Monday, December 28, 2015

Mormons are Christians

For anyone remotely interested, here's the original article written for Mormon newsroom Canada. I didn't realize (like an idiot) that writing like a journalist would be necessary and so the final product reads quite a bit differently. That said, I thought it worth posting the original here.

Mormons Are Christians

“But Mormons aren’t Christians, right?” This was the response I heard from one of the girls who lived on my dormitory floor during my first year of university right before Christmas break. We weren’t close, but we had had positive interactions, we got along well, and had a healthy respect for each other. I was gobsmacked. Mormons not Christians? Where did she get that from? And had I not done enough in my actions to indicate otherwise?

Ten years later wisdom and learning have taught me that her perception isn’t all that unusual. There are still many people who operate under the misconception that Mormons aren’t Christians. And maybe I shouldn’t blame them. There are some differences between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity. The most marked of which are our additional canonized scripture, The Book of Mormon, the structure of our church which holds at it’s head a modern and living prophet, and our shunning of the Trinity, believing instead that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings united in purpose. There can be little doubt, when held against our peers we are a peculiar people.

But yet…while the differences in Mormonism might define us, must they separate us so? Do we not share much more in our commonalities than in our differences?  At this time of year when all of Christianity celebrates with such reverence the birth of the Messiah one cannot help but see how much we share in our love and devotion to the one who redeems us from death. How we are unified in our desire to return to Him. How we are once again reminded of how unworthy we are of His love for us, and of the depths to which He has gone to allow us to return to His presence. It is our love and devotion to Him that unites us and allows us to converse in the same language.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe in the Restoration of the gospel. More specifically this means the gospel as it existed on the Earth during Christ’s ministry. Most notable aspects of this are the Prophets and Apostles that lead our church, others include our belief that the heavens are still open and that priesthood keys have been restored. As Paul so courageously spoke before King Agrippa “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.” Paul’s testimony is now book ended by modern day prophets who foretell and testify of His millennial return to Earth.

My all time favorite scriptural account takes place in John 20, immediately following the burial of Jesus Christ. In it Jesus appears to a broken hearted and bereft Mary Madgalene who is at a loss to know where the body of Jesus is. In verse 15 he asks her “…Women, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” We are told that she supposes Him to be the gardener. When I picture her, I imagine a woman so overcome with sadness that she is on her knees with her head bowed. Unable to see for the river of tears flowing down her face. She then says “Sir if thou hast born Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away”. It isn’t until this moment that Jesus calls her by name “Mary”. And then she knows. She knows that she is speaking with her resurrected Savior, and that her tears were not needed. The first, and only words that the scriptures tell us she utters in His presence are “Rabboni” which is Hebrew for Master. How I yearn to not only see Him, as Mary did, but to know Him as she did. To feel at one and at home in His presence. To call him by the same word. Master. For isn't He the master of us all?

In the end, I looked at this acquaintance of mine. This girl that I liked but didn’t know particularly well. And with all of the confidence that an inexperienced 18 year old could muster I said “we believe in Christ. We worship Him. Isn’t that what a Christian is?”. She was quiet for a moment before nodding her head in agreement.