Several incidents this week have pointed my thinking toward that of Idol Worship. My wife is reading through the Old Testament and we often discuss the on-going problems with idol worship we read from its pages. In those cases, the worship was a substitute for the one true God. One of the great lessons of the Old Testament was God was simply trying to get His people to worship and follow His Commandments. To me, it is one of the ever-present themes.
Church Leaders have spoken out against idol worship of various kinds since the beginning of the Church. For example, this Conference Talk from 1976, The False Gods We Worship. In the talk, President Spencer W. Kimball laments, “the enticings of Satan and his servants and joined with those of “the world” in lives of ever-deepening idolatry. In his examples, he uses physical possessions, time, and believe it or not, the elements of war, “ships, planes, missiles, fortifications—and depend on them for protection and deliverance.” In fact, his next sentence is even more remarkable:
“When threatened, we become antienemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching:
There are many other talks and article that address this issue. I wanted to touch on these two.
- LDS Church Buys Book of Mormon Printer’s Manuscript.
- NFL Players kneeling during National Anthem
LDS Church Buys Book of Mormon Printer’s Manuscript.
Last week, when the news broke about the Church acquiring this manuscript, it was not a big shock that they did it. The Church has been in the market to retrieve as many historical items as it can. So much so, it got taken advantage of a number of years ago from Mark Hoffman selling his forgeries to the Church, A very well know story.
While, in my mind the acquisition was not a shock, there was a shock associated with the purchase—-the price $35 Million. The largest price ever paid for a manuscript. The Church tried to soften the blow by stating the money came from private donors. As the story unfolded, it appears the price was part purchase, part bailout for the Community of Christ, who appear to be having financial difficulties. Reading through the reader comments in the various news stories, there was the quick criticism of the Church for the purchase as the money could have been used for good elsewhere.
However, my shock would not end there. In our High Priest’s Group meeting this past Sunday, the instructor brought up the purchase, but not the price. It appeared that many heard about it, but not the price. When the price was announced, there was general shock within the room. Many could not believe that the Church would spend that kind of money, even private donor money. There were the cries of “What do we need that for?”, “We already have pictures of it, and, “That money could be used for good elsewhere. Look at the hurricane victims.” Yes, my normally conservative HP group was dismayed that the Church would do that. I was very pleasantly surprised.
Afterwards, I was discussing with one brother about this concept of Idol Worship. That the Church seems to reverence these items a bit too much, because now that they bought it, it will be held in an airtight vault and never to see the light of day, except on rare occasions when someone is permitted to study it. We do have very high-resolution images published as part of the Joseph Smith Papers.
Oh, and if the Church has elected to pay for it itself, it would not have made a dent in its funds.
NFL Players kneeling during National Anthem
Let me say at the outset that I am in favor of NFL players or anyone else expressing their first amendment rights in whatever peaceful way they choose. I prefer the kneeling to just sitting because I think the kneeling is more reverential, yet is different than standing. It makes a point. However, what we seen is a rather disgusting display of “I’m a patriot and you’re not.” being played.
That somehow, automatically, people that exercise their first amendment rights in this way are less American then someone else.
In fact, this played out in a heated conversation I had over Facebook. When I stated that I thought that they should not play the National Anthem at sporting events since we do not play it at other events, one of the people, said “If you don’t like this country, you can leave!” It went quickly downhill from there.
I am concerned about hyper-patriotism, a condition where some folks wrap themselves in the flag, but do not know how our government functions, do not vote and have no idea who represents them. That they worship the flag rather than reverence what that flag represents.
Don’t get me wrong (though some will anyway), I respect the flag and the National Anthem (performed it more times than I can count). But I do not worship either.
I worship the ideals that created this country, that we try to live daily. We have continually failed over the years, but the great American experiment goes on striving to “form a more perfect union.” There seems to be an on-going lack of respect for opposing points of view. Look what is happening on College Campuses, where student and teachers shout down those they oppose and in some cases, people get violent.
This is unacceptable in this country that has a history of free speech, in spite of how foul and disgusting it may be to us.
And yet, to some, the mere notion of not saluting the flag or not standing for the National Anthem is tantamount to treason.
So , two questions:
- Does the LDS Church regard its historical artifacts as false idols?
- Have the Stars and Stripes and the National Anthem become false idols as well?
Wheat & Tares 
When people are upset with others and say there was better use of the money, I think of Mark 14:3-ff. Jesus’s words to the complainers are instructive.
