I got sidetracked in my last post because I was so intense about describing the problem. And, I think I am still preoccupied with the defintion of the 'problem'. In short, the problem is that Mormonism is becoming dead dull in all of the wrong ways. Some of my acquaintances are happy to see doctrinal speculation go the way of the dodo. For them all of the crazy doctrine was irrational, and at the root of a lot of contention. What they longed for was a rational faith. I have real sympathy for their feelings and thoughts on the subject.
The problem is that a large part of me thinks that their vision of the Mormonism of the future is ill conceived. The direction that LDS doctrine has gone since the passing of Brigham Young has been increasingly Protestant. Brigham's theology was about as far from normative Christian as Gnostic cosmology is from the Gospel of Matthew. Gnostic cosmology and the teachings of Brigham Young on the nature of Deity also share the dubious honor of succumbing to Christianity. The truth is, Christianity is easier for the average person to grasp, and these other systems seem needlessly complicated.
My view of Brigham's "theology" is that he taught a plurality of gods in an endless genealogical chain. Humanity has its origins in Adam and Eve, two deified beings, which made their home on this planet after they, with other gods, created it. They ate the fruits of this lower sphere and became mortal so that they could provide bodies for human spirits. Brigham seems to have had a funny hierarchy of gods that started with Elohim, either the highest ranking of the gods pertinent to this creation, or the council of deities. Next in line came Jehovah, whose son Michael became Adam. Jehovah and Michael created the earth together. Jehovah is not Jesus. Jesus is actually the son of the divine Michael. All beings human and divine are continually progressing as they acquire knowledge and intelligence. Elohim was once a regular human, who progressed to become Elohim. One day some human beings will be gods just as Elohim is God today. Yes, it is confusing and highly heterodox by Christian standards.
Since Brigham's death LDS theology has become increasingly Christian in that 1) Jehovah has been equated with Jesus, 2) Michael has been made subordinate to Jesus, since Jesus is Jehovah, 3) Michael is not a god, but a noble human spirit, 4) the Trinity of Father (Elohim)/Son (Jehovah)/Holy Spirit (?) is preserved. The big Mormon distinction in number 4 is that the philosophical doctrine of Trinity as worked out in the authoritative creeds of Christianity is not accepted. God has a body like man's, but perfect. Man is truly made in the image of God as he is God's offspring. One of the most recent developments is the abandonment of the notion that God is a perfected man. Now certain people are leaning to the idea that the current God has always been God and that He is supreme. He is the origin of all creation.
In short, having deviated from Protestant Christianity pretty radically, Mormonism is being pulled back in. It is somewhat predictable. Protestants may be converted to the idea that God called a modern prophet (Joseph Smith). They are less likely to accept that God was not God at some long past time. As heterodox within my own faith tradition as I am, and as much as I think of myself being functionally agnostic most of the time, I have a problem with our drift to normative Christianity. In my opinion, Mormonism is succumbing to cultural imperialism. It may not be conscious, but all the same, Mormonism is selling out its unique identity for success in spreading itself. Again, this is probably inevitable, and the ultimate results are not determined, but I would guess they involve further sacrifice of much of the Mormonism many thought we knew.
My suggestion is that everyone spontaneously engage in wild theological speculation, quote liberally from the Journal of Discourses, and then simply say, "of course, this isn't doctrine, it's just my opinion." If you have an unusual spiritual experience, by all means, share it at Church! If you feel uncomfortable doing it, don't, but if you want to, be my guest! Tell us how the Three Nephites saved your dog from the neighborhood kids. Don't be shy about your investment in the Dream Mine. If your wife used your priesthood to save the family cat while you were away, testify! Tell us all who the Holy Ghost is! If you are really gutsy, you will speculate in great detail about the details of Mother in Heaven's role in your personal salvation. Here you are on shaky ground, but if you get into trouble, you can always promise your bishop that you will refrain from sharing your Heavenly Mother theology in the future.
Believe it or not, I am not being facetious in the least. If you don't share your idiosyncratic doctrinal views and personal experiences with the rest of us, you are robbing us. You are contributing to the apostacy of your fellow saints. You see, right now people are more likely to leave because they are bored out of their minds than because you are completely insane and the bishop can't seem to catch you in time to stop you. Did I call you insane? Yeah, I did. But hey, I am insane too. What is sane, after all? Was Bruce R. McConkie the least bit sane? Would you want to be sane if that's what sane is about?
Think about it. Time is running short. Act now.
