Wednesday, November 16, 2011

An Open Letter To Mitt Romney: Repudiate The Racist Doctrines of the LDS Church

Dear Mitt,

I'm writing you this letter as a potential Mitt Romney supporter. I have a similar background. I grew up in the Mormon church and I served a foreign mission. I'm proud of my LDS heritage. My ancestors were some of the original Mormon pioneers that immigrated to this country with the promise of religious freedom and a chunk of the American dream.

There are chapters of our history that bring me shame. I was reminded of such a chapter as I read this article. The former racist doctrines in the Mormon church have absolutely no founding in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Based on your previous comments regarding your reaction to the 1978 revelation, I imagine you feel the same way.

It is my opinion that the recent official responses to the Negro Priesthood Ban by those held as Prophets in the Mormon church are almost as shameful.

 You may recall a recent interview where Gordon B Hinckley was asked,

"So in retrospect was the Church wrong in that [denying blacks the priesthood]?". 

The prophet's response was this:


"No I don't think it was wrong. It, things, various things happened in different periods. There's a reason for them."

Gordon B Hinckley was given the opportunity to repudiate all the ugly slurs uttered by earlier Mormon prophets. He had a chance to change attitudes across the entire church. He had a chance, one and for all, to put the issue behind us. He chose instead to insist that God was behind the racism. It was God that decided that the Negro was not worthy of the full benefits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I refuse to accept this. It speaks volumes to all those who hold this religion to be the only true church on earth. It tells the current Mormon membership that there was a reason, prior to 1978,  that God withheld his blessings to those born with a black skin. It fails to erase these comments made by Brigham Young:

"You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable, sad, low in their habits, wild, and seemingly without the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind."

Please join me in repudiating the racist doctrines of the Mormon church. I would formally like to say that this was a mistake made by men who were a product of their time. The act of denying individuals the right to full participation in Christ's gospel was not a directive from God. The former doctrine was not based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in any way.

This would be a good chance for you to show the electorate that you are not controlled by the LDS church. It would show that you are capable of holding a belief that is opposed the current LDS hierarchy.

Holding the belief that God held back his blessings to the Negro race until 1978 is also a racist doctrine. It leaves fertile ground for racism to grow. It fails to condemn the dehumanization of an entire race. Your detractors will hold these statements over your head until you clearly repudiate them.


Signed,
Independent Mormon Voter

Sunday, November 13, 2011

How Mormons are actually viewed: An eye opener to a lifetime Mormon

As a former Mormon that spent the majority of his life in the Mormon church, I always find it fascinating to listen to the reaction of "normal" individuals outside of the Mormon culture when approached with Mormonism. Here's a Ted talk featuring Julia Sweeney discussing her experience with Mormon missionaries.










I never considered the bizarre nature of my belief and considered it normal.

Practice of Interviewing Children - This is not Mainstream Christianity

As a Mormon, I was expected to have regular interviews with my priesthood authorities. These interviews were used to determine my worthiness to attend the temple and to hold volunteer positions in the Mormon so called "lay" ministry. This concept of continual private interviews seems to be a huge step outside of mainstream Christianity. These interviews are not limited to adults. They start with children as young as eight years of age.

Interview Questions:

These are the actual interview questions used to determine "worthiness" to enter the Mormon Temple:
  1. Do you believe in God, the Eternal Father, in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost; and do you have a firm testimony of the restored gospel?
  2. Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator; and do you recognize him as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
  3. Do you sustain the other General Authorities and the local authorities of the Church?
  4. Do you live the law of chastity?
  5. Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church?
  6.  Do you affiliate with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or do you sympathize with the precepts of any such group or individual?
  7. Do you earnestly strive to do your duty in the Church; to attend your sacrament, priesthood, and other meetings; and to obey the rules, laws, and commandments of the gospel?
  8.  Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?
  9.  Are you a full-tithe payer?
  10.  Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?
  11.  Have you ever been divorced or are you now separated from your spouse under order of a civil court? If yes, (a) - Are you current in your support payments and other financial obligations for family members, as specified by court order or in other written, binding commitments? (b) Were there any circumstances of transgression in connection
    with your divorce or separation that have not been previously resolved with your bishop?
  12.  If you have received your temple endowment -- (a) Do you keep all the covenants that you made in the temple? (b) Do you wear the authorized garments both day and night?
  13. Has there been any sin or misdeed in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but has not?
  14. Do you consider yourself worthy in every way to enter the temple and participate in temple ordinances?

Answering no to any of these questions may make the interviewee  unworthy to enter the temple and will likely spark additional meetings with priesthood leaders. Lacking temple worthiness may also preclude a Mormon from participating in the normal functions of the Mormon church such as holding a "calling". Almost all active members have a "calling"/responsibility in any given ward. These "callings" range from Sunday school teacher, to leadership over the various groups within the Mormon organization to church librarian..

