Mormonism & the Mormon church

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

While some are fascinated with the sacred temple garment that endowed¹, temple-going Mormons wear, another kind of Mormon underwear goes virtually unnoticed!

The Mormon church encourages modest dress and demeanor. Mormon girls and boys are encouraged to follow the guidelines in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet:

Servants of God have always counseled his children to dress modestly to show respect for him and for themselves. Because the way you dress sends messages about yourself to others and often influences the way you and others act, you should dress in such a way as to bring out the best in yourself and those around you. However, if you wear an immodest bathing suit because it’s “the style,” it sends a message that you are using your body to get attention and approval, and that modesty is not important.

Immodest clothing includes short shorts, tight pants, and other revealing attire. Young women should refrain from wearing off-the-shoulder, low-cut, or revealing clothes. Young men should similarly maintain modesty in their dress. All should avoid tight fitting or revealing clothes and extremes in clothing and appearance.

Source: For the Strength of Youth: Dress and Appearance

Since recent fashion trends are toward bare midriffs and sleeveless styles, several clothiers have sprung up to bridge the gap (pun intended) between what faithful Mormons want to wear and what is sold in stores. Companies like Modbe, ComforTeez, and Great Lengths sell a variety of camisoles, cap sleeves, and tank tops that Mormon girls and women can wear underneath their clothes, making it possible to wear a wider variety of styles.

1. Endowed Mormons are those who have participated in a series of Mormon temple ceremonies called the endowment. This usually occur before leaving on a Mormon mission or before getting married. Read more about the Mormon temple endowment.

My senator, Harry Reid (D-NV), happens to be a Mormon. Rumors of Mormon governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign have brought a new wave of attention to Mormonism, but Senator Reid’s shared religion goes mostly unnoticed. (I wonder why.) When Harry Reid becomes Senate majority leader in 2007, he’ll be the “most powerful Mormon in Washington.”

USA Today reports that 15 members of Congress are Mormon. The Church encourages participation in civics, which explains this more than proportionate participation by members of the Church. As to whether a Mormon can become president of the United States, BYU Professor Quin Monson says, “If a Mormon can be elected as governor of Massachusetts and a Mormon can be Senate majority leader, certainly a Mormon can be president.”

When Tucker Carlson mentioned that some Southern christians don’t consider Mormon christians, Michael Graham responded that “evangelicals [don't] consider Judaism a form of Christianity either, and yet Joe Lieberman is wildly popular and is probably the most popular Democrat among Southern Republicans. In the modern era, it is not one religion versus another.” (MediaMatters.org)

Speaking of the Church, Senator Reid said: “The church has been a wonderful thing in my life. It helps me try to always do the right thing, understand that what you do has consequences.”

Source: USA Today

The Guardian has a good article on the rock band The Killers. They hail from my hometown of Las Vegas and lead singer Brandon Flowers is a Mormon. They’ve enjoyed successes like opening for U2 and a run at #1 with their latest album Sam’s Town. Brandon’s concept of God sounds like the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith’s:

“Mormonism is a Christian religion, but the biggest thing is we believe we know where we’re going when we die. It’s not just about heaven and hell. The Bible says we’re all made in God’s image but we believe that literally - that God is a man. Other religions have always shied away from embracing that particular concept, but we don’t: we really think God’s a dude.” Flowers laughs. “I’ve always been a believer. It’s always been a big part of my life even when I was young. There’s always been that push-and-pull of living in Sin City and believing in God. And now it’s become absolutely incredible, after all that’s happened to us.”

Source: The Saints of Sin City (The Guardian)

Additional reading: Former BYU’s student’s brother is lead singer of the Killers (BYU Daily Universe)

J. Max Wilson has a good post on the importance of Mormon girls and women accepting who they are — “more precious than rubies”. It includes a video illustrating how the photo of a model’s face becomes marketing material, exposing the amount of fabrication that goes into it and implying that marketing material shouldn’t define our perceptions of beauty:

Video: Exposing Pernicious Perceptions of Beauty

Jeff Lindsay is visiting Las Vegas this week and has two complimentary blog posts about the Church in Sin City. As a Mormon growing up in Las Vegas myself, I found these to be pretty accurate:

My Small World Experience in Las Vegas

Best Show in Las Vegas and My New Favorite Celestial Room

Here are some links that Mormons struggling with homosexuality may find helpful:

• LDS.org: Homosexuality (Same Sex Attraction) — a library of information
• LDS.org: Same Gender Attraction — an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Wickman
• Ask Gramps: What is the Mormon church’s position toward transgendered persons and gay marriages?
• Ask Gramps: How can I overcome same sex attraction to become a faithful Mormon?
• Ask Gramps: Science and Sexual Orientation
• Evergreen International — a non-profit organization that helps people who want to overcome homosexual behavior.
• Superchastity — an interesting idea to change the semantics of homosexuality in the Church and improve understanding and kindness

Last weekend I attended the FAIR Conference where, among other good speakers, I heard Marcus Martins speak about being a “black man in Zion”. Marcus joined the Mormon church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1972, a time when the Church did not allow blacks to hold the priesthood. In 1978 when the priesthood was extended to all worthy males regardless of skin color, Marcus received the priesthood and was the first black to serve as a Mormon missionary.

