I am a Caucasian American female. I come from an all-American, though unique, background. I have never felt the bitter laws of Jim Crow; no one in my family was ever in an internment or concentration camp. But I have tasted ignorance and even discrimination because of my religion, which is not something that many Americans would think of in this day and age.
True blue, through and through, I am a Mormon. I am a green jell-o loving, married to a returned missionary, modest dressing Latter-day Saint.
My great-great-great grandfather immigrated to America in the 1840s and pushed a handcart full of his family’s possessions from Illinois to Ogden, Utah following an extermination order by the governor of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs ordering all Mormons out of the State or they would be killed.
This was only the latest in a little-acknowledged persecution of this early American religion, which started in Upstate New York, moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and then to Independence and Far West, Missouri, with a number of places in between. It included the tarring and feathering of innocent men, and the massacre at Hauns Mill, where 200 men slaughtered peaceful men and young boys, and countless other random acts of violence. Finally, after five years of relative safety in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith, who was the founder and leader of our church, along with his brother, Hyrum, was martyred in Carthage, Illinois.
These were the events that caused the thousands of residents of Nauvoo to flee their homes in the dead of winter, singing “We’ll find the place which God for us prepared, far away, in the west, where none shall come to hurt or make afraid; There the saints, will be blessed.”(Come, Come, Ye Saints, hymn #130.)
Most people don’t know anything about my church, and yet they think they are total experts on it. I love it when people ask me if I know I’m in a cult or when they warm me not “to drink the Kool-Aid.” My religion is a huge part of who I am, as well as a vital chapter of my family’s history.
I find it bothersome that what most people know about my religion is inaccurate, or that other denominations teach their followers to hate their fellow Christians, or even worse, tell them that we are not Christians. Since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the fastest growing world religions (membership 13,193,999), it is time for these inaccurate and misguided perceptions to stop.
The strangest misconception is that Latter-day Saints are not Christians. Of course we believe in Christ; his name is in the name of our Church. Joseph Smith spoke of the church saying, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
Another thing that also baffles the mind is open scripture. People always ask me about the “Mormon Bible,” but there is no such thing as a Mormon Bible. The only Bible that the Church uses is the standard King James Version. We do, however, use other books of scripture. One of those is The Book of Mormon. Maybe it is because of the love that many Christians feel for the Bible, but most declare that there can be no more authorized scripture. Latter-day Saints believe that God speaks today, just like he did in the past. I have often been asked, or even told, that as a Latter-day Saint, I do not believe in the Bible, or that it is not an important part of my religion. But that is simply not true. The Bible is an important part of our religion.
“Continuing revelation does not demean or discredit existing revelation. The Old Testament does not lose its value in our eyes when we are introduced to the New Testament, and the New Testament is only enhanced when we read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” (Jeffery R. Holland)
The Temple is one of the most visual symbols of the LDS Church; even Fresno has one. To members of our faith, the Temple is the most important place on earth. It is where ordinances are performed which unite families for the eternities. If Mormons are known for anything, it is for their big families. The idea of the family is one of the most important aspects of our faith. One of the easiest concepts for most people to grasp is that we believe that families are forever. It is inside the Temple that husbands are sealed to their wives, and children are sealed to their parents for time and all eternity. If the family is so important here on earth, it must continue in heaven.
Mormons are not weird. They do not believe that they get their own planet after they die; they do not believe that God is an Alien. All Mormons are not bigots. They do not believe that men are better than women; some Mormons do drink coke, but none I know drinks coffee. We are a varied and different people. We come from different backgrounds and families. But we do believe that it is our job to stand up for what we believe to be right. It is our goal to seek after all things that are virtuous and lovely.
We like to help other people. So the next time you meet a person who happens to be a Mormon, may I suggest that instead of asking him how many wives he has, try asking how he is doing or what he believes. You might be surprised how normal the response will be.
