I didn’t raise my eyes from my reading as I shook my head in response. I was transferring metro lines, waiting for the next train. His request for “a few dollars” for exit fare caused little outward effect on me, but then I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Maybe he approached me because I was dressed professionally. I didn’t raise my gaze to even register what he looked like, let alone what he was wearing. I’m sure it was a stark contrast to my designer coat crowned with a vintage cameo broach. My feet were slipped into sensible heels, my shoulder supported a knock-off purse and my fingers held the scriptures. I had a crazy dream this morning that my psyche was trying to process and resolve. It caused me to sleep in so I was reading while waiting for the train instead of prior to leaving my house. It’s less effective, but maintains the habit.

As he walked away, it was not lost on me that I was reading words that supposedly would teach me how to be like Jesus Christ and as I declined his petition, I hardly looked at him. Jesus soothed beggars’ needs. Not me as it turns out.

“Are we not all beggars?” is the phrase that comes to mind. An ancient American prophet, King Benjamin, asks this question in a sermon where he includes serving the poor as a form of true Christianity. (Mosiah 4:19)

Before I changed jobs, I daily saw the same beggars near Farragut Park occupying the same space (not the Occupy DC people, that was McPherson Park). For some reason there aren’t many beggars in Dupont Circle where I now work. My previous colleague was a former fundraiser for a Catholic charity that served the homeless. He often told us how giving beggars money was to their detriment because there are resources available to them in the District to rise out of homelessness, but if they have lucrative returns from begging, it deters them from utilizing them.

I also monthly donate to a great charity, which I chose as an effort to support humanitarian work outside of the Church and to persuade my heart to be less attached to stuff. It’s a small effort to live simply, so that others may simply live. I wrote about this idea and my effort in 2010 to be more mindful of my purchasing behavior and my attachment to stuff in the post “Want, Want, Want.”

This is my motivation for consistently declining beggars’ solicitations and never giving them cash. Sometimes I would give them food. I don’t mind buying lunch for someone else, usually in the form of the other half of a Subway sandwich that I purchased for $5.00.

Though this is my practice and philosophy when it comes to beggars, my religiosity always charges me with hypocrisy when I coldly decline a request.

“And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.” (v. 21)

There’s no moral to the story. I’m just relaying how my internalization of scripture affects my worldview and causes me inner conflict.

I’m still not giving beggars cash, but next time I should be more polite and look them in the eye.

I’m still primed up from the Mormons-aren’t-Christians claims coming from Pastor Robert Jeffress’ and those who share his views of Christianity. My post Jeffress: Cult—any religious group not Evangelical Christian (Catholics get a backhanded pass) directly responds to his “cult” and “non-Christian” label for people in the Latter-day Saint faith community.

Hence my creation of the page “I Believe in Christ“ found at the top right of this website. There, I set out to generate a summary of my reliance on the merits of Jesus Christ, but it ran way too long. Instead, I’m going to make that page a list of summaries with links to posts I write directly about who I believe Jesus Christ is and what I believe He has done for me and for mankind. These will provide snapshots into my Christianity. I won’t be able to communicate it in full and it will take some time to develop out, but I invite you to follow the process.

This is the first post for the “I Believe in Christ” summary page.

Christ Lived the Holocaust, Literally

I believe that during His Atonement for mankind, Christ lived the experiences of those who both inflicted and endured the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Let me explain.

Unique to Latter-day Saint belief is that Christ not only suffered for the sins of the world, but during His Atonement He experienced everything that came into the world as a result of the Fall of Adam. It is this way He overcomes the fallen world.

Somehow, in some way, in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, He experienced the tragedies of every person who has lived and will ever live. This includes pains, sicknesses, fears, anxieties, desperation, despondency, bereavement, loneliness—everything—that happens, even most often by no fault of the griever.

It is no wonder that He bled at every pore.  Luke described Christ’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Why? He lived it so He can comfort people who seek His comfort and meet the demands of justice while extending mercy.  This way He is empathetic, not just sympathetic.

