One of my former mission companions and now forever friends visited me this weekend. It was so good for my soul.

Katarina came from Sweden to serve on Temple Square in Salt Lake City with hundreds of other sister missionaries from around the world. Proficiency in varied  languages is crucial on Temple Square, since it is a highly trafficked destination for international visitors.  Good thing she's fluent in English, Swedish and German, not to mention additionally conversational in Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and ASL. (We'll get back to that ASL.)

At midpoint serving on Temple Square, sisters transfer to a different mission in the States for the door knocking form of finding in missionary work. It's way more effective when people are coming to you with curiosity, but both experiences are meaningful and now cherished. Katarina and I were companions when she came to Texas from the Square.

She's been to the States a few times before and this time came for 40 days visiting former companions around the country. She hit Los Angeles, Seattle, St. George, Salt Lake/Provo, a city in Arizona, Washington, D.C. and is finishing up in New York City. When I asked her if she wanted to see the Mall, which the iconic American memorials line, she said "I want to do what you do" implying she didn't want to be a tourist.

Okay, let's go to The Tombs, then.

The Tombs is a restaurant established by Georgetown University alum  just blocks from its campus at 1226 36^th St NW. Naturally, it's a hangout for Georgetown students. Think the Max on Saved By the Bell only way cooler.  I was first introduced to The Tombs when one of my Jesuit professors offered to host our class there on the final day of our Religion in Latin America course.  He called it the "den of iniquity" because it's a favorite bar for students.  It was one of those jokes he really meant.:) It was nice of him to host us since he had no department budget for such privileges. I wanted her to get  to see what an American university scene was like.

Then she made me envious when she said the Swedish government pays for all university, even masters degrees. I almost ended our plans for the evening reasoning she'd had a cushy enough life, but we already had some friends meeting up with us. I had to save face.  On we went.

We talked about the American university sports system since the Georgetown basketball away game flashed on flat screens around us.

We also talked about American food. My dish was dee-lish-us. Lamb ravioli. I'm definitely not a vegetarian. I highly recommend it.

Spending time with Katarina was so good for me. We picked up like we saw each other only yesterday, rather than years ago. Recalling experiences I haven’t thought about for years brought smiles to my face. Here’s one.

Katarina had an assignment on Temple Square to learn American Sign Language to support incoming visitors. Missionaries studying language add 30 minutes to their morning study for its acquisition. I studied ASL at BYU. It was my way of evading another math class since BYU allowed for a language to take place of a math credit for social science majors. However, I wasn’t that proficient. I had classes conducted completely in ASL, but had yet to gain fluency myself. Katarina taught me her gospel vocab and I shared what I could remember.

After some time daily practicing ASL, we saw two people signing in the parking lot of our apartment complex. However, we didn’t take the 40 steps to go over and talk to them. We went on our way. That night, while kneeling for prayer, Katarina said she regretted not talking to the Deaf girl we saw that day. She said she’s been spending all this time studying and we pass up the rare opportunity to invite someone to learn about the Savior’s restored gospel in their own language of ASL. I  shared her sentiment. We decided to pray for another opportunity.

For weeks, IN EVERY SINGLE PRAYER, which is a whole lotta prayers as a missionary, we prayed for “another chance with the Deaf girl.” Over and over and over. Again and again and again.

Then BAM. One day, we ran into her again. We didn’t miss our chance this time. We talked with her in a comprehensible way and asked if we could teach her. She agreed. Her boyfriend joined us.

My sign had never been so good as that lesson, neither has it been since. When teaching the “Message of the Restoration” the Spirit heightened my ability to communicate. It flowed more smoothly than I’d ever been able. We invited the couple to Church and they attended where a professional interpreter in our ward made the meetings more accessible to them.

Then they quit opening the door to us, which was unfortunate. Though LDS missionaries are persistent, they still get the hint.

I believe that we can influence God. Jesus taught in the parable of the unjust judge a woman received her request from the unjust judge simply because of her repetition in asking. Then, what of God? He’s a perfect Parent with the best interest of His children at the forefront of His priorities. I know when my nieces ask repeatedly for me to spin them around and around, I cave like a mushy mess because they love it so much. I want them to be safe, happy, well adjusted little ladies and as long as those parameters are met, I’m happy to do as they request of me, especially when they’re so grateful. I’m hardly a pushover, okay sometimes I am. This is how I view God. I believe that though the “Deaf girl” was not interested in being taught, God performed the miracle of opening her heart because of the faith we offered Him, enough to grant us our request. We just wanted another chance to talk to her. We received what we asked and beyond.

May you influence God by the faith you offer in the form of prayer. He will respond to what it is you request as long as it is within His parameters for your safety and eternal happiness. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:2)

Katarina and I attended the Washington, D.C. Temple this weekend for an ordinance session conducted completely in ASL. It’s the third Saturday of each month at 3:45pm. Signing again reminded me to remember, remember that I can influence God with my prayers.  He gave us “another chance with the Deaf girl,” He can do other things too.

In what way will you influence God?

Last night I was frustrated.

It all started on my metro ride home when I was thinking about the things I needed to do for the evening. Before I could get to them, I thought, I need to address unresolved tasks for my Church calling (responsibility) that I had worked on tying up on Sunday, but couldn’t connect with the people I needed. I’d called them several times since. I also emailed them. I hadn’t heard back.

