Persecution vs. Chastening: When #MormonMafia Is No Joking Matter

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by Rob T:



When Fox News personality and Donald Trump supporter Lou Dobbs went on a rant last week about LDS presidential candidate Evan McMullin, which included referring to him as a “Mormon Mafia Tool” in a tweet, Mormons on Twitter responded hilariously.

I got in on the #MormonMafia fun (see the HuffPo link above, he said unhumbly), because I enjoy a good-natured Twitter hashtag joke stream. And I appreciated that most Mormons were having fun with it instead of seeing it as an instance of “persecution.”

While joining in the social media levity, however, two things came to my mind that weren’t joking matters.

First, Trump supporters on Twitter haven’t suddenly surfaced to go after Mormons. There have been countless instances of anti-Semitism, misogyny, racism,* and now Latter-day Saints are in the crosshairs, due in part to Trump’s declining popularity in Utah.

Why My Son Said He Didn’t Believe in Evolution — and Why That Troubled Me

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by Rob T:

“Some people believe in evolution, that we came from apes. But I think they’re wrong because it’s not in the scriptures.”

Those words came from the mouth of my 5-year-old son recently. They took me by surprise, not because of his opinion, but because he was thinking of this issue and forming a personal stance. Was I underestimating his intelligence and awareness of such profound matters? That’s likely.

Impressed as I was that he could articulate this thought, I also was troubled by what he said.

Shouldn’t I have rejoiced, as an LDS parent, that my child took a firm stand with what I believe to be the word of God?

Take a Look at Yourself, and Make a Change

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by Rob T:

The use of so-called “swear words” generally goes against religious sensibilities.

It also follows that a few garden-variety words are treated with the same disdain as swear words by some more conservative religions.

One of those words is “change.”

“We will stand firm!” “We will not waver!” “Our doctrine never changes!” Having been raised Catholic and now being a practicing Mormon, I’ve heard rhetoric like this in both faiths.

Catholic writer Damon Linker discusses the appeal of this notion and why there is resistance to change with his commentary on Pope Francis’ new, pastoral approach to divorced and remarried Catholics in relation to the sacrament of Holy Communion.

'Doubt,' 'Cult' and the Stigmatizing of Words

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by Rob T:

When I finally told my parents that I had been investigating the LDS Church and taking lessons from the missionaries, it was agreed upon that I would talk about these matters with our Catholic priest.

I went to him and told him what I’d been learning. His first words in response about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were, “But they’re a sect, almost cultic!”

Let me first say that he is a good man, a kind priest, and a fair-minded leader. I hold no animosity toward him or my former faith - and disagreement with doctrine does not mean animosity, I think that’s important to this discussion.

But I do believe his response comes from a human tendency and a mindset that people can be scared away from something with one word. Certain words have been stigmatized to the point where they’re like Mr. Yuk stickers, and it’s all we need to hear to keep us away from something.

Thoughts on Lent

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by Rob T:

"Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

I heard those words many times growing up as a Catholic, uttered by a priest as he applied ashes to my forehead on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian season of Lent leading up to Easter.

They are words whose truth still resonates with me as a Latter-day Saint.

About the only thing I questioned about the season — due to the prohibition of eating meat on Fridays — was why chicken was considered "poultry" except for Fridays during Lent, when it became "meat" and I could not eat it, because I preferred the taste of it to that of fish — which was okay to eat on Fridays.

But that is obviously trivial. Lent is a beautiful season. Much like Advent leading up to Christmas, Lent, to me, always felt like a season of anticipation. Something is about to happen, God is going to do something incredible, and you need to be prepared.

I believe that anticipatory sense is what drove Christ into the wilderness for forty days before his entry into Jerusalem, and subsequent atonement, crucifixion and resurrection. He knew what He was about to undergo, so the fully human Jesus took time to withdraw and contemplate the gravity of what would be accomplished by God through the fully divine Christ.

During a tweet-flurry on Wednesday in response to Jana Riess' excellent piece on a Mormon perspective of Ash Wednesday (also enjoyed this post by LDS Living that is linked to from Jana's blog), the ever-thoughtful Kristine A expressed this lament:

As can be seen above, I agreed with Kristine A and regretfully admitted that I had cracked those jokes myself in my early years after converting to the LDS Church.

That the ideas of Lent should be in year-round practice is not an incorrect notion. The problem is that this is rarely uttered in the right spirit — it's usually meant a jab at a religious tenet that we as Mormons do not formally share (look at the comments on Riess' post, there's one that's blatantly disrespectful, though there's another that I think captures a good balance). It also violates the principle of being open to and seeking truth wherever it is found and applying it to our lives.

And I don't think any Christian who celebrates Lent would disagree that the season's principles should be a constant effort.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers …

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by Rob T:

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)

When I first learned the news Tuesday morning that John Dehlin had been excommunicated from the LDS Church, one thought immediately entered my mind: "I don't want to see anyone 'spiking the football,'" which is what I saw on social media outlets when Kate Kelly was excommunicated. I saw phrases like "take that" and "serves her right." I saw labels like "apostate" and "anti" thrown at her.

I saw the same labels and unkindness directed toward Dehlin.

I went on a Twitter rant myself about it, expressing my view that this occasion shouldn't be a time for schadenfreude or celebration. That if we, as faithful Latter-day Saints, believe that excommunication is ultimately an act of love designed to help someone repent and come unto Christ, then we should act according to that belief — showing love, or at the very least, refraining from unkindness or gloating.

Someone responded to one of my tweets and asked whether it equally enraged me when supporters of Dehlin say the church excommunicates people for merely doubting. I answered that it does, but I'm rethinking that response.