Harry Reid Speaks out against Prop. 8

I am pretty puzzled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) suddenly outspoken stance against the church led support of Prop 8. Apparently unsolicited, this past weekend while sitting down for an interview about his support of the  equity march on washington, Sen. Reid spoke critically of the church’s involvement.

“Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, is the highest ranking elected official who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He previously has not commented on the flood of Mormon money and volunteers who helped propel Proposition 8 to victory in November.

But three organizers of the past weekend’s National Equality March said Reid brought up the topic during a conversation in his office.

“He said that he thought it was a waste of church resources and good will,” said Derek Washington, a Nevadan who worked as the outreach director for the march. “He said he didn’t think it was appropriate.”

For Sen. Reid there just does not seem to be an upside in speaking out here. He is already in a bitter election campaign which all indicators seem to suggest he will lose. Polls have shown him down by 11 points against opponents that have not even officially announced their candidacy. Nate Silver on Fivethirtyeight.com has his race ranked as the second most likely to change party hands. Moreover, Reid already has received a lot of criticism from church. Moreover, Reid is unlikely to win much support among Nevada’s more progressive individuals due to his stated support for keeping marriage between a man and a woman. I just don’t see the upside in Reid’s actions from a political perspective.

On the other hand, as a matter of principle Reid’s actions in the past couple of weeks shine. His endorsement of the Equity March, advocacy for booted gay Iraq war veteran Dan Choi and his general advocacy for LGBT issues including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the senate are pretty impressive. Maybe this is what a leader does when he has stopped worrying about reelection and has embraced defeat?  I am proud of Senator Reid for showing the nation that Mormon and Democrat are completely compatible, and that Mormons can passionately come out in favor of gay rights issues. Now, this criticism goes a bit further in actively opposing the decision of the church to enter the fray. I certainly hope that because of his high profile Harry Reid is never punished for his statements, and that he gives courage to others enabling them to speak out on the topic. I have hesitated to speak my own feelings about prop-8 thus far on this blog and do not intend to do so at moment, but I am passionate about the idea that one should not be punished for speaking out in this fashion. I never thought I’d say this, but in this regard Reid stands as a paragon of courage. He is showing true leadership by being vocal on an issue that others wish to keep quiet on. I just wish he’d get some backbone on other issues.

Elder Hales on Secularism Part two of two

This is the second part of a two part post about Elder Hales talk on secularism:  I am going to talk a little bit about the end of Elder Hales talk which I think has a lot of potential but can be improved by a better understanding of what ultimately can be effective.

Elder Hales is better at the end of his talk when he simply invites people listening to : “Cultivate a diligent desire to know that God lives. This desire leads us to ponder on the things of heaven—to let the evidence of God all around us touch our hearts. With softened hearts we are prepared to heed the Savior’s call to “search the scriptures” and to humbly learn from them.”

Ultimately, cultivating this desire to know that God lives is the task of Latter Day Saints and all believers. We must present a belief structure that is interesting, enticing and ultimately something that others wish to be true.

When I was an atheist I believed that my atheism had three pillars. The first was the notion that we can understand the universe without a belief in deity—This pillar still holds as I think that we ultimately have come to the point where arguments from design and natural forces are equally persuadable and that we have to make the choice based on other factors. The second was that the nature of evil in the world made it more likely that a loving god did not exist ( Theodicy). The third was that belief in God actually caused more ill than god in the world and so I would rather that God did not exist.

It is not the first pillar that we should be attacking. The problem with Christianity is that it has been too concerned with trying to prove itself on the basis of evidence for creation. Karen Armstrong illustrates this point beautifully in her book “The Case for God.” Instead, what led me to believe again and what I think ultimately is most effective in getting people to seek God with humble hearts is to show them that faith in God can and does make people ultimately better, and that this world is consistent with a loving a merciful deity. Ultimately, the examples of scripture show that what is most vital in the search for God is a true desire to know that he is and that he lives. Arguments from design can at best lead to agnosticism and more and more often lead to atheism altogether. The more we understand about the natural world the less effective such tactics are and the more God becomes a God of the gaps.