As I walked home, calling one back and again reaching only a voicemail, I was getting more miffed.

They had approached me at Church for something they needed my help with so they could fulfill their calling.  I went through the work of doing just what they asked for and now they weren’t returning my calls? I know you love your smart phone, show it some love and use it to call me.  It feels like such a waste to keep trying and not getting results for the same issue. Everyone’s busy, I know, but couldn’t they take 30 seconds and compose a text, at least? Go ahead, I have unlimited texting. If it was more of a priority for them, they’d respond to me. These thoughts all ran through my head.

Then this morning I was listening to this talk as I was getting ready for the day (there’s nothing like listening to a modern prophet’s voice while doing your make-up). This talk was directed to priesthood holders and their responsibility for service, but like most of the time, the content of the talk sometimes isn’t what does it, but it’s seeking to learn more of God through that scripture puts my mind in the state to receive messages from Him through the Holy Ghost.

“You don’t always call me back, either, you know,” was the thought that came into my mind (I might have been putting on eye-liner at the time).

I stopped.

What?

Then I made the connection.

I had felt sorry for myself for too much of the previous evening because people wouldn’t call me back. But there are lots of times I get promptings from God through the Holy Ghost and I don’t respond to Him.

For example, almost nightly recently, I’ve had the idea I should improve my prayers, specifically through not kneeling on my bed and doing a face plant into my pillow. There have been times when my prayers are so filled with the Spirit that I feel in communion with Him, times I cherish. In my mind and heart, I feel like He’s very close by and I know something of His will.

Recently, not so much.

Because of this, I may even sometimes mix up requests and ask my family to be blessed before I eat them. I excuse myself because of my fatigue, but I know I’d be much more attentive if I wasn’t snuggled up in bed where I’ve trained myself like one of Pavlov’s dog to soon slip into slumber.

The constant recurrent thought to stop doing this before I pray is the kind of pressing thought that I know it’s from the Spirit. I’m not sure how long it’s been, a few weeks? A month? That’s a long time not to respond to Heavenly Father’s calls. It’d only been a few days for my complaint and they probably had a good reason. Me, I was just being lame and lazy.

I decided to change my frustration with my lack of immediate gratification in call-backs. After feeling remorseful for my poor attitude, I spoke with Heavenly Father in prayer about it. I thanked Him for the perspective, and asked for forgiveness and the chance to be a little more like Him in how I fulfilled my calling. And oh yeah, about that face-plant-prayer-thing, I’ll get on that, too.

Claim I Wish Matthew Chapman and A.C. Grayling Addressed in the Intelligence Squared Debate

This isn’t a rare occasion. I get corrected like this all the time. As I seek the Holy Spirit more diligently and I’m willing to respond to its pressings, it happens more frequently. I consider it part of my lifetime transformation to become more holy through using Christ‘s Atonement by repentance. The beginning of this transformation was a one time event. Evangelical Christians call this “being saved” when you “let Jesus into your heart.”   I believe that beginning experience, which I wrote about in the post “I’m Mormon: Enlightened or Brainwashed,” began a life long process of sanctification for me. I was relieved of the guilt of my sins (forgiven), but now I need to be changed from its effects. I have to choose to yield indivdiual shortcomings and missteps to God (repentance).  The more I seek Christ’s forgiveness as I recognize my missteps, I receive a greater portion of His grace.

This process makes me a better person. As a result, I’m slow to be angry in traffic. I’m slow to think others are incompetent when their customer service isn’t what I expect. I’m slow to be rude. I’m motivated to serve my community. I am more thoughtful in my relationships with my family and friends. I attribute all these polishing aspirations to this process of conversion I’m living. It’s gradual and subtle. I could have missed it this morning, but I was putting myself in a state of mind to hear God’s gentle nudging and I chose to respond.

This brings me to the claim I wish Matthew Chapman and A.C. Grayling addressed in the recent debate hosted by Intelligence Squared. Intelligence Squared poses a motion and invites renowned representatives to debate it. Their most recent motion was “The World Would Be Better Without Religion.” The evening begins with the audience casting a vote for or against the motion and the winner is determined by influencing the greatest amount of change in the audience’s opinions. I was surprised that the audience chose the side for the motion, not just because I’m pro-religion in society. Those advocating for it, meaning arguing the world would be better without religion, frequently cherry picked random scriptures to demonstrate religion’s silliness. These scriptures hardly applied to the religious experience of anyone.  The opponents used rational facts and statistics to justify their claims that religion makes the world a better place.

I wish those wanting to eliminate religion from the world discussed not whether religious belief was delusional, but that it’s possible to participate in an ennobling process equivalent or better to what I’ve described (and is a common narrative among religious people) without these alleged delusions about God. In my mind, when discussing God in the public forum, it doesn’t matter if there’s really a God. What matters is how those who claim belief in a God behave as a result of it. I wish they were able to come up with some explanation that there is a substitute for the drive for spirituality that would move me to change my attitude in the way I’ve described. It was such a slight error, but because what I believe was the Holy Ghost corrected me, I became remorseful and redirected. I changed and I changed for the better. This influence of the Holy Ghost diminishes the likelihood of repeating the error. Though I likely will repeat the error in different forms, I believe these errors will come  less often.  Because of these small course corrections, the possibility of being uncivil to others in my community is increasingly unlikely.

