On the edge of Mormonism's inside -- a review of Why I Stay 2

 

"Why I Stay 2: The Challenges of Discipleship for Contemporary Latter-day Saints," (Signature Books, 2021), is a collection of essays from Latter-day Saints -- many perhaps more liberal -- who explain why they remain active members of a church predominantly comprised of more conservative members, at least in the United States.

The book is edited by academic Robert A. Rees, who penned an introduction and also an essay. He notes how Mormonism has changed a lot since the initial "Why I Stay" book was published a decade ago. I recall reading "Leaving the Fold," published a generation ago, and it's true that reasons for so-called faith crisis have more impact at different eras. 

That's not to say questions and concerns ever disappear, but at times historical revision and transparency had a bigger impact than they do perhaps now. Issues of same-sex marriage, disputes over transgender rights issues, and even rancor over former U.S. President Donald Trump likely play roles in testing an individual's commitment to Mormonism. 

To me, the greatest value in the collection is it offers readers the opportunity to learn and appreciate that others -- Saints who want to do good -- are just as righteous as we are, regardless of our cultural and political differences. This may seem like an obvious truth, but assigning evil to others due to disagreement has been going on since Cain slew Abel. The unfortunate maxim -- we demand perfection from those we despise -- still thrives.

The late playwright Eric Samuelson, in his essay, recalls listening during his mission to a general authority provide useless sales-oriented advice to Samuelson and other missionaries. However, the experience taught Samuelson that inspiration is "intermittent," and therefore to be treasured as a gift of the spirit that blesses us. It taught him not everything he hears in an ostensibly spiritual setting is inspiration. His essay concludes with a powerful anecdote of a Spanish-speaking member providing him a blessing of health.

Writer Carol Lynn Pearson's essay posits that she stays because she finds love in the church, and if she encounters a situation where there is not love, the church provides her an opportunity to create love. This is a strong point, particularly in this era where there is strong division over sexual orientation and gender issues. I recall as an editorial page editor, more than a decade ago, receiving many phone calls over the issue of same-sex marriage, which was not legally decided at that time. Callers tended to express their opinions on the issue with hate, rather than love. While this happened on both sides it was predominantly expressed, by callers opposing the issue. 

An essay from Mitch Mayne, a gay Mormon who is active in the church, reminds readers that "Mormonism isn't merely a religion -- it is also a culture, and one that deeply embeds itself into who we are as humans." 

Mayne acknowledges it is tough to stay when he hears messages from other believers that he doesn't belong. But he doesn't want to lose his faith, his culture. He doesn't want the holes in his life that would result from leaving his faith. His essays tells us how he stays in the church, and it's inspiring. He knows he alone is tasked with following the Savior and being a spiritual person.

In a recent Dialogue, Maxine Hanks, who returned to the faith after an excommunication, counseled readers (she was speaking to a group in Utah County) that one way to strengthen our own commitment to the Gospel is to respect the faith journeys of our peers. Loving people brings spirituality. Denouncing people like us because they think the same creates contention, and pleases the Adversary.

"Why I Stay 2" can also make us think about our own personal faith crisis, or even just disagreements. We all have them. Acknowledging that can create some much-needed empathy. (Here is a link to "Why I Stay 2" at Amazon.)

-- Doug Gibson

Review: Exploring Mormon Thought - God's Plan to Heal Evil

It's difficult to blend the "good news" of the Gospel of Christ with evil. Evil is the opposite of righteousness. Yet it will not discriminate the wicked from the faithful. Evil can cause us to doubt our creator's divinity, his powers and his consistency. Its residual effects can lead to permanent discouragement, bitterness, and apostasy. 

In contrast, others can use their faith to endure evil, and even strengthen their beliefs.

How can we explain evil? Or more so, how can we place evil in a plan of a benevolent God? Blake T. Ostler, author of the Exploring Mormon Thought series for Greg Kofford Books, has written the fourth volume, "God's Plan to Heal Evil," 2020, Salt Lake City. (Here are purchase links to Greg Kofford Books and Amazon.)

Examples of evil include the murder of a young child, senseless deaths due to accidents, and examples of disease causing lives to end prematurely. As a father who helplessly held his infant son as he died -- due to an imperfect heart -- soon after birth, I can understand this as evil. Evil moves from a theory to be discussed to a unique, deeply personal experience, when one suffers from it.

Ostler addresses this question: how powerful can God be if he allows evil? All of us have heard the phrase, "it's God's will." Or we have heard that "God respects natural law," so evil has to occur. These are well-meaning arguments that anyone who has experienced will hear. But are they are inconsistent statements, more platitudes than explanations? 

God's power may only be persuasive, and not definitive. If so, prayer is essential.

