Why Mormons Change Their Mind
History Shows That Any Religion Refusing To Change Dies Out.
One of the critical teachings I was taught as a new convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly called the Mormons, over 35 years ago was the Mormon Church was the only Church to have restored all doctrines and other essential things to the way they were in Jesus' day. And they were not about to change like the rest of the World. Sounded great. It sounded like a restoration should sound. If things were to be restored, then obviously nothing would be taken away, was my presumption.
It wasn't long before I realized I had been lied to, the first of many lies to come. But, of course, these continual changes were said to be due to the true Church of God being a church that was blessed with 'modern-day revelation.' Thereby, continual modern-day revelation leads to continual modern-day change. That's me told, I guess!
"Once upon a time, animal sacrifice was an important part of Hindu life, Catholic priests weren't celibate and visual depictions of the Prophet Muhammad were part of Islamic art. And soon, some churches in the U.K. may be marrying gay couples. [So how do] religions manage to change their mind?" asked William Kremer from the BBC World Service in 2013.
Of course, the answer is to survive. History shows that any religion refusing to change dies out. However, change sometimes has to be significant for religion not to fade away. In the case of Mormonism, we have seen some 'significant' changes throughout its short history. For example, the eventual eradication of plural marriage or polygamy after several false starts between 1890 and 1910. The price of Statehood for Utah, empty coffers, and the loss of the Church as a whole 'encouraged' this change.
Another significant shift and change took place in 1978 when the First Presidency of the Church revealed, "every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the Holy Priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that follows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color." As the Church expanded throughout the World from the 1950s, Mormon prophet David O. McKay was confronted with the ever-increasing problem of no eligible leadership availability in areas of colored or black populations. Over the next 25 years, along with the changes in civil rights, the Church had to change or die. Interestingly the Church fought against equal rights for women at the same time. The Church eventually published a series of official statements in 1975 with a Church News editorial. The editorial designated the separate roles of men and women and stated that the ERA was unnecessary. While support for the ERA in Utah had initially been about sixty-three percent in November 1974, the official statement from the Church in 1975 led to a drop in support to thirty-one percent in February 1975. Ratification ran out in 1982.
So what of the problems the Mormon church faces today? According to Jana Riess and the Religion News Service, Mormon leaders have worked hard "to change missionary expectations, temple rituals, and curriculum to improve the Latter-day Saint experience for Millennials and Generation Z. Will it be enough?"
Social issues. "Young adults aren't just leaving because church meetings were too long or missionary service was difficult." Deep-seated social problems at work are rooted in changing definitions of the family in the United States. The Church continues to preclude women from positions with decision-making authority, no matter what the P.R. department says. The Church absolutely continues to marginalize LGBT people. The Mormon church doctrinally will not budge, and therein lies the problem as the ever-increasing numbers of younger people will not budge either. Riess reminds us, "This spells a serious and possibly unbridgeable divide."
Disaffiliation Continues to Increase. Young adults are leaving all religions in far higher numbers than previous generations did when they were the same age. Mormonism is a minute minority within the U.S. population. It is challenging for such a slight minority to resist the tide of its host culture. When roughly 98.5% of Americans are going one way, and 99.998% of the World is moving the same way, Mormonism will be affected by those trajectories, no matter what the P.R. department says or the Mormon leaders do or do not do.
Ever-changing Mormon Programs. All changes Mormons announce or implement by the Church always come from the top down. Young adults and teenagers today don't have the same relationship with centralized authority that previous older generations did, which is challenging for a Church that has utilized its Correlation program (brainwashing- my addition) over the last half-century to instill the idea that standardization of activities, beliefs, and its people is godly unity. They obviously have never seen 'The Borg and the Collective' on Star Trek. As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Borg also believes that "resistance is futile."
The Borg eventually fails, and the Mormon Church will also eventually fail. Resistance is not futile.
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
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