I’m convinced I wouldn’t be so teachable without what I believe is influencing me, the Holy Ghost. If I didn’t believe I was receiving messages from God to make daily decisions to change and if I didn’t believe God was giving me grace to change my heart and make me more like Him, I see no other source in my life to direct me to become ennobled. The messages I receive from media outlets seek to persuade me to consume more and more because I deserve it.  Chapman and Grayling had scoffing tones. Should I model this behavior?

In Rabbi David Wolpe’s closing remarks, he spoke of his grandfather as a boy in Auschwitz who questioned his grandfather about using butter to light a menorah. When the boy questioned him for using the scarce ration for this purpose, the grandfather told him that they have learned they could go three weeks without eating, but they could not go one day without hope.  Through my spiritual changing process I have hope, not just hope for heaven. (Those critical of religion often focus on what they see as a self-interested pursuit of  a post-mortal reward. So let’s just focus on this life for now.) As I enjoy and respond to what I believe is God’s calling, I’m more teachable, I’m more patient, I’m more loving, I’m slow to overreact, my mind is sharper and I remember things more quickly. My joys are deeper and my life is a more fulfilling experience. I see the wonder of the world around me and value the individual worth of every person. Is there any secular substitute for my pursuit to respond to God’s call and change into who I believe He wants me to be?  That is the hope that is within me, which I cannot live one day without.

I wish they’d addressed that claim. It is after all, a common claim among most religious people. Yeah, there are those crazies who use God to justify murder and other outlier business, but what would the world be like if the millions of people who are living a process like I am lost their directing system? Would the world be a better place? What would replace it to compensate for this loss? That would have made for a much more sound debate (rather than quoting Old Testament scripture about women grabbing at men who are in conflict with their husbands).

Interested in the debate? Here  it ’tis:

Debate: The World Would Be Better Off Without Religion from Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates on FORA.tv

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.

With two Mormons running for president in 2012 the Mormons-aren’t-Christian claims are back in circulation. These trigger in me a condition I frequently suffered as a teenager where my eyes roll backwards uncontrollably into my head. I thought I was long since cured of these symptoms, but nope. I guess not.

What’s the latest dish on this hashed and rehashed topic?

Pastor Robert Jeffress, Dallas megachurch pastor of 10,000+, recently introduced presidential hopeful Rick Perry at a political event with his "emphatic" endorsement. He explained his preference for Perry, " a competent Christian," to Mitt Romney, "a competent non-Christian" because the Southern Baptist Convention has labeled The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints as a "cult."

Here's the video of the CNN Anderson Cooper interview with Jeffress.

That Anderson Cooper, he's not just a pretty face.  He presses Jeffress to justify his reasoning. Theological vs sociological cult? Maybe I should have called that "reasoning."

I get why Evangelical theologians don't consider Mormons Christian, but cult? Really?

There are some doctrinal differences between Latter-day Saints and Evangelical Christians, which are the catalyst for the "non-Christian" label. I'll get to those differences in a minute. (If there weren't differences, they'd be the same belief system!)

But first, cult? Really?  In the interview Jeffress says, "I know that's a loaded term." Loaded? Yeah. When I think of cult, and most Americans likely think similarly in this instance, I think of that scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. You know the one. The creepy wide-eyed horns-wearing guy chants kalima and rips out the heart of the scared-stiff human sacrifice-ee while worshippers sway back and forth. (Even though its hokey, it still affronts my delicate sensibilities.)

When I think of cult, I also think of the cult suicide  groups of Heaven's Gate, Solar Temple and People's Temple. These are fringe groups small in number.

Turns out, the Romans considered early Christians a cult too. Maybe any newly formed small religious group with which mainstream society is not familiar is a cult. But with a worldwide membership in the double-digit millions, the Latter-day Saints have outgrown its "sociological cult" possibilities, so the Southern Baptist Convention has to search for other definitions.

Theological cult? It seems to me what Pastor Jeffress means by "theological cult" is anyone that is not Evangelical Christian. He responds "absolutely" in response to Anderson's question if Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims are all cults. Oh, and Catholics get a backhanded pass.

If I were the Southern Baptist Convention's English teacher reviewing the position paper arguing that these religions were "cults," I'd circle their chosen word with a red pen and write "w.c." out in the margin, meaning word choice. It's a pejorative word, Pastor Jeffress admits to this, which doesn't correctly describe their intentions. It seems "false religion" or "faulty belief system" or even the biblical word "heathen" would better fit the definition he offered in the interview.

In my opinion, the best synonym for the word "cult" as described by Pastor Jeffress would be "non-evangelical."