“Gaining this knowledge is ultimately the quest of all God’s children on the earth. If you cannot remember believing in God or if you have ceased to believe or if you believe but without real conviction, I invite you to seek a testimony of God now. Do not be afraid of ridicule. The strength and peace that come from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His Spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.”

I think that this is a promising bit on enticement to prayer sincerely. Yet, Elder Hales does not seem to understand that the chief problem of those that do not believe is not that they are afraid of ridicule. Indeed, living in America means that one is more likely to be ridiculed for a lack of faith than faith. Instead, it is an inability to see how such language can be anything other than subjective. I think that there is a real need to emphasize why we believe that such prayer works.

Ultimately, a loving deity would want to communicate with his children in a way that cuts across language barriers and knowledge barriers alike. One should not require a theology degree or a PHD in astrophysics in order to be able to commune with deity. Prayer is thus a simple language that we can all cultivate regardless of our language of birth or our standing. For me, prayer is a great equalizer of all men before God. That is why I seek spiritual insight and tend to believe what I receive with all of my heart and soul. It is precisely the way that a deity that is no respecter of persons would communicate with us.

Elder Hales talk is ultimately a bit misguided. He does not seem to understand what leads people to lose faith or how to reach out to people in language that is inviting rather than shunning or antagonistic. I hope that our general authorities or the rising generation in the church learn to become better equipped in ways to more effectively reach out to those in doubt.

Elder Hales on Secularism Part One of Two

As a former atheist, I listened to Elder Hales talk entitled “Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ,” with much interest. As much as I believe that Elder Hales is correct in suggesting that there is a light of Christ within us all, I don’t think that most of his talk is effective as a strategy to get those that are cynical about faith to reflect and to consider the gospel. I offer this analysis with hope that we can improve our strategies and ways of talking about and talking to people that doubt.

“As prophesied, we live in a time when the darkness of secularism is deepening around us. Belief in God is widely questioned and even attacked in the name of political, social, and even religious causes. Atheism, or the doctrine that there is no God, is fast spreading across the world.”

Secularism is probably not the word that Elder Haled intends here, as secularism describes a freedom first and foremost from religious imposition in public life. This is something that we as latter day saints affirm in our articles of faith. “”We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.”

Likewise, Joseph Smith issued one of the most passionate defenses of secularism that I have ever heard from a major religious figure “We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it,… but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.” (D&C 134:4)

It seems to me that the right to worship freely and the ability to have the freedom of ones soul necessarily must also include the right to NOT worship freely or to firmly believe that there is no God. Thus, we regularly affirm the right of Atheists and non-believers to continue in their doubt and even to actively seek to (de)convert others to their belief in no God. Elder Hales seems to imply that this is a menace, but this is the other side of the coin of free exercise, which we all value so much.

“Some wonder, why is belief in God so important? Why did the Savior say, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent”?2

Without God, life would end at the grave and our mortal experiences would have no purpose. Growth and progress would be temporary, accomplishment without value, challenges without meaning. There would be no ultimate right and wrong and no moral responsibility to care for one another as fellow children of God. Indeed, without God, there would be no mortal or eternal life.”

It seems pretty harsh to declare that without an afterlife life could have no purpose. People can find meaning in fame, family or excellence regardless of the long-term implications of these actions. Most people also conceive of the afterlife as a place where their mortal actions are essentially irrelevant and where they are merely harp playing angels, this is a place where the Latter Day Saint faith offers a big distinction that perhaps should have been emphasized more in this talk. For us, our earthly actions are of vital importance and continue to make us who we are for eternity. Emphasizing the point where our doctrines and beliefs provide additional hope would be a better tactic than this criticism.

Even more starkly, I think that most secular humanists I know would reject the notion that there is no moral responsibility. Secular individuals can live morally upright lives based on the secular ethics of such thinkers as Mill, Rawls, Kant etc. Indeed, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz has outlined, very effectively in my view, how we could have easily evolved a secular theory of rights. Based on collective human experience. These models seem like they have great potential. Of course, I think that a great claim can be made that a value system based on a belief in God has unique cohesive power to bind people together in common pursuit. This is the claim that has been advanced by social thinker from Durkheim onwards.  The selling point of our faith should not be that morality without it is impossible, but that human bonds are strengthened by it. I know that I considered myself a moral person before I found the church, but I have found my relationships with others improved and my moral sense attuned through membership in the church.

