I’m sorry to learn that the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away. However, I’m glad he will now be with his wife whom he loved dearly and who had passed away in 2004.
He will be succeeded as prophet by President Thomas Monson.
For more information see Beloved Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at 97.
On September 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City to an audience that included the Mormon prophet David O. McKay. JFK was complimentary of Mormons, but spent most of his time talking about U.S. foreign policy. I listened to the talk with my parents, little brother, and cousin as we drove to Park City during the Christmas break. My dad and I couldn’t help but think JFK would be in favor of the Iraq war if he were here now.
Here is a video with some snippets about Mormons and the Church:
Of all the stories of American pioneers and settlers, none is more inspiring than the Mormon trail. The qualities of the founders of this community are the qualities that we seek in America, the qualities which we like to feel this country has: courage, patience, faith, self-reliance, perseverance, and, above all, an unflagging determination to see the right prevail.
Let us remember that the Mormons of a century ago were a persecuted and prosecuted minority, harried from place to place, the victims of violence and occasionally murder, while today, in the short space of 100 years, their faith and works are known and respected the world around, and their voices heard in the highest councils of this country.
As the Mormons succeeded, so America can succeed, if we will not give up or turn back.
You can find the full talk on Archive.org.
After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Robin Baudier moved in with her parents in their FEMA trailer home. She was embarrassed to move in with her parents and missed her autonomy, privacy, and good job in Los Angeles. But she said she’d never been in better shape, never spent spent so much time outside, and never been closer to her family.
I know it might sound strange that I am indirectly describing Hurricane Katrina as a blessing, since it took my family’s home and recovering from it has taken over our lives. But I love my awful life so much right now, that I find it hilarious when I am unable to convince anyone else of it.
I know in my own life it’s easier to remember God, appreciate my family, and be thankful for what I have when times are hard. The Book of Mormon teaches that this is a true principle, and a primary reason for difficulties:
2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.
There’s nothing supernatural about Robin’s lemons-to-lemonade story except maybe her optimism. Hard times bring perspective and reset priorities. But even more importantly, if salvation is about knowing God and always remembering Him, we should be thankful for events that help us know and remember.
Read “The Strange Blessing That Brought Me Home” by Robin Baudier.
This weekend a new movie called September Dawn was released, presumably to coincide with the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the killing of roughly 120 emigrants by local Mormons who were passing through Southern Utah. Though evidence does not support involvement by Brigham Young or any Church sanction, the Massacre has rightly been a disturbing part of Church history.
This weekend I helped create a new website at mountainmeadowsmassacre.com, with a page specifically about September Dawn. The movie received poor reviews and is not likely to make any lasting impression on the public, but it was unfortunate that it so sensationalized the story and was devoid of serious scholarship and history.
The Church’s recently released article on the Massacre was written by Richard E. Turley, who I recently saw speak at the FAIR Conference. In his presentation, he said the Mountain Meadows Massacre precisely fits the pattern of other massacres which he has studied, i.e. a group of people who has repeatedly been persecuted or injured lashes out against perceived enemies. While this does not excuse the killing of the emigrants, it does help explain how an otherwise peaceful people could perform such an unthinkable act. I look forward to rereading Richard Turley’s talk on the FAIR website when it is available.
My brother Michael drove up from Las Vegas and stayed with me for the weekend of General Conference (the Mormon church’s bi-annual worldwide conference) earlier this month. We watched four of the General Conference sessions on TV and attended the Priesthood session in person. We didn’t have any tickets so we were fortunate to be given one by a stranger, and then we ran into Dave Blake who gave us a second ticket.
I enjoyed the talks in the Priesthood session quite a bit, especially Elder Hales on “being there,” Bishop McMullin on “unencumbering our lives,” and President Hinckley on being clean. The music by the BYU Men’s Chorus was phenomenal.
Right before the Priesthood session started, the big screen flashed a message I hadn’t seen before (roughly): “We realize there are people outside the Conference Center that may try to disrupt the special spirit that you will feel during this meeting. Therefore we urge you to be courteous to those people.”
This statement referred to anti-Mormon protesters who always gather outside the Conference Center, but the most interesting phrase was “we urge you to be courteous to those people.” (It didn’t say, “We wish they would be courteous to us so we can enjoy this Conference.”) The phrasing seemed to imply that feeling a spirit of peace depends only on us, not on outside influences. Arguing with a street preacher would most certainly disturb one’s peace, but being courteous protects it.
In 1960, Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy spoke to a gathering of Protestant church ministers in Houston about his Catholicism and why American voters shouldn’t be concerned with a Catholic president. Now as Mitt Romney runs as the Mormon candidate for U.S. President, some are asking whether he will or should give a similar speech to dispel concerns about his being Mormon.
In fact, an op-ed piece in the New York Times today suggests that Mr. Romney should give such a speech when he speaks at the commencement of Regent University, a school founded by evangelical Christian Pat Robertson.
John F. Kennedy opened his speech by pointing out that there were bigger things to worry about than his religion, but then went on to successfully dispel concerns anyway.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute–where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote–where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference–and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish–where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source–where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials–and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.
For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew–or a Quaker–or a Unitarian–or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim–but tomorrow it may be you–until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end–where all men and all churches are treated as equal–where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice–where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind–and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood. (Source)
I think there are much more pressing things to discuss than Mitt Romney’s religion. A discussion of real issues will more aptly reveal Mitt’s dispositions and character anyway. Why bother discussing causes if there are no symptoms?
