My essay for today:
On not believing:
I worked with Barry Zisman, who had marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. While Barry was self-effacing about it, the reason he marched was that he loved his country. Like many others, he knew that racial justice was something that made our country stronger, better and that love of country mean a love for racial justice.
On the other hand, at the same time, there were those who believed that the movement for racial justice was one that would harm the United States. Many of those were enemies of the United States who put their money where their mouths were, so to speak.
As an aside, to be clear, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. never took any money from the enemies of the United States and he appears to have acted only from a love of God, Country and Justice. But there were those who took money from any source.
Just because they took the money does not mean that they had any goal other than love of country and justice.
One of the biggest mistakes made by many at the time in the discussion of racial fairness and equal treatment was to assume that the enemies of the United States were right that an end to discrimination would harm the United Stares.
It looks obvious to us now that they were wrong, the economics of racial justice clearly show that the United States is better off for embracing it – and that is the real world case behind the American with Disabilities Act and why it is not only just, but it makes all of us better off.
Believing enemies blinds us, often, to the truth. Why we would think they are any more right about what would hurt us than they are right about us?
I raise the issue because over and over again in other discussions I see people who are against something because there are those on the other side who assert that it will do terrible things. That blinds them to everything else, at least for a while.
Some change their positions when you would least expect it, much like Ezra Taft Benson changed in his feelings about communism after the interviews he conducted with communist members of the Church from South America while president of the quorum of the twelve, or (almost) Madam President Clinton who started with KKK sponsor. Yet now we don’t find people asserting that she is disqualified from office for racial bias.
Some do not change.
But it helps if you just refuse to believe that your enemies are right, and if you refuse to let that cause you to reject justice.
Instead you should be like Barry Zisman and let your love of country drive you to march with the modern Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’ in the world for justice and love of God and Country.
Or should you?
Wheat & Tares 
Tell me more about how Ezra Taft Benson changed his opinions about communism?
“Some change their positions when you would least expect it”
Even the Church changes, triggering alarms from those afraid that the Church is becoming woker than Bernie Sanders in drag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXVL5AYQ8dY
Brian G,
I enjoyed learning the history of ETB as a proponent of the John Birch society and his conflicts over this with President McKay and the 12 in the book “David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism” by Gregory Prince and William Wright. The book was made from the copious and carefully stored notes of Clare Middlemiss, McKay’s lifetime personal secretary who remained single. Wright is her nephew who inherited her notes.
Read chapter 12, Confrontation with Communism. Some of these facts have been published in other places as well
Robert,
Thank you for the video. You can’t argue that it isn’t confusing for members. It is very confusing. The theology itself is conflicted between accepting all people as equally beloved children of God, and defending a church hierarchy (continuing into the eternities) that makes 2nd or 3rd class citizens of many children of God.
This makes sense as long as you imagine that an LGBTQ person makes a sinful choice that puts them in that lower hierarchy. But for those of us who really know LGBTQ people, or have close family members, we quickly discover that they aren’t any more sinful than ourselves and they often are even better followers of Christ. We also discover they didn’t choose to be LGBTQ. It’s a biological fact of their lives they have to find a way to live with. The church’s theology of hierarchy only makes living with this biology harder, which makes no sense with the mission of Jesus Christ and his church, which is to support the marginalized and downtrodden, which includes LGBTQ people . It’s very very confusing and heartbreaking for LGBTQ and those close to them in the church.
The discrepancy could be resolved through change, ongoing revelation and good communication. Of course, for change to happen in a clear way, the leaders would have to be unified. Right now, clearly, they are not completely in agreement on this issue. But that unity on this issue may occur in the future. As hard as that may be for some to face, the only way to resolve the conflict is to clearly and fully accept all people (including women and LGBTQ) as equal children of God… in heaven as well as in the church hierarchy, and to communicate it clearly to everyone.
In order to stop believing something you’ve always believed, it helps if you are able to accept the reality that you were wrong in the first place. Here’s what I mean: I have a friend who is active LDS and who is generally pretty skeptical of government, universities, corporations, etc. He always has been. But he gives the Church a pass even in light of their financial and legal scandals. The reason is very simple: if he held the Church to the same standard that he holds other entities, he’d have to admit he was wrong about the Church and its leaders.
All of us should ask ourselves whether or not we are consistent in how we assess the integrity of organizations. And are we willing to admit we had it wrong initially?
I’ve honestly always had a hard time parsing the difference between the motivated reasoning of racists, and the amped up (but at the time very real) fears of communism that were a byproduct of the cold war. In the show The Americans, Keri Russell’s character, a Russian spy embedded in the 1980s DC suburbs (based loosely on a real story of a Russian spy couple living in the US), specifically targets African American contacts because they are so disenfranchised in racist America that they are more interested in the communist ideals she espouses. The country they live in, especially during Reagan’s tenure, is one in which black men are cast as dangerous and violent, abusive or absent fathers, drug addicts, criminals, bad employees, etc. Aligning with communism is a possible ticket to truly gaining equal opportunity when opportunities are denied based on race.
I acknowledge that it’s hard to accurately judge the past based on what we know now, how communism was less a threat than authoritarianism for example. But then again, maybe it fell because of all the opposition to it. Who knows? And what has risen in its wake may be worse after all.