But how consistent is God if he allows countless innocents to suffer evil while sparing others the same fate through "miracles?" Some miracles are related in the Scriptures; others by well-meaning but insensitive individuals thanking God for providing a miracle that spared them death or other adversity. The question can develop: why are they favored, and not me or my family? Is that really God's plan?

Ostler's solution to these seeming inconsistencies -- which he does not regard as reasons to doubt God -- is to turn evil into love. As followers of the Gospel who are on a path to becoming like God, we must learn "the kind of love that commands us to love our enemies." We need to repay evil with love, the author asserts. It's part of our life-on-earth contract that we consent to suffer the consequences of evil and work to turn the adversity into love. 

Ostler writes: "... we must elicit love both for and from those who carry out such evils ..." He uses Christ's Sermon on the Mount as an example of this theology. "... Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ..." 

God wants us to have a fulfilling and challenging life, Ostler writes. We are asked to progress spiritually through life. Turning evil into love is a challenge, but -- as the author notes -- we have divine assistance. Angels are on earth, ready to help us achieve the spiritual strength necessary to heal evil and turn it into a positive spiritual force.

This concept reminds me of C.S. Lewis' book, "The Great Divorce,' in which "The Teacher," guiding the narrator through his tour to the outskirts of heaven, says: "They say of some temporal suffering, 'No future bliss can make up for it,' not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory."

Turning "agony into a glory" captures the theme of Ostler's "God's Plan to Heal Evil." Placing that theme in the context of Mormonism provides an opportunity for that to be accomplished on earth. Learning to love like God loves is part of our learning process toward divinity.

A final note: There is a lot of valuable information in "God's Plan to Heal Evil." I recommend it. But be patient with the writing. It is dense, thick writing, to a fault. I fear that may stifle readers. But persevere through the text; perhaps limit reading to 10, 20 pages a day. And buy a dictionary. It's worth the read.

--- Doug Gibson

The Backslider reminds us that enjoying sex is part of the Gospel

It’s a pleasure to read Levi S. Peterson’s novel, “The Backslider” every year or two. It’s the tale of Frank Windham, a rural Utah young man in the mid-20th century who is a bit of a hell-raiser but heavily influenced by his Mormon religion. Frank is 20 and “one of those fellows who got bogged down making another man rich,” as Peterson writes on page 4 of the novel.

Out of spite, and soon after he is dumped by the college-gone girlfriend he loved, Frank seduces Marianne, the college-age daughter of his Lutheran employers, Wesley and his wife, Clara. When Marianne gets pregnant, she and Frank decide to get married, give the baby a name, and then eventually part. No one else really takes that pledge seriously except Frank, who has some real issues with enjoying sexual pleasure with a young woman, even if it is within the bounds of marriage.

“The Backslider” is a love story between Frank and Marianne, but it’s also a primer on how to love. Old-fashioned Mormon codes of sex, such as having relations with temple garments on, serve to bridge the old versus the new mores that Frank encounters growing up.

As the late Paul Swenson, writing in Utah Holiday notes, “Guilt, depravity and grace —, Cowboy  themes that Peterson finds fruitful to explore in The Backslider — are not exactly commonplace in fiction peopled primarily by Mormons.” 

“The Backslider” is a frank, sometimes comic novel with incredible depth, that gets into the guilts, resentments, pities, excitement, lust and exaltations that make up high and low points of our lives. Frank’s battles pit his desire to be pious versus his gut-wrenching need to hell-raise makes for wonderful reading, as does his struggle to accept adulthood and take responsibility of himself and his unexpected wife. 

Although Frank’s mother, Margaret, is a faithful Latter-day Saint, both Frank and his brother Jeremy have impressions of the church that are distorted, thanks in part to her, as well as the general culture of the novel’s setting, mid-20th century rural Utah. This leads to tragic consequences for Jeremy. One well-written, amusing passage involves Margaret’s uncomfortable observation that Frank and Marianne’s bed frame needs to be oiled to stop the loud squeaking at night.

Frank, badly affected by his brother Jeremy’s insanity and self-mutilation, finds it almost impossible to reconcile sex with his wife as anything other than a sin. Even her impending baptism doesn’t drive that obsession away until Frank receives a visit from a “Cowboy Jesus,” who tells Frank to stop worrying about these issues, that His atonement has paid the bill up in full. The Cowboy Jesus advises Frank to enjoy his wife and their carnal pleasures and comfort his mother-in-law, who is shook up about her daughter becoming a Mormon.

The whimsy of the final scenes underscore a serious message: pleasure is usually not a sin, although it frequently is assumed to be.

The Backslider can be purchased at many locations. The Signature Books website has it here.

-- Doug Gibson

Portions of this column were previously published in StandardBlogs.