I'm a Mormon. Obviously I'm the type of Mormon that still claims to be a "Mormon" despite the name having gone out of fashion in the last few years. I'm going to keep using it, though. I side with Gordon B Hinckley on this one. Besides. Any other statement of church affiliation is a mouthful. "I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." is a bit much, when you're introducing yourself to your very Utahn next door neighbor, you know? Jesus is more chill than perhaps we give Him credit for. He's the kind of guy who doesn't care about the best seats in the synagogue and the respectful greetings in the marketplace, you know? He said so.
Anyway! I'm a Mormon! Having been born and raised as such, I've been sitting in church pews for over 4,000 hours. And that is being EXCEPTIONALLY generous, not counting seminary, institute, general conferences, firesides, personal study, THE MISSION FIELD, infancy, etc.
The point is, I have been SCHOOLED on my religion. I know A LOT. And one of the things that I learned, over and over again, is that you STAY IN THE BOAT. Right?
Brigham Young said it first: "We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. 'I am not going to stay here,' says one; 'I don't believe this is the "Ship Zion."' 'But we are in the midst of the ocean.' 'I don't care, I am not going to stay here.' Off goes the coat, and he jumps overboard. Will he not be drowned? Yes. So with those who leave this Church. It is the 'Old Ship Zion,' let us stay in it."
This sentiment has been echoed in recent years by Elder M Russell Ballard, and Elder and Sister Renlund. The concept remains the same, and in these two cases, the analogy remains a boat at sea as well. Don't leave the Church. You are being short-sighted if you do, and you will find yourself adrift in a dangerous sea. Brigham Young added, confidently, that you would drown if you left.
This is a message I grew up with, and believed in. The obsessive personality of my youth carried me in that Old Ship Zion, sailing the seas in the comfort of moral superiority. I felt sorry for those who were so short-sighted as to leave behind the surety of truth that came from following the prophet.
In more recent years I have come to understand that it is not so simple. President Dieter F Uchtdorf said it perfectly, in his recent talk, "Come Join With Us." He stated, "One might ask, 'If the gospel is so wonderful, why would anyone leave?' Sometimes we assume it is because they have been offended or lazy or sinful. Actually, it is not that simple. In fact, there is not just one reason that applies to the variety of situations. Some of our dear members struggle for years with the question whether they should separate themselves from the Church."
Where others have cast abandoning the Old Ship Zion to be a quick, thoughtless decision, President Uchtdorf has the grace to admit that rarely is the decision so simple.
David Ostler published a book last year entitled "Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question." As part of his preparation for this book, Brother Ostler surveyed two different groups on many different questions regarding faith crises in the LDS Church. He interviewed local leaders, as well as self-professed members going through faith crises. (All of these faith crises members met the criteria of still trying to stay positively engaged with the Church.) Many of the conclusions laid out in his book are mind-blowing, frankly. For example:
I love this. Over 90% of local leaders agree or strongly agree that people have faith crises because they were offended. People actually going through faith crises? Only 19% felt that contributed. Not wanting to live the commandments? 84% of leaders assumed that was part of it, while only 9% of members felt that contributed.
The surveys laid out through Brother Ostler's book (which I obviously highly recommend! At a Deseret Book near you!) show that there is a disconnect between people's lived experiences, and the way that leadership views these experiences. Uchtdorf is a good man, who has obviously talked with people, and understands that! (God bless you, you silver fox, you!) (True story, a elderly single woman on my mission had a huge crush on him, and swooned telling us how excited she was for General Conference. She passed away when I was in my next area. Heavens to Betsy, Uchtdorf, when you die, watch out for her!)
Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. The Ship Zion.
Where did we get the idea that people who leave the Church are just a bunch of lazies who weren't cut out for the Lord's work? Wheat and tares. Where did we get the idea that people who leave the Church are tares?
Milk strippings. If you're Mormon like me, just hearing the phrase "milk strippings," you probably already know what story I'm going to talk about. Like me, you might have forgotten the guy's name was Thomas Marsh, but you know full well that his wife was skimming the good milk fat (milk strippings) off the top of the bucket and robbing the neighbor they were sharing with, right? When she was called out on it, Thomas Marsh was so OFFENDED he left the Church, now isn't that silly? Aren't people who leave the Church just so short-sighted and really looking for any little excuse to get out of the hard work of creating Zion?
Same with that Symonds Ryder guy.
Again, another one of those stories we've been told time and time again about another guy just looking for any old lame excuse to jump Ship Zion. (Just saying, the spelling "Symonds" would TOTALLY fly in Utah today. Look at that unnecessary 'Y' and everything!) When was this article published? Oh, that's right.
