Evidences and Faith: Starting from the Bottom

"Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies."  - Baltasar Gracian

After some of the confessional and spiritually icky stuff that I've posted so far, it's only natural that I have to eventually post stuff that begins to explain why I am currently a faithful member of the LDS (Mormon) church.  Chronologially speaking, I'm jumping the gun.  I stil have a lot more autobiographical dirt to share before getting to my ultimate conversion.  I'll cover that eventually too.  But a news story today about a Mormon bishop being executed inside a California church brought this post to the top of my blogging priority list.  Now, to be clear, the shooting mentioned above was a random act committed by a mentally ill man.  It's not part of a larger pattern of anti-Mormonism.  It just jogged some ideas in my brain and made me want to talk a little bit about anti-Mormonism.  I have a lot more to say about specifics of anti-Mormonism in later posts.  (For better or worse, I know anti-Mormon texts much better than I do the body of literature written by modern LDS apostles and prophets)

Okay, on with the show.  I'm starting today with what I see as some of the weakest 'evidence' that Mormonism is in fact the one true form of Christianity.  Nonetheless, weak or not, it's still evidence in Mormonism's favor.  I'll get to the better stuff some other day. . .

Imagine for a moment that there really was 'one true church'.  Forget specific claims made by any particular religious sect (and all sects believe they are the best, whether they publicize it or not), and just think about the idea in the abstract.  Imagine that amongst all the other churches there was one religious group that truly had the unqualified and singular stamp of approval from the divine.  And imagine that, since it was the 'one true church', it represented the greatest threat to Satan of any church in existence.  How would other churches, without the full light of God, treat that church?  Would they be indifferent?  Would they be supportive?  Would the 'one true church' just glide along on autopilot without garnering much attention for better or for worse?  How would people who consciously chose to leave that religion tend to feel about it afterward?  Would they feel like most people do when leaving a sect - "Just wasn't for me?"  Would they feel mostly indifferent about their former religion, as if they merely tried on a pair of shoes that didn't feel quite right in the toes?

If you're much of a thinker at all, you'd realize that if there ever was 'one true church', that it would garner hatred, derision and vehement attacks at a level quite unlike any of its contemporaries.  It would stand out as if it had a target on its back.  And those who consciously chose to leave it (not those who 'drift off'') would, by and large, be far from nonchalant about their exit.  Unlike most people exiting a sect, they would tend to have intensely negative opinions about their former affiliations.  The 'one true church' would follow the pattern of a true prophet preaching to the people - "For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country."  So, is there some church that might fit that pattern?

You have to be completely uninformed, completely dense, or completely in denial to not know that Mormonism is a church apart when it comes to its detractors.  There are many Christian sects (or 'sects claiming to be Christian' if you prefer) that have some "weird" beliefs that are not considered mainstream.  We are not so special in that respect.  Nor are we special in any way when it comes to having our leaders' reputations, our theology and our claimed history being refuted by others.  The difference is both the quality and quantity of negative emotion that Mormonism generates.  Like a true prophet calling people to repentance, the LDS church garners hatred completely out of proportion to its size or influence.  This has been true since April 6, 1830, the day the church came into existence. 

Here in Texas, there are interfaith community projects that some Protestant churches refuse to take part in. Why?  It's not because Muslims, or Jews, or any number of openly non-Christian faiths are involved.  It's because the Mormons are involved.

If you prefer something a bit more objective and non-regional as evidence, go to any Barnes & Noble outside of the mountain west.  Look at the number of books on the shelves attacking Mormonism versus the number attacking any other faith.  Frequently you'll find that the number of anti-Mormon texts will outnumber the sum of texts attacking all other faiths (worldwide) combined.  Then check the number of texts written by former Mormons who have "recovered" from their experience versus the number of similar texts from all other religious groups combined.  You'll find that Mormonism generates a level of anger and contempt completely unlike anything else.  Even people coming out of true mind-control cults generally just want to get away and move on.  Not so with Mormonism.  Something about leaving the LDS church in particular makes people want to attack it - destroy it by any means necessary.  Compare the spite of your typical ex-Mormon with that of your typical Roman Catholic sexual molestation victim.  Which one is more likely to want to see a church be destroyed?  It sure ain't the person who was molested. 

Look at the reaction to Proposition 8 in California.  The LDS church was part of a much larger coalition fighting for a traditional interpretation of marriage.  Protestants and Catholics were major players - collectively much more important than the LDS contingent.  But who drew the heat?  It's real simple - the Mormons did.  Yes, the Mormons were better organized, and proportionately better funded.  That's true.  But they were still only one piece of the puzzle taking the overwhelming majority of liberal criticism. 

Now, this might make sense if indeed Mormonism was run like a cult (a common and completely laughable accusation that I'll happily discredit point by point if necessary).  It would make sense if Mormons were generally spiteful of others and shunned contact with society in general (not true outside of Utah - but that's as far as I'll claim  ;).  It would make sense if the LDS church was not responsible for worldwide humanitarian aid disproportionately well organized and well funded for a church of our size.  It would make sense if the LDS church systematically and openly attacked other faiths in the same way that it is systematically and openly attacked by other faiths.  In short, all of this would make sense if Mormons were lousy world citizens.  But we're not. 

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 

There is no rational sociologic explanation for why Mormonism is hated at the level that it is. Rationally speaking, at worst, it should generally be seen as a group of well-meaning but misguided kooks; much like Jehovah's Witnesses. We're not though. We're seen as threatening. We're seen as evil. We're seen as the enemy of all that is good and true. Well, it's either that, or we get pegged as being that because Satan works overtime to attack the prime institutional threat to his work here on earth.

So there you have it. Either we are somehow the paradoxical corrupt tree bringing forth good fruit, and thus deserving of every insult slung our way, or, we are the good tree bringing forth good fruit, and disproportional attacks against us stand as evidence that we bear the true gospel. Sociology has no place in this argument. Its predictions are demonstrably inaccurate. This is thus a question of theology. And the theology of the matter clearly tells me that the LDS church's status in society is something entirely unique. Furthermore, nature abhors a paradox. They don't exist outside of logic games played by philosophers. Thus, the theology also tells me that the church bearing good fruit while under attack from all sides is surely the church that bears the fruit of truth. Nuff said.