Despite the title, this isn’t about current or past political representatives in Washington D.C. That would be an interesting topic to pursue, but not here. When a reporter does a story they cannot make it up from their heads. That isn’t to say reporters don’t pontificate and call it news. In fact, today it is hard to tell the difference between fact and commentary, much less comedy, when listening to the news. Another topic for future consideration. Reporters must search out and interview eyewitnesses or experts to answer questions and provide insights into daily events. This is no less the case with stories dealing with Mormons, and there are a few voices that continually get printed.

Essentially reporters are lazy. They always have been, with few exceptions. It isn’t always the fault of the reporter or the business as a whole. A story needs to be told by a deadline as expected by editors and readers. Time is short between idea or event and printing. Of course, that means short cuts with the famous “Rolodex” sitting on the computer desk. The reality is one of the few mirrors of stereotypes. The list of names might be long or short depending on topic or experience, but they will be alphabetical.

Reading the news it becomes clear that Mormonism has a short list tucked away for references. The same names appear for quotations in diverse newspapers. There might be an unused name to help with specific topics, but essentially there are no surprises. The smaller the newspaper the less familiar quoted references become, because they don’t have the money or means to contact the power voices. Chances are they still go back to a few of the same people on other stories if tracked.

Focusing on the bigger newspapers, who are the “go to” Mormon representatives that readers can find in the rags? Not all of them have been Mormon, as some non-Mormons are very knowledgeable without over bias. On the other hand, there are Mormons used that can be considered poor choices. Continue reading →

Picture in your mind, and it shouldn’t take much imagination, a young boy participating in the priesthood function of the Sacrament. He lowers his head during the prayers and then gleefully hands out the water and bread to the congregation. Just like what happens every Sunday, he returns to the cloth covered table and sets down the silver trays he passed around the room. There is nothing unusual about the actions.

What is relatively different is the boy. He is far from unable to perform normal tasks, but his mental capacity is abnormally limited. During any other time he won’t sit still without trying to talk to whoever will lend him an ear. Despite his age, his thoughts and actions are far closer to a person younger than Priesthood age. Often he has to be kindly reminded his behavior is not appropriate, although lacking any serious disruptive nature.

The difference between the boy with the Sacrament tray and the same boy without it in his hand can be remarkable. You are almost awe struck by his sincere appreciation of the routine Priesthood function as you are his antics at other times. It is a reminder that the gifts and blessings of the Priesthood are beyond the people who are given the responsibilities. Continue reading →

I have been having an interesting conversation with a non-Mormon who only recently discovered Mormonism. What caught my eye at first was reading:

I had always viewed Mormonism as a legalistic branch of Christianity combined with a ridiculous story about Jesus having come to America to preach to American Indians. For all the exotic religions from the ancient world, from the middle ages, from the more recent past, I’d explored I never looked at a faith with 6 million modern day Americans with anything more than a passing glance because I assumed there would be nothing interesting to see. And just recently with one of those passing glances I did a double take. I ran into an internet discussion with a bunch of religious Mormons the kind that don’t know what coffee tastes like and were married by 23, using authors from History of Religions in a religious debate, the sort of authors and more importantly concepts that usually only atheists or radical theologians would cite; and the Mormons showed clear signs of having read, understood and at least in some part approving of those books.

And so I was caught off guard, so I read more and more of the discussions on that board, and saw ideas from esoteric Christianity, what looked to me like ideas from Rosicrucianism, being used casually. A bunch of people who all think George W. Bush was a good president, citing religious ideas that Paul Tillich might think but would figure too radical to speak? This warranted more investigation. And after a few weeks I’ve come to the conclusion that Mormonism is genuinely cool. A truly new American religion, a blend of ingredients I’ve never seen before.

Of course, I had to read more. There are some conclusions we Mormons are used to and others that I personally reject. What I liked the most was that this non-Mormon was taking a serious look at the religion without ending up mocking or dismissing. Best of all, there was not a rejection of Mormons as Christians even when discussing highly “unorthodox” beliefs. Responses to my own comments have been cordial and even insightful for a person who newly discovered the complicated world of Mormonism within a month. I highly recommend reading (and perhaps engaging) the three part series. Continue reading →

Like Abraham and Joseph Smith, looking up at the stars has from pre-history filled the hearts and minds of people with religious and scientific wonder. Thinking about the astonishing discoveries found in the Universe, I paused to consider like Moses, “that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10). It has been said that the number of stars that exist are beyond calculating. That is still true, but now scientific exploration of the cosmos shows that galaxies cannot be numbered. Still more impressive is that space contains more than stars and planets. At any given place can be seen black holes, clouds of assorted material, radiation and light, and even dark matter where there was once thought to be nothing. The massiveness of what is out there can be too much to contemplate.

Yet, Jesus is quoted in Luke 12:7, saying, “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” How can the Deity that answers prayers and watches over billions also do the same for infinitesimal amounts of material with possibly other life elsewhere he is responsible for? Perhaps He doesn’t have to be directly in control of every particle ever in existence. Free will can account for some events that He is aware of, without necessarily micro-managing. Continue reading →