‘Mor-own-knee’? You obviously haven't talked to any Mormons

Pastor Jeffress mispronounces the name of the ancient prophet who delivers the Book of Mormon record to Joseph Smith for its translation. Latter-day Saints pronounce this name, Moroni, as More-own-eye. He calls him More-own-knee.  When I was a missionary in the Dallas area we could always tell when there was a recent sermon on Mormons in megachurches in the predominantly Baptist area. One hundred percent of these people with whom we talked who knew of the name Moroni pronounced it like Pastor Jeffress.  This tells me they're not personally acquainted with any believing Mormons.  They've formed these opinions, labeling religious groups as "other" in a monolithic environment of mostly Baptists where they've likely never talked to a Latter-day Saint about their views of Christ, let alone a Hindu or Buddhists about their spirituality.

When I was in high school, a Baptist friend of mine was telling me what she’d learned about my faith while attending her church. When I got frustrated, she asked, “What do you learn about my faith?” I remember responding with naivete that would now take effort not to be sarcasm, “We don’t learn about other people’s faith. We just study the gospel,” I told her.

Anyone in my Dallas faith community want to invite P. Jeff over for dinner? He needs to be personally acquainted with some Mormons. He ought to hear how Latter-day Saints live their lives seeking to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

"It has never been considered as part of historic Christianity" It's True, Mormons Aren't Evangelical Christians.

Okay this is getting long. I have lots to say, but will pare it down. Latter-day Saints believe that Christ's Church, with pure doctrine and the permission to officiate in ordinances of the gospel, like baptism, was lost from the earth with the death of the Apostles after Christ's resurrection and ascension. It was restored again when God called Joseph Smith as a prophet just like Moses to reorganize it. "Historic Christianity" as Pastor Jeffress calls it includes the creeds that followed this New Testament era. It was in this period that truth about the nature of God diverged from the New Testament teachings of the Savior, namely about the Godhead. It morphed into belief of the Trinity. Because Latter-day Saints believe that Christ is the Son of God and united with Him, along with the Holy Ghost in perfect purpose, but not in physical form, Evangelicals do not consider them Christians.

Mormons are unabashed in distinguishing themselves apart from mainstream Christianity in the ways  which we believe God has corrected misconceptions. This is one of them. It's annoying that Evangelicals don't consider Mormons Christians for this reason, but for the most part, Mormons don't care.

Here is an address from a modern Apostle describing the divergence of the creeds of historical Christianity from New Testament teachings. This includes an explanation of the Latter-day Saint belief in the Godhead and not the Trinity.

Pastor-in-Chief?

It’s interesting to me that the Evangelical community seems to be interviewing for the wrong position. The commander-in-chief is not the pastor-in-chief. Historically, the president does not lead the country in religious observances. But we do need someone who can direct the most powerful military in the world, who can build consensus in a bitterly divided political environment and who can set policies that won’t send the economy spiraling further down the tank.

Why require a president to have the same theology as you?  I know a good many wonderful Mormons who faithfully seek Christ that I definitely wouldn’t trust to lead the country. Their worldview is important, but it’s only important to me how that worldview would affect the country’s direction. I’d not only want a good person as president who is temperate, loves this country and its people, but someone who has the skills and experience to lead it to prosperity. It’s of nominal importance to me if they believe in the same afterlife as I do. Choosing a president is an earthly decision for our earthly existence. It’s strange to me to make the most important consideration in the question a theological one.

God's opinion of my worship is what's on my mind, not Evangelical Christians' opinions

I'm okay with Evangelical Christians not considering me a Christian. I want to respect their doctrine and belief in that doctrine. If they believe you can only be Christian if you believe God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost to be one in the same entity and the acceptance of revealed word beyond the currently canonized Bible  excludes you, then that's fine by me. I'm not petitioning membership in their congregations. It's just annoying because those who don't know much about Mormons get these snippets of  Mormon-aren't-Christians conversations without knowing the reasoning behind it. The truth is, my whole life is a worshipful walk to know Christ.

I pray in His name morning and night and in my heart throughout the day.

I feel the burden of my sins lift as I offer them to Him in humility.

I daily study the scriptures in an effort to align myself with His teachings. This includes the Bible and books that I believe are equivalent revelations to the Bible.

Every page of the Book of Mormon is a testimony of Christ as the Savior of the World. Its climax is His physical visit to the American continent after His resurrection near Calvary. (3 Nephi 11)

Weekly I take the Sacrament (aka the Lord's supper) where I believe the blessed bread and water turns my mind and heart to God in a ceremony of recommitment to live His commandments.

Once a month I serve in the Washington, D.C. Temple to respect the covenant I've made with Him to always remember His Son and keep His commandments. (see my post Mormon Temple Wedding: Ceremony Centered in Christ)

I wear the garment as a reminder to be a disciple of Jesus Christ (see my post Mormon Underwear: A Constant Personal Reminder to Always Remember Christ and Keep His Commandments)

As a young woman living in a modern world, I purposefully live biblical sexual standards (see my post Mormons and Sex: Living the Law of Chastity)

Coming to know Christ in my daily life is the most fulfilling pursuit of my life. The more I know of Him, the more I crave. The more I request the application of His Atonement in my heart, the more I am changed and purified.

It's unfortunate for Mitt Romney who wants to be president to have to break through the Evangelical community's barricade to the Republican nomination, however, it is of little consequence to most Latter-day Saints who thinks what of them and their Christianity. They just go on living their lives of faith.

