completion of the transcontinental railroad. As both the Union Pacific and Central Pacific were paid by the mile, both had incentive to build as much as possible and as they neared each other in northern Utah, they found that they were not going to meet. One of the two needed to tear up some of their track, eat the cost, and adjust so that the railroad could meet. Neither side would; and so they continued building parallel tracks in the desert, going slowly nowhere.

Conversations are often similar. People have parallel conversations, completely and arrogantly unaware of the many linguistic misfires or the prosaic mondegreens. Some have tried to claim that Mormons have usurped or stolen “Christian vocabulary,” as if words could be proprietary. Instead, they read Mormon scriptures like the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants using their own definitions of grace, salvation, God, and so forth and then cry triumphantly that they have found a contradiction! They fail to realize or to understand that the written word is often slippery, referring to a multitude of ideas and forms, the quintessence of which one word can only scarcely begin to hint at. The Prophet Joseph Smith once remarked that words were insufficient to truly explain the things of God, but that they were all we really had. So, to compensate for such explicative dearth, we throw volumes of words hoping thereby that some passage will convey the ineffable truth or that somewhere in the mass and morass of detail, a truer image of the world we are trying to explain emerges. By delimiting artificial boundaries and freezing the conversation about what faith, grace, and salvation mean, ignorant or evil-designing critics hope to exclude what they never attempted to understand.

That being said, it is important to understand the fundamentals about Mormon beliefs and worldviews, in order to understand the so-called “deep doctrines,” a phrase with which I personally disagree, at least as it is usually applied. For many people, “deep doctrines,” refers to arcane and futile questions such the origin of God, the nature of angels, or the process of the resurrection. I prefer to follow Jesus who taught that the deeply important doctrines, what he called the “weightier matters of the law,” are “law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23). Mercy and faith, and one might add hope and charity, are the true “deep doctrines.”

Returning from that desultory discourse, we must discover what the fundamental teachings of Mormonism are and only then, with proper context being established, can an outsider begin to understand Mormon teachings on morality, family life, temples, and so forth. I will not here undertake a comprehensive overview of Mormon doctrine, but will rather establish what I believe to be its base. It is best to begin with the beginning (at least as far as we are concerned on this earth): God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

God, in Mormon doctrine, is the Father of the spirits of all humans. All mankind are the offspring of Eternal, Divine Parents who created our spirits before this earth was fashioned. Our relationship to them is that of children to parents. Man has therefore a literal divine heritage. We are eternal beings, existing before this life, and continuing after it pausing here merely to learn what we can. Our identities and personalities are eternal. A Mormon scripture teaches that, “Man was also in the beginning with God” (D&C 93:29). The Bible teaches that man was made in God’s image. In Mormonism this refers both to the physical and mental form, though God being exalted and perfect far surpasses man both physically and mentally. His knowledge and power are limitless and he exists outside of what we call time.

God, perceiving that he was surrounded by spirits with infinite potential, proposed to them that an earth be made upon which mankind could obtain physical bodies and the necessary experience to grow and learn. The Book of Mormon teaches us that, “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11). This opposition is didactic. Without contrast, man could not learn and thus could not choose. Darkness is meaningless without light. So an earth was created and man was placed upon it in an innocent state. Hence the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in opposition to the Tree of Life that man might choose.

In Mormonism, the Fall of Adam and Eve is really a step forward. The Book of Mormon further teaches that, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). Man had to come to this fallen earth to see the contrast between happiness and sorrow, pain and pleasure, good and evil. This is man’s agency and it is also his damnation for inevitably he chooses wrong and must face the consequences. Some have tried to say that agency, sometimes called free will, as mentioned in Mormon scriptures means that a person can do whatever he or she chooses, but that is not true. The Book of Mormon teaches clearly that the choice which lies before man is not absolute, unfettered freedom, but a choice between freedom and captivity. Following God is freedom, following Satan is captivity. Sin, which Jesus described as a master and its performers as slaves, robs a person of freedom. A person enmeshed in drugs, sexual sins, and lies is not free, but a slave to his or her appetites.

True freedom, ironically, comes from learning to restrain oneself. An analogy may be made to a cliff. A person standing near the precipice is free to remain or jump, but having made the decision to jump, he relinquishes his power to determine his fate, for he has chosen and now the natural laws of the universe will determine his outcome. A person is free to take drugs, but once he begins that course, he slowly becomes an addict and loses his freedom. Thus, man is not absolutely free as some would have it, but must realize that actions have consequences that cannot be avoided. That is agency in Mormonism.

Man is slow to learn, and while he has been placed on this earth created to be a probation for him, he has of course fallen. It is important to note that in Mormonism, man is not inherently evil; there is no original sin born in man. The sin, or error, which man has as part of his fallen nature is to be weak and susceptible to sin, but not inherently to be sinful. Man can become, through his choices, sinful over and beyond the normal human weakness, but this is not the same as being born sinful. Children are in Mormon belief born innocent, redeemed from the Fall and free to choose their own path as circumstances permit. However, poor choices are inevitable and they have their natural consequences. In Mormonism there are two deaths, which may be better understood as separations: Physical Death, the separation of the body and spirit; and Spiritual Death, the separation of the spirit from God. All mankind faces both because of our fallen, weak natures, but all these may be overcome by Jesus Christ through his Atonement, or vicarious sacrifice, which provides the means to overcome spiritual and physical death.

