That Old Time Religion

I seem to recall that Benjamin Franklin, having rejected Puritanism and become a Deist, noted that his morals seemed to have declined in consequence. After reflection, he concluded that religion was a good thing if it taught moral lessons that would benefit the practitioner and the larger society, and that any religions which did that should be welcomed. If I apply that test to the Mormons I have known, I would have to say the Church passes the test rather nicely, Senator Hatch notwithstanding.

Mitt Romney gave a very mealy-mouthed talk today, purportedly on the subject of his religion. He noted that the constitution and American tradition dictate that his religion should be tolerated, as should those of all others who vote Republican - while pointedly failing to extend that tolerance to the irreligious and Muslims. He emphasized commonalities of belief with his target audience while somehow failing to discuss any matter on which he and evangelicals might have different opinions.

These tactics, so we suppose, were an attempt to defuse evangelical suspicion about "strange or cultlike" aspects of the Mormon church while still trying to make the same enemies as those evangelicals. Ideally this should create the impression that he has dealt with the "Mormon question" without giving the press any excuse to poke into doctrines that might offend viligant evangelicals. Bloggers are not so easily suppressed.

So what funky stuff do Mormons believe? Your humble correspondent is a pretty unsound guide, I fear. I have dipped into the Book of Mormon, but I didn't get wet. My dominant impression was that the Lord had lost a bit as a prose stylist since he dashed off the King James.

So, where to go when the reliable sources are just too much trouble? To the blogs, of course. I started with Andrew Sullivan, often wrong but always in the hunt, who has a letter from someone who claims to be a Mormon. After lamenting the choice of the Mormon church in making common cause with the evangelicals, the correspondent writes:

Of course the Religious Right (the New Calvinists or New Puritans - as I call them) are not "mainstream" at all, but religious radicals who are working to establish a sort of Theo-democracy. As such they belong to the very sector of religious Americans who brutally persecuted Mormons in 1830's Missouri, and then led the successful campaign to completely disenfranchise Utah Mormons between the 1886 and the 1890's.

Romney knows that he can't come public with Mormon theology without completely losing the support of the New Calvinists but also many average Americans who, unfortunately, look to the New Calvinists for sound-bites on Christian belief and practice. Unlike orthodox Christianity, Mormon thelogy is polytheistic, teaching that the Gods organized the universe from pre-existing, eternal, uncreated chaotic elements. It rejects Original Sin. It rejects Salvation by Grace, teaching that individuals must "work out their own salvation" and "learn to become Gods [themselves] the same as all Gods before have done." At its inception, with the publication of "The Book of Mormon" in 1830, Mormonism rejected the doctrines of Biblical infallibility and Biblical literalism.

As a Mormon, I was put-off by Romney's disingenuousness when he was asked on a TV interview to explain how Mormonism differs from other Christian denominations. Romney tried to give the impression that he was unqualified to speak for the LDS Church, referring poeple to the Church's website. When confronted with the fact that he has been an LDS Bishop, he tried to give the impression that, in a "lay church," the calling of a Bishop isn't important.

This is untrue.
Bishops interview, and must approve every person in their Ward boundaries (aka Parish) who wishes to convert to Mormonism and be baptized. The process by which they do this (the Bishop's Interview) is the means by which the Bishop finds out if the would-be-convert understands the LDS Church's theology. If the would-be-convert is ignorant of certain doctrines, it is the Bishop's job to instruct them in the theology before approving that person's baptism. The Bishop also interviews every single member of his congregation yearly, to pastor them through any spirital crisis or tragedy, and to determine if each person is "keeping the commandments" (i.e., following Church dictates on lifestyle choices), is "active" (attending Church meetings regularly), and "has a testimony" (understands and accepts the Church's theology.) A Bishop is a[s]ked almost daily by some individual or some organization with the LDS Church to explain some aspect of Mormon theology. Whenever a Mormon has a question or concern about any aspect of Mormon theology, they are instructed to ask their Bishop about it.