If a Christian is someone who seeks Christ and His gospel for their personal salvation and lives in a way aligned with His commandments, then I am a Christian. If a Christian is someone who believes that God will no longer reveal His word to prophets in my time as He has in times passed. Then I'm not a Christian.

Either way, I'll let God call me by whatever name He chooses. I gave my heart to Him a long time ago.

Further reading:

Slate:Mormon Moment: Pastor Robert Jeffress may be doing Mitt Romney a favor by bashing Mormonism.

The Economist:  Mormons are Christians 

Fox News: Yes, a Mormon Can Win Support from Evangelicals and Other Christians In a Run for High Political Office-Written by an LDS Bishop in the singles scene in my area.

Washington Post: No sex on campus-This is a great article about student Muslims and Christians uniting to resist the casual sex/hook up culture predominant on their college campuses. This is the approach Evangelicals should take when considering community involvement. Theological differences shouldn’t stop groups from forming partnerships to create a better world.  The Evangelical current tactic is less effective.

Ensign: “The Symbol of Our Faith,” Gordon B. Hinckley, 2005– “…the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the Living Christ…the lives of our people must become the most meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of [Latter-day Saint] worship.”

The post “What would a MormonInsider Say About…“  responded in part to Leah's questions. This post continues with some more parts.

I met him when I was in his city on business and later attended a meeting with several Latter-day Saint young single adults. He had a boy-next-door-grown-into-a-studly-man charm about him. He was spiritual, kindly, thoughtful, and brilliantly innovative. Did I mention he was also easy on the eyes? We'd been in touch a few times before my flight was laying over in his city and he picked me up from the airport.

I had called him about meeting during my 4 hr long layover. He didn't know I was flying stand-by on my brother's flight benefits, which meant I hadn't booked my flight before I talked to him. He didn't know if he wasn't able to meet me, I would have taken the earlier flight, leaving enough of an evening to enjoy the company of friends in my ward back in Washington, D.C..  It was my idea to hang out in the terminal. He had a better one. We hiked to a point that overlooked the city.

I was totally digging him. It would have been the beginning of a beautiful story if only he was interested in me, but he was not responsive to my shameless flirting. (I'm not of the camp who think men are stupid.)

While descending the hike, he was going on about being thirty-something and still unmarried. He said he must be doing something wrong because he's been sincerely praying about it for years and it escaped him. "Can't you see that I'M the answer to your prayers?" was the thought that crossed my mind. I looked away to broadly grin at my private joke.

I could have been an answer to his prayers, if he wanted me to be.

Leah asks about recognizing answers to prayers. How do you know they're not just coincidences? What about unanswered prayers and why does God seem to answer yes to frivolous occasions and fail to come through when it really counts?

All good questions.

The truth is, if handsome/charming guy ended up liking me, I probably would have attributed it to being the answer to his prayers and him to mine. I never would have considered it a result of my self-interest and/or biological factors; I really would have enjoyed kissing him. (I'd have to be his girlfriend, of course. I'm not the non-committal make-out type. But, you guessed that already.)

Usually when things happen in our favor, it's really easy to attribute it to God. For example, after a tornado, when one house is standing and the one next to it is demolished, someone could say God protected it. So how do you know it was really Him and not just chance, luck or nature's course simply unfolding?

Leah posed her questions on my claim of receiving answers to prayers on this post where I was describing the truth discovery process by the Holy Spirit. To be honest, I don't know if it's an answer to prayer unless the Spirit confirms it. And the Spirit doesn't confirm things to me as often as I'd like because it requires effort to take the mental action otherwise known as exercise of faith.  It requires diligent pondering, remembering past witnesses and deciding to trust that God will continue His pattern of communication that I've already experienced. By the phrase confirmation of the Spirit, I mean that my mind his enlightened with a simultaneous impression on my heart that I am able to conclude in the moment with certainty that it's not my imagination, but the Holy Ghost. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite diligent in seeking the Spirit, but only the most important things get the required attention.

In the post "My Current Explanation of Life's Purpose," I described how sometimes I feel like God leaves me alone, even when I remain diligent in seeking Him. I believe that the times of greatest growth in faith, for me at least, have come when I feel I'm not being heard. In those times, I look back, remembering past witnesses and decide to remain faithful to what has already been made known to me when I could very easily walk away. So, perhaps those unanswered prayers are purposeful in how God shapes me into who He knows I can become.

Without the Spirit's confirmation, I don't know for sure that it was God. I just infer it.

Without the Spirit's confirmation, I can't say that I know it was God and not chance. Usually, if something happens for which I have been praying, I simply infer it was God; I don't know for sure.

Here's an example.

With the recent downturn in the economy, the leadership of the nonprofit I'm with decided to focus all resources on the core mission. My position applies to the core mission's expansion. They cut me back from full time to part time, which does not cover my living expenses (gone are the days of BYU housing rent at less than $300 monthly). The break was nice for a while so I could breathe and sleep because working full time and going to school at night is very difficult. To cover my expenses, I started using more student loans than I originally planned when I began my master's program.

