The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is fighting to ban gay marriage. They are asking the members of the church to lend their time, talents and money to make sure that marriage is just between a man and a woman. I find this amazingly hypocritical because the church sure didn't practice marriage between a man and a woman... they practiced marriage between a man, a woman, a woman, a woman, a woman, a woman, and many more women. (You get the point.)
The church members moved across the country to have more freedom to practice polygamy, and they were forced to give it up eventually. Now, they feel they have the right to tell other people how to live, what to believe, and how to vote.
It has always surprised me how willing people are to just follow and do exactly what the prophet says. They went along with Joseph Smith and the polygamy thing... Brigham Young taught racism and hatred and the saints ate it up. Hinkley decided more than one pair of earrings was wrong and thousands of young women took out their gold hoops.
What would it take for someone to open their eyes and look at the prophet in a different way? Would it take Thomas S. Monson saying something outrageous like, "The Lord has told me we will all be taken to Saturn on purple unicorns where we will dine with aliens," for them to realize he might just be a kook? Or would some followers believe it to the bitter end? Waiting on some cliff somewhere waiting for their lavender horse?
People would talk every Sunday about the prophet's new revelation. Artists would create works of art to be shown in classes and sold at Deseret Book. Young women would have purple unicorn necklaces, Boy Scouts would have to earn their purple unicorn badge.
I am not saying that all Mormons would freely just follow the prophet if he were to do something like this. I am not saying he is stupid enough to do it. He knows better...
The prophet has it made. He can do no wrong. Whatever happens, he is inspired and divine. He is only a prophet when he is acting as such. If he makes a mistake, he is human. If he gives revelation that doesn't come true, it was a human error and not his fault. That is probably why we don't hear much revelation anymore... they don't want to get caught being a fraud. They know they should keep their mouths shut because they don't want to be the ones who are remembered for making untrue statements, or statements that could be proved wrong in the future.
Lets think back for a minute at Brigham Young telling the saints about Quaker-like men living on the moon. He told people that they were about 6 foot tall, and gave them all kinds of little insights into their lives. Did he think that man would ever fly to the moon? Probably not. He never thought he would be proved wrong. Or, he knew by the time he was proved wrong he would be long gone.
I just wish that those who are called prophets would just prove it. If you speak with God, prove it. Please. I would love to be wrong. I would love to know that I have all the answers and all I have to do is pay 10 percent every month and wear special underwear...
August 26, 2008 at 5:49 PM
"Lets think back for a minute at Brigham Young telling the saints about Quaker-like men living on the moon. He told people that they were about 6 foot tall, and gave them all kinds of little insights into their lives. Did he think that man would ever fly to the moon? Probably not. He never thought he would be proved wrong. Or, he knew by the time he was proved wrong he would be long gone."
Excellent points! You've given me another way of looking at Mormon myths.
August 26, 2008 at 8:49 PM
Thank you Kaloah!
I often wonder if Briggie was just so full of himself that he would make stuff up off the top of his head because people would believe it. They had no choice. He wasn't exactly a good man, and everyone knew it. He had people killed for crying out loud!
Some of the things he said are insane. INSANE. Yet he is still thought of in a positive light and there is a "grand" university named after him.
Makes you wonder...