Though Mormonism appears complex to
the outsider, it was actually an attempt to be something like the
McDonald’s of American religion ( easily remembered, easily consumed,
easily replicated )
My Own Comment and View : The Essence of Mormonism is the denial of Thinking.
Excerpts of the Book :
The Mormon View of Mormonism
I have trouble getting my head around the Mormons. . . . The
history strikes me somewhere between incredulity and horror, from golden
plates in upstate New York to massacres out West. The theology comes
across as totally barmy. We can become gods with our own planets! And
the practices strike me as creepy. No coffee and tea is bad enough. But
the underwear!
—Michael Ruse, philosopher
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The Mormonizing of America (BOOK EXCERPT, PT 1)
It is one of the great ironies of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints that while outsiders perceive it largely in terms of
its unusual doctrines, the Saints see themselves in a completely
different light. The outer world focuses, for example, on matters like
polygamy. “Holy underwear” is also a favorite topic, as is their
aspiration to divinity and their belief that God was once a man. The
century and a half they banned blacks from their Temple and priesthood
is much discussed. So is the iron-fisted rule from LDS headquarters at
Salt Lake City’s Temple Square. The Mormon opposition to California’s
Proposition 8 has made them look homophobic, their insistence upon being
baptized for Jewish Holocaust survivors has made them look cruel, and
their standard missionary presentation has made them look mindlessly
robotic. All of these novelties frame the perceptions of Mormons in the
wider world.
Ask a Saint about any of these, though, and an expression of
confusion will likely flash fleetingly across his face. He knows that
each is part of the Mormon matrix but he likely does not think of any as
vital. Doctrine is not primary for him; experience is. The prophecies
and the ordinances and the revelations from Heavenly Father are what
make up his religion. Most of the doctrines so often discussed in the
press are at the edge of his experience and are rarely on his mind.
Let him speak for a moment about his own Mormon experience and a far
different picture will likely emerge. He may very well talk about what
home teaching is like and how dear the community of the Saints has
become. He’ll likely describe, even with tears, how he’s raising his
children to be holy. If he is trusting, he will tell of the time he was
sick and a priesthood blessing made him well. He may even speak,
loosely, of his sealing to his wife for time and all eternity and of the
endowment ceremony he has gone through. He will not give details, of
course, but he will still make his point. It is not the doctrines that
have won him. He sometimes isn’t even sure what all of them are. It’s
the supernatural empowering of a holy community that is most important
to him.
*******************
Source of this first chapter :
In Christian Post Website :
The Mormonizing of America (BOOK EXCERPT, PT 1)
**********************
Though it is risky to make the comparison, the best illustration of
this vital truth is found in the thinking of the Prophet Muhammad, whom
Joseph Smith deeply admired. For a man living in the sixth century,
Muhammad was well traveled. His occupation for many years was leading
caravans that crossed the known world carrying goods from place to
place. This brought the future prophet into contact with nearly all the
religions of his day. He likely sat by the campfires of Jews and
Christians of every type and heard them talk about what they believed.
He admired them both, but their factions and theological divisions
disturbed him. Jews rallied around their rabbis and Christians rallied
around their favorite theologies and even slew each other over seemingly
slight doctrinal matters.
Muhammad found it all too complex, too contentious. When he began
claiming to have revelations and when this set him to the task of
designing a new religion, he decided that simplicity was the key. It
should be simple to get into the faith and simple to understand the main
doctrines of the faith. The more difficult matter would be actually
living it out.
The simplicity of Islam has historically been part of its power. A
man enters Islam largely through a one-sentence confession, the
Shahadah—“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”—and
then understands the core of Islam with “Five Pillars” that describe his
duties and “Six Articles of Faith” that describe his beliefs. This is
the heart of Islam. And the genius. Islam conquered a huge portion of
the known world in the first hundred years of its existence partially
through the power of the sword and partially through the simplicity of
its system. In this matter of simplicity, Islam was to religion what
McDonald’s is to food: easily remembered, easily consumed, easily
replicated.
Though Mormons won’t necessarily feel complimented by the comparison,
Joseph Smith was much like Muhammad in this popularizing, simplifying
work. Dr. Kathryn Flake, a Mormon who is also an esteemed professor at
Vanderbilt University, has said, “Joseph Smith was the Henry Ford of
revelation. He wanted every home to have one, and the revelation he had
in mind was the revelation he’d had, which was seeing God.” Dr. Flake is
referring to the same dynamic in the intent of Joseph Smith that we’ve
seen in the doctrinal system of Muhammad. Though Mormonism appears
complex to the outsider, it was actually an attempt to be something like
the McDonald’s of American religion.
*********************
Source of this second chapter :
In Christian Post Website :
The Mormonizing of America (BOOK EXCERPT, PT 2)
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