I actually dislike the term Christmas. I tend to lean more to Yuletide but if I say that many think I'm trying a bit too hard. Like many Christian theologians and cultural historians, I think of Christmas as an arbitrary date set aside by earlier Christians to celebrate the birth of their savior, an opportunity to assume an older tradition and capitalize on it for their benefit. There really is little to connect it to Christianity but a lot to connect it to pre-Christian northern European paganism.
I view this time of year as a celebration of loved ones, tradition, and to honor the enduring human spirit. It's a time to feast and turn one's attention to others, to contemplate what is truly meaningful in one's life. It's a time of offerings, a time of charitable acts, a time of forgiveness, and a time of brotherly and sisterly love, acceptance, and appreciation. It is an honoring of humanity itself and transcends religion and ethnicity. Well, at least that's how I view it.
Alas, some think they have exclusive rights to the holiday and are often offended whenever the term Christmas isn't used. I feel badly for those so tainted by our sectarian predispositions. They often miss out on the joy of the season when contemplating such irrelevancies.
I must say, I LOVE this song. The lyrics so eloquently articulate an incredibly unifying principal of true ethical or, dare I say, Christian living. In a world filled with so much intolerance both at home and abroad, I delight in this invitation to not keep our world small and discover how much a like we truly are. "We are all the glowing embers of a distant fire." And that fire is known by many names and imagined in many forms. The human race is a tremendous creation yet, remarkably, it goes to great lengths in refusing to acknowledge and celebrate its divine diversity!
The Tony Award winning Musical, The Book or Mormon, is a religious satire. It pokes fun at organized religion, makes light of things some may consider too sacred, and in parts, it's down right filthy. But having only seen bits and pieces and reading the reviews, the one thing it doesn't seem to do is attack Mormons personally. They celebrate their strengths even if they make light of their weaknesses... something a lot of us actually do even with our family and friends.
The few doctrinal errors and over-generalizations aside, I think this song sums up the religious experience for many. Feel free to interpret this however you want. I believe those for and against can take away a message here. Personally, I think it's just fun and entertaining.
The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.
Heresy:
Belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine. Opinion profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted.
I would like to clarify something for those exceedingly troubled by my personal views. I am not a blasphemer. I am a heretic. While I am sure there are some who make little distinction between the two and find both vile and beneath contempt, I use the word heretic in its proper context and with its true meaning.
I have spoken of Jesus as the archetypal man; the one to emulate to overcome error and realize immortality. I have also spoken to my belief that christ and redeemer aren't titles for a divine third party but actually reflect introspective metaphysical roles we must learn to take on ourselves for ourselves; as the fabled Jesus did.
Many Christian traditionalists have taken severe issue with my views and some have asked for clarification as to why I would believe such things. Now, I will attempt to be clear and direct but I trust you will not feel it reflects judgment on you. It is not my purpose or intent to condemn your revered beliefs. I only wish to share mine. I do not claim a higher understanding.
To put it succinctly, I consider vicarious redemption by sacrifice to be immoral... be it animal, human, or divine in nature. It is reminiscent of an archaic custom practiced by primitive societies where they would ritualistically pile the sins of the tribe on an animal and drive it out into the wilderness to perish. In so doing, they would rid themselves of their sins. This is the etymological basis for what we know as scapegoating. I find the idea that through the punishment of another life my sins can be forgiven to be reprehensible. It nullifies personal responsibility; the one thing on which all morality, ethics, and our very integrity depend.
This is why I embrace the gnostic tradition of many early Christians and view Jesus not as God but as teacher. He didn't take away our responsibility. He didn't undo our errors. He didn't have a need to forgive us. He did, however, demonstrate a philosophy for undertaking all of this. Redemption isn't a single quantitative act. It's an ongoing qualitative journey of self.
"It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute."
One artist of the faith I greatly admire is Dieter Uchtdorf. While he does embrace much of the orthodox dogma I reject, he spends much of his time speaking to the more founding principles of the Christian movement. In doing so, he engenders a respect and inclusiveness not always representative in orthodoxy. For these reasons I consider him my favorite among LDS theologians.
Due to his polished and eloquent nature, instead of paraphrasing, I'd like to share a few excerpts from one of his uniquely focused addresses given to the Relief Society. Dieter outlined his five pedals of the Forget-Me-Not.
Forget Not to be Patient with Yourself
"I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.
And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s wonderful that you have strengths. And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.
Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey."
Forget Not the Difference Between the Good and Foolish Sacrifice
"An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.
Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another.
How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective."
Forget Not to be Happy Now
"There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings—we hope and seek after things that are “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” The problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future event—our golden ticket—to appear.
This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper our goals. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.
The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy."
Forget Not the "Why" of the Gospel
"While understanding the “what” and the “how” of the gospel is necessary, the eternal fire and majesty of the gospel springs from the “why.” When we understand why our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living, when we remember why we committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead, becomes a joy and a delight. It becomes precious and sweet."
Forget Not the Lord Loves You
"Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!"
As I struggled to sum up my feelings at the close of this General Conference, an unlikely source of clarity presented itself in his untimely death.
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
~ Steve Jobs - 2005 Commencement Address, Stanford University
We need not be limited by another's thinking. Ideas are fluid and are only limited by our imagination and intellect. Wisdom may be found anywhere we have the patience to look. Because one intends to lead us down a particular path of particular thinking, that doesn't mean we must necessarily go. We can learn to follow our own intuition and find our own path. But it's important to remember not to be too focused on our own trailblazing and ignore the insights of other travelers we meet on those rare occasions our paths do cross.
Conference is an exchange of ideas. They are not set by established dogma. We are free to ponder and interpret them as our personal experience and need requires. This is how I left Conference.
The School of Athens by Raphael
The Apostolic Palace, Vatican City 1511
Philosophy is to empirical knowledge as axiom is to theorem and poetry is to prose.
Our technology has advanced sufficiently that we are now able to test the veracity of much of our surviving mythology but faith and religion are much more than just a collection of stories. They are a collection of philosophical ideals wrapped in allegory. In our science biased world, we want to treat religion as a form of empirical knowledge; something to be proven before it is accepted. This, in our current stage of intellectual evolution, misses the point entirely.
By its very nature, philosophy is magnificently adaptable. It is an intricate weave of logic and reason, fiction and fact whose resulting complexity lends itself to near infinite range of interpretation and perspective. It can broaden the mind and lift the soul. In essence, it can add meaning and dimension to every day living... all without requiring fiduciary evidence.
I don't need to be a believing devotee of the faith to find Conference useful. I do, however. need to be a respecter of the artist to fully appreciate his work. This is how I head into Conference.
“Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.”
"A militant kind of aggressive religiosity, sometimes called fundamentalism, has grown up in every single one of the major world traditions as a rebellion against this imbalanced world, a rebellion against humiliation, powerlessness and there is a sense of rage expressed in religious terms.
~Karen Armstrong
Twisted and focused by men insane with hatred and fear, this kind of fundamentalism was used against us ten years ago. There is no excuse or redemption for what they did... at least not in this life... but we must still look objectively at how we fell victim to these predators of spirit. And victims we are... the perpetrators, their supporters, those who perished, those who lost loved ones, those who stood in horrified witness... all of us
We must, as a people and as a species, move beyond the small and petty definitions of perceived right and wrong and embrace the beauty of difference God has blessed us with. This is my day's tribute:
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about
language, ideas, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense."
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī
13th-century Persian, Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.