I want to make it clear that I personally have no issue with an adult that wishes to subject himself to this line of questioning. I think it's important for Mormons to realize that this practice is definitely not a norm in most Christian faiths. It's my opinion that these interviews are used to keep members in check. It gives leadership the authority and power that many of them crave.

Temple Entrance - What's the big deal?

I know many outside of the Mormon faith may be asking themselves, "Why would anyone care? What does it matter if a practitioner of is not allowed to enter the Mormon temple?"

Mormons teach that temple ordinances are required to enter the highest kingdom of God. It's only in this highest kingdom that families can be "together forever". The bonds of family are manipulated to ensure strict adherence to Mormon beliefs. This manipulation of members using family bonds is exacerbated when a family loses a child or a beloved member. I find it cruel to use these feelings to ensure obedience.

Mormons also integrate Temple ordinances into family traditions. Before a Mormon is married, they must be initiated through temple ceremonies that are required to enter the highest kingdom of god. All worthy close family members are invited to attend the ceremonies. These ceremonies include the actual wedding/sealing ceremonies. Family members that are not deemed "worthy" for entrance are excluded from these ceremonies.

I think most Christians would be shocked to hear that grand-parents and close family members are routinely excluded from attending temple ceremonies because they are deemed "unworthy" to enter. Even fathers and mothers of the bride and group are excluded from the ceremony if they fail to answer the questions to the Bishop's satisfaction.

I watched my wife's grandmother wait outside of the temple during our wedding and during the weddings of every subsequent grand child because she was not a member. It honestly makes me sick today to imagine what she must of felt sitting on the benches outside of the temple. She was there before the ceremony to see throngs of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grand parents enter while she sat outside like an untrained dog. To this day, it's one of my greatest regrets and continually inspires me to expose the true nature of the Mormon church.

The Questions:

  • Do you believe in God, the Eternal Father, in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost; and do you have a firm testimony of the restored gospel?

In order to truthfully answer yes to this question, Mormons must believe that Mormonism is the only true faith in the world today. This question goes back to the belief that the "true" gospel of Jesus Christ was taken from the earth during what Mormons refer to as the "Great Apostasy".  Answering yes to this question nullifies the legitimacy of all current religions and forces the interviewee to affirm that the LDS church is the only true church.

  • Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator; and do you recognize him as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
This question has a very cult like aspect to it.  The Mormon prophet is to be held beyond reproach. Members are not to question his authority or his decisions in any way. Research on the characteristics of a cult renders the concept of the infallibility of the cult leader. Cult members are punished or shunned for even questioning the authority of a leader. In this case, the Mormon church prohibits any member that does not sustain the prophet of the church from entering the temple.

  • Do you sustain the other General Authorities and the local authorities of the Church?
Mormonism takes the concept of infallibility one step further and applies it to all authorities in the Mormon church.  Any questioning of church authority is met with the same cult-like behaviors. Members are told that complying with authorities will bring blessings regardless of whether the leader's direction is contrary to God's will. Wilford Woodruff taught:

"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan--it is God's Plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give directions, it should mark the end of controversy, God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God."

  •  Do you live the law of chastity? 
This question rarely stops here. Priesthood leadership are encouraged to probe deeper into this question to enforce the Mormon view on sexuality. It is not enough to say that you are in a committed monogamous relationship. Your sexuality must fit into a box defined by octogenarians.  (I'll discuss the inappropriate nature of this question later in this post when I talk about interviews of children.)

  • Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church?
This question is pretty basic. In this question, the church wants to cement the concept of eternal families in the brains of the interviewees. This goes back to temple worship and the manipulation of family bonds to ensure member compliance.

  • Do you affiliate with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or do you sympathize with the precepts of any such group or individual?
I had a chance to ask a bishop in the past about this question. I asked if this pertained to groups that wish to maintain the legality of abortion. He said that certainly affiliation with such a group would apply to this question.

This question is also a "cult-like" defense mechanism. It informs the individual that they should not even affiliate themselves with groups or individuals that disagree with the Mormon church. In many situations, it's an invitation to divorce for those faithful members that have a spouse that is in the process of apostasy.

The question again highlights another aspect of Mormonism that identifies it as a cult. In the cult 101 check list by Janja Lalich, PHD and Michael D. Langone, PHD 

  • Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
  •  The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.
  •  Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.   

  • Do you earnestly strive to do your duty in the Church; to attend your sacrament, priesthood, and other meetings; and to obey the rules, laws, and commandments of the gospel?
This is another question to ensure compliance and ensure that members do not stray from Mormonism.

  • Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?
This is probably the question I like most of the entire interview. It's too bad that the interview is muddled with additional psychological warfare aimed at inducing guilt and compliance.

