What's Your Mormonism?
I recently listened to a podcast on A Thoughtful Faith where the host Gina Colvin invited Peter Bleakley on to talk about his view of Mormonism. While I disagree with some of his ideas of the best parts of Mormonism and about whether or not the original theology of Mormonism is rich enough and coherent enough to sustain inquisitive modern questers, I love his idea that we can reject parts of the religion pressed on us by others while holding fast to the parts that we grew up with or have gained in the years since childhood that seem true and bright in goodness to us.
Here are some of the ideas I sometimes hear either preached directly or indirectly about Mormonism which I reject:
1.God loves us only if we are worthy of being loved. His love is not unconditional.
2.We cannot disagree with prophets and apostles of the church and still remain in God's good graces.
3.What we wear is more important than what we say or do. In fact, what we wear prescribes what we say and do and forces others to act in ways that they have no control over, so we are guilty of double sinning.
4.What we drink or eat or show the world outwardly matters more than how we treat our fellow humans. It is better to be a good example of righteousness and to protect our own purity than to risk what might happen if we stepped outside of our own protective spaces.
5.There are some sins that Christ did not atone for and that we will have to suffer for ourselves.
6.Children can be separated eternally from parents they love and who love them dearly by choosing a different path than Mormonism.
7.God makes us suffer because it is the only way to improve us to His level.
8.Expressing anger and hurt makes others uncomfortable and therefore is not what God wants us to do. We must repress any negative emotions because it looks bad.
9.We must show our loyalty to the church first and foremost, and never speak any criticism of any leaders, past or present.
10.Wealthy members have proven they are following God's will by their worldly success and therefore deserve to be elevated in the church hierarchy.
I suppose that the devout would call me a "cafeteria" Mormon or a "buffet" Mormon if I reject certain parts of Mormonism and choose for myself the parts I consider to be the most important, but I think that one of the most important principles of Mormonism is thinking for myself and having my own access to God, as Joseph Smith did when he prayed and God revealed the truth to him as a young boy. I think sometimes that people get caught up in programs rather than principles and "miss the mark" by paying attention to what is easily measured rather than what isn't. But I love Mormonism and will continue to defend it against those both outside the church and inside the church who teach things I do not agree with.