Stories and Myths: The Foundation of Religion
Every religion begins with a story, a myth.
Whether the believer accepts the story as literal, historical fact or as inspired fiction will not undermine the religion in the least, for the value of the story–as well as the value of the religion for which it serves as a foundation–will be determined by the ideas and ideals which are deduced from it. The myth sets up a paradigm through which one may view existence. This paradigm will play a huge role (perhaps the most profound role) in determining one’s philosophy, one’s moral and ethics, and–as a consequence of these–one’s choices and actions.
For instance, the traditional monotheistic myth is that “in the beginning” the one and only God created all existence from nothing. Everything which was, which now is and which will ever be had its origin in the mind of God. Because all existence is the creation of this one God, He is all-powerful and all-knowing. Since existence had a beginning, it can have an end. God, however, is eternal–without beginning and without end.
If one accepts this myth and the resulting paradigm, certain questions arise, such as:
- If God created all things, does this mean that He also created evil, misery and death? If God created evil, how can one believe that God is also good?
- If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t He stop all injustice, cure all disease, relieve all suffering? If God allows suffering , doing nothing to stop it, how can He be good?
- If God has all-power, how can humans truly have free will? Wouldn’t free will set limits to God’s power? If not, then could humans be truly free?
- If God created all that exists–if He was present before the creation of matter itself–does this mean that God has no material existence? That He exists outside of existence?
- If God is immaterial and all matter is the product of creation, does this mean that the material is inferior to immaterial–that the physical is inferior to the “spiritual?” If the immaterial is inferior, how does one determine what is moral and immoral when one is a material being living in a material world? (Thank you, Madonna.)
The above are just a few of the questions that have divided the monotheistic world into the variety of religions that currently exist. Among these various religions, there may be some slight differences in doctrinal emphasis, some variation in semantics, but all accept the same myth, and all view existence in context of the same paradigm.
Scripture as Art / Creating Paradigms
For thousands of years, Western religions have used literature to preserve their foundational stories and myths. The written word has become sacrosanct. But while believers may hold that their particular scriptures are divinely inspired, literature does not occur in nature. Literature is of human origin, is man-made, is artifice. In short, all scripture is art.
Harold Bloom, America’s preeminent literary critic, has spent his career asserting that a scripture’s true value and power lies not in its usefulness as a proof text for establishing dogma, but as high art. He has pointed out that the Yahwist (the writer of the oldest passages in the Hebrew Bible) was not an historian or a theologian, but a literary genius comparable to Homer; an artist, a storyteller, a creator of a new myth.
In his 1992 book, The American Religion, Bloom declares that the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, was America’s greatest religious genius–a storyteller intent on creating a new myth.
Scripture as art. The writers of scriptures as artists. Prophets as geniuses. Because Reform Mormonism focuses on the individual and elevates reason above belief, all of these concepts resonate with its approach to religion and scripture.
Mormonism’s New Paradigm
Taking the Bible and the philosophic landscape of early 19th century America, Joseph Smith created a new myth which established what I call “Mormonism’s New Paradigm.”
This paradigm contradicts that of traditional monotheism. Mormonism’s New Paradigm side steps the types of questions listed above because it rejects the paradigm and myth upon which they are based. In rejecting monotheism’s paradigm and myth, Mormonism has been labeled blasphemous and heretical by the advocates of Christian orthodoxy.
As a consequence of these labels, the various churches and sects that have emerged within worldwide Mormonism have, to varying degrees, distanced themselves from the radical nature of Mormonism’s New Paradigm and moved back toward monotheism’s old paradigm.
The fact that the religious vocabulary of Joseph Smith and early Mormonism was derived from the Bible and the contemporary Christian landscape has served to facilitate this move backwards. Only the writers of Anti-Mormon literature seem aware of the fact that although early Mormons and mainstream Christians used many of the same words, the definitions which each attached to these words were not only radically different but usually contradictory. Over the past four decades, the LDS Church, in particular, has taken advantage of this ignorance, and has been so successful at distancing itself from Mormonism’s New Paradigm that sometime within the next half century it may completely fade into the American Protestant mainstream.
It is my conviction that Mormonism’s New Paradigm is the greatest theological innovation of the past two thousand years, and is perfectly suited as the basis for a vibrant religion that will have special appeal to rational men and women living in an age dominated by science, technology and an ever expanding view of human rights and individual liberty.