I met Hillary Rodham when I was a high school freshman and she was a senior at a high school debate tournament. I still have the Goldwater/Miller pin she gave me. At the time she was president of her high school’s Young Republican Club.
A few years later, Robert Plant wrote in what would become an anthem for my generation in Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” – there’s still time to change the road you’re on!
In religious terms, when you replace God with a church, a political party, a person, or even a book you consider scripture, that is the very essence of idolatry. And yet how many people would claim that we don’t practice Idolatry in modern times?
Thank you for your essay It is difficult for people to start thinking for themselves, but clearly it can be done.
When I was growing up, my parents were members of the John Birch Society and I was indoctrinated with that garbage. There was always talk about freedom and rights but as I left home, I began to see that the freedom and rights were for white Americans and not for everyone else. So by the time I was 30, I had rejected that outlook and began to think of our work as a place for all to have freedom and rights. So politically, I was outed but I still went to church and did the yes buts to explain away any inconsistencies I found. Then Obama was elected and there were all these comments in priesthood or Sunday School about how evil and wicked he was. I didn’t see it of course and by the time 2016 and MAGA came around. During the assault against Hillary, I had serious doubts about whether members of the church were also living with their white privilege and if it wasn’t available for anyone else.
People do change but it’s not always in one or the same direction. Sometimes it’s the realization that we are all God’s children and need the same rights and freedom that some but not all have had. People also change by narrowing their views, creating enemies, and supporting the denying of rights and freedoms for all. I believe the fewer “yes buts” we have in our lives that include all people the closer we are to living God’s life.
The famed British scholar and explorer Richard Francis Burton once wisely wrote, “Dangers which loom large from afar generally lose size as one draws near.” Ironically he wrote this about Mormons. He’d heard scary rumors about the violent, weird, polygamous Mormons and their “new Mecca” in Salt Lake City…so in 1860 he decided to go see for himself and objectively document his trip like any other expeditions. He made the trek across the plains, personally met Brigham Young, learned all about Mormons and their religion, and decided that they had some interesting beliefs but were mostly regular people. Burton wasn’t even shocked by polygamy because he’d traveled most of the world and spent so much time in regions where it was commonplace.
My point is that we can either subscribe to the hype and spend our lives being scared and blinded by the opinions of others, or we can be like Burton and go see for ourselves. It’s easy to pick a patch of ideological ground and start swinging fists (especially on the internet), but we can learn a lot from people who think differently than us even if we never fully agree.
Great post, great comments.
3 points of my belief system are:
-I should live true to my beliefs, or what I have found to be true.
-If I discover something that is more true or accurate than my current belief, I should replace it with the more true or accurate belief.
-I need to be aware of confirmation bias, or the tendency to favor information that confirms my beliefs, and try to avoid it. I can do this by understanding the opposing viewpoint and seeing what truth I can find in their beliefs. It’s very rare that I am 100% right and they are 100% wrong. By understanding the opposing point of view I can likely glean some truths, and find where my beliefs are faulty.
(apologies if this double posts)
lws329,
Perhaps I am prone to egalitarianism, but I really do not believe the church hierarchy extends into the eternities. Given the history we are discussing, we know we have barely survived a human hierarchy in modern times! And I side with those who believe in eternal progression of all souls. I point at the idealism found in Hebrews 8. No one will stand as an intermediary (priest) between ourselves and the Lord. We will know God personally. We will all belong to Him as fellow-citizens.
At this time, I have only found 2 things that I believe to be absolutely true:
1) It is wrong to teach hatred
2) Greed is evil
Other things have exceptions to when they are true.
I try to live by these truths and continue to search for others. I suppose that makes me ‘not very believing’.
Old man,
That is what I believe too. However, it isn’t what RMN preached at the last conference in “Think Celestial”. So do we believe in a wider Mormonism or do we believe in whatever the current prophet says, to the letter today? Many people do think that the current prophet is basically infallible and you have to believe everything he says or nothing. Family members have confronted me with this. So my comment is a reflection of the cultural black and white Mormonism RMN is teaching and supporting, at least currently. It’s challenging and distressing for many parents today. I hear the sadness in mothers in RS with inactive children over and over. I appreciate your comment.
I don’t think “love of country” is a very reliable virtue. You can do terrible, terrible things out of “love of country” while it’s much harder to do terrible things out of love for all people.
Countries are shared fictions and what they mean to people varies greatly. Some US citizens might equate love of country with love of the constitution or democracy or something. But for many of those people it may actually boil down to love of one’s own culture or ethnicity or class. If recent politics have taught us anything, it’s that a great many people talk about loving this country while hating half the people in it.
One of the best byproducts of LDS overseas missions is, IMO, an increase in empathy for people outside your country/culture/class.
I love this perspective. And hope for the ability to change.
One thing that perplexes me is *why* many people accept viewpoints that are opinion, poorly supported by facts, and clearly (to me) aimed at persuasion. I prefer solid information, and being “allowed” to draw my own conclusions.
Similarly, I do not understand the attraction to a strong man figure that apparently many people have. Fortunately, that tends to be a minority. But a substantial minority.
I look at the advent and advancement of alternative news. Many of their tactics are obviously obvious, aimed at implementing policies that benefit their wealthy producers.
Yet, it is not obvious to so many.