An ancient American prophet, Alma, expanded the Latter-day Saint understanding of the Atonement beyond suffering for sin only with these words:

And [Jesus] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11-12).

To my mind, this personalizes the Atonement for me beyond just knowing Christ died for my sins. He knows my heartaches because He lived them that He may know first hand how to comfort me if I seek it.  (Then I feel it in my heart when I am comforted by His power.)

Humans are capable of tremendous kindness, but also capable of inexcusable horror.

People of the earth throughout its history have experienced soul wrenching pain. Humans are capable of tremendous kindness, but are also capable of inexcusable horror.

I was in high school when I began to understand, even to a limited degree, the degree and amount of terror throughout the earth’s history. Christ lived each individual person’s pains and sorrows during His Atonement. The Holocaust is especially instructive for me. There are no words to explain what the Nazi Party under Hitler’s lead committed. Terrible events pepper the earth’s timeline, but the Holocaust is what fuels my imagination of the Savior’s suffering for mankind.

This scene from the 1993 Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List depicts the Cracow Ghetto Massacre. The Nazis take a small portion of the ghetto’s population for internment in a labor camp and murder the rest. (Warning: this is really graphic, though I did choose a milder scene from the movie that would still show the travesties of the genocide.)

I believe that during the Atonement, Christ experienced the atrocity each person lived that day and night. During the offering of Himself as a sacrifice, He lived the fear and horror that every individual on the earth has ever felt. The Holocaust, namely the events at Cracow in this instance, was only a small portion of His suffering.

I imagine the victims’ fear, anxiety, uncertainty and helplessness by the hands of the Nazis who dehumanized the Jews to vermin. But it’s not just in my imagination. It was real. Christ living it for each individual person was also real. By suffering these pains and horrors He offers comfort and also is able to overcome the fallen world.

I believe that Christ both lived victims’ atrocities that night and also bore the sins of the inflictors.

Christ, the Son of God, was sinless and guiltless. His whole mortal life, He never took a wrong step, not even a minor one. I cringe at thinking He bore the guilt of what the Nazi soldiers did that night.

This scene from the film (Warning: graphic language and behavior ensues) continues the ghetto’s liquidation. The soldiers hunt hiding people and murder them without conscience.

It shows how bad the Nazis were. It seems like fiction, only it was real.

It grieves me to think that Christ was stained with the sins of these murderers. But He also was stained with my own missteps. Learning of Him changes my heart.  Learning of Him diminishes my desire to sin. Learning of Him increases my willingness to receive a greater part of His Atonement.

He has done for me and for mankind more than I can understand. From what I do understand, (by the Holy Ghost through scripture study and prayer) it leads me to faithfulness to Him.

(Latter-day Saint media standards can be found here. I watch fewer and fewer movies and TV shows these days because they often promote a standard of morality that grinds against how I choose to live my life in light of my knowledge of God. However, I do watch movies and read books that portray actual historical events, even if they are graphic and disturbing.)

The best video yet on the MormonMessages Youtube channel released this week.

The video features young Jamaican born Latter-day Saint Chris Cook who serves as his congregation’s bishop (volunteer pastor) in London, England. In it he talks about his experience with the Book of Mormon. The animation, camera work, his dashing smile, and sincere witness of Christ make it the best video yet!

Mormons (Latter-day Saints) believe the Bible to be a compilations of revelations written down by ancient apostles and prophets at or around Jerusalem. We cherish it as scripture to teach about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His commandments. As this video’s animation beautifully illustrates, Latter-day Saints also believe that God led a prophet during Jeremiah’s Old Testament ministry to what we now call the American continent ..  His family carried with them the Law of Moses, which looked forward to the coming of Christ.  (At this time the Law of Moses was in a more pure form than what the Saduccees and Pharisees were practicing at the time of Christ’s mortal ministry. It was practiced as a means to instruct about Christ’s future Atonement)

The  descendants of this prophet , named Lehi, who first came to America built a civilization. Many believed in the future coming of Christ and many did not. God called prophets among this people to teach them about the coming of His Son and His gospel which includes faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and continuing in faithfulness. When this civilization ended in war, a prophet abridged the many revelations received and recorded over the years into one book.  This book is now called the Book of Mormon because Mormon authored the digest of the  abundant scriptures.  The record climaxes with the physical visit of Jesus Christ in America after His resurrection near Calvary’s Hill  (3 Nephi 11).

