I'm reading 'The Miracle of Forgiveness' so you don't have to: Chapter 2
*Trigger Warning*
This book contains pious, judgmental, homophobic, and sexist language. It references "causes" or "cures" for homosexuality and goes as far as to suggest that death is better than allowing yourself to be raped.
If you are struggling with any topic mentioned in these articles please remember that you will always be able to find a community out there that loves and appreciates you for who you are, regardless of your faith, gender, or sexual orientation. I would encourage anyone questioning their beliefs, or struggling with mental health issues to either reach out to someone they trust or go to https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org for further advice and support.
No matter what your current belief system is, if it is true it should be able to stand up to honest scrutiny. If you are questioning your faith this does not make you a bad person.
Chapter 2: No Unclean Thing Can Enter
Kimball places a lot of focus in this chapter on our pre-mortal, mortal, and immortal lives - basically focusing on the reason we are here and what we can look forward to after death. He gets straight into discussing his belief that “immortality and eternal life constitute the sole purpose of life, and that all other activities are but incidental thereto”. That if there were no God then life would be meaningless.
One of the main tenets of the LDS belief is that we have come to earth to be tested, we will be “subjected to all the weaknesses, temptations, frailties and limitations of mortality” and we must face the challenge of overcoming these hardships. Without getting too involved in the complex nature of resurrection I will say that the basic belief is that after death we will be made immortal, and depending on our actions on earth we will be rewarded with a suitable level of heaven. The only exception to this is those who were taught the “true gospel” (that of the LDS church) and choose to reject it, they teach that the wicked “shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.” (Alma 40:13.).The only way for members to be able to “enjoy the blessings of exaltation” is to stay an active member, and follow strict rules. This includes rules about how you dress, what you eat/drink, how you participate in church callings/activities/ordinances, and rules about purity and who you can marry. Kimball warns “none can enter into eternal life other than by the correct door - Jesus Christ and his commandments”.
Parents are encouraged to teach their children from a young age about the principles of the gospel. Henry Eyring taught that “the best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of [the] mortal enemy, and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles”. The Church reminds parents that they have a “sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live”. They also believe that within the family dynamic a father has the responsibility to preside over the family and provide the necessities of life and that a mother has the responsibility to nurture the children (The Family: A Proclamation to the World). It is important to recognise the significance of these teaching in the LDS perspective. The church believes that families can be together forever if they follow the teaching and principles of the church, “if we keep our covenants with the Lord and each other, death cannot permanently separate us”. This sealing ordinance is an essential part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for us to live with Him eternally. (See D&C 128:9–10; 132:19.).
This teaching has an obvious consequence, if a parent or child should leave the church, or not live by its standards then it means that the family will end up getting separated after death. For a parent who believes this teaching you can imagine how painful this thought can be. It is understandable why believers of this doctrine may be manipulated to staying faithful and obedient despite legitimate concerns about teachings or church history. The coercion does not stop here, the LDS church is quick to remind members that they must consistently remain valiant, that being baptised and confirmed members of the church, receiving an endowment, and being married and sealed in the temple is not enough to obtain the blessings of eternal life. Having been “blessed” with gospel knowledge and principles the members of the LDS church will be judged by the highest standard, “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:41). In short, we will be judged according to our knowledge.
Kimball explains that “in order to reach the goal of eternal life and exaltation and godhood, one must be initiated into the kingdom by baptism, properly performed; one must receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of authoritative hands; a man must be ordained to the priesthood by authorised priesthood holders; one must be endowed and sealed in the house of God by the prophet who holds the keys or by one of those whom the keys have been delegated; and one must live a life of righteousness, cleanliness, purity, and service”. As the title of the chapter suggests, he then claims that this life is the time to act, “one of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, an unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities now…There are many members of the church who are lax and careless and who continually procrastinate. They live the gospel casually but not devoutly”.
When summing up the chapter Kimball reminds readers that we have all been given the blessed principles of repentance as a gateway to forgiveness. As long as sinners “totally, consistently, and continuously repent in a genuine and comprehensive transformation of life…the Church will forgive and the Lord will forgive such things when repentance has reached fruition”. The conflict between good and evil, and the option of repentance provides room for personal growth and development - but we must make the “right choice” and take the uncrowded path. He argues that “those who yield to evil are those who place themselves in a vulnerable position”, and the secret to a good life is protection and prevention.
As far as this book goes I feel that this chapter seems to start pretty tamely. It outlines in a firm but clear manner what the church believes, and what the “straight and narrow” path is to get the highest degree of heaven. What some readers might not pick up on is just how much impact this sort of teaching can have on your worldview, and general outlook on life. I personally do not believe that if there is no God or afterlife that this life has no meaning, furthermore I don’t think that this is a healthy way to think. This teaching is one of several pieces which make up the cultural and psychological conditioning that causes you to see the world through a doctrinal lens, and live in a way that unbeknownst to you is controlling and limiting.
In his book “Combating cult mind control” Steven Hassan talks about the four components of mind control which are the control of behaviour, thoughts, emotions, and information. While in relation to the LDS church I could make a case for how they meet all of these criteria, I feel that this chapter particularly demonstrates thought control.
Hassan argues “in totalistic cult the ideology is internalised as ‘the truth’, the only map of reality. The doctrine not only serves to filter incoming information but also regulates how information can be thought about. Usually, the doctrine is absolutes, dividing everything into black versus white, or us versus them. All that is good is embodied in the leader and the group. All that is bad is on the outside. The doctrine claims to answer all questions to all problems and situations. Members need not think for themselves because the doctrine does the thinking for them”. Now some might try to argue that we all have free agency, that church leaders encourage everyone to “investigate” the church and see for ourselves if it is true. But they are not encouraging people to go read church history, or the CES letter, or anything that would make the church out in a bad light - they simply recommend prayer and reading your scriptures as a way of finding “truth”.
This is not the first time that the church has discouraged studying outside of approved media. Elder Boyd K. Packer taught that “some things that are true are not very useful”. Elaborating he said, “teaching some things that are true, prematurely or at the wrong time, can invite sorrow and heartbreak instead of the joy intended to accompany learning…The scriptures teach emphatically that we must give milk before meat. The Lord made it very clear that some things are to be taught selectively, and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy.”
President Russell M. Nelson councils LDS members to study, choose to believe, and have faith - warning that members should “stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with other doubters”. So even here we see that church leaders are well aware that their history and teaching are a cause for concern, and that if missionaries were to be open and honest with investigators, or new members about certain aspects of the church they might not be as successful in gaining their trust and testimony. By discouraging, and disparaging “anti-mormon” content helps to keep members focused on a cycle of indoctrination.
This comes back to how thought control works. If members are told to “choose” to believe, and that they should avoid any negative comments/thoughts/media which could lead to doubt, then how are they making a choice based on information or free will? Hassan talks more on this topic explaining that one of the most widely used and most effective techniques for controlling cult members thoughts is thought-stopping, “members are taught to use thought-stopping on themselves…whenever cult members experience a ‘bad’ thought, they use thought-stopping to stop the ‘negativity’ and centre themselves, thus shutting out anything that threatens or challenges the cult’s version of reality”.
So for this chapter I would argue that while it may just seem more of a“factual” chapter about church doctrine and beliefs, I feel that it has a lot of powerful undertones which make up some of the dangerous and coercive sides of a cult. By telling members that they must meet certain criteria to remain worthy and that their eternal life is on the line if they go astray it can force people to stay out of fear or guilt. By treating the world as us and them or a worthy and an unworthy it cuts people off from real truths and forces people to remain in ignorance.
