Church for post-Mormons?

Looking for a place where you can explore a new and rational faith after leaving the LDS church?   Live in the Boise, Idaho area?  Be sure to check out a new non-denominational church plant at…

http://www.BoiseChristianFellowship.org

After all you can do…

2 Nephi 25:23 …for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

This may be one of the most well-known passages of LDS scripture, and one that speaks volumes about LDS doctrine and the LDS plan of salvation.  Unfortunately, it is also one of the doctrines that serves to bring overwhelming feelings of condemnation upon Mormons.

Consider this.  When have you ever felt like you have done all that you can do?  As I look at every aspect of my life, I realize that I never reach that place of feeling like I’ve done all that I can do.

A brass serpent on a pole

This is the message I shared with our new "Life After Joseph" group that is now meeting at the local non-denominational church I now attend.  I found myself wishing I’d presented it more clearly than I had, and figured I’d take another crack at it here, where I could edit, delete, and make additions as needed.

I’m studying through the Old Testament right now. It’s a book I’ve rarely read much from, and certainly never from cover to cover.  I am amazed how much I am learning from it’s study.  It has been absolutely profound to begin to understand just a fraction of what is contained in it’s pages.  It has given me a perspective on things like temples, the priesthood, the sabbath, tithing, and obedience that I never expected to have.

I was reading through Numbers the other night and was struck by this account of Moses and the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness.  Keep in mind that, leading up to this account and immediately following it, their life was all about laws… rules… regulations… sacrifices.  This was a time of following the rules EXACTLY.  And suddenly you come across this odd happening…   

Numbers 21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no
bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light
bread.
Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we
have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD,
that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it
upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten,
when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came
to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the
serpent of brass, he lived.

The Israelites must have thought that Moses had lost his mind.  Some of the symbolism is obvious in this passage, but some of it was almost certainly lost on the wandering tribes.  To them, it must have sounded like Moses told them to make a graven image of Satan (the serpent) and simply look upon it to be saved from their poisonous bites.  It is implied that not all of the Israelites looked upon the serpent and that the many who did not, died.  Reading this passage now, with the understanding and light of Christ already having had His time on earth, this becomes amazingly profound and talks directly to those in Mormonism, I believe.  Let’s go over the passage again, this time inserting the obvious symbolism that was intended.  Anything I add will be in blue, lest anyone think I’m trying to change the words.

Numbers 21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no
bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light
bread.
Numbers 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents (an obvious symbolism of the invasion of sin or influence of Satan) among the people, and they bit the people (the people fell into sin); and much people of Israel died ("the wages of sin is death").
Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned (the first step toward being saved… realizing you are a sinner), for we
have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD,
that he take away the serpents (take away our sins) from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Numbers 21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent (a symbol of sin), and set it
upon a pole (symbolic of the tree or the cross): and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten (everyone who has sinned),
when he looketh upon it (the symbol of sin on a cross), shall live.
Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass (brass is always a symbol of judgment in the Bible), and put it upon a pole (a cross), and it came
to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man (whoever had sinned), when he beheld the
serpent of brass (looked upon the judgment of sin, Jesus Christ), he lived.

Jesus Christ literally became our sin upon the cross.  The symbolism is profound and specific.  Here, in five simple verses, is contained all we need to know in order to be saved.  And yet the symbolism continues beyond what is simply written in the words.  We must ask ourselves why all the people didn’t look.  Put yourself in their shoes for a minute.  They were living in very legalistic times of sacrifices, required festivals, sabbath-keeping, tithe paying, etc.  It was all about rules and regulations.  It was all very complicated and precise.  Have you ever read through Leviticus and tried to keep all of the offerings straight in your head?  Sin, even unintentional sin, had a very precise sacrificial resolution with "waiting periods" involved.  It was unheard of to just "be forgiven" because you believed.  The people obviously recognized that the serpents were a direct punishment for their sins.  I have to believe it all seemed too simple to them.  It didn’t make any sense coming from the way they’d been raised and taught.  It must have seemed like a very stupid idea indeed to simply look at a snake on a pole and really believe they’d be healed.  So many of them didn’t.  They rejected it due to it’s simplicity… and died.

As post-Mormons, we are in the same situation.  We have been raised with rules, regulations, commandments, and a very clear path of works in order to be "saved".  The belief that all we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ to be saved seems ludicrous, simple, and ridiculous.  It’s GOT to be more complicated than that, right?  What about baptism, temple work, endowments, priesthood, temple attendance, home teaching, visiting teaching, magnifying your calling, tithe paying, sabbath keeping, and on and on?