Latter-day Saints hold that the Book of Mormon is evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet and the first in a modern line of called prophets by God. This bishop is referring to this belief when he says, “It makes sense that God will continue to speak to us.”

Some of my favorite highlights from Chris Cook’s witness of Christ and the Book of Mormon are:

When describing why he believes the book is of God, he explains his experience in these ways:

“A feeling of peace, my mind was enlightened.”

“I came to a knowledge that the book is true gradually. It was by little experiences on that page and little experiences on that page, always accompanied by the Holy Ghost.”

In response to a scripture describing the afterlife (Alma 40-11-12):

“Where I’m from in Jamaica, it is a very superstitious place. It was a very unpleasant thing to contemplate death. This scripture points out to me that it is a part of God’s plan. There is a place prepared for people that die. I’m grateful I was able to come to that knowledge and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that experience.”

He describes the results of reading the Book of Mormon in his life:

“It left me with the feeling that I never want to do another bad thing for the rest of my life.”

“The way the Book of Mormon has changed me the most, it has filled me with the desire to be more like Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Mormon has done the same for me.

As I carefully study from its pages in companionship with other scriptures such as the Bible, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, my desire for sin dissipates. That desire is replaced with the want to be more like Jesus Christ. Through the pages of the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, I’m living a wonderful, glorious process of coming to know Christ and through knowing Him, becoming more like Him.

My dear [MollyMormon],

Hello from halfway around the world! I chose this particular card with you in mind. One of the things I like most about you is your ability to appreciate beauty and spirituality, even when expressed from a viewpoint different than your own.

Much love,

SA

(The front of the postcard has this pic entitled “The ancient Kehen Temple, Bangli.”)

Today this postcard came in the mail from a very dear friend on a spiritual journey in Bali.  It made my day, well actually since I go off kind words from people I love for a very long time, it’s made more than just my day.  I frequently share my perspective on faith with him as he is navigating his own path. I like hearing his views because it enriches my own.   Though Mormons (LDS)  believe that The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s restored Church, they also believe there is truth to be found in any source that promotes goodness.  If it is good, it is inspired of God (Moroni 7:12-13).

I’m hoping that my friend discovers the truth for which he is seeking and I’m still smiling that he thought of me while on his journey, halfway around the world.

“Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord?” Open Access with Preparation

Just this last week a friend of mine told me about her friend’s friend’s description of their exclusion from a Latter-day Saint Temple wedding ceremony. (How’s that for degrees of separation?) This friend of a friend of a friend said he had to wait outside the Temple because he was “unclean.” It was a joke at which both my friend and I laughed because that’s not  how Latter-day Saints view it. If I had to choose one word describing those waiting outside the Temple during a wedding ceremony, it wouldn’t be “unclean,” it would be “uncovenanted.” Latter-day Saints believe that in every “dispensation” in which God has dispensed the gospel of Jesus Christ, He has made a covenant with His people designed to instruct them of His nature.  In the Old Testament, Jeremiah records the Lord’s description of the ancient covenant,

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33 ).

This covenant relationship is no longer limited to only the Jews as it was in ancient times.  Now anyone can be adopted into the “House of Israel.” The covenant relationship begins at the first ordinance, which is “baptism by immersion for the remission of sins by one with authority.”  Though baptisms are open to the public, later ordinances of the covenant akin to baptism are administered in sacred “Temples.”  Temples are open to anyone willing to (1) be baptized by restored authority into Jesus Christ’s modern Church (2) live God’s commandments like keeping the Sabbath day holy and observing the Law of Chastity and (3) strengthen their commitment to God by making further covenants. So God’s covenant is no longer limited to the Jews only, but in order to enter the “House of the Lord” also known as a  Temple, you have to willingly enter into a modern covenant relationship with Him. This often means many friends and family members do not observe Temple wedding ceremonies.:(

In a sense, every time a missionary knocks on someone’s door, it is an invitation to the Temple. However, no one is entitled to enter the “House of the Lord” without first spiritually preparing. We are guest in His home and He sets the guidelines.

