Green Oasis

As I listen in on conversations between Mormons and mainstream Christians, much of the discussion centers on whether or not Mormonism is Christian or Biblically based. More and more, this seems like a waste of time, like fighting over which of the other kids get to join your neighborhood club, which end of the egg to eat first, or who the better Darrin was on Bewitched: Dick York or Dick Sargent?

Many Christians are ignorant of the history of Christian theology. They assume that their brand of Christianity is the authentic version. Then they seek to exclude Mormons from the Christian community because Mormons don’t believe in Christ like they believe in Christ. Mormons don’t interpret the Bible the same way, so their interpretation must be the wrong one. These Christians forget that they don’t believe in Christ like other Christians have in the past. They forget that they were once the targets of the Inquisition. All Christians are heretics (even the Catholic and Orthodox Christians since they excommunicated each other) and the sooner they remember that, the sooner we can move on from fighting over fairy tales to more important questions like how to ameliorate poverty.

I think I know a lot about the ignored history of the LDS church, but something new always comes along to prove my ignorance.

The summary provided at the beginning of Doctrine and Covenants 132 says “Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, it is evident from the historical records that the doctrines and principles involved in this revelation had been known by the Prophet since 1831.” This revelation is a commandment to practice polygamy although modern LDS interpretation no longer recognizes the “New and Everlasting Covenant” as referring to polygamy. I was always mildly curious about what documents this referred to and why the LDS church avoided going into greater detail. Now I know.

I recently learned that Joseph Smith received a revelation in 1831 advising Elders of the church that they would marry Lamanite and Nephite (i.e. American Indian) women. The reason the Lord laid this plan was so that the Indian race would become white again. For those who don’t know, Mormons historically taught that the American Indians—who had once been white-skinned—had been cursed by God for their ancestors’ wickedness. Their darker skins were a sign of this curse. Intermarriage with white men was apparently God’s way of lifting his curse on the Lamanites. As W. W. Phelps recorded Joseph Smith’s revelation from memory (as late as 1861):

For it is my will, that in time, ye should take unto you wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and Just, for even now their females are more virtuous than the gentiles.

It is thought that this revelation foreshadowed polygamy because many of those present when Joseph Smith received the revelation were already married. When W. W. Phelps asked how already married men could marry Lamanite women, he reports that Joseph said:

In the same manner that Abraham took Hagar and Keturah; and Jacob took Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah; by revelation—the saints of the Lord are always directed by revelation.

The manuscript was suppressed for years by the LDS church who held it in their vaults away from the eyes of historians.

I guess it goes to show that a) Joseph Smith obviously wasn’t racist since he was an early advocate of racial intermarriage (and sometime sufferer of jungle fever) and b) there’s always new stuff to learn about those crazy early Mormons.

A PR representative for the LDS church has answered 21 questions posed by reporters from FOXNews. I use the term “answered” very lightly. I felt deeply saddened (and slightly disgusted) by the time I finished reading.

The answers illustrate the opposite of integrity. It’s like they know their doctrines are going to be ridiculed, so they lie about them. Part of why I stopped believing in the church is for exactly this reason: the church started to discard the things that I had been taught were eternal truths. I started doubting because I was too Mormon for the LDS church.

Equality Time has a good blow-by-blow reaction to the answers.

I’ve been meaning to mention this for a while, just never got around to it. I see a primary audience for this blog to be my posterity. It’s an online journal for the thoughts that I hope to share with them. This will often lead me to knowingly do things that are probably not the best to attract readers. Things like erratic posting styles and subjects, long dissertations on Mormon apologetics, making many updates to a post causing some feed readers to list multiple small revisions, etc. I realize that these might be annoying, but I’m trying to serve two masters. I enjoy the thoughts that others share here which help to enrich the offering. Just know that you’re not the only ones I’m talking to, and please forgive the annoyances.

“To every thing there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Meditating on this I think about times when I’ve tried hard to do the right thing. During those times, I’ve tried to always eat healthy food, to always be chaste in my thoughts, or to be spiritual all the time. I didn’t realize that there is a time for everything, even doing the wrong things. The reality I exist in doesn’t fit neatly into the categories right and wrong. A well-lived life doesn’t consist of always doing the right things and never doing the wrong things. A healthy, fulfilling life consists of giving the appropriate time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be chaste, a time to lust, a time to contemplate higher things, a time to just have fun, a time to nurture good health, a time to eat ice cream on hot brownies while sitting on the couch watching movies.