Those Pesty Missionaries

Me in the park in Lugano, Switzerland  © Chad Card

This weekend, I was able to reflect on where I was and what I was doing ten years ago when the tragedy of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93 occurred on 9/11.  There is a part of me that wishes I was in the United States at the time, so that I could have been a witness to the heroism and great change I heard and read about and so that I could have commiserated with my family, friends, and nation.  The greater part of me, however, is glad I was not in the United States because I feel I was doing something far more important than feeling wounded by an event that was out of my control--I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Lugano, Switzerland at the time.

I don't want to get into the feelings I had ten years ago (you can read about them in my other blog), what I do want to discuss here is the type of work I performed as a missionary.  I have heard from some people that they believe the work of a missionary is to recruit people to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that is not the case.  It would be a lie to say that missionaries don't want people to join the Church, but the goal of missionary work is not to increase enrollment for the mere want of greater numbers.  Although I also have to admit that to some missionaries the number of people they baptize on their missions does seem to be all that matters, the true goal of missionary work is to teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow every individual the opportunity to come closer to Him.

Franco continues to affect my life even after his passing  © Chad Card

I am actually of the opinion that the missions members of the LDS Church serve are 80%-90% for the spiritual growth of the missionaries and only 10%-20% for helping people come unto Christ.  I say this because it is impossible for a missionary to convince anyone to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make, often major, life changes to become a member of the LDS Church.  Religion is not an academically logical concept and no one can be truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through such logic.  If religion is not spiritual it is not true religion.  One comes to a real knowledge of Christ and His teachings through spiritual experiences and spiritual logic.  Humans can argue topics until they are blue in the face, but they are hard pressed to convince anyone to understand things as they do.  However, the logic of the Spirit (Holy Ghost) is so powerful that it is all but impossible to refute it.  People can close themselves off from the Spirit and shield themselves from His teachings, but if one is willing to open oneself to the Spirit, He can alter one's perceptions of life-long beliefs in an instant.  Missionaries know or should know that they do not convert people to the Lord.  The role of a missionary is to help people learn of the Spirit and to allow the Spirit to teach and alter people's lives.  Any missionary that tries to do otherwise will be unsuccessful.

I am a convert to the Church and I first came in contact with the Church through missionaries who knocked on my door one night in September of 1998.  I had no personal use for religion in my life, but I was still interested in different religions and I took this opportunity to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that it taught.  I know from firsthand experience that the missionaries, although really great people, were not responsible for my eventual conversion.  They certainly helped teach me things that were helpful for me in order to learn how to feel and recognize the Spirit in my life, but it was the experiences I had with the Spirit that brought me to an acceptance of the gospel.  Once I joined the Church through baptism and confirmation, which allowed me to receive the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, the things of the Church and the Gospel that didn't make sense to me began to unfold and the gospel became so logical to me.  This is what I mean by spiritual logic--it is not what one can learn from books, but what is taught by the Spirit.

I became a missionary for the LDS Church not because it was forced upon me ( I was already 24 and it was not expected of me,) but because as I began to grow in my understanding of the gospel, I had an overwhelming desire to offer other people the same opportunities I had had to come to a knowledge of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost and the incredible joy this knowledge brings into one's life.  Prior to my experiences with the Gospel, I was a broken young man with many internal scars and an abundance of unhappiness and emptiness in my life.  Through the understanding I gained of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Atonement for me and for all of us, I was able to find healing for my wounds and a pure joy and happiness to fill the void of my life.  I had tried for at least a decade to find such a remedy, but the world and logic could and will never be able to provide it.  It is only through the atoning power of the Savior that this is possible.

Me with Wilma and Petra in Locarno, Switzerland  © Chad Card

I did not become a missionary to add more numbers to the rolls of Church membership, I became a missionary to allow others to experience the same healing and joy in life.  We live in a beautiful world unfortunately full of awful things and the ills of this world will never be solved by man-made means alone.  People need to be able to heal spiritually and rely on the strength that comes from God.  Without this, people become closed, hardened, and vengeful.  Until we as a species can learn to love people who are not related to us, who are different from us, who hail from different lands, speak different languages, and believe differently, we will never be able to have true peace and happiness in this world and have the eyes to really see how beautiful the earth and all of the creations upon it are.