It is also my earnest conviction that of all existing Mormon denominations and sects, only Reform Mormonism holds the most promise, for it is the only form of Mormonism which fully embraces the new myth created by Joseph Smith
Let us now explore that myth and its resulting paradigm. In what follows, I may cite scriptures, but I do not use these as proof-texts in the traditional sense. Just because The Doctrine & Covenants says such and such, does not make it true; rather, since these scriptures are the art produced by Joseph Smith, I will use them only to establish that the theological propositions being made are consistent with the myth that he created and with the paradigm that I’m convinced he was seeking to establish.
Three Core Issues: The Three Natures
Of the various issues addressed by religious myths, in my opinion there are three that serve as the foundation for any doctrinal system. I’ll call these “The Three Natures.” They consists of the following:
- The nature of existence itself
- Human nature
- The nature of humanity’s relationship to the Divine
What is the Mormon concept of “The Three Natures?”
The Nature of Existence
Existence itself is eternal, uncreated. There is no such thing as a “beginning” when one is approaching the concept of existence itself. Existence simply is. It is eternal; can not be created or destroyed. Existence is supreme. All that is–humans, planets, God–are subsets of existence, individual entities within the whole.
Stars, planets, solar systems, etc. come and go; may be organized, evolve and decay (Moses 1:33-38), but there is no “First Cause” or “Creator” as commonly put forth by other faiths. Matter is eternal; it is self-existent. (D&C 93:33) There is no such thing as immaterial mater. Even those things commonly referred to as spirit have on some level a material /elemental/ chemical/atomic existence, though they may not yet be detectable by the senses–even with the add of human invention. (D&C 131:7) To exist is to have a material existence.
Human Nature
The rational mind/spirit and the body combined constitute the essence (the soul) of being human. “The spirit and the body are the soul of man.” (D&C 88:15) The spirit without the body is a ghost; the body without the spirit is a corpse. Divide the two and one no longer has a human being. Both are essential for life. There is no inherent dichotomy between the two; no intrinsic battle between spirit and flesh. Both mind/spirit and body are essential for human happiness. (D&C 93:33)
Human life on earth (the uniting of both mind/spirit and body) is inherently a good thing. Because death is a reality, the myth of a physical resurrection at some future time and the hope which it inspires are consistent with the valuing of human life on earth. “The spirit and the body are the soul of man. And the resurrection of the dead is the redemption of the soul.” (D&C 88:15-16)
Just as the elements, matter and existence as a whole are eternal, so is the mind/spirit of the individual eternal. Like the universe itself, the mind/sprit of the an individual is self-existent–though it is in a constant state of evolution and progression. No God or higher power created the individual mind/spirit (D&C 93:29)
Joseph Smith taught: “Is it logic to say that a spirit is immortal and yet has a beginning? Because if a spirit has a beginning, it will have an end. That is good logic. I want to reason further on the spirit of man, for I am dwelling on the spirit and body of man….I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man, the immortal spirit, because it has no beginning. Suppose I cut it in two; as the Lord lives, because it has a beginning, it would have an end. All the fools and learned and wise men from the beginning of creation who say that man had a beginning prove that he must have an end. If that were so, the doctrine of annihilation would be true. But if I am right, I might with boldness proclaim from the house tops that God never did have power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself. Intelligence exists upon a self-existent principle; it is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it.” (Joseph Smith, The King Follett Discourse)
No God or outside force controls the individual mind/spirit. An individual is by nature completely autonomous; one’s mind is by nature free, bending to no outside force, succumbing only to reason or to the relinquishing of rational thought. The very existence of a mind as a mind is dependent of this inherent freedom. (D&C 93:30)
“…all the spirits [minds] …are susceptible to enlargement.” (Joseph Smith, The King Follett Discourse)
An individual’s mind is enlarged by learning the truth concerning the universe in which one lives. Truth is a knowledge of the facts of existence, therefore truth by its very nature is non-contradictory. (D&C 93:24-25) All truth can be circumscribed into one great whole.
Whatever knowledge one gains, one may retain and use for one’s own benefit for all eternity. (D&C 130:18-19)
The individual is always free to make decisions and take actions based upon the knowledge acquired.
The law of cause and effect is an eternal law. One is free to take any action; one is not free to choose the consequences of that action. (D&C 130:20-21)
The purpose of the rational mind is to comprehend what exists. Since existence is eternal and infinite, so the mind’s capabilities are eternal and infinite. One’s potential for progression is endless. Because of the individual nature of the human progression, no two individuals will progress at exactly the same rate, attaining exactly the same knowledge or character attributes at the same time or in the same way. At any given time, individuals will vary in the development of their talents and abilities, in their accomplishments, and in their actions. At any given time, there will be degrees of accomplishment, insight, knowledge and abilities. There is nothing unfair or unjust about this. In fact, degrees in all of these things exist because the laws governing existence, human nature, free agency and individual progression are inherently fair and just. (D&C 76) At any point throughout all eternity, the individual–remaining free–may pursue new knowledge, make new choices. One never looses one’s potential for or ability to learn and progress.