Elder Hales next goes through a lengthy description of how we know God lives and that he has a physical body etc. I don’t see how this is meant to encourage anyone to look into the faith. People that do not believe in a deity are probably less likely to consider a faith that is anthropomorphic and will laugh at this idea. It would perhaps be better to emphasize that we don’t believe in creation ex nihilo or the idea that something came out of nothing. We instead believe that the same laws of nature and the universe allow for deity to take form and mold the world to his will.

Elder Hales than presents the story of Korihor. This story is absolutely a terrible one to present to a non-believer. A person is struck dumb because he demands a sign! To those that do not believe, this story can only smack of religious egotism and puffed up belief.

The argument from design that Elder Hales presents is also likewise not especially convincing

“Yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” (Alma 30:44)

Science has been able to explain naturally so many of the patterns of nature. Many secular individuals are actually likely to view nature as the ultimate sign that there is no God. Indeed, the vast and desolate nature of much of the observable sky seems to lead to the conclusion for many that there is no purpose. Latter Day Saints can emphasize that this whole universe is part of God’s plan and once again place emphasis on the fact that we believe that the natural laws that govern the universe are also those that govern deity. There is more common ground than ground for attack.

This talk also misses out on a chance to reach out to humanists—whose ultimate belief is in some notion of human rationality and perfectibility—by emphasizing that we believe in the loftiest potential for man possible. Elder Hales could speak about how it is only through faith and submission that one can possibly overcome the natural man and achieve a higher state of being. This was the first thing that struck me about the LDS faith and attracted me in particular. The language in this talk is simply not equipped to entice or interest non-believers.

Maestro of Dissent: Finding my religion: A spritual and intellectual journey

This is an op-ed I wrote this week for the campus newspaper.

I read Bret Matthew’s recent follow up (”Losing my religion: a follow-up,” October 2 issue) to his column from almost a year ago (”Losing My religion: A rant about non-believing,” December 5 issue) with much introspection and joy. On a personal level, because my three years at Brandeis have been for me a similar spiritual and intellectual journey—albeit with unexpected results—I felt a deep connection and understanding.

On a more intellectual level, likewise, Bret’s column reconfirmed my belief that this type of searching of all sorts is precisely the purpose of college.

Like Bret, I began my time at Brandeis as a marginally Jewish agnostic. I had been the founder of my high school Jewish Student Union, but a lot of factors in my life, in particular my mother’s death from ovarian cancer during my senior year of high school, pushed me away from belief in a God.

By my second semester at Brandeis, I considered myself an ardent atheist, was an active member of the Brandeis Humanists, and wrote angry columns in the Justice denouncing prayer as silly and absurd. I thought I’d found meaning in secular humanism and felt content with my disbelief. Most frustratingly for me, I had stopped caring about the answers. I came to believe that whether God existed was at best irrelevant.

Last summer, I did a study abroad program studying traditional Chinese medicine and Public Health in Southwestern China. I had an incredible Chinese instructor that was a leader in the local Christian community and he reawakened my spiritual desire.

Throughout my time in China, I was impressed by the profound spiritual cultures of the great Eastern faiths and this reinvigorated my interest in finding spiritual fulfillment. I made a checklist of the sorts of values I wanted my eventual faith to reflect. The church I ended up falling in love with and being baptized into less than one year later was very different than what one would have predicted from that list.

One of my best friends at Brandeis was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormon church). Throughout my period of atheism, I had mocked and made rude remarks about her faith in ways that I have come to realize was completely unbecoming of a true friend.

It was a church that I viewed as clearly fraudulent as well as regressively conservative. Still, I was fascinated by the way that her faith impacted her character and life choices in many positive ways.

I went to a Barnes and Noble and picked up a “Mormonism for Dummies” book and fell in love. The church theology answered all of questions I had been unable to find answers to in the past and gave me comfort and insight.

I met with the church missionaries and got a burning and searing testimony of the truth of the church one evening while praying in front of the Boston Temple (Off Route 2 in Belmont). I was eventually baptized into the church four months ago after my father came to accept my decision (a change for which I am eternally grateful) even as he continues to view it as a betrayal of my Jewish roots.