Mormons are in the same situation as these Israelites.  All through the New Testament is our call to simply believe in Jesus Christ and accept his sacrifice as the judgment of our sin in order to be saved.  And yet it is too simple to believe.  Being "saved" in Christ seems too basic… too easy… even approaching the ridiculous.  Many Israelites died physically of poison because they didn’t think it could be that simple.  Many Mormons will die spiritually from sin because they didn’t think it could be that simple.

I have found profound and deeply theological reasons to justify that simple faith in Christ is all that is required for salvation.  I think the idea was best expressed to me by my Pastor (and I must paraphrase, because I didn’t write it down like I should have)… Salvation is so simple that a child can understand it, yet deep enough that religious scholars could mine it’s depths for a lifetime and never fully understand it.

Look to the brass serpent on a pole and be healed….
Believe that Christ interceded for the judgment of your sins on the cross and be saved.

That’s it.  It’s that simple and that beautiful.      

The failing of works

Possibly the biggest change in my religious life has been the very tiny little understanding of what humility really is… what it really means to humble myself at the feet of Jesus.

To understand this, you probably need to know what my understanding was up to this point. Mormonism teaches that we are saved by grace, after all we can do. In other words, we must perform as many and as good of works as we can during this life, and then Jesus will make up the difference between perfection and us, if we repent fully and completely.

So, at the very basis of Mormon thinking is that we, as humans, can accomplish things. They believe that we, through how we spend our time, the things we do, and the service we provide, can literally earn our way into a higher level of heaven.

Now… for my new view of humility. I believe that humans can accomplish nothing. Literally. If God were to withdraw his support of us this very second, we’d all drop dead to the earth. Instantly. Our minds would cease to function, our hearts would cease to beat, our lungs would cease to fill, and our cells would cease each of their individual functions. All that we do… cutting the grass, chewing our food, driving to work… is absolutely dependant upon His power and grace. We, literally, can do nothing without Him. He is our power. He is our heart, lungs, and brain.

You see, God has a plan for my life, and that is to work through me, not on me. He’s a loving God, and has great happiness in store for me as part of this plan, but my real reason for being here is to become the best instrument for Him that I can be. To throw off my own self and let him direct my life.

So why can’t I just do it? Why can’t I just reach the point of faith that he takes over and makes me instantly the person He wants me to be? I’ve asked Him to, and He won’t. There is something I have to contribute… my part of the system.

Let’s take the example of a muscle, and work on the assumption that all power within that muscle is given by God. I could lay around all day, doing nothing, and let my muscles atrophy. Then, if God needed me to use that muscle in His service, he could only fill it with the amount of strength I’ve limited it at. It would be weak and nearly useless. But, if I had been exercising it, growing it, and strengthening it, it would have a great deal more potential for energy. Then, when God needed it for something, He could put a lot more energy into me to accomplish His purposes.

All I truly have to give God is to try to keep my potential for serving Him at a high level. That way, when He fills me with His power to act, I have the resources available to Him.

Our brains work the same way. What if we find ourselves in a wonderful opportunity to teach someone the word of God? If we’ve never put the Word into our heads and studied it, then God has nothing to work with in us. We haven’t stored it away in our memory cells for Him to recall when He needs us to have it. The ability to recall it, or to perform any kind of act, is not ours. It is our God’s.

The very idea that we, of our own ability, can accomplish anything is a prideful idea. As soon as you feel you’ve accomplished something… anything… the temptation is there to look down on someone who hasn’t or isn’t accomplishing that thing and pride is born. Satan loves pride. It’s the number one tool in his toolbox. He even loves it when people accomplish very good, righteous things, and then think that they actually are a better person because of it.

We cannot be better people. The only way we can "improve" is to become less of ourselves and more of Him. And it’s pretty plain to see that, in reality, even that is not improving us at all. It is glorifying Him only.

I feel like I should mention, too, what I think some of His purposes are. When I begin to think religiously, I usually start thinking in terms of spreading the Word and growing His kingdom. I begin to think on a grand scale of miracles and conversions. That simply is not my calling in life. But does God want my lawn mowed? Does He want me to work for a living? Does He want me to fix a leaky faucet? These may not be overwhelmingly spiritual things, but God is Good. And I don’t mean that He’s generally nice and likes happy things. I mean He is the author of all Goodness. If it is Good, then it is of God. Mowing my lawn is good. Going to work is Good. Fixing a faucet is Good. He is no less there to support us in these trivial "goods" than He is in the life-changing "goods". All Good is from Him and supported by Him and, in fact, accomplished by Him. So, even in these trivial "Goods", I can claim no victory, no ability, no accomplishment. Even in these trivial "Goods" I can be letting my Father work through me and glorify Him.

