I met with some Mormon missionaries this weekend and wrote a blog about it. The blog got a lot of heat. In it I just stated that I learned that Mormons believe humans are on a progressing trajectory to become gods some day. And I proposed that maybe the reason that so many of the Mormons I know seem to be so much better people than many of the other Christians I know is because they focus more on the good they can become, whereas it seems we are stuck focusing on the sin we were forgiven from. I thought, we can learn this from them!
And I still believe that to a large extent. I think they are definitely doing something right.
But several friends, some Mormons and some not, reached out to me and said Mormon’s aren’t as perfect as I had assumed they were. I was told multiple stories of broken Mormons doing broken things and those abuses being hushed, assumedly so it wouldn’t look bad on the church. Of course I should have known that because this happens in EVERY religion and organization there is- we are all human and want to put our best face forward.
And I realized that if we only focused on becoming perfect, that pressure to succeed drives us to do worse things when we mess up. And I realized I was wrong to think we should focus mainly on the progression to becoming perfect. It’s just as important to remember our sins and the grace Jesus offers to us. Because when we acknowledge our sin and repent, it gives us freedom and a clean slate to try again and become better. And when we are honest about it to others that is when a really beautiful part of Jesus’ kingdom unfolds for everyone to see. He wants us to try for perfection, but know that he will forgive us when we fail.
So, I want to try to focus on pursuing perfection, while not being afraid of messing up, because I’ve learned Jesus will catch me where I fall. I think it is about finding a wise balance of good things, like I think so much of the Christian walk is meant to be.
Raw Spoon, 4-18-17
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