Anziano Bennett, Muyiwa, and I at Muyiwa's baptism  © Chad Card

As a missionary, I had two years in which I was able to forget myself and my needs and focus on the needs of others.  Sure, I had a directive to bring the Gospel to others and I wanted to do this for the reasons I have already explained.  However, I was the one who was transformed by this experience, because I learned what it means to have compassion for those around me and to love people unselfishly.  There is only one way to gain this and that is through service.  There is a reason we call it missionary service and not recruitment in the Church, because that is what it is--it isn't service to the Church, but service to God's children on this earth.  It is through service to others that we come to know how magnanimous God's love is for us and we learn that we have the same capacity to love others as He loves us.  The people I served in Italy and Switzerland will forever be etched in my soul and the love I have for them is eternal.  How great would our world be if we could all understand the true power of selfless service and love of which Jesus Christ is the greatest example?!

I apologize if this post seems too preachy, which is not the intent of this blog, but there really is no other way to convey what missionary work is.  It is my hope that this will help others understand why members of the LDS Church decide to serve missions and will help reduce the knee jerk reaction some people have when they see LDS missionaries.  This was not a comprehensive description of missionaries or missionary work, so if you would like further details, please leave a comment.
 

Putting Women in Their Place

UPDATE: I was just reflecting on the title of this blog and when I first started it, I was referring to the ignorance of others. I did not expect that my own ignorance would also be included. When I wrote this post, I was in a different place emotionally and spiritually. I was angry with the positions I was hearing about the Church that did not conform to what I had been taught and had come to believe and so I began this blog from a position of defense and anger and that is never a good place to begin trying to share truth with others. I must first apologize for any hardships I may have caused with this blog in general and this post specifically. I have recently come to understand, and I'm sorry I didn't recognize this sooner (although maybe I did, as I explain a little in this post, and I just got caught up in what the Church and the Gospel had to offer me), that the Church is full of mixed messages. For the purposes of this post I will just focus on women and the priesthood. Church leaders teach that women are the greatest of all of God's creations and that they are to be protected and honored. This sounds great and I don't think that anyone disbelieves the sentiment that is intended by these teachings, however, the reality is the structure of the Church does not reflect the teaching. Women are reminded at least on a weekly basis that men are the leaders and even the Relief Society remains under the purview of a man. I am only writing this to share my new understanding and not to bash the Church, but the institutionalized prejudice that exists in the Church is a constant reminder to those who are aware, that women are not appreciated as much as is taught. Whether the structure is divine or not does not change the fact that women see the same biases, with which they are confronted everyday, in the one place they are supposed to be able to find peace and rest from the storms of the world. I still believe in the divine nature of the priesthood because I have witnessed its power firsthand. I have no answers to what needs to change to make things better, because I am not about to dictate to God what He should do. However, it seems to me an all loving Heavenly Father would be able to recognize and alleviate the pains that His Church causes many of His children on a daily or weekly basis. When the sanctuary becomes the oppressor, it can no longer be called a sanctuary, no matter how divine!


I apologize for the outrageous title, but I like it because it can be interpreted in very different ways.  I have a feeling that many people think the LDS Church and Mormon men are out to put women in a position of lesser status and subjection. In myth #4 of the article that urged me to start this blog, which is entitled Mormon women are second-class citizens, the author writes: "It is true that mainstream Mormonism does not accord women equal status with men."  She proceeds to demonstrate this by referring to the hierarchy of the Church and claiming that all "clerical, institutional and fiscal authority" is completely male.  She also discusses how women cannot hold the priesthood that boys, once they turn 12, and men in the Church can possess.  If you look at the Church as a corporation that should legally offer equal opportunity to all those who apply, work, and are promoted there, this author is correct in assessing that women are not treated equally.  Luckily, the Church is not a corporation as it pertains to the spiritual nature of the organization.  The Church certainly has a business side to it and both men and women are employed by the Church. There are also many women that have supervisory positions over men in this capacity.  However, since the Church as an employer is not the focus of the article or of what people think about the Church when considering the role/place of women within the Church, I will stop here with any further mention of employment.