I’ve found an incredible community in the Boston area that has enabled me to improve myself in so many deep ways. Ironically, in the process I’ve also rediscovered the value of the Jewish roots that I’d once discarded and viewed as worthless and immensely enjoyed attending high holiday services and fasting for Yom Kippur because of my newfound faith.

My beliefs have been irrevocably altered during my time at Brandeis and in the Boston area, and I would not have it any other way. It is my firm belief, in fact, that if a student has not had at least one profound challenge to their most deeply held political, social or religious beliefs while an undergraduate here at Brandeis, that their time has not been well spent. In many ways, I feel deep sorrow when I see a great degree of stagnation at Brandeis with individuals clinging to groups that confirm preexisting views. Because of the small and hardly visible Republican presence on campus, for instance, I rarely see individuals having their political views challenged, let alone altered.

This semester I began attending lectures for Professor Gordie Fellman’s (SOC) War and the Possibilities of Peace class. I had taken Gordie’s Sociology of the Israel-Palestine conflict class in my freshman year and had found it a well-balanced and challenging class, which made me reconsider many of my preexisting beliefs. I expected something similar in this class.

Instead, I found lecture after lecture describing the ills of war in a very stereotypical fashion and found anti-war film after anti-war film being screened. The class seemed all in uniform agreement that war of any sort for any reason was not justified – or at the very least no one dared speak up to question the prevailing consensus. Instead of feeling soothed by this class on peace, I merely felt frustrated.
Attending a class where your deeply held beliefs are merely confirmed just seems like such a waste of time and effort. I’ve come to learn that my time is far too precious for that.

I write this not to preach my faith or any other, but to preach a gospel of self-discovery.

From my journey, I’ve learned three lessons that might help others along the way; I encourage you first to be willing to examine and question your core beliefs to ensure that they are built on a firm foundation, second to not surround yourself with people that merely reiterate your views but instead to seek out new ideas and perspectives, and third, and perhaps most important of all, to not let your pre-existing biases stand in the way of your personal growth and to be willing to act when you discover truth, no matter how unexpected or foreign.

Elder Holland’s Book of Mormon Talk

Elder Holland’s Book of Mormon Talk

Like many (Here are some more links) I was struck by Elder Holland’s Sunday Afternoon talk (Video and Mp3 Link) on and powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. I always look forward to his talks as some of the most inspired and poignant. His “And None Were With Him” talk was life changing for a close friend of mine and got me through a very difficult period in my life while I was struggling with a lot of burdensome decisions in regard to conversion and dealing with my father. Elder Holland’s wise council has been a rock and a strong source of testimony in my knowledge that the leadership of the church is inspired.

As someone that has had his judgment clouded by doubts and uncertainty, the force of Elder Holland’s testimony was especially striking. I certainly didn’t expect such an emotional no-holds barred talk from its rather unassuming beginning. Elder Holland began speaking of external calamities in the latter days and then moved inward by focusing on the tree of life parable. I loved his description of the mist and fog falling over everyone members and non-members alike.  He used this metaphor much more poignantly than Sister Ann M. Dibb’s had in the morning session ( whose smiling while talking about tragic death truly made me cringe). I loved Elder Holland focus on the fact that the Book of Mormon both begins and ends with the same poignant plea.

Elder Holland’s use of the Book of Mormon dog-eared by Hyrum Smith was especially powerful. I recently read Terryl Givens masterful By The Hands Of Mormon which led to me believe that the prophet did not value the text of the Book of Mormon very much. Thus, it surprised me to hear that the 12 chapter of Ether was quoted. I also find it poignant that Joseph Smith bore powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon even when in prison and facing death.  Elder Holland presents this as proof of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, and I don’t think one can go quite that far, but at the least I think one can conclude that Joseph and Hyrum truly believed in their calling and that it was true for them. I found his argument that two condemned men that could be dying would not be likely to quote a forgery in their dying hour. It would have been so easy for Joseph Smith to denounce his work in the early years of the church as he was tarred and feathered and persecuted, but I find it profound that he preserved despite all of that.