Several things weighed on my mind. I'm committed to "provident living" as it's known the Church, meaning that I should live within my means and only go into debt for education, a modest home and I can't remember the other one right now. Though my debt was to further my education, not all of it was necessary and therefore contrary to this principle. Also, I purposefully decided not to pursue a law degree and pursue a liberal studies degree.  I won't be qualified to work in a particular trade when I finish my program.  I chose enriching coursework with an end that requires me to forge my own way to form the unique career path that I envision. This was a relatively safe decision when I was employed in a job I loved.  It wasn't looking so hot once my circumstances changed. Lastly, the unemployment rate is over 10% nationwide. I often considered how if I continued living in part off the student loans in addition to the tuition loans, I could finish my program and have to start waiting tables to meet the demands of paying them back. Sheesh. Being an adult is the pits sometimes.

I wanted a new job in my field, but it is really small and specified and I prepared myself to have to take a detour job to pay the bills, if I could even find that. I started praying that I could find a new job in my field and began networking with the organizations whose work I admire.  Many of them operate partially off government grants and with the current tenor of Congress and its deficit decreasing efforts, the story was the same at all those I approached. They'd love to have me, but they have no funding for me and I could volunteer.  I did do some volunteer projects here and there while I continued networking. Unfortunately, I can't eat off goodwill. For the summer, I picked up a full time temp job in addition to the part time job with the nonprofit while taking summer school and I continued networking. It was going to be tight for a while, but hey, girl's gotta do what she can.

Then BAM!  The Bishop of my ward called me into his office and asked me to take on an ongoing time consuming “calling” or responsibility.

What should I do?

I decided I didn't have time to continue looking for a job and take on the responsibility of my new calling. In prayer, I told that Lord that I'm unsure how the job thing was going to work out, but I would trust that if I prioritized serving Him first, it would be fine. I didn't know what would happen; it could be one of those painful growing experiences, but I viewed it as a chance to put God first in my heart and my life.  If not at this moment, then when?  My life could turn into a long series of special circumstances that put my own needs first before the Lord and I don’t want to live that way.

I accepted the calling and quit thinking about finding a new job and put my mind and heart to pondering how I could seek the Spirit to better help those over which I now I had stewardship to access Christ's power more fully by faith.

A few weeks later, a friend of mine forwarded a job posting to me she saw while on a website she rarely visits. She knew that I was part time with my nonprofit, but didn't know I was officially looking and then officially quit looking for the time being (hey, she’s recently married, so we don’t keep up like we used to, you know how it goes). Her find sounded promising. Bleary eyed at midnight, I composed a specified cover letter, updated my resume and emailed it in. The very next morning the executive director emailed me wanting to schedule an interview. He was clear that they would not extend beyond the posted salary range because they'd already budgeted for the year, but assured me the benefits were good and that the next year they could readjust the salary.  I was pleased to hear that the position had a steady revenue stream, so it wasn’t from a temporary grant.

I came into the interview well prepared to make a case for myself.  He opened by telling me that since the job has been posted in the last month, 212 people applied. He was interviewing 12 and I was first because I wrote the best cover letter. "You told me what I couldn't surmise from your resume," he told me. He also liked that I said I look forward to a conversation where we could see if we were "a good professional match."  He said most people assured him in their cover letters they were a perfect fit for the job. He made clear that he would solely determine who was the best fit for the position.

Ends up, this is a position he's been wanting to expand for several years, but he's very particular on who should fill it. Though his board has been pressing him on it, he's been exploring it at his own pace.

After the interview, I used the weekend to draft some recommendations I thought they could do within the next year, based on my experience. I also mailed him a thank you card referring to some specifics from our conversation.

We corresponded for a week over my recommendations while he completed the other 11 interviews. I was preparing to negotiate for the highest end of his salary range, since I knew what it was. The day the interviews closed, he emailed me asking me to accept a director position, rather than the advertised manager position.  Along with the increased position, he offered an increase salary beyond the advertised range that reflected the responsibility of a director.

It was like getting a promotion without asking for one and before I even started.

I was grateful a thousand times over. It's work that I would do for free if I didn’t have to make a living. I'm specialized in a very small niche and this position seems tailor made to my greatest strengths. Of course I accepted (like I'd be blogging about it if I didn't). I later came in to discuss some specifics and he was beaming that I was just the person he has had in mind to realize the vision he has for this new expansion.

Was it God, me or just a coincidence?

So, was this an answer to my prayers?  After all, I must say I rocked the interview.  I wrote a cover letter according to what my quick Google search taught me at midnight since I couldn't remember exactly how to write one. I used my brain to conjure up some recommendations and I cordially sent a thank you note. That was all me. Oh, and my friend by chance could have been on a job database when she didn't have a reason to look for a job  and decided to pass along a possibility to me. But when I have been specifically praying for help about something beyond my control and it falls into my lap better than if I planned it myself, I'm highly suspicious Providence had a hand in it. I have found that God is really good at arranging introductions between people who should meet if the required faith is offered to work such a miracle.  I'm just what my new boss has had in mind for the last few years for the position and what they want to do is exactly what my very unique job at the nonprofit prepared me to do for them. Coincidence? Of course I don't think so, but it's only an inference. The Spirit hasn't confirmed it to me, but I’m connecting the dots on this one.

