Friday, September 15, 2006
Reasons for Devotion
I was recently asked by a very intelligent and thoughtful non-Mormon why it is that Mormons seem to always be so dedicated to their religion, at least more so than members of other religions seem to be.
I responded that, due to our history as a persecuted people, we tend to care a lot about what other people think about us, and it's as though we always have to be on our toes. Also, I noted, Joseph Smith said that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never produced the faith sufficient for salvation." We demand a lot of sacrifice, and that strengthens people in the fold.
That answer seemed to satisfy my co-conversant, but as I've thought about it, I'm not sure my answer was entirely correct.
My first revised answer that came to me an hour or two later was this: Well, we really believe our religion. We pray about it and receive a personal confirmation and we therefore know it's true. But I think that answer gives short shrift to members of other religions who truly believe. Plus, there are certainly people on the books of Mormonism who aren't truly converted.
My new, and hopefully final, answer is this. It's a combination of my previous two answers. Mormonism is a demanding religion, and it always has been. In the olden days, it required defending your home from the Missouri mob, or pulling a handcart across a continent. Nowadays we ask for two years of mandatory service for all young men precisely when it's most inconvenient,* we hand out demanding callings, and we still have to deal with a certain amount of prejudice (though, thankfully, it doesn't often rise to homicidal proportions anymore). In addition, we are a close-knit culture with our cliquish ways of doing things.
What that means is that people who don't really believe get weeded out. Sure, they might remain on the recordbooks, but if they aren't willing to give what's asked of them, or if they feel like they don't fit in with the culture, they'll leave and won't identify themselves as Mormons anymore. Or, alternatively, if they realize what it means early on in the missionary process, they never join in the first place. To do so would be to conjure up in the minds of others a conception of a person they are not. Many non-believing Catholics still identify themselves as Catholic, as though it were an ethnicity. But to say "I'm a Mormon" is to say "I served a mission, got married in the temple, and have a demanding calling while doing family history and making Jell-O salad for the ward picnic."
I'm proud to say I'm a Mormon (caveat: I don't make Jell-O salad). I'm proud of my fellow Mormons for making such an impression of firmness and belief on others. It's a tribute to our beliefs and to our people.
* My co-conversant posited how different our society would be if, like the LDS Church, the US government required two years of service. I think he has a point.
I responded that, due to our history as a persecuted people, we tend to care a lot about what other people think about us, and it's as though we always have to be on our toes. Also, I noted, Joseph Smith said that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never produced the faith sufficient for salvation." We demand a lot of sacrifice, and that strengthens people in the fold.
That answer seemed to satisfy my co-conversant, but as I've thought about it, I'm not sure my answer was entirely correct.
My first revised answer that came to me an hour or two later was this: Well, we really believe our religion. We pray about it and receive a personal confirmation and we therefore know it's true. But I think that answer gives short shrift to members of other religions who truly believe. Plus, there are certainly people on the books of Mormonism who aren't truly converted.
My new, and hopefully final, answer is this. It's a combination of my previous two answers. Mormonism is a demanding religion, and it always has been. In the olden days, it required defending your home from the Missouri mob, or pulling a handcart across a continent. Nowadays we ask for two years of mandatory service for all young men precisely when it's most inconvenient,* we hand out demanding callings, and we still have to deal with a certain amount of prejudice (though, thankfully, it doesn't often rise to homicidal proportions anymore). In addition, we are a close-knit culture with our cliquish ways of doing things.
What that means is that people who don't really believe get weeded out. Sure, they might remain on the recordbooks, but if they aren't willing to give what's asked of them, or if they feel like they don't fit in with the culture, they'll leave and won't identify themselves as Mormons anymore. Or, alternatively, if they realize what it means early on in the missionary process, they never join in the first place. To do so would be to conjure up in the minds of others a conception of a person they are not. Many non-believing Catholics still identify themselves as Catholic, as though it were an ethnicity. But to say "I'm a Mormon" is to say "I served a mission, got married in the temple, and have a demanding calling while doing family history and making Jell-O salad for the ward picnic."
I'm proud to say I'm a Mormon (caveat: I don't make Jell-O salad). I'm proud of my fellow Mormons for making such an impression of firmness and belief on others. It's a tribute to our beliefs and to our people.
* My co-conversant posited how different our society would be if, like the LDS Church, the US government required two years of service. I think he has a point.
Comments:
What seems oddly missing from your reasoning is that the church is "true" and its faithful members know that. Admittedly, positing that as the reason for our devotion makes the conversation a little more difficult, but isn't that at the root of things?
That's the point I was trying to make in my "first revised answer." I phrased it "we really believe it" rather than "it's true," but that means the same thing. But, as explained above, I think the true answer has to do with more than just the fact that the church is true and we know it's true. It also involves the fact that those people who don't believe it's true aren't willing to do the things the religion demands and also don't self-identify as Mormon. That's why outsiders get the impression that EVERY SINGLE Mormon is active and faithful. The inactive and unfaithful ones don't let you know they're Mormons in the first place.
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