Mainstream vs. Truth

Dear Andy,
Over the past couple of months, I have found myself recalling the great times we have had together since we first met in college. I have such a profound respect for you as a friend, a husband, a father, and as a man of faith. My one great regret over the past years is that we have not had the opportunity to enter into a dialogue concerning the nature of our systems of religious belief. I will never forget the years that you spent in South America on mission. When I first heard that you were leaving college and would be gone for a couple of years, I did not understand why you were going nor did I understand what you would be doing. However, when I spend time with you today, I know that experience was transformational for you. In light of this, I would like to enter into a dialogue with you regarding our religious worldviews. I know that you are a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, however, until recently, I have not had a solid understanding of that religious system. I have spent some time over the past months reading and trying to understand the Mormon religion and I would like to share with you what I have found. I would ask for a portion of grace and understanding as I attempt to verbalize my understanding of your faith tradition. Please accept any errors in my description as ignorance as I will not intentionally misrepresent your faith. I hope that we can continue this conversation over the years to come as we both attempt to open our eyes to the realities of our differing perspectives.
I must begin by divulging the sources of my information. First, a text written by Mary Farrell Bednarowski, a professor of Religious Studies at United Theological Seminary, has been very enlightening in its treatment of the core beliefs and systems of Mormonism.[1] In addition to this text, I am currently enrolled in a course that investigates not only the Christian worldview but also that of many other religious systems. My hope is that neither of these sources has provided me with a “Christianized” argument against the Mormon faith. Now that I have provided you with the sources for my information, let me begin by sharing with you my understanding of some of the tenants of your faith.
Central to Mormon theology is the concept of God as Father. In this sense, God is the literal father of all people, and God is the literal Father of Jesus Christ. The concept of Father is not allegorical or figurative in nature. God, who exists and operates within time and space, is a male being with a physiology like yours and mine. In addition to physiological similarities between God and humans, God also has emotions and feelings. These psychological characteristics are the source of God’s creative will; God created this world out of love and has true empathy for us, since God was once one of us. While God did create this world, God is not the creator who made all things out of nothing. In addition, God is not alone. God coexists with many other gods and worlds and must deal with the realities that lie therein.
Connected closely to this understanding of the person of God is the ways in which God is revealed. Bednarowski notes that revelation, above all else, may be the most attacked belief in Mormon theology.[2] Not only is God revealed in nature, God reveals special knowledge to man at different times throughout history. This view does not discount the credibility of the Christian scriptures, but it does state that revelation did not end around the first century C.E.
Concerning the nature of humanity, Mormonism views the individual as made up of three distinct parts: 1) an eternal intelligence which has always existed; 2) a spiritual body which was conceived by celestial parents; and 3) a physical body which was conceived by mortal parents. Mormonism has a high view of humanity since it has connections with God’s purposes. Human mortality simply acknowledges that humans cannot escape death. However, our mortal lives are seen as vital to the spiritual growth of the person, because it is during this period of mortality that humans learn and grow towards divinity themselves.
Since humans exist as mortals, there must be some understanding of the brokenness that we see in the world and in the lives of people. It is here that the issue of sin is accounted for in Mormon theology. Sin is the result of individual choices and actions; there is no original sin that keeps humanity in bondage from birth. Mormonism does teach that humanity is fallen, but it is through that fallen state that humanity is able to experience God’s grace. If not for the fall, humanity would not have been subjugated to death, and without death, there is no resurrection, which reconnects the spiritual body with the physical body.
I do not intend to quickly pass over the doctrine of the resurrection. Mormonism affirms that Jesus Christ lived, was crucified on a cross, and was resurrected. However, Jesus’ death and resurrection are not a means of atonement or a covering over of sin, a doctrine found in Christianity. Jesus’ resurrection provided the opportunity for all humanity to be resurrected at some point after succumbing to death. Without the resurrection, the physical body and the spiritual body would be eternally separated. Salvation in Mormon theology involves the rejoining of the spiritual and physical body after death. Salvation alone is not the ultimate goal, it considered the “common minimum”; the faith and works of the individual provides for a deeper salvation experience3. The key to any conversation regarding the salvation of humanity in Mormonism is “agency”, the teaching that by their good deeds, humanity earns salvation. As Bednarowski states, “Humanity is saved by grace, but not by grace alone.” [3]
Finally, I would like to express my understanding of the Mormon teachings concerning the afterlife. This teaching is complicated, so I dare not assume that I will state in full or that I understand the totality of this doctrine. First, concerning death, there are several forms including physical death, separation from God, and death as a consequence of sin. Upon death, the spiritual body moves to one of two places, Paradise and Hell. Paradise is a spiritual realm of great activity where we participate in mission, guidance, and other work. For the unrighteous, Hell is the place where their spiritual bodies await the resurrection. When the resurrection occurs, both Hell and Paradise cease to exist. From here, there are three levels of God’s kingdom where most of humanity will dwell; 1) the telestial; 2) the terrestrial; and 3) the celestial. Those who have committed terrible sins are sent to dwell with the devil. Concerning the three levels of God’s kingdom, the telestial level, the first level, is not the goal or the desired dwelling place for Mormons. The ultimate hope is to dwell in the highest kingdom, the celestial kingdom, which is the place where the family dwells together and becomes like God.