The Lord told Joseph Smith, "I, the Lord,...delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end" (Doc & Cov 76:5).  I'm choosing to live my life in a way that puts God first, trusting that as I do, He delights to help me out. This isn't the first instance in my life where I seem to get a beautiful break, but I don't do it for what I can get. I do it because of what I want to give.

I can't really prove it was God, but I don’t require proof to continue this path of experimentation.

Next up, I'll respond to why bad things happen to good people, which is what I think Leah means when prayers are not answered before a child is murdered. Then I'll write up my long time promised Black Mormons part 2 post because my response to Chris’s post will make more sense in light of understanding some views I have, explained well through relaying the history of race in the Church. It might rock a few socks, but hey, let’s keep things authentic here at the MormonInside.

Stay tuned.

To my delight, Michael Shermer was Stephen Colbert's guest this last week. It was interesting to see Stephen's tone at the following point in the interview. He's a practicing Catholic, so I wonder how much of this was portraying his conservative-pundit-caricature and how much was the real Stephen being playful with a nonbeliever.

Colbert: "You used to be a Christian, right?"

Shermer: "That's right."

Colbert: "Jesus misses you...He told me."

Shermer: "He did? Well why didn't he talk to me?

Colbert: "Because you don't believe."

Shermer: "If being talked to depends on whether I believe or not, then that means it doesn't really exist, it's all up here in my head, which is the point of my book, that it's all up here."

I sympathize with the criticism of prerequisite belief for a confirmation of God's existence. On its face, first believing before you can believe smacks of the very kind of self-deception Shermer tags onto believers.

However, God works according to the faith we exercise.  If we thought of God as a painter, our offered faith is the medium with which He paints. The more we offer to Him to use, the more He does on the canvas. If someone doesn’t outreach to God, they’re not offering the faith that will produce miracles.

Compare Shermer's I-won't-believe-until-I-have-evidence  approach to this ancient American soon-to-be christian convert's prayer:

“O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee..."

(Alma 22:18).

This man wasn't sure if what he was learning from Aaron was true, but he was willing to ask with the hope he'd receive an answer. He also was willing to sacrifice to gain the desire of his heart, which is also a prerequisite to recognizing the Holy Ghost or in other words, receiving answers to prayers.

This  prayer was the catalyst of a spiritual experience that led him to be faithful to Jesus Christ.

From what I know about Jesus, Stephen Colbert was right, Christ does miss Michael Shermer. He'd like to offer Shermer the kind of communication that affirms His existence, but it would likely take Shermer's initiation and humility.

Speaking of doubts, I doubt that's going to happen any time soon. It would hurt his book sales.

(Surely, God can initiate with whomever He wishes, but the usual pattern is we outreach to Him in trust and He confirms. I must say the Apostle Paul doesn’t seem to fit this pattern of ask in faith first, then communication comes, but we don’t know the backstory of what’s absent from the record. As an observant Jew, he very well could have been seeking God’s will and received an unexpected answer on the road to Damascus.)

Here’s the video

The post “Magic Mormon Underwear Gets a Mention at the Believing Brain Discussion” and the post “My Response to the Shermer Lecture“ relate to my interaction with Michael Shermer.

This post responds to Leah's comment on this post.

Hi there – I have found your last two posts interesting. I’m a woman who was raised mormon and now consider myself a secular humanist/naturalist/whatever non-religious term you want to use. I was at the Shermer lecture and before you said you were Mormon – I leaned to my husband and said “she’s Mormon”. Mormon-dar? It’s a thing I guess. I can see a lot of the old me in your thinking in your posts, so it’s very interesting. I wondered about your comments above, you say that you have had answers to your prayers. You have probably had this question before, and I present it to you as I once presented it to myself – you have had answers to your prayers, you have had spiritual experiences, but what about those prayers that were not answered? Or just coincidences? Why does God answer YOUR prayer about finding your driver’s license but doesn’t answer the prayer about finding the missing child before she is murdered? Ok, I went extreme there, but I think you get my point. What about people who pray and get answers that a different church is true? What about Mother Theresa?! These were questions that hurt my brain and I’d be interested to hear your response. I’m not a great writer, so I apologize for the choppiness of my thoughts here. I also thought of this blog recently when I was watching this:   I think Chris puts a lot of my own thoughts into words and if you ever feel like giving it a watch and response I’d be really interested in that as well – particularly about his “water” example about 10 min. in. Oh, one more thought – how do you explain people like myself, or Chris in the video, who are happier and feel more “ourselves” and love this world and planet and human beings and  life more than ever AFTER leaving what is supposed to be the one true church and greatest happiness? Are you ever curious about that? Do you not think it’s genuine? That is one thing I never considered when I was Mormon (that people actually cared MORE about families and life and this earth AFTER leaving) so I don’t know what a “Mormon Insider” would say to that. Thanks!

Dear Leah,

I'm so glad you dropped in. I was amused by you pegging me as a Latter-day Saint at the lecture before I announced it. It could have been the soft glint of my gold CTR ring, but it was likely the impish grin I shot back to my friend when Shermer started razzing on polygamists and called them Mormons.

Your questions are sending me in several different directions. I need to be brief tonight and will respond more fully another time about Chris' video. I've watched it in full and read most of the comments.

Your questions about my view of prayer would make this post very long, so I'll save it for another day. Stay tuned.

