Apparently a response to Mitt Romney’s recent speech regarding his faith, FOX News published “21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith“. I will cut the LDS public relations department some slack here, as perhaps there was not space enough to answer some of the questions completely. That said, there are some answers that seem downright disingenuous.
Most of the answers are succinct, though, and the article is worth a read. I am only going to correct a few.
Q: Why do some call the Church a cult?
A: For the most part, this seems to stem from a lack of understanding about the Church and its core doctrines and beliefs. Under those circumstances it is too easy to label a religion or other organization that is not well-known with an inflammatory term like ‘cult.’ Famed scholar of religion Martin Marty has said a cult means a church you don’t personally happen to like. We don’t believe any organization should be subjected to a label that has come to be as pejorative as that one.
Insofar as “cult” is used solely to describe religions, and to describe “a faith I don’t like”, this answer might be reasonably accurate. However, according to Steven Hassan’s BITE model, the LDS church qualifies as cult-like in a disturbing number of aspects.
A better lesson for the church to take from the use of the word describing them would be to correct those areas where they act like a cult. It won’t dissuade hard-core Christian polemicists who dislike LDS unorthodoxy, but it would persuade a lot of people that the organization is making progress toward bettering their religion. Including me.
Disclaimer: I know they’ve made some progress, but it’s slow and admits no fault for previous inaction or negative actions. This is a very corporate-style thing to do.
Q: Where is the planet Kolob? What significance does the planet have to Mormons?
A: ‘Kolob’ is a term found in ancient records translated by Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith did not provide a full description or explanation of Kolob nor did he assign the idea particular significance in relation to the Church’s core doctrines.
This is a side-step of a thorny issue for the LDS church, namely the Book of Abraham “translation”. By saying it’s not significant relative to “core doctrines”, the Church is giving a classic example of the “milk before meat” approach: don’t answer the question until the hearers are ready for further light and knowledge. Former LDS apostle Henry D. Moyle put it this way: “When they don’t ask the right questions, I just answer the ones they should have asked.”
Here’s the real answer: According to LDS scriptures, Kolob is a star or planet near the Throne of God. These whereabouts are not specified, nor is it specified whether this is a physical or spiritual location. It has no particular significance to LDS theology besides a single song in the LDS hymnal, “If You Could Hie To Kolob”.
Q: Does the Mormon Church believe its followers can become “gods and goddesses” after death?
A: We believe that the apostle Peter’s biblical reference to partaking of the divine nature and the apostle Paul’s reference to being ‘joint heirs with Christ’ reflect the intent that children of God should strive to emulate their Heavenly Father in every way. Throughout the eternities, Mormons believe, they will reverence and worship God the Father and Jesus Christ. The goal is not to equal them or to achieve parity with them but to imitate and someday acquire their perfect goodness, love and other divine attributes.
The correct answer is “yes”, perhaps followed by the explanation above. The LDS temple anoints individuals to become “Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses” in the next life… but what that means specifically is kind of vague. “As man is, god was; as god is, man may become” is deeply-rooted doctrine in the LDS church, though Gordon B. Hinckley dismissed it on television as “only a couplet” which we didn’t really know the meaning of. The explanation above only fits when you understand that, at the time any Man becomes as God is, God will already be far, far beyond that level.
Q: Does the Mormon Church believe that women can only gain access to heaven with a special pass or codewords?
A: No.
This answer is the reason I decided to write this entry. I dislike it when a complicated question is answered with a simple answer… because the answer is often simply wrong.
For instance, in one of the recent Republican debates, Fred Thompson and the other debaters were asked a complex question regarding Global Warming with a show of hands: “How many of you believe global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity?” I’m ideologically on the opposite end of this issue from Thompson’s position, yet I respect his rejection of a simple up or down vote. I personally believe it is a serious threat which we should plan on. However, it is not solely caused by human activity. I think we are substantial contributors to a portion of the recent trend.
Their simple answer to a complex question can only be justified by the LDS unique understanding of “heaven”. The LDS “heaven” has multiple levels: 1. The Telestial, or lowest heaven. 2. The Terrestrial, or middle heaven. 3. The Celestial, or highest heaven, which in turn has multiple levels. The “highest degree” of the Celestial Kingdom is reserved for those who have temple marriages and are faithful and endure to the end.
The only place for the deceased which is not a Heaven is “Outer Darkness”, reserved for those who “deny the Holy Ghost”… which at this point due to watering-down of the doctrine over time, means only those who have had a personal visitation from a supernatural entity and later deny it. The Telestial kingdom is equivalent to the non-LDS concept of “Hell”. But it’s called a degree of Heaven in LDS theology, and considered magnificent and wonderful compared to the world we live in today.
In order to ascend to the highest degree of Celestial glory, a female Latter-Day Saint provides her “new name” — a name provided her in the temple, ostensibly a secret — to her prospective husband who will be sealed to her prior to symbolically entering the Celestial Kingdom (the “Celestial Room” in an LDS temple). This is supposed to represent the order of things in the Celestial Kingdom, that her husband will lift her to glory therein.
If the question had used the right code words, they would have gotten the opposite answer. They should have asked the question like this:
“Q: Does the LDS church believe that women can only gain access to the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom with a special pass or code word?
A: Yes. And the men, too.”
As far as the rest of it goes, meh, OK, there may be doctrinal niggles here and there I’d like to deal with, but I lack the time or interest. The questions above, however, had answers which bordered on prevarication. Several clearly play upon the difference in definitions of certain terms between LDS and mainstream Christian denominations. I hope I cleared things up.
As a side note, this appears to be the opening salvo in a new LDS campaign to get members involved in Internet discussions. It was only a few years ago when LDS leaders strongly discouraged members from the same, due to the large number of participants who later became disaffected from the church. I think that as this election year warms up, if Mitt Romney wins the Republican primary, you’ll see a whole lot more news articles about this uniquely American religion.