I loved that Elder Holland directly took on alternative theories of the Book of Mormon history calling them “pathetic.” I’ve read a lot of the more advanced environmental theories to explain the books origin and frankly find it rather lacking. The Book of Mormon contains so many beautiful and profound elements that as Elder Holland says, “burst with Semitic structure” and could only come from an ancient work. As Elder Holland’s  great grandfather declared “ No wicked man could write such a book as this, and no good man would write it unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.”

I find it true that members leaving the church must go crawling around or over the Book of Mormon. They often must deny the spiritual impact it has had on their life. It truly does become a stumbling stone for so many individuals and a millstone that drags them down. It is easy to find reason to doubt if that’s what we are looking for. Instead, we should feast on the sweet sweet words of the Book of Mormon and be enriched spiritually.

I felt the spirit so strongly during Elder Holland’s testimony. I loved that he compared his testimony to those whose lives are described in the Book of Mormon. I feel like Elder Holland was trying to leave a legacy for future generations of his powerful witness. My only fear is that his grim talk about death at the end of the talk might mean that he is aware of some illness or condition that might end his life. I sincerely hope that we will continue to be enriched by Elder Holland’s brilliant voice and talks for years to come. He clearly understands the meaning of the Book of Mormon to millions on a deep and profound personal level. Such a profound witness is unfortunately uncommon and a true treasure for this generation.

Fort Lauderdale Temple!

Fort Lauderdale Temple

Having lived in the South Florida area for most of my life, I was absolutely struck by the announcement of a Fort Lauderdale temple. I felt the spirit so strongly when I heard that announcement that I was brought to tears and even a few days later still feel an overwhelming pouring of the spirit just by thinking about the announcement. I bear my testimony that this decision was an inspired one and will enrich the lives of so many saints as well as others living in the area. This temple is also much needed for saints living in the far south especially on the keys. The ride to Orlando (The current Florida temple) was over eight hours for them, which is far far above the 200 miles average that was talked about during conference. Moreover, the Bahamas and Barbados among other Caribbean islands are in the Orlando temple district currently. Often, it is very hard to find direct flights to Orlando and much easier to fly into Fort Lauderdale. Also, cruise ships often dock in Fort Lauderdale making trips to the temple much more convenient for tourists or day trippers. Also, because of the overwhelming Spanish language focus in the area, the Fort Lauderdale temple can ensure that temple workers etc are Spanish speaking and can be as helpful as possible. Moreover, this temple will be close to the location where a lot of saints from Latin American and Spanish speaking countries will be migrating when they come to the United States, this will hopefully allow for greater missionary work and the spreading of the word of God.

Modern Jewish Atonement Ritual

Modern Jewish Atonement Rituals

A week ago, I wrote a post about a Jewish prayer ceremony known as Slichot which focuses on communal repentance. Indeed, the whole high holiday period is focused heavily on ritual and symbolic acts of repentance.

One of the more controversial rituals is the act of <a href= http://www.jewishmag.com/25MAG/KAPORA/kapora.htm> Kapparot </a> which has been widely decried by some <a href= http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1253198168254> rabbis and most major animal rights groups alike. </a> During Kapparot, rabbis take live roosters/chicken and swing them around their head before slitting their throats. The rooster represents the severity of gods decree, or the attribute of justice as opposed to mercy, likewise, the Jewish word for man and rooster is similar and thus a symbolic equivalency can be made. Thus, by this act, the sins of the congregation are symbolically transferred to the animal. The bird is then given to the poor for the break fast meal of the Yom Kippur fast.

The symbolic link between this act and our belief in the atonement of Jesus Christ as well as temple rituals of slaughter should be quite obvious. The rituals words quoted during the ceremony relate to this.

“”This is my exchange, my substitute, my atonement; this rooster (or hen) shall go to its death, but I shall go to a good, long life, and to peace.”

Thus, the symbolic slaughter is an act of transference where the severity of Justice is averted. This custom dates from the ninth century.

One of the other major ritual acts of this period is called <A href= http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshhashannah/tashlich.html> Tashlich. </a>This act is inspired by the Book of Michah

“”Who is a G-d like You?  You forgive sins and overlook transgressions
For the survivors of Your People;
He does not retain His anger forever, for He loves Kindness;
He will return and show us mercy, and overcome our sins,

And You will cast into the depths of the sea all their sins;
You will show kindness to Yaakov and mercy to Avraham,
 As You did promisee to our fathers of old.”

