LDS, the Mormons
A 19th Century American prophet establishes a new religion.

Upstate New York in the 1830's was known
   as the burned over district.

It had been revived so many times
   that it was said
       that Jesus Christ Himself
          could not have raised a crowd to be revived.

Revivalist religion was immensely popular
   in those early years of the American Republic.

Tent meetings were a place where a new prophet
    and preacher
        could draw a crowd to hear new ideas.

The 19th Century tent meetings were quite similar
   to the tent revivals many of us remember
      within our own lifetimes.

The burned over district was fertile ground
     for craziness in religion.

This is not to say that all participants
    in religion of that time and place
        were in fact crazy,
            but there was enough craziness
                  to raise questions
                      and cause us all to think twice.

One of the best known and most successful prophets
      of the burned over district
             was Alexander Campbell.

He believed that he was bringing a restoration
    of the New Testament faith and church.

He also wanted to bring all Christians together
    in one very open and accepting community.

Unfortunately those two strands of Campbellite faith
    resulted in two separate and successful churches.

The faith in restoration of the New Testament church
         became the so-called Church of Christ,
 not to be confused with the United Church of Christ,
   the Christian denomination most closely related
        to the Unitarian Universalist tradition.

                     (More on this later!)

The Churches of Christ are Campbellites
    who refuse to talk about their history,
         and they lean toward
            a kind of toxic fundamentalism,
                believing that they are the only true
                    Churches of Christ
                          in the world today.

The open and accepting Campbellites
   are the Disciples of Christ,
       the so-called Christian churches
          found in many cities as "First Christian Church."

The idea of a restoration
      of true New Testament Christianity
           was found among others
                in the burned over district.

The most successful movement
     to make such a claim
         was founded by the prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr.

I refer to him as a prophet
   simply because he claimed to be one.

He claimed to speak for God.

Historically speaking,
    the great analyst of literature and history,
         Harold Bloom,
              referred to Joseph Smith, Jr.
                   as an authentic prophet.

This does not mean that
     Joseph Smith was a true prophet.

His authenticity derives from the many people
    who believe in his prophecy and movement.

Looking at the Mormon movement from the outside
   it appears obvious that Joseph Smith
       was a charlatan and a con artist.

There was certainly a market for both
    in the Burned Over District.

Prior to founding the Mormon movement,
    Smith found and sold all kinds of 
        supposed artifacts from ancient times,
 some of which he claimed to be Native American.

There was at the time, in fact,  a popular obsession
   with all things Native American,
       especially their origins and history,
            and Joseph Smith made the most of that.

The fate of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel was part
                of the popular obsession.

The ancient middle eastern tribes
    that formed the nations of Israel and Judah
         were overrun by great empires
              more than once.

The northern tribes were never restored
     after the Assyrians overran them.

The people of the land in the north
     became the Samaritans,
           a small ethnic and religious group
                 that is mentioned in the New Testament
                        (remember the Good Samaritan?)
                             and that exists to this day.

After it had been overrun by the Babylonians,
 the southern kingdom was restored by the Persians,
       and it became known as Judea.

The two tribes there were Judah and Benjamin,
    and the Jews of today take their name from Judah
          - as in Judaism.

The ten tribes of the north were lost to history
     apart from the Samaritans.

Joseph Smith created an amazing new mythology
     about those ten supposedly lost tribes.

He wrote in the Book of Mormon
     about how those Ten Tribes
            were brought by God
                  to North America.

Here they lived among the Native American tribes,
      and here they were visited by
           the Risen Jesus Christ Himself.

These stories and many others are recorded
           in the Book of Mormon.

Smith's genius was twofold:
     He was a myth-maker
          rarely equaled in human history,

and he was a personally charismatic leader
     who could convince people of his ideas
         even contrary to the evidence before their eyes.

He could show an empty box to his followers
      and get them to believe that they were seeing
            golden plates upon which the words
                  of the Book of Mormon were written,

and they would even believe that they had seen
     magic seeing stones
             by which Smith had been enabled
                    to translate those words.

From the outside this seems absurd,
     but from within the Mormon faith,
          the truth of these events
                 is basic, the foundation
                       of believing.

Smith attracted quite a following
    by force of his personality
        and by providing answers to questions
             that many people were wondering about.

To this day,
   one of the attractions of Mormonism 
        is the claim to provide true answers
            to the most basic questions of life.

You won't find many agnostic Mormons.

I consider myself agnostic because I don't claim
     to have any final answers.

Mormons claim to have final answers
    to almost any question one might have.

On the other hand,
     there are a couple of interesting divisions
         in historic Mormonism.

The first came about after the death of the prophet,
                        Joseph Smith, Jr.

Brigham Young was acclaimed prophet
    by many of Smith's followers,
        and he led the Latter Day Saints
             along a westward trek
                 until they reached and settled
                       the Salt Lake Valley.

Not all of the Saints followed Young westward.

Not all of them agreed
     with the teaching of polygamy.

Chief among those who did not accept polygamy
     was, not surprisingly, Emma Hale Smith,
          wife of Joseph Smith, Jr.

Her son, Joseph Smith III,
    was believed by many of the Saints
          to have been designated successor
               by his father, Joseph Smith, Jr.

He became the first president
     of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
           of Latter Day Saints (the RLDS rather than LDS)
                  headquartered in Independence, Missouri.

Interestingly, the Mormons, the LDS church people,
     believe that the Second Coming of Christ
          will take place at Independence, Missouri.

Perhaps then, the LDS and the RLDS
           will finally reconcile.

The other division among the Mormons
    also took place on account of polygamy.

Utah was permitted to become a state
   only if polygamy would be made illegal.

The Mormon President and Prophet proclaimed
    that it was necessary to obey the law of the land,
         and the LDS church itself began
               to forbid polygamy.

Some fundamentalist Mormons said
           it was necessary
                   to obey God rather than men,

and they broke away from the mainstream,
       or orthodox, Mormons.

Some of them call themselves the FLDS church,
   and they do, notoriously, practice polygamy,
       sometimes defending it with violence.

Whether calling themselves fundamentalists or not,
   too many people practice their religion
      with the belief that they alone are right,
          that they alone have the true and final answers
              to life's questions.

Of course, not all Mormons have that characteristic
    of toxic faith,
           but it's a young religion,
                 and too many still do.

They need us to help them find a better way
    not to leave their faith behind,
         but to learn to open their minds a bit
              when they are ready to do so.

We would never try to force it on them,
     but we can befriend our wonderful Mormon
          friends and family,
               and be there for them
                     when they have questions,
                            when some things begin
                                   not to make sense any more.

Some of my favorite people in my life have been LDS.

They make great neighbors
  so long as we can avoid
     the topics of religion and politics!

That can be difficult, because they are taught
   to be very pushy about faith and politics.

If we can speak the truth in love
   as far as we are able to speak the truth;

if we can be as humble as often others are not,
   we too can bear witness
       to progressive qualities of faith
           in our own times,
               when so many people are in need
                    of progressive options
                        in their own lives.

There are progressive Mormons all over the world.

So far, they are still in grave danger
    of excommunication,
        but sometimes the truth
             can be even more important than that.

Our encouragement and love
    can sometimes provide the ground
         on which they will need to stand.

Amen
Ameen
Omeyn
So Mote it Be

Blessed Be