2017. And I hid the columnist's name for a good reason. Do you want to know it?
Because Symonds Ryder didn't leave the Church because of his name's misspelling. Thomas Marsh didn't leave because of milk strippings either. Both of these men left the Church for, arguably, amazingly Christian reasons. (We've heard the 90% confidence that they were "offended" argument from the Church leaders. Do you want to hear their actual stories?)
Sidney Rigdon went off the deep end. He wasn't the only one, but he was the loud one. You probably remember that the Church faced a lot of conflict and difficulty in Missouri. You might see Church videos flash through your head of greasy bearded folk in taverns with guns, Haun's Mill reenactments, and eventually, yes, the "Extermination Order" by Boggs. Unfortunately, Boggs' Extermination Order came three months after Sidney Rigdon's, who was, yes, in the First Presidency.
Sidney Rigdon stated, at a Fourth of July celebration in 1838: "...It shall be between us and them a war of extermination, for we will follow them till the last drop of blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us; for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one part or the other shall be utterly destroyed." So yes, Sidney Rigdon totally started it. In later years, even Brigham Young was known to have admitted that Sidney Rigdon was the source of the problems in Missouri.
The Danites were also active at this time. They were, in essence, a secret society with oaths, bound under penalty of death to obedience: "to support the heads of the church in all things that they say or do, whether right or wrong." Danites killed people. According to one, Benjamin Slade, even Sidney Rigdon admitted to killing a man, in a closed-door meeting of Danites. Rigdon had told Orson Hyde "It was the imperative duty of the Church to obey the word of Joseph Smith, or the presidency, without question or inquiry, and that if there were any that would not, they should have their throats cut from ear [to] ear."
Parley P Pratt sniped a guy and he and other Danites cut his jaw off. There was a Danite-led battle, called the Battle of Crooked River, which resulted in the mad-dog revenge killings at Haun's Mill, and subsequently, the entire Liberty Jail incident.
To quote Dieter F Uchtdorf again, and to give us some perspective now, "To be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine."
That's putting it mildly, but it's appreciated.
Remember Thomas Marsh? Milk strippings? Thomas Marsh was appalled by what he was seeing. (Rightly so!) Per historian D Michael Quinn, "Horrified by what was happening, the Quorum of the Twelve's president Thomas B Marsh prepared a formal affidavit against these Mormon depredations, for which he was excommunicated and classed as an apostate."
I had to take a breath after I wrote that. Did that feel wrong to you too? I think it most certainly was wrong. I think Thomas B Marsh did nothing wrong. I think he was incredibly brave to call out evil where he saw it being done. And for well over a hundred years, we have done nothing but slander his name and reputation in the church, by implying he was petty, shallow, and faithless.
They used to publish in the Deseret News the list of names of individuals who had been excommunicated. A friend once told me, "That is one of the most toxic things about the church. The church doesn't have an exit strategy that allows you to keep your dignity." When people leave the Church, willingly or unwillingly, they are given labels. Lazy. Unintelligent. Looking for an excuse. Tare. Apostate. Deceived. Lukewarm. Fallen elect. Agitator. Goat. Heretic. Intellectual. Cafeteria Mormon. Confused.
Tell that to Thomas B Marsh. Tell that to Emma and Lucy Mack Smith. Tell that Oliver Cowdery. Tell that to Symonds Ryder, who saw the Church becoming aggressive and militant as well, and suspected Joseph Smith was trying to confiscate his property once he left on a mission.
Quinn adds, "There was no loyal opposition within the kingdom of God... Dissent meant defection."
President Uchtdorf has countered this in the modern era. "There is a place for you." he has insisted, with the understanding that questions, disagreements, and imperfections may exist in each of us. The Church is doing their best to counter the culture of old, where you were IN, or you were OUT. But we have a long way to go.
We have to stop "otherizing," and have more faith in God, and God's ability to prescribe personalized prescriptions for each of His children. Christ gave us our commandments. Love. That is the greatest commandment, and the one which applies to us all.
I have hope. Some days I have more hope than others. Today I have a lot of hope.
The more that we follow the commandments of Christ - namely, those two great commandments, the more mercy, grace, and love will abound. Because maybe the Church isn't a "ship." Maybe it's not so black and white. Maybe the Kingdom of God is within us, as Christ taught. Maybe when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name. Maybe it's less about the physical, structured organization, and more about the souls that pass through our lives on a daily basis. The Kingdom is in the eyes of those around you. Maybe people aren't "jumping ship" so much as they are looking for someone to recognize that they have been given their own ships that they carry with them, undaunted and undeterred by others'.