(Photo of the Washington, D.C. Temple  from Chance Hammock Photography)

Chapels are Different than Temples

Latter-day Saints hold weekly Sunday services and social events in chapels. These are open to the public. Here’s a video describing the logistics of a Latter-day Saint worship service. Temples are special, sacred spaces where Latter-day Saints make covenants with God and seek personal revelation. In a similar way to how the ancient covenant people did not speak the name of God to show Him respect, Latter-day Saints reverence the ordinances of the Temple by not speaking of them casually. Material posted online and else where depicting specifics of Temple ordinances is highly offensive to a Latter-day Saint.

Prerequisite Covenant to the Marriage Covenant. What Does the Covenant Include?

A covenant ceremony, called the endowment, precedes the covenant of marriage. The following is a modern prophet’s description of what the covenant includes in the endowment:

“In the Temples of our Lord we learn obedience.  We learn sacrifice. We make the vows of chastity and have our lives consecreated to holy purposes” (President James E. Faust “Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.” August 2001 Ensign).

This covenant requires us to access the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change the desire of our hearts.  A modern Apostle describes this process as:

To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit such that “we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2), as did King Benjamin’s people, is the covenant responsibility we have accepted. This mighty change is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater individual discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a fundamental change in our desires, our motives, and our natures made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Our spiritual purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin, both the taint and the tyranny of sin“

(Elder David A. Bednar “Clean Hands and Pure Heart, Nov 2007).

Mormon Temples Made Simple YouTube video describes well Temple practices in a respectful way.

Marriage is the Crowning Covenant in the Temple

The crowning covenant with God in the Temple is the marriage promise to care for another in a selfless, Christlike way. Latter-day Saints believe that God intended marriage to extend beyond the grave. Adam and Eve were married in their immortal state prior to the Fall and their ability to die (Genesis 2:23-24). The book of Matthew records the “power to bind on earth and in heaven” was given to Peter (16:18-19). Since God’s authority to administer ordinances was lost from the earth with the death of the Apostles, He restored this power in our time (Doc & Cov 128:9-10). If the couple is true to each other and to God, they will remain married after death.

Because of the sanctity of the Temple, photography isn’t permitted.  Wedding pictures are usually taken outside. Here are a few of my friend, Brittany’s, wedding. (She met her husband, Paul, on an internship in Denmark from her D.C. area school.)

Centered in Christ at the Altar of Sacrifice

I’ve attended several wedding ceremonies in the Temple.  They are incredibly beautiful.  The rooms are typically small and attendance is limited to preserve its sanctity and avoid making it too much of a social event. The couple kneels at an altar, facing each other and holding hands as the “sealer” performs the ceremony. The altar represents personal sacrifice to God and the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. When Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden and were gradually learning the steps back to God’s presence, they were commanded to offer a lamb in sacrifice to look forward to Christ’s Atonement (Moses 5:5-8). Ancient Israel also offered animal sacrifice, but as they fell away from the truth they became too focused on the form, rather than pointing their minds to the Savior. Because the people in the Book of Mormon left Jerusalem about 600 B.C., they also had the Law of Moses. It is clear from this record that the animal sacrifices were drawn to point their minds to the coming of Jesus Christ (Mosiah 13:28-35).

After Christ fulfilled His Atonement, He commanded the discontinuance of animal sacrifices and instead required a “broken heart and contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20). As a couple kneels across the altar, face to face, holding hands, they are to offer this to God as they enter into a covenant with Him and each other.

A Latter-day Saint marriage ceremony is centered in Christ.

Maybe a Ring Ceremony, Usually a Paartaaay

Latter-day Saint couples often hold a reception to celebrate their union. These are not held in the Temple. Because only covenanted people observe the Temple marriage ceremony, many Latter-day Saint couples hold a ring ceremony at their reception hall (exchanging rings is not a part of the Temple ceremony). At a ring ceremony, a couple may design a program that involves all of their well wishers.