What about Mother Theresa?

From this question, it seems to me you're asking how I make sense of religious people outside of what I claim to be Christ's restored Church. I think there are lots of people who were placed in circumstances to influence God's purpose for mankind, but their life situation did not include access to the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (meaning seeking to fully receive the Atonement of Jesus Christ by living in a priesthood covenant relationship with God). Martin Luther King comes to mind.  He wouldn’t have been effective if he was LDS. People don’t really care for Mormons, much. As a Protestant preacher, he was able to appeal to a broad audience and was powerfully able to draw on legitimacy higher than the state for rights claims. His leadership eventually influenced the potential  ordination of every faithful man in the Church. The great reformer, Martin Luther, also comes to mind as a man of God who fulfilled a great purpose in God’s plan of salvation, but did not have the fullness of the gospel in mortality.

The 138^th section of the Doctrine and Covenants describes how those who did not have the opportunity to hear and live the fullness of the gospel will get the chance to accept it in the Spirit World. The Spirit World is the place where all departed spirits go before resurrection and judgment.  God holds us accountable to knowledge we have; if He did otherwise, it would not be just.

As a tremendous woman of God, I'd expect Mother Theresa will continue to seek to do God's will, even while she awaits resurrection in the Spirit World.  I’d say for people like her, accepting the fullness of the gospel there will be seamless.

- how do you explain people like myself, or Chris in the video, who are happier and feel more “ourselves” and love this world and planet and human beings and  life more than ever AFTER leaving what is supposed to be the one true church and greatest happiness? Are you ever curious about that? Do you not think it’s genuine?

As a strong advocate of religious freedom, I'm committed to respecting others' free exercise of conscience, especially if the decision is not to believe. I read a book recently by a Georgetown professor who worked for the  State Department in the International Religious Freedom commission. While making the case that religious liberty is an inherent right, he wrote the following:

"An undersecretary of state once told me that his most powerful existential questions had to do with his tennis swing, not the existence of God. This was a cordial but pointed jest, designed to refute my argument that the search for transcendence is universal. It reflected a point of view that should not be trivialized, much less ignored"

(Thomas F. Farr World of Faith and Freedom p. 22).

I don't trivialize or ignore your decision to walk away from belief in God. I'm happy that you have found happiness and contentment in your life. For me, I enjoy lots of things that are seemingly apart from a faith experience. I enjoy my work, I like to exercise, I enjoy my friends and family and other things. However, I have experienced the greatest amount of joy through accessing God. I want Him to mentor me. I want to  know Him better and discover His will and pursue it. It’s what is most important to me. The more I understand about Him, the more insatiable my motivation to seek after Him becomes. But as Dr. Farr invites his readers to recognize, not everyone views life as a search for transcendence. Some are happy thinking about the beauty of their tennis swing.

Because there are these different shades to which people are interested in God, it makes sense to me that heaven has multiple levels, as described in the  76^th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Heaven is organized to accommodate the level to which people were interested in internalizing the gospel of Jesus Christ. For those insatiably seeking to know God, their level of heaven would be living with Him and continuing to know Him throughout eternity. For those who weren't interested in such a venture, they ultimately settle in a comfortable place that reflects the degree of God's glory they pursued.

Have you ever wondered if there is a God, why would He put mankind through a mortal experience where He cryptically remains hidden from proof of His existence?  I've wondered that and since I saw Harry Potter this weekend, can describe it best in this way. [spoiler alert!]

After Voldemort kills Harry, he ends up at the railroad station King's Cross where he speaks with Dumbledore.

Harry: "I've got to go back, haven't I?"

Dumbledore: "That's up to you."

Harry: "I've got a choice?"

Dumbledore: "Oh yes," Dumbledore smiled at him. "We are in King's Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to. . .let's say. . .board a train."

Harry: "And where would it take me?'

Dumbledore: "On," said Dumbledore simply."

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows p.722)

For those who choose to live life according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, including God’s commandments, they always go "on."  This is why God created the earth- life experience and gave His Son. It is by the development of faith in Jesus Christ that we increase in spiritual power and we go “on.”  Going “on” includes changing to gain holiness more like God’s. We become more holy through the exercise of faith in Christ. If God wasn’t so cryptic, we would miss out on the development of faith and trust in this power greater than ourselves. God wanted to provide all His children the opportunity to go “on.” Good people who are disinterested in the gospel ultimately live in a place like Harry's King's Cross.  Harry's at peace (p. 712) and it's a pleasant place, but that's the end. No trains will be coming to take these residents “on.” They don’t change beyond what the were like when they arrived.

The joy we receive in this life and in the next is directly proportional to the degree we choose to receive the Atonement of Jesus Christ.   We access the power of the Atonement through trusting in it, or exercising faith.

I absolutely consider your claims to happiness as genuine, but your happiness would not be my happiness.

I hope that wasn’t incredibly dissatisfying for you.  And I hope it won’t be interpreted as self righteous. It’s really more of an attitude of may we all receive the desires of our hearts, in this life and into life’s later phases.

Thanks again for your questions. My life is a little crazy right now, so I will respond to prayer questions and Chris' video another time.  Thanks for giving me writing prompts!