The Nature of the Relationship of Humanity to the Divine
Now we get to the new myth that Joseph Smith created. I’m currently of the opinion that Joseph’s greatest contribution to the world was his reworking of the Creation/Adam & Eve myths.
Consider that The Book of Mormon’s most profound reworking of traditional theology can be found in II Nephi 2, in which the doctrine of Original Sin and the Fall are turned on their heads by presenting as a good thing Adam and Eve’s partaking of the Fruit of Knowledge–traditionally labeled “The Forbidden Fruit.”
The Adam and Eve myth is again reworked, along with the Genesis creation myth, in The Book of Moses. The creation narrative is changed yet again in The Book of Abraham, this time discarding monotheism and the traditional, orthodox concept of creation in favor of presenting Gods who organize the world from existing matter. In addition to these scriptures, Joseph Smith peppered The Doctrine & Covenants, with passages relating to the nature of existence, of matter, of spirit and of man’s freewill (Free Agency).
At the time of his death, Joseph was reworking the Creation and Adam & Eve myths yet again by organizing the Temple drama that would become the heart of the Endowment Ceremony.
Through the process of rethinking and reworking the Creation and Adam & Eve myths, Joseph offered to humanity a new revelation concerning their relationship with the Divine.
Before “The Beginning”: Mormonism’s New Myth
Eight weeks before his murder, Joseph Smith presented his final and most radical recreation of these myths in his King Follett Discourse–a discourse which was the theological heart of LDS Mormonism for over one hundred years.
What follows is the myth, pieced together from that discourse:
“What sort of a being was God in the beginning? …
…I am going to tell you how God came to be God…
…We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. [That he was not is an idea] incomprehensible to some…
…God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth…
…Open your ears and hear all ye ends of the earth…..God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like one of you. That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today and you were to see the great God who holds this world in its orbit and upholds all things by his power, you would see him in the image and very form of a man….
…I am going to tell you the designs of God for the human race and why he interferes with the affairs of man….
…God found himself in the midst of spirits and glory, and because he was greater, he saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have the privilege of advancing like himself–that they might have one glory upon another and all the knowledge, power, and glory necessary to save the world of spirits….
…Thus the head God brought forth the Gods in the grand council. …The grand councilors sat in yonder heavens and contemplated the creation of the worlds that were created at that time…
…the learned men…say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. …They account it blasphemy to contradict the idea; they will call you a fool….The word ‘create’ came from the word baurau; it does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize, the same as a man would organize materials to build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos–chaotic matter, which is element, and…which…had an existence from the time He had. The pure principles of element are principles that can never be destroyed; they may be organized and reorganized but not destroyed…
…[In the Grand Council a contention arose.] The contention in heaven was this: Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved, and the devil said he could save them all…
…Knowledge saves a man, and in the world of spirits a man cannot be exalted except by knowledge…you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves–to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done–by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you are able to sit in glory as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power…
..A man is his own tormenter and his own condemner. Hence the saying, “They shall go into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.” The torment of the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone. So is the torment of man…
…The grand council gave in for Jesus Christ. So the devil rebelled against God and fell, with all who put up their heads for him.”
The New Paradigm
With regards to the relationship between the human and the Divine, Mormonism’s new paradigm–derived from the above myth–is best summed up by Lorenzo Snow’s famous statement:
“As man now is, God once was. As God now is, man may become.”
For years whenever friends or associates asked me “What do Mormons believe?” or “What does Mormonism teach?” I was would answer with the above quote. This nearly always started a conversation about Mormonism, and apart from a few conversations with devout Evangelicals, I can’t think of a single instance when at the end of our conversation, the person didn’t seem favorably impressed by Mormonism’s unique theology.
Often these same people would say something like, “But that seems so liberal. Why are all the Mormons I know [meaning LDS] so conservative?” (In using the words “liberal” and “conservative,” these folks weren’t referring to politics, but to personal attitudes. “Liberal” referred to being open-minded, embracing progress and change, while “conservative” meant being close-minded, guarded, distrustful of progress and change.)
It is the liberalism of Mormonism’s New Paradigm that I think is its great virtue. In a nation, the government of which was founded on Enlightenment philosophy–a philosophy that the Religious Right attempt to vilify by labeling it “Secular Humanism’–Joseph Smith developed a theology that one could call “Sectarian Humanism.”