Now that I have expressed my elementary understanding of the Mormon tradition, I would like to provide you with an overview of my worldview. You have known since we first met that I am a follower of Jesus Christ and consider myself a Christian. It concerns me greatly when I turn on religious television and see the representations of my faith that are sent across the airwaves. I would like to clarify my understanding of the story for you. I believe that, before time and out of nothingness, God spoke all things into existence. This first statement is critical to the Christian worldview because there is a distinction between the created and the creator. In Christianity, nothing existed before God and God is the uncreated One. Upon creating the physical world, God created man and woman and breathed into them the Imago Dei, the image of God. Having been created in God’s image, humanity has a unique relationship with God. God created humanity to live in community, and God desires to be a part of that community. The first question in scripture is, “Where are you?”[4] This question signifies God’s search for us, a search that continues to this day. God’s search for us is a result of the fall, the moment in the story where the first people accepted the lie of the serpent and ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This act signified humanity’s desire to be more than God intended; the desire to be like God. As a result, humanity was separated from God and became subject to death.
Over many centuries, revelation of God was given to the nation of Israel. Through this relationship, God established laws and practices which were intended to help the nation turn towards God and away from their sinful nature. However, humanity does not have the ability to perfect itself, nor do humans have the capacity to live sinless lives. In an act of loving condescension, God became one of us by sending God’s son, born of a virgin named Mary, around the beginning of the first century C.E. The birth of Jesus firmly placed God ‘s actions within the realm of time and space. Having lived a sinless life, Jesus became an acceptable substitute for the sins of all humanity. On the cross, Jesus took on the sins of the world, died and was separated from God. Jesus then rose from the dead, leaving behind an empty tomb, claiming the ultimate victory over death. As a Christian, I take seriously Jesus’ words that he came to announce, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”[5] Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God and his death and resurrection began an era in which Christians live partially in God’s Kingdom as we await full realization of God’s Kingdom and the restoration of God’s creation. [6] In response to this, Jesus Christ is the only path to reconnection with God and the only means by which we may inherit eternal life with God.[7]
Having expressed my understanding of the Mormon tradition and having provided an overview of the Christian perspective, areas of commonality as well as areas of inconsistency are obvious. First and most profound to me is the idea that God empathizes with humanity. We both share an understanding that God knows what it is like to be human. God understands the realities of our temptations, he understands the power of love, and he experienced the sadness and pain of death. However, I must acknowledge that we come to this understanding in conflicting ways. Where Mormonism teaches that God was once human, therefore God empathizes, Christianity teaches that God’s empathy comes through the person of Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus is the vehicle through which the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is able to empathize with the realities of the human condition.
Secondly, both Mormonism and Christianity acknowledge that humanity lives in a fallen state. The choice made by the first humans in the garden brought sin and death into the world. The two worldviews split once we travel further down this road. The Mormon understanding that the fall is good in that it facilitates death, which in turn leads to resurrection and salvation, is inconsistent with Christian teaching. Christianity understands that God created all things and called them good. Creation was filled with purpose and humanity played an image-bearing role in creation. Christianity cannot reconcile that God intended for man to sin so that God could provide a means of salvation
Finally, I would like to acknowledge a differentiation between our worldviews that I found interesting. The Christian understanding of the afterlife is very nebulous. Within the Christian faith, while all believers affirm a Heaven where we will live with God for eternity, some believers do not affirm the existence of a literal Hell. In addition, not all Christians agree on the timing by which we are joined with God; either immediately upon our death or at the second coming of Jesus Christ. I understand that this lack of consistency within Christian doctrine of the afterlife contributes in some capacity to the confidence with the Mormon tradition that God has revealed new knowledge as to the nature of Heaven and Hell. The specificity with which the Mormon faith describes the afterlife is fascinating to me. I do not mean to belittle or disagree with the teachings in any way; I simply find it interesting that our two traditions hold things in common, yet we have much different concepts of what lies in store for humanity after death.
I am so grateful for your willingness to read this letter and to enter into this conversation with me. I understand that society tells us not to talk about politics or religion if we are to be politically correct; however, I believe that the depth of our relationship is such that we can have productive and informative conversations on these sensitive issues without altering our affection towards each other. So often, culture and even other religious systems misrepresent our theological understandings in an attempt to discredit our faith. I hope that we can enter into this dialogue free from any intentional misrepresentations. Again, I am so very honored to call you my friend and I am excited about the possibility that this conversation will lead us down a path to an even closer relationship
Sincerely,
Chad[1] Bednarowski, Mary Farrell. New Religions & the Theological Imagination in America. (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989).[2] Bednarowski, p. 22.[3] Bednarowski, p. 49.[4] Genesis 3:9[5] Mark 1:15 (NRSV)[6] Various writings and teachings of N.T. Wright. Wright understands 1 Corinthians 15:25-29 as Paul’s assertion that the Kingdom of God is both a present and future reality. In addition, Wright accepts as gospel the restoration of God’s creation as having been initiated by Christ.[7] John 14:6

