The Mormon Jesus and the Love of God
Last week was nuts. When real life intervenes, keeping up with a blog is pretty rough going. I apologize. Rest assured, I have not abandoned this blog, only neglected it. Although if it were a child, that would be enough to sic CPS on me.
The past couple of weeks have been very hectic, indeed, yet they’ve also been remarkably religious. Our church’s General Conference was last Sunday, and I had a chance to go downtown and see the priesthood session live at the Conference Center. For those of you who have never been to the Conference Center, it’s quite the experience – a 22,000 seat indoor hall where every seat has a clear sightline to a single podium. It’s an engineering marvel, even if you’re not excited about the religious aspects thereof.
Speaking of which, no conference would be complete without scary-looking street protesters, who congregate outside the conference center with large signs telling all the Mormons they’re going to hell, or that they’re leading others to hell, or that they’re too pro-abortion. (Those are my favorite. Dude, if you’re protesting that the Mormons are just too pro-choice, you’ve got WAY to much time on your hands.)
The irony about this is that most of these protesters hold up signs announcing that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
I don’t think these people realize that there is not a single Mormon who would disagree with that. I posted this picture on Facebook, and a Mormon friend of mine likened this to a guy going to a polling place on Election Day and screaming to everyone in line, “YOU SHOULD VOTE!!!!”
I can remember on my mission coming across many evangelical Christians who condemned me to hell unless I was willing to accept Jesus into my life. Invariably, I would use the opportunity to, then and there, accept Jesus into my life. I would say whatever little prayer they had printed on their cards or flyers and then look them in the eye and say I agreed with every word in it. It still wasn’t enough. I remember talking to one family at their doorstep, who said I needed to accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.
“Fair enough,” I said. “I cheerfully accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I recognize that I am helpless without Him, and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I invite him into my life, and I know He is the only way to heaven.”
They stood there, flummoxed.
“Is that it?” I said. “Do I have to do anything else?”
“Yes, you do,” the mother said. “You need to repent of your Mormon faith.”
Yeah, okay.
See, that’s the problem. These guys insist that all you have to do is accept Jesus, and, presto, you’re saved. But if you say you accept Jesus and still want to hang with the Mormons, you didn’t do it right. If you press people hard enough on this, they’ll tell you haven’t really accepted Jesus, you’ve accepted some other Jesus. The movie The God Makers, which was quite a popular Mormon-bashing film back in the ‘80s, constantly refers to Jesus as being separate from the guy the Mormons worship, who is repeatedly identified as the “Mormon Jesus.” The problem is that the Mormon Jesus is pretty much identical to the other Jesus – he was the Son of God, born to a virgin in Bethlehem; he grew up in Nazareth; he called twelve apostles and taught the Gospel, and then was betrayed and crucified on Calvary. Three days later, He rose from the dead, and He commissioned His apostles to teach his Gospel to all the world. Now, unless the Mormon Jesus did all this same stuff down the street or something, it’s pretty hard to distinguish between the two.
The problem is that Mormons believe Jesus did more than this. The Book of Mormon tells of His visit to the Lost Tribes of Israel, and Joseph Smith and other modern prophets talk of seeing Jesus on several occasions. So what these Christians are saying is that Jesus only did what is chronicled in the New Testament, and only the Mormon Jesus did all this extra, weird stuff.
So, when you get right down to it, the way to hell isn’t a lack of belief in Jesus. Apparently, the danger lies in believing too much about Jesus.
I’m not quite sure what to do about this. I can go into almost any Christian church in the country, and they’ll tell me things about Jesus that I will heartily agree with. I believe He did everything the Bible says He did. But I also believe Jesus is more than just words on a page. I don’t worship the Bible; I worship Jesus, who is not bound like the pages of a book.
I can recall quite vividly one of the first experiences I had that built my own personal witness of Jesus Christ. I was in a pageant at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles called III Nephi, which dramatized Christ’s visit to the New World after His resurrection. I was nine or ten years old, I think. I played one of the children who greets the Savior, and we were taught two songs to sing on that occasion – one was “I Feel My Savior’s Love,” and the other was “The Love of God.” I can recall feeling a very powerful witness that Jesus was real; that He loved me, and that He knew me by name. I can remember a testimony meeting right after the dress rehearsal, where one of the men stood up and said “That which you feel right now is the love of God.” He was right. I knew he was telling the truth, just as surely and plainly as I knew I existed.
