Friday, December 28, 2007
IN THE SPIRIT: Misconceptions follow Mormon faith
Leader of the Newport Beach California Temple discusses the growth of his faith
Mormons. Just mentioning the name can evoke images as wide-ranging as "polygamists living in the deserts of Utah" and "a traditional all-American family with strong religious values."
Both can be found in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it has evolved into one of America's fastest-growing religions, with more than 13 million members worldwide, including approximately 50,000 in Orange County.
In 2005, Orange County got its first temple: the Newport Beach California Temple. For Mormons, temples are very important and differ from the sites used for regular Sunday worship meetings. They are considered houses of God where ceremonies such as baptism and eternal marriages are performed. The primary function of temple rituals is to seal families together, allowing them to dwell together for eternity.
According to Mormon beliefs, the roots of their religion go back to 1827, in Palmyra, N.Y., where Joseph Smith dug up a set of golden tablets, which he translated and published as the Book of Mormon. This book is considered sacred and, along with the Old and New Testaments, guided Smith and his followers.
On the 8.8-acre Newport Beach campus, where along with the temple there is a meeting house, we met with Dr. Weatherford Clayton, 55, stake (diocese) president. An obstetrician and father of five children, he has been a Mormon "basically all my life." Here are his edited responses to several questions.
Q: Earlier this month Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, said in a New York Times Magazine article: "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?" What's your response?
A: Like other Christians, we believe Jesus is the divine Son of God. Satan is a fallen angel. As the Apostle Paul wrote, God is the father of all. That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, however, was the only begotten in the flesh, and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind.
Q:Are Mormons Christians? Why don't we see crosses inside your meeting houses and atop your steeples like many other churches?
A: Recent addresses by church President Gordon B. Hinckley and church apostle Jeffrey R. Holland emphatically affirm Christ as the center of the church while grounding Latter-day Saint doctrines of deity in biblical teachings as confirmed by the witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The fact that Latter-day Saints accept as fellow Christians all who believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and savior of all mankind shows that there's common ground for all Christians to occupy together.
The cross is used in many Christian churches as a symbol of the savior's death and resurrection and as a sincere expression of faith. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we also remember with reverence the suffering of the savior. But because the savior lives, we do not use the symbol of his death as the symbol of our faith.
Q: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the fastest-growing religions. What is the main cause of this growth?
A: Christ instructed his apostles to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." We believe this injunction to still be in force, and over 50,000 missionaries are currently serving the savior throughout the world.
Q:What are some of the key similarities between Mormons and mainstream Protestants?
A: Key similarities include that we believe Christ to be the son of God, the only begotten son of God in the flesh. We believe the accounts of Christ's life in the Bible to be historical. He was born of a virgin, Mary, in Bethlehem and through her inherited the capacity to die. As son of God, he inherited the powers of godhood and divinity from his father, including the capacity to live forever. We celebrate with all the Christian world his birth at Christmas and his resurrection at Easter.
Q:What are some of the key differences between Mormons and mainstream Protestants?
A: Key differences include our acceptance of the scriptural definition of the godhead, not the trinitarian description in the Nicene Creed. After the deaths of Christ's apostles, an apostasy occurred with the loss of priesthood authority and divine revelation associated with the original apostles. Noble men and women have sought to hold the church together since then and preserve the holy writ. But because of that apostasy, God re-established the original church of Christ, beginning with the appearance of our heavenly father and his son, Jesus Christ, to the boy, Joseph Smith, in 1820. Because of that restoration, God speaks to prophets on earth today just as he did in ancient times.
Q:What is the Book of Mormon and how does it compare to the Bible as far as guidance for members of your church?
A: Eighth Article of Faith: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."
The Book of Mormon joins the Bible as another witness that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations. It contains the history of a fallen people here in the Americas and includes the account of Christ's personal visit to the Americas after his ascension into heaven from the old world.
Q: Do Mormons believe in modern prophets and continuing revelations? Name a modern prophet and something that has been revealed.
A: Ninth Article of Faith: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, with the other living apostles of the lord Jesus Christ, recently issued a proclamation to the governments of the world regarding God's will concerning the family and its importance in our society.
Q:Why is the family so important to members of the LDS church?
A:The lord has declared that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children. God's divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave, and sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
Q:What is the biggest misconception people have about Mormons?
A: A major misconception is that some feel that we do not believe in Christ. We declare that Jesus is the Christ for all mankind. President Hinckley observed that when the heavenly father and Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820: "They spoke to him with words that were audible, and he spoke to them. They could see. They could speak. They could hear. They were personal. They were of substance. They were not imaginary beings. They were beings tabernacled in flesh. And out of that experience has come our unique and true understanding of the nature of deity."
Q:What's the most important thing a Mormon can do with his/her life?
A: It is to come unto Christ and be perfected in him. In doing this, we are to live our lives according to the will of God and to carefully follow Christ's teachings in all we do. We enthusiastically accept Christ's instruction that the two greatest commandments are to love the lord with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Q:Polygamy has been banned since 1890 in the LDS church, but some religious groups still claim plural marriages should be allowed. Do these groups have any connection with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
A: No, they do not. Though the lord directed that polygamy take place in the early church, restoring the practice that he had directed amongst Old Testament prophets, Latter-day Saints officially ceased the practice of such marriages in 1890. Since that time, plural marriage has not been approved by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and any member adopting this practice is subject to losing his or her membership in the church.
Q: Is there any other key point that we should know to help us better understand your religion?
A:We invite all mankind to worship God and keep the tenets of their faith. Our 11th Article of Faith declares: "We claim the privilege of worshipping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
Contact the writer: bcunningham@ocregister.com or (714) 796-6940
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