Joseph Smith, the Prophet, said:

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 3:30).

For Mormons, the Atonement comprises Jesus Christ’s vicarious sacrifice that reconciles mankind to God and overcomes physical death through the resurrection of the body. The body, it should be noted, is not something to be either ashamed of or to disparage, but is a gift and a necessary step in our eternal, spiritual development. Jesus’ Atonement comprises his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane through his Crucifixion, to his eventual Resurrection three days later. This act is the central event in human history and is central to man’s relationship to God. Jesus is man’s mediator between justice and mercy, between the requirements of the law and the love of the Father.

Earthly life, while isolated in some respects from our eternal existence, is really a part of it. Life here is a probationary state where man can learn about himself through his experience. All mankind will be resurrected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and will be brought to stand before God for judgment. Only those who have exercised faith in Jesus Christ, repented of their sins and errors, and covenanted with God through baptism and endured to the end in righteousness trusting in Jesus Christ will inherit Eternal Life. This judgment does not look for a list of good deeds and performances, but at who we have become through our deeds. God is merciful and this Mercy balances out His Justice. Everyone will be judged on the basis of their opportunities to learn truth in this lifetime. They will be judged by what they did with what they had; hence the person with two talents has just as much chance as he who has five (to reference the parable). The ultimate realization of the faithful is that through God’s grace and mercy, mankind can obtain Eternal Life which means that we become like God and live with Him and His Christ. This is a gift to the faithful whose efforts, weak and insufficient though they may be, have demonstrated their desire and essential worthiness to inherit Eternal Life.

These events, the Creation, the Fall, the Atonement, and the Resurrection and Judgment represent in Mormonism the Plan of Salvation, instituted by God and fulfilled by Jesus Christ “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Nothing else Mormons believe or do will make sense, unless this plan is understood. From it stems Mormon beliefs about pre-existence, temples and temple work, baptism for the dead, and eternal families. Most Mormons, however, do not spend their days wondering and worrying about the details of becoming like god, or how precisely the dead will be judged; most Mormons concern themselves, as do most people, with trying to become a better person, learning to serve others, and growing in their faith and dedication to God. Mormonism is a religion of praxis more than of orthodoxy and a Mormon is defined amongst his fellow Mormons more by what he does than by what he believes.

This subtle shift in emphasis from doctrine to practice is very important for understanding Mormonism. Mormons do not speak of orthodox or pious Mormons, but of practicing or active Mormons. Within the world of Mormonism, there is much discussion and some disagreement about matters of doctrine and history, excepting certain basic concepts such as the divinity of Jesus Christ or the fatherhood of God. What defines Mormonism is the search for unity and love, and the goal to better oneself, one’s neighbors and one’s society by bringing all closer to God. The things of God, Joseph Smith once said, can only be understood as we experience them in our lives by following God’s commandments and serving one’s fellow man. God’s work, according to Mormons, is to save all mankind, if they will let Him, and a person can grow closer to God by serving his fellow mankind and hence doing the work of God, than through any other way.

I will conclude with one final exposition on an important Mormon theme: prophets and the spirit of prophecy. Towards the end of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon, for whom the book is named, discourses on discerning good and evil. He asks pointedly:

[H]ow is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing? (Moroni 7:20)

The answer, he says, begins with faith. God, being omniscient, sends his messengers, angels, to earth to teach and minister to men, but not all men and women can receive them because of lack of faith. Mormon says:

God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come. And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them (Moroni 7:23-24).

Through the words and revelations given to prophets such as Noah, Moses, Enoch, Isaiah, and so on, people began to have faith in God and through faith, which is gift of the Holy Spirit which constitutes that invigorating belief and trust in God, mankind began to have hope. Through hope, a person can endure any trial here on earth and as one Book of Mormon prophet wrote, hope becomes “an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).

Prophets have the mission to teach the Plan of Salvation and hope that comes through faith in Christ. Through faith and hope, as Paul teaches, a person can obtain love or charity for others. Prophets have been called throughout human history to preach repentance and faith to mankind. While most people want to go straight to the so-called “deep doctrines,” doing so neglects faith, hope, charity, love, mercy, justice, and so on, the true deep doctrines and mysteries of God. It takes but a few minutes to read all that has been written about the supposed deep things like the nature of angels and the exaltation of mankind, but one can read eternally the inspired teachings about the true mysteries of godliness and even then only begin to understand them. Without love, the Book of Mormon teaches, a person is as nothing before God. So, it is the mission of the prophets to exemplify love, obedience to God, and to encourage and inspire faith and hope in others. For Mormons, the spirit of prophecy has not yet ceased as Paul foretold it would, for there are still many to teach and it will not cease until every creature God has created has heard and had a chance to believe. Then He who is perfect will come and faith and hope in God and in the future will no longer be needed, because knowledge and eternal peace will have come.