Starting Anew

This post is a response to a post last month titled Swamped down by the world where I revealed my struggles with getting away from worldly things as it interfered with my spirituality.

Below is my video message addressing those issues and how I have tried to overcome them for the last month:

Open-minded Mormon

This is one post in an A-Z series of 26 where I am writing about living as a Mormon in the wilderness of Kuantan

Why did I choose to name my blog 'Open-minded Mormon?'

There is a perception that Mormons are stuck in their own bubble, blindly follow church orders, and are ignorant of all else. And there are those who fit that description.

However, I don't like generalising things and I don't like being generalised.

In addition to submitting to the requirements of belonging to this organisation, I have a brain and a conscience and can think things through for myself.

Open-minded Mormon represents my personal thoughts about church doctrine, policy and stances. It's a place for me to state gospel teachings and/or history and share my own perspectives on it.

I think it's an unfortunate perception people have of Mormons that we are a people who don't entertain anything outside of Mormonism as valid (the Mormon doctrine of exact obedience is often mistakenly taken as a war cry in rejection of all else). That we accept the church's stance on issues without thinking for ourselves. Or that we never feel any sense of disagreement with leaders on certain issues.

For a religion that accepts wild and wonderful events as part of its established history as well as previous periods of polygamy and racism (which are thankfully over), we should be amongst the most open-minded people in the world.

As I've matured, I have determined that there is a far greater value and a much richer experience in opening my mind outside the circle of Mormonism, getting away from Mormon cliches, and reaching a point where pure faith once was - 

me and God.

And that is not something that should seem alien to us. We are repeatedly urged not to trust in the arm of flesh (ie. church leaders or others great or small) but to personally consider and pray about things in order to receive a spiritual confirmation of the truth and of the way in which we should lead our personal and family lives.

As a result, I spend more time thinking. Wondering. Contemplating. I carefully question things I had automatically accepted before. I take responsibility for my own spiritual development.

It is just me and God.

I love being in that place where it's just me and God. Where there is no distraction of other people. Where there is no doctrine but what thoughts and impressions occupy the human mind when contemplating Space, Divinity, Eternity, and God.

Just me and God.

That's where deeper perspectives are formed. It has happened for me in prayer. When staring out the window into the skies. When sitting in a quiet part of the house getting lost in silent thoughts. In scribbling down ideas that seem to be whispered into my conscious mind.

Me and God.

Stepping outside the Circle

We all live in circles.

Circles of friends. Circles of acquaintances. Family circles. Work circles. Religion circles. Circles of sports. Political circles.

Inside these circles we focus on the associated content of each. We share certain information only with people in specific circles. We find common ground, strong relationships and relatable experiences.

When circles collide, however, things can get a little awkward. Work and family circles often produce conflict, as can friends and religion circles. The degree of importance of circles determines how much time we spend in engaged in each.

And then we have the Mormon circle.

This is a circle of high interest to me as a Mormon. Most Mormons will stay in this circle and never stray outside it's boundaries.

Exact obedience.

Follow the prophet.

Read the scriptures.

Pray.

Family Home Evening.

Things that have become cliches, textbook answers and traditional, typical hallmarks of the Mormon circle. Good things to do? Sure. For a Mormon. These are some of the basic principles of our system of belief and worship, which become integral cogs of our life. But there is so much more to each of these points than meets the eye.

My observation here is that we sometimes need to step out of the Mormon circle.

Outside of the Mormon circle exist millions of other circles containing billions of other people. A plethora of ideas, opinions and viewpoints both favourable and unfavourable towards the Mormon church are out there. 

Considering that amongst our religious claims lies a 14-year-old seeing God and Jesus, an angel showing him an ancient record hidden in the ground, the use of a seer stone to translate that record, and the ancient disciples Peter, James and John visiting the earth to restore priesthood authority, we should be an open-minded people.

We need to have an open mind so that we can step outside the Mormon circle and explore the many different points of view on our faith, take on board other opinions, and learn how to take personal responsibility for our spiritual inclination and growth.

I love the following words of Brigham Young, who was the 2nd president of the Mormon church:

"I am . . . afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security . . . Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates."

We need to get out of the cliched Mormon circle and take a lot more responsibility for our spiritual conviction and condition, becoming spiritually self-reliant. 

And it's only possible when we step outside the circle.