Returning back to the claims made by Joanna Brooks, the author of the article I'm referencing, she doesn't understand the structure of the Church in my opinion.  It is true that the hierarchy of the Church is based around the priesthood and that priesthood offices are held by men.  I understand the issue for those who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because to them the organization is man made and under such direction there is clear sexism at play.  However, for those who believe in the doctrines of the LDS Church, the organization is divinely appointed by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I have to admit, when I was learning about the Church, one of the issues I had was the inability of women to hold the priesthood.  I think women are more spiritually in tune and far stronger than men in most aspects of life.  However, I witnessed the priesthood in action and had an indescribable experience that convinced me of the power of the priesthood and I no longer doubted its organization or its origin.  What I have come to understand is women in general are closer to spiritual things than men and women are able to bring to pass great things based on their faith alone, where as men require the priesthood to bring them closer to spiritual matters and to accomplish similar things as women.  Unfortunately, people consider the priesthood the ultimate prize or status and distort what it is all about.

The priesthood is not about obtaining glory and fame through possible callings in the priesthood.  The sole purpose for the priesthood is to come to the aid of others.  Of course there are men in the Church who aspire to what one might consider a great calling like bishop, stake president, mission president, or apostle, but these men as misguided and do not understand the priesthood.  There is no higher glory that one can receive if one is an apostle as opposed to a greeter at the door to the chapel.  Those who think differently are deluded and will probably fall away from the Church at some point in their lives.  Those men and women who don't understand that the priesthood is solely a power of service will never grasp why both sexes don't hold it.

The Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the oldest and largest women's service organization in the world.  The plain truth is that women in general have a greater disposition to provide service to others and they don't require the priesthood to motivate them in this manner.  Men have the priesthood so that they have to be of service and learn of the spiritual blessings that come from selflessly giving of one's time and talents to help those in need.  Are men and women created equal?  Of course not, but that doesn't make one gender better than the other.  There is no disputing that there are fundamental differences between men and women, both physical and emotional.  This world would be a horrid place if we were all the same.  The gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the prophets and apostles inform us that woman, not man, is God's greatest creation.  President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints described women as follows:  "Woman is God’s supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good."

Ms. Brooks also mentions how men "preside" over their families and believes this to be sexist.  What she has clearly misunderstood, is that presiding does not mean that the man has the final say on all issues in the family.  When a man and a woman are married in the temple they are both joined together in the patriarchal order of the priesthood, which is the highest level of priesthood that anyone on the earth can obtain.  It is impossible to receive it alone, it must be received as a man and a woman are sealed together in matrimony in the temple.  The woman shares in this priesthood, which is used to govern and bless one's household and family.  Both husband and wife are to discuss all the issues of the house together and to come to a decision on how to proceed.  The husband's role of presiding is to make sure that this counseling with his wife occurs and that what they decide through discussion and prayer is implemented.  Again, there are men who believe that because they hold the priesthood and are to preside over their families that they can do whatever they want and make their wives and children submissive to their own will.  This is a direct violation of the priesthood and in the Doctrine and Covenants (one of the books in the LDS scriptural cannon) section 121:34-46 we read:

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.

39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Ms. Brooks and her "Mormon feminists" reject the priesthood as it is constituted, but then she must reject the entire Church for the priesthood is the power and authority of God used to organize the Church.  There is no Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without the priesthood and there is no point in treasuring up aspects of the Church that are pleasing to one's conscious if one flatly rejects the fundamental principles of its doctrine.  I have a feeling Ms. Brooks needs to study her religion more carefully before she makes more comments that actually negate her beliefs.  I would also entreat anyone who reads this and questions what I have said about the priesthood to seek out opportunities to see the priesthood in action and find out if it is truly divine, which I believe it is, or if it is another oppressive creation of man.  Finally, I would like to reiterate that a woman's place in the Church and in life is at the highest station, because she is a daughter of God and she should be treated as such!