For the last several weeks, I’ve been attending a Lutheran church. I randomly decided to try it in September and happened to be there the first day the pastor started a series of sermons related to the Reformation and the fundamental beliefs of Lutheranism. On the last Sunday, he talked about the Christian tradition of taking a stand. Christians have a heritage of protest. Here I Stand is the echo of each new Christian sect at its roots.
This made me think of Mormonism, of course. The LDS Church is just as focused on being the one, true Mormonism as they are the one, true Church. But it’s not true. Mormonism is vast with many of its own schisms, and all have begun with some taking a stand on some issue or other.
And it was what Joseph Smith did as well, right? He looked at what Christianity had to offer, and he chose none of the above.
But while this Lutheran pastor talked about celebrating Martin Luther for his protest, he always warned about knowing when enough is enough. He talked about reformation, but then he talked about reconciliation. He talked about coming together as the body of Christ.
Which also made me think of my Mormon family, of course. And this time not so much just the schisms among the different branches of Mormonism. But more within the LDS Church that is my spiritual home. It is fractured. It is separated into parts of the whole that contain conservatives and liberals and white Mormons and Mormons of color and cis-het members and LGBTQ members. We’re all broken apart.
We need a new Martin Luther. This time it isn’t about taking religion to the masses. It is about accepting the masses into religion. We need someone who can nail the thesis of reconciliation to the door. We need someone to say Here I Stand—but by an open door that invites everyone in.
Leah Marie
Leah Marie earned a BA in Political Science, and a Masters in Public Administration. She is currently working towards her PhD in Public Policy. She is wife to an English professor, and mother to 3 beautiful boys.
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That’s not exactly what Joseph Smith did.. he sought for wisdom & revelation through prayer, was visited by God and Jesus, and was given direct answers to his query. Joseph was called to be a prophet, and a restorer, rather than simply a reformer (which, granted – was a huge role, and we should all be grateful for the tremendous efforts of Luther and many others). But to Joseph, real priesthood keys and legitimate authority were given by angels and resurrected beings… He certainly bucked traditions and was a force of change, yes — but because he was delivering God’s words as they were revealed to him. I hope you can choose to stay with the faith. Nothing against the Lutheran church, if that’s what you want, lots of great people are Lutherans & other faiths sure… but IMO you’re turning away from a tremendous buffet table set with a feast to go and nibble on some breadcrumbs.
This was a tremendous exercise in completely missing the point, Tom.
Was it? If I understand you, it sounds like you want someone (or want to be someone) who can stand up and be a Martin Luther – point out where the church is wrong / failing / needs to change.. ? I would suggest that’s the role of the prophet & apostles, and I think they do a wonderful job of it. The main problem I see is that we don’t do a terribly great job of following what they are teaching.
You see the church as fractured.. in what way is the church “broken apart”? We could certainly show more love to those who feel apart, perhaps that was your point.. I’m not sure Martin Luther is the best metaphor.
Thank you, Leah.
Hence my main issue with this blog. All of the authors seem to be always right and always smarter than everyone else.
First, I think you are conflating the idea of what the “true church” means with truth in general. Believing in the “true church” means believing in priesthood authority to administer ordinances. Based on prophetic writings, both ancient and modern, it’s pretty clear that these individuals (meaning prophets and apostles) never intended to be sole sources of disseminating all truth. Believing in truth means accepting truth wherever it comes from. The truth that Luther learned was that the Church’s teachings were inconsistent with scriptural text. However, he had some incorrect interpretations, based on an LDS understanding, about the role of grace and free will.
Second, when you talk about the fractured spiritual home of the Church, I don’t understand that. You point out the divisions based on politics, race, and sexual orientation. What I see at church is very different. I associate with people at church I otherwise would have no other connection to. Their backgrounds, cultural, politics, and race are frequently different from my own. But our mutual understanding is that we are can look past that and show love towards others as Christ taught. The schisms you talk about only exists if we allow ourselves and others to be defined by those traits. I’m not denying that that those traits are important or deserving of understanding, but rather they aren’t a qualification for love.
I empathize with our LGBTQ members as they search for a place within the LDS church. But I also have seen leaders struggle with how to let these individuals know that they are loved and welcome. I think we fail to realize that pain is often felt on both sides of the equation. I have a hard time believing that the majority of church leaders, upon learning about November Policy thought, “Wow, I can’t wait to drop this truth bomb on some apostates.”
My concluding thought is the “Mormon” Luther you are looking for, isn’t going to come. The reformation we should be looking for, is within ourselves as part of the general church membership. We should make church the most welcoming place it can possibly be, while affirming our understanding of religious truth. Many will not accept it and that’s fine, because we don’t have a “monopoly on truth” as Hugh B. Brown said and we are commanded to “judge not”.