Author Archives: Jettboy

If You Want to Learn About a Ford (Mormonism) . . .

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When heated discussions about Mormonism come up online with negative portrayals of theology, almost inevitably a Mormon will make what at first sounds like a reasonable request. They will ask as an analogy, If you want to learn about Ford vehicles, do you go to a Honda dealership? No, they will state. This will be followed by a request to ask a Mormon or, visit mormon.org, or lds.org websites for research. Not sure where this “meme” reaction came from. It isn’t a completely bad request, but it can be cringe worthy.

The problem is the phrasing and logic of the answer is not correct. When you want to learn about Ford vehicles, do you go to a Honda dealership? Well yes you will go to both if you want a good comparison in price and reliability. In fact, those looking for a car in general might go to a number of dealerships unless they have made up their minds already what kind of brand they hold loyalty or preference. Continue reading →

Romney’s Path to the Mormon Presidency

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Thinking about editor Albert R. Hunt’s silly post-primary prediction where he sees Romney, “becoming president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” I decided to do a little math experiment on the probability that Mitt Romney could someday become the LDS Prophet. He will be 65 in 2012 during the election year. I will be using the most realistic “fast track” path.

He loses the bid for U.S. President, either in the primary or the general. This frees him up for a Church calling/assignment. The LDS Church leadership asks him to become a mission president. That lasts for 3 years. When finished he returns and is called to the First Quorum of the Seventy for another 3 years. He is now officially a General Authority with real “inner circle” leadership status, although limited by whatever duties given. Continue reading →

State of the Mormon Presidential Hopefuls

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For disclosure, I admit to supporting Michele Bachmann above any other current candidate. She seems to me the most consistent with my own political positions. If it wasn’t for the fact that I live in a last to vote in the primaries State (how is that for all votes count?) my involvement in the process would be much more. For the moment I can only hope that primary voters who do have some power will give her more of a shot. As this year’s Iowa Ames straw poll shows, newspaper and national polls don’t tell the whole story.

That out of the way, this isn’t directly about her. Two Mormon contenders are in the Republican Party who want to be the next U.S. President. Their chances could not be more different. Continue reading →

The Faith Convictions of Muslims

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Before the tragic attack on the World Trade Center, I had a grudging respect for the Muslim faithful. They seemed the most spiritual and religiously conservative group on the planet, untouched by the Western immorality and atheism. There was the accusation that was only because of the lack of educational opportunities, but even those who went to Western and U.S. schools went back home without losing religious convictions. There was something about Islam that a person who had their own strong faith convictions had to admire.

When the infamous 9-11 attack happened, there was hope that citizens of the United States could learn something about themselves out of the deadly chaos. Perhaps the Christian nation as a whole would re-evaluate the moral direction it had taken. They would take notice of Muslims and look within to question how they had lost their spiritual way. Certainly they could contrast the strength of conviction and moral cohesion of such a large group of people and come away determined to change. For one brief week it seemed possible.

That illusion was quickly shattered. It didn’t take very long for people to continue going about their business like always. Each generation seeming more intent than the next to rid themselves of religious and moral guidance. Meanwhile, the extremist Islamist leaders ended up sharing the anti-Christian, anti-Israel, and anti-United States stances of Western liberals. That wasn’t a surprise, but how they played off each other was. They ended up doing the your enemy is my enemy dance. The terrorists came off not as moral crusaders, but political despots eager for attention with the blood of the dead. Still, the question stands how Muslims remain faithful stalwarts in such large numbers while Christianity, and Mormonism included, continues to stumble. Continue reading →

Mormons, Scripture, and Authority of God

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Reading Scriptures with family and personal study has been emphasized by the LDS Church leadership for generations. The founding of Mormonism started with Joseph Smith reading from the family Bible and getting inspiration to pray for spiritual guidance. He perhaps got more than he expected with the First Vision and then Book of Mormon translation. Those who study his life and sermons seriously have to be blind to not notice his intense Bibliophile tendencies, regardless of disagreement with his conclusions. This same high regard for Scripture reading, even if extending to “extra-Biblical” revelatory texts, has continued among members of the LDS Church since his time. Studies, flawed though they might be, consistently show that the readings have paid off in knowledge of the Bible and even general Christianity; outpacing some who pride themselves in such things.

Because the Scriptures are so important to the Mormon religious life, a book by one of my favorite “Historical Jesus” writers caught my attention. Former bishop of Durham of the Church of England, N.T. Wright informs and critique the modern movement of Jesus studies as the most faithful scholar to tackle the subject without outright dismissal. He wrote Scripture and the Authority of God with the hope of giving Bible readers a better model for understanding the definitive Christian catalog of writings. I shared that hope, even while worried that his approach as a non-Mormon would end in disagreement. Continue reading →