My response...


Chad,

I am excited that we have an opportunity to discuss our beliefs centralized around our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The unfortunate consequence of our nickname, Mormons,
is that people are led to think that we do not share the same convictions in following
Christ as mainstream Christians. The fact that we are members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints seems to be overlooked. Even in your letter you only referred
to my faith as “the Church of Latter Day Saints”. The “Latter Day Saints” is only meant to
distinguish us from the church that Christ established while on the earth and His church
today that He reestablished after there had been a time without all His truths and
ordinances known to the LDS faith as the Apostasy. In this letter I hope to share with you
my beliefs as a Christian and also the differences that my specific faith has with
mainstream Christianity.

In your letter, it is obvious that you have received an in depth but brief education as to
the beliefs of the LDS faith. However I do wish to correct the most erroneous comment.
You wrote that, “Mormonism affirms that Jesus Christ lived, was crucified on a cross, and
was resurrected. However, Jesus’ death and resurrection are not a means of
atonement or a covering over of sin, a doctrine found in Christianity.” I do not blame
you for this mistake as I assume that you were most likely taught that we do not believe
in Christ’s atonement as a means to overcome our sins and death. I have struggled my
whole life with mainstream Christian churches teaching their congregations that
Mormons do not believe in Christ in an effort to keep anyone from investigating any
further my beliefs. It is hard for me to imagine what is worse: to teach that we do not
believe in Christ at all or to teach that we believe in His existence but not his
atonement. To believe that Jesus Christ is not our Savior, to me, is to negate the very
reason He came to Earth. I’d like to share with you what we teach of Christ so that you
may know what role He plays in the LDS faith.

Since my faith does not believe the mainstream Christian’s definition of deity as found in
the Nicene Creed, many churches teach that we do not believe in Christ or that we are
not Christians. It is true that the LDS faith believes that God the Father, His Son Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Ghost exist as three separate Beings acting together as the
Godhead. As I study the Bible and LDS scriptures, I conclude that without an external
definition given by either the Nicene Creed, authoritative leadership, or a spiritual
confirmation, it can not be determined whether the Trinity of mainstream Christianity or
the LDS doctrine of the Godhead is what the scriptures teach. It is also important to
understand that those of the LDS faith believe that we are created in the image of God
in its literal sense. I do not feel that it is coincidence that we as humans are the only
creation of God referred to in any scripture that I am familiar with as His children. We
believe that we as humans share the same physical characteristics of God down to ten
fingers and ten toes. We believe that both God and Jesus Christ live in an exalted,
immortal body of flesh and bone and that the Holy Spirit alone has not a physical body.
We also believe that we are not only created in the image of God but also that we are
descendants of God as His begotten spirit children and that we lived in His presence as
spirits before we came to live on this earth to further our progression. We believe that as
mortal humans on this earth there are two things that separate us from God’s presence:
our sins and our mortal bodies. Without overcoming these two obstacles, we believe
that we can never dwell in God’s presence again. We believe that God has prepared
a way back to His presence and we call it the Plan of Salvation. In the Plan of
Salvation, God has given us a means to overcome our sins and our mortality through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son on this earth. In the Book of
Mormon, we are taught:

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be
fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon
him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the
flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon
him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now
behold, this is the testimony which is in me.” Alma 7:11-13

This particular scripture is unique because it is the only one that I know of that teaches
that Christ not only suffered the pains of our sins but the pains of all suffering. In fact, if
you were to continue familiarizing yourself with the LDS’s teachings of The Atonement,
you would see that we believe that Christ’s scope towards our salvation is typically
more than what is taught in mainstream Christianity. The temptation seems to be with
my non LDS friends to somehow try to diminish our belief in Christ because we aspire to
one day be all that God is. It is because of that very belief that increases the role that
Christ plays in our salvation! For without the sacrifice that Christ made for us, we believe
that we would be a lost and fallen people unable to ever live with God again. The
Book of Mormon also reiterates this point by teaching,

“And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that
Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone
for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be
an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost,
and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.
For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of
any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.” Alma 34:8-10

I hope that by reading this information you are able to see past what you have been
told about my faith not believing in the single most important moment in the history of
the world, the Atonement. I also hope that you will understand that if we, as Mormons,
believe we truly are the actual children of God, and not just one of His infinite creations,
then He would want, as any good father, for us to have and be all that He has and is.
Under that light I hope you see that we do not intend to prop ourselves up as something
more than God wants, but that we simply seek to fulfill God’s will as His children. We
believe in the literal teachings of Paul to the Romans when he said,

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of
God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16-17)

For quite some time I was perplexed as to why so many of my mainstream Christian
friends found this specific belief to be offensive until I realized that it is your doctrine that
teaches that God is not of the same substance as humans and that humans have as
much chance to be like God as does any other of His infinite creations. Over the years,
I’ve been able to familiarize myself more with the beliefs of other religions who profess
Christ as their Savior and it has served me a great deal in understanding the reason
behind so many misconceptions with the LDS faith. If a Christian is to be defined by the
doctrine set forth by the Catholic Church and or Nicene Creed, then by its standards
and doctrine we are not Christian. However if a Christian is to be defined by their belief
in the infinite scope in which Christ’s atonement can bring about salvation and eternal
life, then I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has the most
complete doctrine found anywhere and for that reason I am part of it.

It is Christ that I follow above all else. I choose to be part of the LDS faith because of my
beliefs and convictions in my Lord and Savior. It is my belief that I should continually
seek out the truth of all things despite the sometimes difficult consequences. I would
encourage you to study the life of our Lord and Savior even Jesus Christ and ask
yourself if you are part of His church. Even before that, one would have to see the
need to align himself to His church and not just His teachings. I believe that many
Christian religions teach correct principles from the Bible but are the principles all we
need for salvation? If we are to believe in all the Bible’s teachings then we also believe
in the need for ordinances such as baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit by
laying on of hands for our salvation. Can anyone baptize someone else in the name of
our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit or is there a need for authority in relation to our
Lord’s saving ordinances? If not every man can have the authority, which men can
and by whom do they gain this authority? I would challenge you as a faithful believer
of Christ to ask yourself whether or not gaining an education alone is what gives
someone authority. Christ did not give His apostles authority by a series of classes but
by the Holy Priesthood and through the power of the Holy Spirit. The very history behind
your Christian faith came from recognizing that there was no authority within the
Catholic Church because of its corruption and ever convenient doctrinal modifications.
Those brave Reformists refused to be part of something that did not align itself with
Christ’s teachings which is always the first clue into recognizing that there is no authority.
Which of the Reformists that you’re aware of taught that they had authority?

I’d like to conclude this letter by saying that I value our friendship a great deal. I hope
that this is only the beginning of our correspondences in relation to our beliefs. This
world would have us be filled with hate and spite. I pray that we will always remember
that it is Christ who saves and no other. I know that Christ is my Savior and yours. I know
that He is merciful and yearns for our return. These truths have been witnessed to me by
the Holy Spirit and I can not deny them. Thank you for your letter and your friendship.


Your Brother in Christ,


Ruggles