To Some of My Mormon Liberal Friends: The Rest Skip It

I write this to some of my liberal Mormon friends whom I admire and often seek to learn from, but who sometimes annoyed me to no end. I do so because I care about them and worry that they sometimes value their political and cultural views more than their religious beliefs. They read many books, seek to learn, and try to develop very profound principles. Unfortunately, many of those principles don't come from the scriptures, the prophets, or even what they learned growing up in church. They often come mostly from graduate school and from gentile intellectuals. There is nothing wrong with that unless those become the final arbitrators of what they deem as divine truth.

I write to those who don't like to wear white shirts because they make them feel like capitalists, or those who figure that pants are better than dresses (who gave you that idea?), or who sit in the back and act like nothing being said from the pulpit applies to them unless it has to do with being kind to the poor and the homeless; and to those who only get with the spirit--of anger--when someone is defending guns, capitalism, or American Exceptionalism. Its also meant for those who like to emphasize how they are different from the rest, think marrying outside the church is cool (it is not wrong, of course), love being the toast of the gentile media, or wonder out loud if the church is ever going to catch up with them. And particularly for those who think their brand of "liberalism, feminism, or humanism" is the real one, or they just invented it when they joined it.

Let me remind those wonderful souls that there are liberal mormons who wear white shirts and ties--and sometimes even suits--wear dresses (or whatever they deem respectful), read their lessons, are inspired by the teachings of the prophets, like to go to the temple, feel a part of the body of Christ and love their fellow members as much as the "progressive" intellectuals that they read. These liberal Mormons also give their last buck to the homeless on the corner, work in soup kitchens, march in solidarity with the oppressed, the immigrant, women, etc., and believe we are killing the environment. They abhor vulture capitalism and probably voted for the current officeholder in the White House.

These individuals don't see home teaching as a waste of time, or fret over the fact that their missionary sons and daughters might be teaching "Utah culture" instead of "real" doctrine. They might have misgivings about some of the views of their leaders but choose to learn the good that they might offer. They read the Ensign, get their kids the Friend, and listen to General Conference to learn something and not to see if the Brethren are following an ideological slant, or who the next Boyd K. Packard is going to be. And they even find something (maybe just a little) good in Packard, McConkie, and Joseph Fielding Smith's writing.

They read all about Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, Ezra Taft Benson, the battles over the priesthood, and all the things we do wrong to our sisters and our gay saints, and it tears their guts out, but they believe in the notion that we are imperfect people and will do rather stupid and hurtful things in the road to our salvation, but more important: that God will be the Judge.  And they fret because they have skeletons in their own closet.

These liberal mormons have been general authorities, bishops, relief society presidents, stake presidents, primary presidents, YM/YW leaders, missionaries, sunday school teachers, or ordinary members, and people love them and see them as "examples of the word". And yet they would be the last ones to admit they are anything special.

They are sympathetic to and go out of their way to comfort people who feel marginalized and oppressed. And they often push back against the unkind culture of some wards, but they still believe and do so deeply. They see the scriptures--yes, those written by men with great faults--as inspired and they don't see a need to write a female, black or latino version of the book of mormon. If those actually existed out there--and were inspired--they'd be the first to read them, but they won't invent them. They see the struggle for equality as fundamental to a just society and a more perfect church but still see redemption as God's greatest gift.. They befriend those who disagree and even those who might disparage them. They might hate guns but don't see their owners simply as gun owners. They hate the arrogance of some in the church but stop short of being harsh because they see their own pride.

Finally, these liberal momons are not going to get tired of the church when it doesn't listen to them and leave. And in case you might not know some of their names (they don't all call themselves liberal, but they do share the values): Tom Alexander, Kathryn Daynes, Hugh Nibley, Cheiko Ogazaki, Alejandra Garcia, Merlin Jensen, Dora Gonzalez, Mary Richards, Carlos Zegarra, Richard & Claudia Bushman, Renato Ruz, Terryl & Fiona Givens, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and (add your own). They exist in large numbers but don't always toot their horns as much as those out to make the church in their own image--conservative or liberal. More important, they accept that believing is sometimes a heavy burden for those who are different and progressive, but know that it is worth it because their values are best understood within the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Having said that, I want to emphasize that I love the other liberal mormons too, even some of those who act a bit too good for the church. I love their striving for a more just society and their fundamental goodness, but I wish more of them would show those qualities within the body of Christ and not stay aloff and hurt. They might just be surprised how much they can make a difference, and how some "adversaries" are nice people too who will love them even if they don't understand them. And if they don't, they are still God's children which makes it imperative that we love them.

I have been pushing against the grain in the church for decades and while there have been times that I've wanted to throw in the towel, I usually end up responding as did Peter when the Savior asked him if he too would leave, "where will I go?"  In those  moments I 've realized that my experiences within the church have been and continue to be the most important of my life. And the harsh ones have made me a better person. So continue to fight for a better church, one that is open to all, respects everyone within their diversity and is focused on the teachings of Christ, but remember that "a better church" it is not one that is made in our own image, or has our particular values, but rather one that the Lord would call His own.

Soon enough I will write to my conservative Mormon friends!

Independent Thought, Part 2

Academicians are famous for shutting the door to their offices and consuming themselves with their work. It would be easy to mistake that for seeking scholarly or intellectual independence, but it is not always. Sometimes it is simply being focused on one's work or possibly just a chance to take in a few zzz. One version of Intellectual independence is about engaging in work that separates us from the rest. The other is simply doingwork on our own time and space. But at this moment I will speak of the first.

Independent intellectual thought is about bringing something new to the table; creating new ways to think about things; or even to re-examine some ideas that may have been around but were not given much credibility. Independent thought is not always innovative or even "correct" but it does work outside the normal spheres. And yet, at the same time it is not so unique that it has a constituency of one. Some people are unorthodox, others are outrageous but they don't contribute much independent talk.

Wanting independence to engage in arguments and conversations that are healthy and valuable to others is important. I tend to be communal and believe that part of it has to do with growing up in a poor Mexican American barrio and attending a small religious congregation. I learned through that experience to frame much of my work in the context of other people. Now, I will admit that I was--and still am--a loner and engaged in much private thinking. I love my space and sometimes feel uncomfortable in groups unless I have something specific to do. I was never much for fanfare.

At the same time, I feel the necessity to be of use to others This internal conflict was part religious training and part of it came from deep within me. These conflicting parts of me have made me a "good" Mormon but also caused me deep anguish when people aren't willing to give me space. It happened to me for about 10 of my first 17 years here in Provo. It was extremely hard. Eventually I accepted that being independent of thought can at times be lonely. But I never gave up on community--well, not for long periods of time anyway--and now I have mostly found community and at the same time retained much of my independent space. I have stretched my religious and academic communities here, and they have often reigned me in, many times at appropriate times and in appropriate ways. I have found common ground with people who are quite different from me but who have similar final goals.

I have cross boundaries and been able to do a lot of things that I really wanted to do by not abandoning those parts of me that are often in conflict. Sometimes they come together to get me past problems created by one or the other attitude. People who are usually just on one side of the divide between community and individuality are rarely ever independent because they usually succumb to all of the demands of that one side. Those who struggle with the polar opposites are those most likely to be truly independent because they are the final arbitrars of the decisons they make.

Let me say something that will probably anger some people: not everyone is cut out or has the capabilities to be independent of thought and action. If everyone was then there would be no value in independence of thought. And constituencies of one have very little value, except to that individual and then it is a limited one, because to live is to interact.