Here are my notes from his talk:

• The priesthood ban is an “undeniable part of history but an insignificant part of the present”.
• Blacks have an opportunity to exercise faith that other races will never have.
• I believe the priesthood ban was never part of the everlasting gospel, but a custom or law in response to a societal situation
• Priesthood ban not instituted by revelation? “For me this would be enough to explain the ban.”
• “The ban didn’t prevent me from receiving blessings”
• The Nephi-Sam continuum: “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know…” while “to others it is given to believe on their words” (D&C 46:13-14). Sam apparently didn’t experience what Nephi did but he believed Nephi and was blessed.
• We must ask ourselves: Am I faithful, obedient, loyal?
• The 1978 revelation extending the priesthood to blacks helps fulfill D&C 1:20, and was another step in “restoration of all things”.
• The lifting of the priesthood ban parallels the extending of the Gospel to the Gentiles in biblical times.
• It’s His Church. He can do whatever he wants with it.
• Time is a time for activity, not activism. All I want to do is serve in the Church.
• We can teach the past without opening wounds.
• There’s so much war and hatred and people who can’t let go of past prejudices. They should follow the counsel of Paul to be an “example of the believers”.
• My experience is a result of my ancestors being brought to Brazil as slaves by others of my ancestors
• Joseph in Egypt (a symbol of the Savior) also sold as slave and knows what it’s like
• Someday I will have thrones, principalities, and dominions
• In 1973, President Kimball met with my father (Helvecio Martins) and told him that if he remained faithful, he’d receive all blessings of the Gospel. He repeated the promise at the laying of the cornerstone of the Sao Paulo temple in 1977.
• Should Church apologize so we can move on? I don’t think so. No apology needed because the ban was not instituted by Revelation.
• President David O. McKay considered lifting the ban but received “not now”. Harold B. Lee also received a “not now”.
• If Lord took away the priesthood again, I wouldn’t have to hometeach! (Just kidding)
• Some people still harbor racism.
• The ban wasn’t racist but it was a religious justification for racism in some members.

Additional reading:
The Need for Greater Kindness, by President Gordon Hinckley
BlackLDS.org, a website dedicated to black members of the Mormon church
Black Latter-day Saints: A Faith-FULL History
FairWiki: Blacks and the Priesthood

The official title of the Mormon church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The name was given by revelation from God to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1838. It is common, though incorrect, to see a lowercase “t” in the “The” or an uppercase “D” in “day”.

When used in the media, it is preferred that the full title of the church be used, as opposed to “Mormon church”, “LDS church”, or “Church of the Latter-day Saints”. These variations leave out the most important part of the Church’s name — the name of Jesus Christ — and perpetuate false notions about the Mormon church not being Christian. Additional references to the Church may use the term “the Church” or “the Church of Jesus Christ”.

Church members may be referred to as “Latter-day Saints” (better) or “Mormons” (okay). The culture, doctrine, and lifestyle of the Church together may be called “Mormonism”.

For more information, see Style Guide - The Name of the Church.

While these guidelines are important for naming the title of the Church in the media and preventing misconceptions, the use of more colloquial phrases like Mormon church or the Mormons is an important part of reaching out to persons of other faith. Both on the Internet and in person we should use language that is familiar to persons of other faiths and not expect them to understand our esoteric language. As they become more familiar with Mormonism, we can begin to explain the less familiar terms.

Among the latest news around the Mormon church is a letter from Church leaders to local members addressing an upcoming Senate bill that would amend the Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. The letter from the Church asked members to “express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate.” (See KSL.) This effort by the Church is seen by gay rights advocates as discriminatory, and I suppose there are probably gay Mormons within the Church that feel similarly.

The Church rarely takes a position on political issues, except in some family and societal matters, which makes this recent letter all the more interesting. In fact the Church has a policy of being politically neutral:

In this election year, we urge Church members to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then vote for those they believe will most nearly carry out their ideas of good government. Latter-day Saints are under special obligation to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are ‘wise,’ ‘good,’ and ‘honest,’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 98:10). (LDS.org)

The Mormon church’s position on homosexuality is that it’s a behavior and as such can be overcome. I don’t think this denies the possibility that gays may have a biological tendency toward homosexuality, making it difficult to overcome for some. I tend to look at it like a person of Irish descent saying (and I have heard this), “I’m Irish; I have a temper. That’s just the way I am.” No doubt there are tendencies toward certain temperaments, but that doesn’t mean we can’t overcome our tendencies.

FYI, Evergreen International helps gay Mormons overcome homosexuality.

See the following searches at LDSsearch.com for more information:
Gay Mormons
Gays and the Mormon church