Here are a few pics of Brittany and Paul’s reception.

Unity in Marriage

I have many friends who move in together prior to marriage.  Even my new favorite royals, “Wills & Kate” lived together for years before finally marrying. If my friends aren’t religious, it’s normal in my mind for them to move in with their significant other once they feel a sense of longevity. However, as mentioned previously, Latter-day Saints covenant to live God’s Law of Chastity which is only to have sexual relations with your spouse. We do this simply because God commands it, but there are obvious benefits. In doing this, we prepare ourselves to create a unifying bond with someone special that will deepen loyalty and devotion. It is beyond my ability to imagine sharing something so special with someone who had yet to decide they wanted to keep me forever. Breaking up is hard enough without creating such strong emotional bonds without the foundation to support them. (I’ve written about this topic on this blog several times, including Mormons and Sex: Living the Law of Chastity and others.) God has commanded union in marriage and sexuality is part of the process, but the union is more than physical. Emotional, spiritual, mental and physical unity is built through a lifetime of kindness, love, sacrifice, admiration, appreciation, hard work, synergy, cooperation, obedience, faith, grace, sanctification and more. A modern prophet describes the command to be united in marriage as:

“The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, said of those who would be part of His Church: ‘Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine’ (Doc & Cov 38:27). And at the creation of man and woman, unity for them in marriage was not given as hope; it was a command! ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit together. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity. . . . The Savior of the world spoke of that unity and how we will have our natures changed to make it possible. He taught it clearly in the prayer He gave in His last meeting with His Apostles before His death. That supernally beautiful prayer is recorded in the book of John. He was about to face the terrible sacrifice for all of us that would make eternal life possible. He was about to leave the Apostles whom He had ordained, whom He loved, and with whome He would leave the keys to lead His Church. And so He prayed to His Father, the perfect Son to the perfect Parent. We see in His words the way families will be made one, as will all the children of our Heavenly Father who follow the Savior and His servants: “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me’ (John 17:18-21). In those few words He made clear how the gospel of Jesus Christ can allow hearts to be made one. Those who would believe the truth He taught could accept the ordinances and the covenants offered by His authorized servants. Then, through obedience to those ordinances and covenants, their natures would be changed. The Savior’s Atonement in that way makes it possible for us to be sanctified. We can live in unity, as we must to have peace in this life and to dwell with the Father and His Son in eternity” (Elder Henry B. Eyring Ensign, May 1998, 66).

Is it too much to say that Mormons are incredibly romantic?

God designed love stories with eternal possibilities. Your love story can be eternal through the power of Jesus Christ and living His restored gospel. Latter-day Saints live in a way to write their own eternal love stories in partnership with God.

“Why We Build Temples”

Frequently Asked Questions about Temple Marriage Ceremonies written for Latter-day Saints

Frequently Asked Questions about Temple Marriage Ceremonies written for people unfamiliar with Latter-day Saint belief

“The Blessings of the Temple” YouTube video

Did you know that the Bible reports of others resurrected after Christ?  I don’t recall ever hearing anyone talk about this, but it’s so appropo during the Easter season.

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52:53).

I wonder who they were. I’d guess that Abraham, Noah and Moses would have made the short list. I’d nominate Isaiah for His witness of Christ and include Job for His testimony of the resurrection and ironclad faithfulness. If it were up to me, I’d also throw in Ruth, Sarah, Leah and Rebekah just to have some women representation, but maybe that’s my modern view of equality of the sexes. Come to think of it, Latter-day Saints believe resurrection becomes a family affair, so I bet every prophet who was resurrected also enjoyed the resurrected companionship of his wife.

During the Savior’s post-resurrection visit to the Americas, He chastized a prophet named Nephi for not including a 40+ year old prophesy about how others would be resurrected in America after His own resurrection:

“Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant, Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there are many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so? And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled. And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them? And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded” (3 Nephi 23:9-13).