The song “I Feel My Savior’s Love” was written for that pageant, and it has since become something of a staple among Mormon children. I’ve heard it a billion times. But I hadn’t heard the song “The Love of God” since the day I last sang it on the stage of the Shrine. That is, until yesterday, when a local choir sang it as a counterpoint to “I Know that My Redeemer Lives.” And instantly, I felt that same sweet assurance, the power of the Spirit reminding me of the certainty I learned so long ago.
That which I felt was the love of God.
Maybe that means I’m damned for all eternity. Maybe the Mormon Jesus has deceived me. Maybe, maybe, maybe – but I really don’t think so. There are some things that sink too deeply into your soul to deny them. So when people yell at me and tell me that I need to believe less than I do in order to be saved, I’m afraid I can’t accommodate them.
Since when does God damn people for believing too much?
The past couple of weeks have been very hectic, indeed, yet they’ve also been remarkably religious. Our church’s General Conference was last Sunday, and I had a chance to go downtown and see the priesthood session live at the Conference Center. For those of you who have never been to the Conference Center, it’s quite the experience – a 22,000 seat indoor hall where every seat has a clear sightline to a single podium. It’s an engineering marvel, even if you’re not excited about the religious aspects thereof.
Speaking of which, no conference would be complete without scary-looking street protesters, who congregate outside the conference center with large signs telling all the Mormons they’re going to hell, or that they’re leading others to hell, or that they’re too pro-abortion. (Those are my favorite. Dude, if you’re protesting that the Mormons are just too pro-choice, you’ve got WAY to much time on your hands.)
The irony about this is that most of these protesters hold up signs announcing that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
I don’t think these people realize that there is not a single Mormon who would disagree with that. I posted this picture on Facebook, and a Mormon friend of mine likened this to a guy going to a polling place on Election Day and screaming to everyone in line, “YOU SHOULD VOTE!!!!”
I can remember on my mission coming across many evangelical Christians who condemned me to hell unless I was willing to accept Jesus into my life. Invariably, I would use the opportunity to, then and there, accept Jesus into my life. I would say whatever little prayer they had printed on their cards or flyers and then look them in the eye and say I agreed with every word in it. It still wasn’t enough. I remember talking to one family at their doorstep, who said I needed to accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.
“Fair enough,” I said. “I cheerfully accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I recognize that I am helpless without Him, and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I invite him into my life, and I know He is the only way to heaven.”
They stood there, flummoxed.
“Is that it?” I said. “Do I have to do anything else?”
“Yes, you do,” the mother said. “You need to repent of your Mormon faith.”
Yeah, okay.
See, that’s the problem. These guys insist that all you have to do is accept Jesus, and, presto, you’re saved. But if you say you accept Jesus and still want to hang with the Mormons, you didn’t do it right. If you press people hard enough on this, they’ll tell you haven’t really accepted Jesus, you’ve accepted some other Jesus. The movie The God Makers, which was quite a popular Mormon-bashing film back in the ‘80s, constantly refers to Jesus as being separate from the guy the Mormons worship, who is repeatedly identified as the “Mormon Jesus.” The problem is that the Mormon Jesus is pretty much identical to the other Jesus – he was the Son of God, born to a virgin in Bethlehem; he grew up in Nazareth; he called twelve apostles and taught the Gospel, and then was betrayed and crucified on Calvary. Three days later, He rose from the dead, and He commissioned His apostles to teach his Gospel to all the world. Now, unless the Mormon Jesus did all this same stuff down the street or something, it’s pretty hard to distinguish between the two.
The problem is that Mormons believe Jesus did more than this. The Book of Mormon tells of His visit to the Lost Tribes of Israel, and Joseph Smith and other modern prophets talk of seeing Jesus on several occasions. So what these Christians are saying is that Jesus only did what is chronicled in the New Testament, and only the Mormon Jesus did all this extra, weird stuff.