If Mitt chooses to deliver such a speech, JFK’s speech provides a good precedent. But it’s a bit lame that it should matter to anyone. Those who would create a religious test for office are trampling the rights to which we all lay claim.
Joseph Smith, 1843:
If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a “Mormon,” I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination. (via)
We Mormons hold a “General Conference” every six months. Many church members come to Salt Lake City from around the world to hear inspiring talks by Church leaders. Most church members watch the proceedings of the Conference on TV, by satellite in distant countries, or on the Internet.
In the last General Conference, which occurred one week ago, Elder Richard G. Scott spoke about prayer, mentioning President Hinckley’s prayer at the conclusion of the October 2001 General Conference as an example of effective and sincere prayer.
I have learned much about prayer by listening to President Hinckley offer supplications in our meetings. You can also learn from him by carefully studying the exceptional public prayer he offered at the conclusion of the October 2001 conference for Father’s children throughout the world. He prayed from his heart, not from a prepared manuscript.
Study that prayer, and you will find that there are no vain repetitions, no posturing to impress others, as sometimes occurs. He combines simple words eloquently. He prays as a humble, trusting son who knows well his beloved Father in Heaven. He confides in the certainty that His answer will come when most needed. Each prayer is tailored to its purpose, with a clear statement of what needs resolution, as well as ample expression of gratitude for specific, recognized blessings. His spontaneous prayers are like crafted gems, a silent witness to the fundamental place prayer has occupied in his life for many, many years. (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer”)
Here is the text of the prayer to which Elder Scott referred. This was one month after the September 11th attack.
O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Judge of the Nations, Thou who art the governor of the universe, Thou who art our Father and our God, whose children we are, we look to Thee in faith in this dark and solemn time. Please, dear Father, bless us with faith. Bless us with love. Bless us with charity in our hearts. Bless us with a spirit of perseverance to root out the terrible evils that are in this world. Give protection and guidance to those who are engaged actively in carrying forth the things of battle. Bless them; preserve their lives; save them from harm and evil. Hear the prayers of their loved ones for their safety. We pray for the great democracies of the earth which Thou hast overseen in creating their governments, where peace and liberty and democratic processes obtain.
O Father, look with mercy upon this, our own nation, and its friends in this time of need. Spare us and help us to walk with faith ever in Thee and ever in Thy Beloved Son, on whose mercy we count and to whom we look as our Savior and our Lord. Bless the cause of peace and bring it quickly to us again, we humbly plead with Thee, asking that Thou wilt forgive our arrogance, pass by our sins, be kind and gracious to us, and cause our hearts to turn with love toward Thee. We humbly pray in the name of Him who loves us all, even the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior, amen. (President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Till We Meet Again”)
This morning the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an editorial from UNLV professor of journalism Daniel Stout contending that Mitt Romney’s Mormonism isn’t likely to be an issue in his presidential campaign or his politics. The article points out that the Mormon church advocates a separation of church and state much more than protestant churches do. Its 12th Article of Faith states a belief in “obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” and it regularly emphasizes that the Church is neutral on political issues and candidates. The Mormon church gets involved in politics only on rare issues that affect families, marriage, and other related topics.
Current Mormon politicians like Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch span the range of political ideologies, showing that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t walk in lock-step.
While no one can say definitively what a Mormon president will be like, fears about a closed system in the White House or strong denominational influence seem premature. If elected and Mormonism turns out to be salient in a Romney administration, it is likely to be manifest in some other than partisanship or biased communication.
The Economist has a good article about the Mormon church. It mentions that the church has grown tremendously since it was first founded in New York by Joseph Smith and now has more members outside the U.S. than inside. There’s also the debate of whether to call it a worldwide church or a U.S. church with foreign adherents.
Rodney Stark, an American sociologist, pronounced 20 years ago that the Mormon faith was on the way to becoming the first world religion to be founded since Muhammad; he thought the number of adherents might exceed 260m by the second half of the 21st century.
Since then, the rate of growth has eased a little, though it remains impressive compared with many Christian denominations.
The article mentions Mitt Romney and Brandon Flowers as prominent Mormons.
It also mentions that church membership in Brazil (where I spent two years as a Mormon missionary) and Mexico constitute 1 million of the Church’s almost 13 million members.
Good article.
Source: Economist.com
Via: Sustaind.org
The Church recently released a new beta version of its Newsroom site. It includes lots of statistics and information about several countries and each state in the U.S. Here is some info on Nevada:
In 1852, three years after the discovery of gold in California, seven members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church) established a trading post in what is now Genoa (near Lake Tahoe)…. In 1855, 30 men were called to establish a mission at the Meadows in southern Nevada…. In the late 1920s, many Utahns moved to Nevada in search of better economic conditions. The Las Vegas Nevada Temple was dedicated in 1989 as “an oasis of peace and light.”
The Reno temple was dedicate in April 2000. Of the 2.4 million people in Nevada, 167,822 are Mormons (6.9%). Nevada has 2 missions, 2 temples, 5 family history centers, and 304 congregations (ward/branches).
Famous Mormons in/from Nevada include Brandon Flowers, Gladys Knight, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Source: LDS Newsroom, statistics on Nevada and Wikipedia