In short, one can not be a Bishop without understanding Mormon theology and how it differs from that of traditonal Christianity

Hmmm. The polytheism would be a major departure from mainstream Judeo-Christian thought, alright. Is that genuine? I am digging into the Mormon Wiki, a supposedly official source, and haven't found that part - yet at least. In Mormon doctrine, though, Satan is the son of God, a Morgoth like figure who rebelled against God. Jesus was the good son.

OK, here is a whiff of polytheism from the Wiki:

Mormons believe, as other Christians, in one Supreme Being who governs the universe. However, Mormons don't believe that he works alone but as the presiding member of what they call a godhead. The Mormon Bible Dictionary (p. 681) says that God is “The Supreme Governor of the universe and the Father of mankind. We learn from the revelations that have been given that there are three separate persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. From latter-day revelation we learn that the Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bone, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit without flesh and bone (D&C 130:22-23).” Mormons believe that these three gods--”separate in personality {but}. . . united as one in purpose, in plan, and in all the attributes of perfection” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 317)--are the partnership which rules the universe, with God the Eternal Father the controlling and governing power. LDS Apostle James E. Talmage states it this way: “These constitute the Holy Trinity, comprizing three physically separate and distinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council of the heavens” (Jesus the Christ, p. 32). This belief is distinct from the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which generally maintains that they are three persons but one in essence. All three members of the Godhead are eternal and equally divine, but play somewhat different roles.

Not quite as fishy as that "three persons in one God" triangle stuff they taught me in Catholic school.

OK, this is more like it! It seems that we all can achieve a sort of divinity:

Repentance through faith in Jesus Christ is thus the only way mankind may progress to a perfected state of becoming like God, receiving omniscience, omnipotence, and omni-benevolence and always acting under the governing power of God the Father. One who loves on this level desires to share these qualities because of the joy they bring to an individual soul.
Retrieved from "http://www.mormonwiki.com/Divinity"

Omnipotence and Omniscence might be a bit heavy. If I repent just a little could I understand string theory?

If you like your revelation on the sensational side, check out ex-mormon. A hint of the flavor can be seen from:

1 - God was once a man who lived on another planet
This is the most important teaching of Mormonism. Nothing else comes close to it. We believe that God was once a mortal man on another planet who progressed by living in obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel he had on his world, then he died. He became a resurrected man and evolved to become a god. He is still married now (some early leaders say he is a polygamist) and created this world. We worship only the one true god, which is really one god among millions or billions or more. We believe that we will follow in God's footsteps by becoming perfect and we too will become Gods and Goddesses creating spirit children and peopling other worlds. The Mormon TV commercials showing family togetherness is the foundation for life in the next world - as a family - as gods.
Reference: Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 4, 1844. Joseph Smith speaking:
"...you have to learn to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, - namely, by going from one small degree to another..."

Reference: Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 275, 1852. Brighan Young speaking:
"After men have got their exaltations and their crowns - have become Gods..."


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2 - We are co-eternal with God
We believe we have all existed for all eternity. First we existed as "intelligences", which has never been defined, then we were given spirit bodies in a heaven by our eternal parents. Our "intelligences" have existed forever just like the our God's has and we have been around him in one form or another forever. He has just simply progressed ahead of us.
Reference: Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 7, 1844. Joseph Smith speaking:
"God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a priviledge to advance like himself"



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3 - The origin of Jesus Christ
Jesus was begotten by physical union of God and Mary . . .

A clearly disgruntled ex, but with references for those with energy to pursue.

All in all, I find myself vaguely attracted to the theology. It dispenses with some really crappy elements of traditional Christianity, like original sin and savation through faith alone, and adds in a Silmarillion like theological backstory. If I were inventing a religion, I would want something like that.

UPDATE: Now here's a shock - Christopher Hitchens apparently didn't like the speech.