  • Are you a full-tithe payer?
 Mormons are held accountable for paying 10% of their money to the church in every priesthood interview. Failure to pay a full tithe again precludes members from attending the temple. There are additional meetings called "tithing settlement", that Mormons attend yearly to ensure that money is being collected. Members are not allowed to see where that money is spent.

Unlike most Christian denominations, no accountability is provided to the membership.  The Mormon church is not required to "open the books" due to the protection of religion in the United States. Members are not to question where the money is spent.

Salaries paid to church leadership is also not published. Most members think that the Mormon church doesn't pay the general authorities. This is not true.

  • Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?
This question is usually followed by follow up questions. The Word of Wisdom prohibits the use of Alcohol, Tobacco, tea and coffee.

  • Have you ever been divorced or are you now separated from your spouse under order of a civil court? If yes, (a) - Are you current in your support payments and other financial obligations for family members, as specified by court order or in other written, binding commitments? (b) Were there any circumstances of transgression in connection with your divorce or separation that have not been previously resolved with your bishop?
This is a more recent addition to the questions. This ensures that Mormons support their children. I believe everyone should be subject to this question but that the enforcement of such a law should come by way of the government. Priesthood leadership has no authority or jurisdiction over these matters and hence very little effect on enforcement.

  • If you have received your temple endowment -- (a) Do you keep all the covenants that you made in the temple? (b) Do you wear the authorized garments both day and night?
This question goes back to the cult-like nature of the Mormon church. In the previously mentioned  Cult 101 checklist we find:

The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth). 
Temple garments are designed to remind the wearer of the promises made in the temple. The markings on the garment are Masonic in origin. They're tied to various rituals performed in the ceremony.

The practice of wearing garments controls the type of clothing that Mormons are allowed to wear. This also ensures that Mormons conform with the rigid requirements on dress.

  • Has there been any sin or misdeed in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but has not?
The cultivation of guilt is an important tool employed by cults to control the behavior of adherents. Guilt is used as a motivator and as a tool to keep members in line. This question is used to motivate adherence to the belief system because of previous misdeeds in the interviewee's life.

Training in Counseling 

Mormonism is led by a "lay" ministry. This means that most priesthood leaders receive no training in counseling. The advice that is dealt generally comes down to common "horse sense". The biggest issue here is that these interviews touch on very complex human emotions.

It's my opinion that the "lay" dispensing of counseling has been very detrimental to adherents in the past. The Mormon view on homosexuality has had a fatal effect on homosexual youth. These interviews are utilized to cultivate members' feelings of inadequacy to ensure compliance to Mormonism.


Practice of Interviewing Youth

These personal interviews start at the age of 8 and accelerate in frequency as a child approaches adolescence. The practice is extended to male and female youth. Each time a youth is promoted from one age group to another, an interview is scheduled. Interviews are also a prerequisite for performing "Baptisms for the Dead".

These interviews are performed in private and parents are not allowed to attend. Youth are encouraged to confess wrong doings to the bishop through the same questions that are listed above.

In asking these questions, youth are forced to verbalize or confess their beliefs without the proper background on the subject. The setting pits at least two authority figure adults against a single youth. Priesthood leaders are assumed to have the "power of discernment" to assist them in dealing with the answers provided by the youth.

What most non-Mormons will find most disturbing is the practice of asking personal questions of youth on sexuality. The priesthood leaders are encouraged to ask "age appropriate" questions about sex outside of the presence of the child's guardians.

The questions involve subjects like masturbation and porn. The questions also delve into the youth's sexual experimentation. I want to remind you that these men, in most cases, have absolutely no training in counseling.

I personally cannot imagine a setting, outside of a professional counselor, where parents would allow discussions on personal sexuality to occur with their children. The Mormon oligarchy's view on sexuality is not one that I would consider healthy and is in disagreement with most professionals in the field of psychology.

Mormons preach that masturbation is a sin. Mormons also preach that the sin of homosexuality is close to that of murder. Imagine the damage done to the self esteem of an impressionable mind when he/she is told that his/her natural instincts put them in the depravity realm of a murderer.

Summary

Mormons seem to desperately desire to be counted as just another Christian denomination. The cult label seems to offend and spark countless articles on the mainstream nature of Mormonism. I will admit that I have little experience in practices outside of the Mormon religion, but I'm always surprised to find outrage when I tell my mainstream Christian friends about the practice of Priesthood worthiness Interviews.

This practice places Mormonism on the fringes of modern Christianity. In many ways, it justifies those who wish to label it a cult. The practice seeks to squash free thought and ensures compliance. Mormons should understand that this practice is not typical and can be psychologically damaging to young people.

This practice should be discontinued immediately with children. There is never an appropriate situation that requires an untrained religious leader to talk to an impressionable youth about sexual matters in private. There are no "age appropriate" questions. If the Church of Latter Day Saints wishes to be know as a mainstream Christian faith, they will discontinue this practice.