March 2012

Mormons - Accepting or Exclusionary?

My walk as a Mormon

Over the last six years I’ve investigated a number of different faiths and offshoots of Mormonism.  I was born into the LDS faith.  However, finding my place in the church hasn’t always been easy.  Part of that stems from my innate desire to increase my knowledge and not rely solely on spiritual experiences.  Part of it comes from the cognitive dissonance I experience when I act opposite of that which I believe. 

The Mormon Compromise

Theological Starting Points

Terryl Givens’ recently wrote about the American compromise with Mormonism, whereby Mormons agreed not to be so radical as to entirely alienate themselves from American society (i.e., ditch polygamy and our lovely Deseret) in exchange for the U.S. ceasing its explicit campaign to eradicate us. He describes the unwritten contours of that compromise as consisting in a willingness to accept and even promote the various cultural achievements of Mormonism (e.g., our choir, football, family focus), while agreeing to shelve any serious engagement with our theology.