The main characters in the musical travel to a mission in Uganda and you did interrupt your studies at Harvard to serve as a missionary in New England and Canada. You have also held a number of positions within the LDS Church . Are you concerned that “The Book of Mormon” may be sending a mixed message to the general public about what Mormons believe?
Yes, I did leave college to serve a mission, and my experience then bears on my reaction to Price’s song. Specific doctrines aside, the lines that will most distress Mormons in the Price lyrics are the repeated phrase “just believe.”
Poor Elder Price has had his confidence shaken and doesn’t know how to react to his dawning disbelief. All he can do is repeat over and over “just believe.” To prove himself valiant, he must turn off the lights and shut the door on his doubts.
Price’s response to uncertainty leaves the impression that Mormons may be happy on the outside, but are hollow at the core. They recognize their beliefs are preposterous but stubbornly hold on.
I suppose it seems obvious to many people that a moment’s reflection about personal planets, Kolob, and the Garden of Eden in Missouri will plant doubts. Any rational person in the modern world who thinks about such outlandish ideas for one second will see they are preposterous. Mormons can’t think about their faith; they must “just believe.”
But for Mormons themselves, the process of just believing is not so simple.
I had my Elder Price moment, as many Mormons do, but during my sophomore year at Harvard. Writing a paper on Nietzsche and Freud had raised lots of questions about religion in general.
When I went off to Halifax to preach the gospel, I was pretty shaky in my belief. For three months I wrestled with questions about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Was it a hoax, a bold, fraudulent effort to create a myth? Had Joseph Smith hoodwinked his friends—and the rest of his followers including me?
I studied everything and prayed hard for some kind of light. In time I arrived at a rational explanation that allowed for a miracle in the book’s production, but along the way I experienced something more important than the book itself. I caught a glimpse of a higher form of human flourishing, something forceful and ennobling which I can only call sacred. It was this encounter with a kind of elevated goodness in the book that won me over.
For me “just believing” meant turning the light on, not turning it off.
My experience is that when I have questions, I think harder, not less, pray more, not less, study more, not less, and as a result, I find a good answer for my question. This process has happened enough, that I'm very trusting of it. God always comes through in one way or another.
1 comment:
Hey Ladon,
I found and have subscribed to your blog. Great stuff. I particularly was connected to this article because I read this too a few weeks ago. It is emcumbent upon us to declare the reality of what really goes on in becoming converted, having faith and the struggle to strengthen our testimonies while acting with faith. As post missionaries we can articulate the motivations and conviction we actual had prior to and post mission experience. I enjoyed the article and will continue to follow your blog.
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