Talk about being called on the spot for not doing your homework!:)

It seems it was important to Christ that people knew others were resurrected after Him.  I wonder why we don’t talk about it more in the Church and why the broader Christian community doesn’t seem to highlight the Bible reference.

Huh.

Anyways,

Moroni was the final prophet writer of the Book of Mormon. He buried the record in about 421 A.D.. When he appeared to Joseph Smith to direct him to the location of the hidden record, it was as a resurrected man (JSH 1:30, 32).

I wonder just how many people have already overcome death by the reception of their glorified body. That’s incredible just trying to fathom the concept. Whew.

“How do you know when something is funny?”  This was Data’s question in this clip. You know, the endearing android on Star Trek the Next Generation who wants so much to be human, but whose precise programming and logic sequences make elusive his understanding of humor and emotions.

He asked the question to Geordi, you know, the Reading Rainbow guy.  ”It’s not explainable, you just do,” was his reply.

So, how DO you know when something is funny?  I’m not really sure how to explain it either, I just know when I do and I know it’s enjoyable.   In describing myself for this blog’s profile, I wrote:

I laugh easily; even another’s attempt to be funny brings a smile to my face,  I’m not hard to please.

I also delight in my own humor and I relish the moment when people laugh at my jokes.

Because of these tendencies, sometimes I’m the only one laughing, and it’s a hearty one at that, but that doesn’t bother me. Maybe individual personality has much to do with what we find funny.

In everyday life, I usually find dry humor the most appealing.  This requires some degree of intelligence and ability to navigate nuance and irony with smooth delivery. I love when it comes out of left field where I have to be paying attention or I’ll miss it. It’s terribly entertaining.

On stage, I appreciate sketch comedy. BYU’s sketch comedy club is really talented, at least it was when I was there.  It’s named “Divine Comedy” for its deliberate effort to be clean.  Many of their sketches poke fun at BYU campus culture, so parts may fall flat on those unfamiliar with that unique environment, but it can still be overall really funny. An example of that is their “Sexy Back” pardoy, written and directed by Brian, one of the funniest of the crew.  There’s also Matt who wrote one of my fav sketches, New Year’s Resolutions.

Satire is also brilliant. It requires talent and intelligence to portray something in a way that indirectly reveals a desired message. Mark Twain was a genius at this and both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert do this well in our time. I saw their satire in person at the “Rally to Restore Sanity” on the Mall in Washington, D.C..

Sometimes I laugh at something because it’s really, really funny, but I also feel like I shouldn’t be laughing, but hey, it’s really funny. A recent example of this was this xkcd web comic:

I rarely laugh at “comedy,” which is at the expense of others. I also don’t care much for its close cousin, awkward humor.  Both these forms make me feel like I’m one of the popular kids in school garnering a laugh at the painful insecurity of the kid who lacks the social mobility to make it into the acceptance of the cool clique.  In watching movies or shows portraying these, it usually inspires my compassion and I want to rescue them from the ridicule.  As a result,  I’m not laughing much.

Potty humor doesn’t do it for me either. If you knew me, this wouldn’t surprise you.  I’m generally well mannered and because I spend much of my time reading material from the American past where refinement and courtesy were highly regarded, it makes our time’s general lack of manners disappointing.

And I wouldn’t find it funny to mock something that was special to someone else.

Related to this point, the last time I attended Church in Manhattan, our Relief Society lesson discussion (the third hour women’s Sunday School-ish class) went the direction of living in a way that didn’t hide our faith.  It was a fascinating discussion as a visitor. Many of the “sisters” who were also young and single, talked about how difficult it was to maintain spirituality in “the city” because of the commercialism and because of hostility toward religion generally. One particularly likable sister told how at work, which happens to be as a writer for Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, they  almost ran a bit during the “war on Christmas” debate where baby Jesus would have come down the chimney to deliver presents instead of Santa Claus.  She described more to the spoof, but I can’t recall. She shared the instance as an example where she had previously let it be known that she was a person of faith in Christ, so her coworker came to her with concern about the segment. It wasn’t because the coworker was religious, but because they knew this girl was. Ends up, they didn’t run it because others took issue about crossing the line of mocking something sacred to a large group of people.