Maybe none of this makes any sense to you. But it is all I strive for now. To become nothing, and let God fill me with everything.

Where do I fit in?

It’s pretty obvious that I no longer fit into Mormonism. So that begs the question, where do I fit now? If Joseph’s story were true about asking the Lord which church he should join, I’d say that I must feel a little like he did. And I’m getting the same answer he claims that he did. "None of them are true." And the more I think and pray on it, the more I feel that’s exactly the way it should be. I’ve learned that there is a huge difference between "religion" and "church". Religion is, quite literally, my direct relationship with God and God only. I know what I believe… in fact, I’m in the process of writing my own Statement of Beleifs stating exactly what it is I do beleive. Maybe I’ll post it here someday. That is my religion. It has nothing at all to do with where I go to church. "Church" on the other hand, is a human fellowship that attempts to find common ground among it’s congregation and provide a way to worship and fellowship together. Anytime a mortal man gets involved in influencing someone else’s religion, regardless of their intentions, there is the risk (and the probability) that the truth gets colored by that mortal man.

I absolutely believe that God wants us to have churches on this earth. I absolutely beleive He works through them to accomplish great things. I also beleive that too many people of all religions blindly give their "religion" over to their "church" and let someone else decide what they beleive. All men are capable of being decieved… all of them, me included. But God will never deceive. My "religion" tells me that I get knowledge and truth only from Him, and get support, love, and fellowship from a "church".

So, where do I fit in? At whatever church is most in harmony with my own personal religion and provides the love and fellowship that we all need.

Some would call me a born-again Christian… I will share my personal experience with that some other time… it’s a little too fresh and too sacred for me to share just yet. But something about that label really bothers me, and it’s probably because of the way I used to view born-again Christians. I used to think that they beleived that all you have to do is say that Jesus is your Savior and BOOM, you’re good. You’re heaven-bound regardless of the rest of your life. And it turns out that many do seem to beleive this. I, personally, think that’s ridiculous. God is a God of justice, compassion, and sense. Nothing about that plan makes sense to me.

To be truly born again is to understand the sacrifice the Savior made and realize that the only way to truly thank Him for it, is to give your life to Him, just as He gave His for us. It is to truly take the name of Jesus upon you, and dedicate your life to His will. In fact, I don’t feel that I’ve been personally born again, but that I’ve allowed Jesus to be born within me.

I no longer look at my hands as my hands. God gave them to me, and I will do my best the rest of my life to use them how he would use them if He could literally control them. God gave me my brain… it’s work is dedicated to him. He gave me my legs, arms, eyes, ears. He gave me any talents that I may have, any skills I may acquire, and any successes I may acheive. They are all His. He gives me the very strength I need to stand and walk. If I misuse these wonderful gifts, I dishonor the gift of them. Yet He is such a loving God, he rarely takes these kinds of gifts away when misused. He patiently waits for the day we’ll learn how He wants us to use them to glorify Him. And even beyond that, He readily and repeatedly forgives us for their misuse.

A major point of difference between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity is their different understandings of Grace and Works. I’m still sorting all of that out for myself, but here is the understanding I’ve come to so far. The understanding of true Grace results in Works. If we have truly been converted to the Body of Christ, we will have such a desire to do Works for Him that we won’t be able to help it. It will be our new programming. If an understanding of Grace does not result in works, it shows a lack of a true understanding. The Mormon church would teach that, if I lacked faith, I should do more works (prayer, home teaching, callings, spreading the Gospel, church attendance, tithing, fast offerings, family home evening, scripture study, etc) to increase my faith. To me, that’s backwards. My works now flow freely from my faith.

So, where do I fit in? I strive to fit in with the Lord, and nowhere else. And that’s His plan. If we look anywhere else to "fit in", even to great and righteous men, we are not looking to the One Being that we must "fit in" with.

I will never give myself a label like "Mormon" or "Born-Again". I have only one label, and it has only one affiliation. I am a disciple… a student of Christ. That comes with no denomination, no man-made rules or regulations, and no human in a position of authority over me. I will work out my own salvation with my God, and allow all others to do that for themselves on their own terms. I have no right to tell any other man what he should beleive any more than they have to tell me. I am every bit as human as those who would seek to tell me how to live my life. All I can do is that which my Father would have me do. My life is His.