Question 1: No; I view the acquisition of the manuscript as historical preservation. Church money was spent to purchase property of historical significance (which could be called foolish by some) and today we get to enjoy visiting these places of heritage. The Community of Christ church are desperate to raise funds to continue operating; and I’m glad that we are helping them and ourselves in the process.
Question 2: No; it is the attitude/mannerism concerning them. Watch attentively the next time the National Anthem is played at a sporting event. Where are the cameras’ (and everyone else’s ) attention focused? On the performer, who deserves the attention for their undertaking, or the person(s) in their act of protest?
“If you don’t like this country, you can leave” is slowly being replaced by “If you aren’t outraged by it, you can leave”. It’s a very small but successful segment; one that has its own false idols that, if disrespected by conservatives, would throw a hissy-fit.
Great post Jeff. I had a facebook conversation with a good friend, a veteran, and he didn’ t like kneeling. I pointed out a quote from the Chicago Tribune, but of course he didn’t appreciate that either.
I asked how people should appropriately protest and he said “these rich athletes pledge their own time and money to bring the oppressed community together ”
Apparently he didn’t know Colin Kaepernick has already done that: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/08/colin-kaepernick-nfl-national-anthem-protest-one-million-dollar-pledge-donations-empower-communities
My comment on the Church’s acquisition of historical property is really based on the notion of will it really bring any happiness. Isn’t one of the main issues of idol worship a false desire to be granted some material benefit? (crops, fertility, increase)
I have been confused by many American church members’ patriotism when as a teenager (I graduated from HS in 1976), I learned that the Mormons were, essentially, kicked out of the USA. I think that being a disciple of Christ should trump (I know) anyone’s nationalist feelings and yet here we are as people inhabiting our different silos shouting loud enough to hear only our echoes.
1. I don’t know if it’s adolatry, but I personally don’t understand paying $35M for document, particularly since its contents are well documented. Whether the Church paid or some of its well-heeled members paid is irrelevant to me. Its was discretionary money available to Church leaders. The only thing that the Church gained was a change of venue. I would far prefer that Church leaders have used the $35M for a nobler cause than document collecting. And I’m not talking about work for the dead.
2. I served in the military, but I sure didn’t see combat. And I’m not a super patriot (whatever that is). I don’t fly an American flag at my home. And as far as the protests go, they were all but over until our Prez opened his mouth (or wrote his divisive tweets). The protests have now become a reaction to his apparent racism. Something we should all detest. The protests are nonviolent and deal with an important national issue. The NFL-players are not burning the flag. Trump is using the kneeling issue to deflect peoples attention from his own failings, both personal and political (isn’t that demigoguery?). And it is working.
I would prefer the manuscript be stored by a museum rather than in a church vault, regardless of ownership. But I don’t think that it’s acquisition alone is evidence of idolatry.
As for the flag, while people stand at attention I hope they think about the rights, freedoms, and principles that it represents – the same principles that the kneeling players have been advocating.
1) I’m glad we bailed out the CoC. It’s about time we started to treat them like amiable cousins in faith. $35M is a bit stiff, but at least it’s all in the family.
2) Hyper-patriots scare me. The protests are peaceful and appropriate to the venue, so I don’t see any issue with that. Plus, it always creeped me out on the BYU campus when they would play the anthem and everyone was supposed to stand stock still like stepford wives waiting for a reboot until it ended. If you didn’t put your hand over your heart (which I hadn’t really seen before as I hadn’t been to a lot of pro sports growing up), it was like heresy or something. I love what Jeff wrote about revering the principles of the nation without making the flag or the anthem an idol.
The manuscript will never see the light of day? It’s on display at the Church History Library. Anyone who wants to see it can do so whenever the Library is ope. (It’s closed this weekend for conference.)
*open
The thing about judgment is you never like it when it is used against you… As you throw the first stone, here’s some info you may not be aware of…
1.). The LDS church has a scriptural duty to collect historical documents about the church… They are protecting is from people who would attempt to modify it and harm the church… Maybe you should be angry with the people who originally sold it to the apostate RLDS church in the first place… They obviously didn’t care enough about it… Those who complain about the money often forget they Lord commanding they Israelites to make a Tabernacle with a golden altar and candelabra… Poverty can also be worshipped.
2 those who choose to kneel for the anthem are also worshipping an idiol, and they also choose to offend others. I say unto you, they’ll have their reward.
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js
I’m with Angela C in that I appreciate the LDS church stepping up to help the CoC. That said, I think the optics are terrible. The church could have easily negotiated to buy the book for a much smaller amount, say $5mm. Then behind the scenes arranged for private donors to help make an anonymous, non-publicized donation of $30mm.
Great post, Jeff.