See where I’m going with this?

Introducing The Book of Mormon–the Musical by South Park creators Trey Stone and Matt Parker.  These writers use foul mouthed naive children as literary tools in their long running cartoon to reveal society’s hypocrisy and ridiculousness.  They are especially skeptical of religion’s stupidity.  They recently made huge waves with South Park’s 200th episode’s depiction of several world religious leaders, including the Muslim prophet Muhammad.  Any graphic representation of this important figure is considered blasphemy in Islamic tradition.  Viacom censored the episode, especially after a radical Islamic group made death threats to Stone and Parker. There was even a possible link between the Times Square terrorist attempt  and this South Park episode.

This duo doesn’t back down when others take issue with the mockery of what is sacred to them.

Stone and Parker have frequently publicly spoken to their affection for Mormons. It’s clear that they’ve been acquainted with a few Mormons in how they wrote their 2003 episode “All About the Mormons?” The overall episode message is that Joseph Smith made up his whole story and it’s ridiculous that people believe it, but it makes for a good life and a happy family, so lay off.

Thanks, sort of.

I’ve been curious about their new project, The Book of Mormon–the Musical, which opened on Broadway this last week. They received Jon Stewart’s emphatic praise, which is a tremendous endorsement. I’d be interested in seeing how ticket sales spiked after that segment aired. In it, Stewart says:

“We’ve always had a bar here at Comedy Central that we’ve aimed at.  This thing, the Book of Mormon is so good, it makes me [bleep] angry…you have somehow satirized religion with almost celebrating it, in a sweet, yet hard edge, I don’t know what to say.”

Wow, Jon, that’s high praise coming from the currently leading king of satire himself.

I’ve read that the show’s content includes, among other things:

• casual references to baby rape and AIDS
• a Book of Mormon excreted from a missionary’s rectum
• a Ugandan man complaining about ‘maggots in my scrotum’
• a ‘Hakuna Matata’- style song, which translates as ‘F— You, God

After reading these references, I was remorseful. People really think this stuff is funny?  Enough to pay the cost of Broadway tickets? Plus, they nightly direct our society’s worse expletive to my Best Friend?  Wow.

Then my fellow Mormon friend, David, reviewed it. He essentially says if you can get passed the expletives and the scatological humor, “it manages to be hilarious and spiritually touching at the same time…”

I also read this Mormon review of it, which had a similar sentiment, “The Book of Mormon (the musical) has a lower body count than the  [actual Book of Mormon], but still is not for the squeamish, the tender-eared, or the easily offended…I can hardly wait for the original cast recording!”

Unbeknowst to the public, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a big tent; it isn’t monolithic. The views vary across the political spectrum, including a wide range of backgrounds. Because of these reviews, I’ve softened my sentiment a bit to the existence of this musical.

As I’ve explained, I pass on this humor category as a whole, so I won’t be watching it.  As you would likely infer from the existence of this blog and its content, my spirituality is very special to me. This includes  the belief that Christ has restored His Church in our time by again calling prophets and speaking by revelation. I wouldn’t choose to willingly listen to someone sing to our Creator and my Friend “F—you.”  However, I WOULD like to see the satire of Mormons.  I’d attend if it didn’t have the expletives,  the gross bodily humor or the flippant references to African suffering.  But I guess you can’t have it all, huh?

If David thinks it is spiritually touching and Jon Stewart thinks it almost celebrates religion, maybe it’s not so bad after all. Maybe even those who never think of spirituality are brought to consider their own views by attending the play, though I personally would have chosen a different catalyst for such reflection.

So, Trey and Matt, thanks again, sort of.

Update: It’s now April 3 and during conversation between general conference sessions, a friend of mine mentioned the Church’s official statement regarding “The Book of Mormon the Musical.” I found it here. It says the following:

In response to news media requests, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued the following statement regarding the upcoming Broadway musical entitledThe Book of Mormon:

The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.

To better understand the context of how the Church responds to situations like this, journalists and others may also want to read a popular article on Newsroom posted in March 2009 called “The Publicity Dilemma.”