So, when you get right down to it, the way to hell isn’t a lack of belief in Jesus. Apparently, the danger lies in believing too much about Jesus.
I’m not quite sure what to do about this. I can go into almost any Christian church in the country, and they’ll tell me things about Jesus that I will heartily agree with. I believe He did everything the Bible says He did. But I also believe Jesus is more than just words on a page. I don’t worship the Bible; I worship Jesus, who is not bound like the pages of a book.
I can recall quite vividly one of the first experiences I had that built my own personal witness of Jesus Christ. I was in a pageant at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles called III Nephi, which dramatized Christ’s visit to the New World after His resurrection. I was nine or ten years old, I think. I played one of the children who greets the Savior, and we were taught two songs to sing on that occasion – one was “I Feel My Savior’s Love,” and the other was “The Love of God.” I can recall feeling a very powerful witness that Jesus was real; that He loved me, and that He knew me by name. I can remember a testimony meeting right after the dress rehearsal, where one of the men stood up and said “That which you feel right now is the love of God.” He was right. I knew he was telling the truth, just as surely and plainly as I knew I existed.
The song “I Feel My Savior’s Love” was written for that pageant, and it has since become something of a staple among Mormon children. I’ve heard it a billion times. But I hadn’t heard the song “The Love of God” since the day I last sang it on the stage of the Shrine. That is, until yesterday, when a local choir sang it as a counterpoint to “I Know that My Redeemer Lives.” And instantly, I felt that same sweet assurance, the power of the Spirit reminding me of the certainty I learned so long ago.
That which I felt was the love of God.
Maybe that means I’m damned for all eternity. Maybe the Mormon Jesus has deceived me. Maybe, maybe, maybe – but I really don’t think so. There are some things that sink too deeply into your soul to deny them. So when people yell at me and tell me that I need to believe less than I do in order to be saved, I’m afraid I can’t accommodate them.
Since when does God damn people for believing too much?
posted by Elder Samuel Bennett | 10:49 AM
18 Comments:
Thank you! I enjoyed reading this. It has always been a source of pain that others never understood how much I love and accept Jesus as my Savior. It is a beautiful time of year - Easter. Thanks Jim!
Excellent. It was worth the down time if this is what was festering in there, waiting to get out.
Very tender post, SC. How lovely that you have that connection to "I Feel My Savior's Love." It's one of my favorites, particularly since I was a Young Ambassador and sang it to a young girl in The Philippines. Amy was skin and bones, 12 and dying, she and I were sobbing from the first line, and it was one of the more powerful experiences of my life. And, considering a certain profile pic, I bet you were a delightful 10 year old in that pageant. I love that picture by the way. Happy belated Easter!
Belief is the correct Jesus? This is understandable. On one side you have Bible, Christianity, History = god is spirit, saved by grace & sacraments. While on the other BoM, J Smith = God has a body, saved by works and ordinances and grace.
Also most christian churches have undergone reformations and splits which allow intellectual discussion and distance. Mormonism is intellectually pretty lame and cannot deal with its own doctrinal, historical or organisational inconsistencies in any reasonable manner. It is a cultural acceptance and just saying you feel something is a justification for your beliefs and your actions is not an excuse.
Oh yeah! LDS while pointing the finger at others for excluding them need to remember that LDS are constantly pointing the finger at other Christians over how much they lack of the truth and how ONLY in one belief system can you ever be truly happy - glass houses and stones come to mind.
Stallion,
Where does good non-LDS Christians go when they die?
I hope its not Detroit…
Tami, WE, Dianna, thanks for your comments. Dianna, what a beautiful story,. You went to the Philippines in YAs AND as a missionary, then?
Anonymous #3: Detroit and heaven are two different things, although housing is much cheaper in Detroit than heaven.
To answer your question, though, Mormons believe that mortality is neither the beginning nor the end, and that everyone, at some point in this life or the life to come, will get the opportunity to accept or reject the gospel. We don't believe in a static heaven or hell.
