Mormonism & the Mormon church

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”)