1) I, like Angela, am glad we helped out the Community of Christ. They’re fellow Mormons and needed the help.
2) I’m tired of super-patriots. I appreciate and revere the founding principles of our nation, but I don’t wrap myself in the flag. The “my patriotism is better than your patriotism” is ridiculous and causing even more discord in our society. The protest of NFL players is respectful and brings attention to a serious problem in our country. I wish these super-patriots would take a moment and consider why the protest is occurring, and fix things such as the police corruption in Baltimore, for example.
My son had a Boy Scout Court of Honor this week. The meeting quickly devolved into tirades against the supposed unpatriotic NFL players and how they were a disgrace to the nation. Rather than celebrate the accomplishments of the boys and their families, the meeting turned into a celebration of jingoism. Not content to be solely jingoistic, they even called out several in the audience wearing ball caps for their supposed lack of respect to God. It was embarrassing.
The term “bailed out” seems a bit strong to me regarding the LDS purchase price. The money’s going to bolster the pension fund, not general operating. It certainly doesn’t solve all the church’s financial struggles but it’s a good step. Granted, I’m a bit biased, being one of those retirees getting a pension check every month.
Apparently, there were multiple bidders over the last year. John Hamer, in a podcast interview at MormonMatters, suggests the CofC could have divided up the printer’s ms in several pieces to satisfy all the bidders, perhaps getting as much as $100 million total. But both churches obviously valued keeping it whole and making it available for scholars & the public. There’s no question the LDS church will take good care of it. It’s supposed to go on display in the Church History Museum in SLC soon, rather than locked in a vault somewhere.
Hi Rich,
“There’s no question the LDS church will take good care of it. It’s supposed to go on display in the Church History Museum in SLC soon, rather than locked in a vault somewhere.”
I have no doubt that the LDS Church will take good care of it. Some have stated it is already on display. That is nice, but I guess my point is that there are facsimile copies at most of the Church sites in the MIdwest/Palymira and not sure many know the difference. or care.
The CoC has been running budget shortfalls, five million short this year.
The number appears to be the lowest number that allows the pension fund not to collapse.
It is also true that copies of the document are very widespread. Every time someone says this is a censorship issue it makes me sigh.
But the trend of trying to work with the CoC is an interesting one. I think it is a positive one as well.
The entire RLDS to CoC experiment has been an interesting case study. Still a lot to learn.
The manuscript feels different to me than if, for example, they spent gobs of money to buy a chair Joseph Smith sat in. It represents the birth of the Book of Mormon. It’s more like when the tablets with the 10 commandments were placed in the ark of the covenant – they were sacred. I don’t like the price tag, though like Angela, I appreciate the increasing good feelings between the two churches. The church invests quite a bit in it’s history, like with the historical sites where people essentially go on pilgrimages. Those physical testaments inspire a lot of members.
The flag is an idol, and those who believe in the flag, are serving idols…The flag, the pledge of allegiance, and the national anthem are idols…The nations idols are high and lifted up on a flag pole…The god of the US is the star spangled of heaven and the bald eagle of the earth…The star spangled of heaven is an idol of heaven…The bald eagle of the earth is an idol of the earth…The founding fathers made images of the stars, of the moon, of the sun, of birds, and four footed beasts, in the likeness of heaven above, and in the likeness of the earth below, to serve them, when God said, “you shall not make nor serve any image in the likeness of heaven above or in the likeness of the earth below”, (Ex.20:1-5, De.4:15-19)…The devil comes to those who don’t believe what God said, and says, “really, did God say you cannot have a flag banner as the nation symbol” ? The devil uses Romans 13 to blind the minds of those who don’t want to believe what God said…God is not against those serving in authority, God is against those serving idols…When the king of Babylon the great, played the national anthem at the sound of music, the Babylonians fell down to worship the gold image…Today, when the US plays the national at the sound of music, the US citizens stand on their feet to sing the song “old-glory” to the star spangled of heaven…The god of Israel is the star remphan of heaven Acts 7:43…Israel calls it the star of David…The god of Canada is the leaf of the maple tree of the earth…The god of Mexico is the eagle and serpent of the earth…The god of Japan is the sun of heaven…Nations that exalt themselves to be great, will be brought down to hell. and if you don’t believe it, you can ask the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Germans…The flag demands worship, through the pledge of allegiance, and the national anthem…To avoid serving idols, and the mark of the beast, we must believe what God said in Ex.20:1-5, and De.4:15-19…Those who put their trust in a man, or in a nation, or in their strength, God says in Jer.17:5, “cursed is the one who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength”.
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js