Anonymous #1, I'm not trying to make an "excuse," I was making a simple declaration of faith. I think you're mistaken about my theology, but I don't think contentious wrangling over tenets ends up making much of a difference. I've also never had someone try to argue that the rampant divisions in the Christian world are a true sign of Christian devotion.
Anonymous #2, I'm not trying to point a finger at you or anyone else. I'm trying to share what I believe - do with it what you will.
Is your gospel the Book of Mormon or the New Testament?
For me the gospel is the New Testament. But my gospel means "Good News" not "actual fact".
My first recollection of feeling the spirit was at that pageant as well. I was lifted and embraced by Christ on stage and I cried and cried when it was over. I was 6 so you were 9. We did it again when I was 8. I have vague memories of everything except the scene when Christ appears and we sang "I Feel My Savior's Love." It is crystal clear in my mind. Very cool.
I loved last weekend as well. Great conference.
Anon #3 - I'm sorry you don't consider the good news actual fact.
Wbpraw,
Please don’t feel sorry for me. My demolition defines the difference only if you ask (don’t ask don’t tell).
For example “we” do not believe that Angels were at manger or that Jesus had a brother (James), or that most of the Old Testament happened. But the New Testament is still Good News. But you would have to ask about that.
For me Jesus is still my Lord and Savior.
Take care.
About the Philippines question: Yes, and I received my mission call only a day or two before we left on tour. It was a great experience to see my mission country before hand. Randy even assigned me to be one of the speakers in the Manila MTC the Sunday we were there. Wild!
Thanks for the spiritual thoughts. :)
Thanks for digesting it so well. I enjoyed it immensely.
Love this post! Well done.
Flummoxed? Seriously? Perplexed was not big enough of a word for you? Haha. Great post. I dont live in Utah and have never been to Conference so I have not had the opportunity to see those conference protesters but I loved your friends analogy of voting. So true. I served in Cleveland and took many an opportunity to inform evangelicals that I agreed with every word printed on their cards, not sure the Akron Bible Church was a big fan of me agreeing with their cards. Strangely they never seem to understand. They seem to want you to accept their Jesus.
Well their Jesus is My Jesus. As far as I understand there was only one Jesus Christ in the New Testament. I try to follow his teachings. Always an interesting conversation and a great post!
Fantastic post. Thanks!
This post was one of the best ones I've read in awhile. I whole-heartedly agree with you on this as I have members of my family who are born again Christians and have had me recite the old sinners prayer a few times to save my soul and accept Jesus.
For an example of this check out this major Christian Faith Center in my area. On this website, he has 10 steps to being born again...basically all you have to do is read through the steps and say the prayer and according to step #7 voila! You're born again.
Here's the site:
http://www.caseytreat.com/bornagainmailer.aspx?parentnavigationid=190
I personally believe yes it is the first step to verbally accept Jesus but it needs to be written on our hearts and shown through our actions.
Anyways, great post!
Thanks for putting into words what I feel in my heart. I was very active in a different faith prior to converting to the LDS Church and find it ludicrous that members of the LDS Church are told they are not Christians. I have always loved Jesus Christ and tried to follow His teachings, now more than ever! I appreciate your blog.
Great post. I am an evangelical Christian who (sad to say) had always heard that Mormons were a cult. I decided to do some research about your faith after listening to Glenn Beck's testimony. I told my husband that some of the things Beck spoke of (God providing his job & Beck knowing it was Him who provided it) & hearing his love for Jesus: it sounded so much like my faith. I rely on my faith for everything & always believe He listens & provides & protects. When I hear certain songs ("I know my Redeemer Lives" is one), I can't help but cry & sing my heart out because of His love for me & all He endured so I would be able to spend eternity with Him. Praise God! Thank you for your testimony. We may not agree on doctrine, but pretty much no 2 brands of Christianity do. The only thing that matters is that we all believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God & that He died on the cross for our sins & that He rose from the dead & that we accept Him as Lord & Savior. Everything else is just religion...even Jesus rebuked the "religious"...thanks again. Glad to know we are brothers & sisters in Christ.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home