Mormonism’s New Paradigm places value on the individual, on the mind, on choice and freedom, on life on earth, on learning and progress. It is forward-looking—and not to a future in a traditional heaven (what Parley P. Pratt called, “an immaterial fairy land”) but to human life on this earth in an exalted state.
The Virtue of Playing God
Because of this, Mormonism’s New Paradigm embraces as values and virtues those very things that traditional monotheism and orthodox Christianity disdain as sinful.
Every advance in human knowledge, in the arts, in technology, in science, in the expansion of human liberty are encroachments on the God of traditional monotheism. If God is all-powerful, if the natural world is His creation and its law set by Him, then mankind’s defiance of the natural order–be it their building of a dam in order to irrigate a desert, their building of an airplane in order to break free of gravity’s pull, his exploration of space, their use of cloning to battle human infertility, their development of drugs to cure supposedly “incurable diseases”–all of these accomplishments, which enhance human life, must be regarded as defiance of God Himself. The age-old cry is that in the advancement of the human race, we are treading dangerous ground because we are attempting to “play God.”
But what if “playing God” is actually moral and virtuous?
Centuries ago certain German Christian sects believed (and some still believe) that erecting a simple lightening rod was an attempt to encroach on God’s sovereignty . “God is supposed to determine where lighting strikes, not man,”…so went the reasoning. Yet lightening rods, save lives (human, animal and vegetable) and property.
According to Mormonism’s New Paradigm, the whole purpose of human existence is to learn how to “play God.” Every human achievement is a testimony to the validity of the Mormon concept of Deity. To worship the Mormon Deity is to reverence human achievement, progress and virtue; it is to fully embrace human potential.
Absolute Power Corrupts: A Limited God is a Moral God
Granted, the Deity of Mormonism is limited. For a thing to exist, means that it has a nature. To have a nature, is to have limitations. A thing cannot be A and also be B at the same time. This reasoning–applicable to everything which exists–can, within the Mormon Paradigm, be applied to God.
Gods do not create matter. Gods are bound by the laws governing existence. Gods operate in a universe of opposition in all things. In fact, like humans, God’ s very existence as God is dependent on the uncreated, eternal pull of opposites. ( II Nephi 2:11-13; Alma 42:22)
The Mormon God is powerless against the Free Agency of the individual mind because He did not create his mind, nor can he control it. He can only offer to enter into a covenant with humans–in short, to treat them with respect, as ontological equals. In presenting such an unorthodox view of Deity, Mormonism comes closer than any other religion to the view of God held by the ancient Israelites. Regarding the Mormon reverence of human Free Agency, consider this: any attack on human freedom–even in the name of “the greater good’–could be considered Satanic, for according to Joseph Smith’ myth it was this very reasoning that led to Satan’s fall. (See Moses 4:1-4)
This God of limited power can be gracious in a way not available to the God of Christianity. The Christian God can damn humans to Hell; He can obliterate them. But in being gracious and allowing them into his presence, He is still a being without equals…a God with no “helpmeets,” for the Creator can never experience what it is like to be a created-thing–a creature. The creature by virtue of its nature can only imagine, but never fully comprehend, what it is like to be the Creator. Ontology forever separates the two.
Because of this, the traditional concept of God’s relationship to humanity is based on power alone. God is all-powerful, humanity is weak. God is a King, humanity are his subjects. God is the Master, humanity the servants/slaves.
The Mormon God, being bound by the same laws which govern humans, is involved in an actual friendship with humanity. This God is a parent, a teacher, a guide, mentor.
“…God found himself in the midst of spirits and glory, and because he was greater, he saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have the privilege of advancing like himself–“
When Joseph Smith spoke these words, he was introducing the concept of a God whose relationship to humanity was based on benevolence and love. No, the Mormon God did not create our spirits, but recognizing us as truly sharing His image and nature, He set about devising a way that we could grow and eventually have all that He enjoyed. The stereotypical picture of the Lord as a Good Shepherd resonates with the Mormon concept of Deity in quiet a different way than with the Christian concept. The Mormon God quite literally “shepherds” the human race.
In 1982, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner caused quite a stir among theologians and critics when in his book, When Bad Things Happen To Good People, he proposed that in the face of human suffering, the traditional God of unlimited power could in no way be considered a moral being worthy of human love or devotion. He went on to make the case that only a God of limited power could be considered truly moral, and that only such a God could provide truly meaningful comfort and strength to those suffering.
I remember reading Kushner’s book and thinking that his ideas were totally consistent with those of Joseph Smith. That the book, despite the criticism of mainstream theologians, not only became a best-seller but continues to be in print over twenty years later, may give some indication of how people might react to a doctrine of a limited God within Reform Mormonism.