Thus, Jewish communities take bread or bread crumbs and ritually throw them into a body of water. A kabbalistic tradition involves the shaking of ones pockets or the talit (prayer shawl) to emphasize the symbolic freeing of the soul.

Both of these rituals show the Jewish focus on ritualistic atonement which clearly remains strong in the Christian/LDS tradition through the sacramental reenactment of the attoning sacrifice as well as the tradition of Passion Plays etc ( not so big in the LDS tradition)

Kol Nidre, Covenants and Excommunication

Kol Nidre, Covenants and Excommunication

I just attended Kol Nidre which is considered one of the more iconic and spiritually significant prayer services of the Jewish year. This prayer has even entered into popular culture with its culminating place in Neil Diamond’s The Jazz Singer . I have always loved this prayer for its beautiful and intricate melody, but this year I focused on the words in particular and found many things that struck me in unique ways.

The English translation of the main bulk of the prayer is as follows:

“All vows, obligations, oaths or anathemas, pledges of all names, which we have vowed, sworn, devoted, or bound ourselves to, from this day of atonement, until the next day of atonement (whose arrival we hope for in happiness) we repent, aforehand, of them all, they shall all be deemed absolved, forgiven, annulled, void and made of no effect; they shall not be binding, nor have any power; the vows shall not be reckoned as vows, the obligations shall not be obligatory, nor the oaths considered as oaths.”

This prayer/declaration has been used by anti-Semites as grounds to declare Jewish people not worthy of trust. This prayer they would argue makes Jews unworthy to hold office because they will not fulfill vows such as the constitutional oath. Yet, any person reading this with spiritual sense or even the barest understanding of the purpose of Yom Kippur would reject this absurd analysis. Kol Nidre is concerned with spiritual covenants between man and God that have gone unfulfilled over the past year.

I think that all of us can admit to having been guilty of making promises in our personal prayer that went unfulfilled. How often have we promised to God that we would read the scriptures more diligently or turn to him with our whole heart, only to find old patterns and habits reasserting dominance. In such cases, according to Jewish and I’d venture also LDS tradition, we become guilty not just of the actions that took us away from the straight and narrow path, but also of a violation of our relationship with God. Simply put, the whole plan of salvation is an enormous covenant between man and God. When we bridge our part of the covenant and violate the trust of God, that is an action with consequence.

The people’s of the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon took covenant making with the utmost seriousness. The famous story of Jephthah and his tragic promise to god which ultimately necessitated the sacrifice of his daughter is one such example. Likewise, in his The Book Of Mormon: A Short Introduction (2009) Terryl Givens has argued that one of the dominant themes of the Book of Mormon is the importance of covenants. By Contrasting Helaman’s Stripling Warriors and the Pacifist “Anti-Nephi-Lehis,” separated by only a generation, Givens suggests that the takeaway message from both of these stories is:

“That faithfulness to covenants righteously entered into trumps both. The anti-Nephi-Lehies ‘had entered into a covenant and they would not break it (Alma 43:11). By identical token, their sons ‘entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites (Alma 53:17) In the Book of Mormon, covenant is the thread of safety on which the survival, spiritual safety, and very identity of the people hang.” (Pages 50-51)

Thus, covenant relations were viewed as absolutely sacred and unalterable in biblical times. Likewise, (This Is from a not yet endowed member, so take my writing here with a grain of salt) the most controversial element of the endowment ceremony came from a desire to literalize the spiritual seriousness and significant of the covenant that one undertakes.

Still, it becomes clear that we cannot live up to every single promise and obligation that we make to the lord. We will fail to live up to what is expected of us. Thus, for Jews, the Kol Nidre prayer plays a very vital role in spiritual healing for the New Year. Likewise, our weekly taking of the sacrament can in some ways be said to be analogous. As we renew our covenants and seek absolution from our sins:

“O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen”

Another topic that was of especial interest for me in the Kol Nidre prayer was the mention of anathemas which in the version I saw last night was written as “excommunications.”

The explanatory notes in the prayer book I used explained that on the night of Yom Kippur those that had been excommunicated were brought back into the fold in order to allow the prayer to truly be efficacious and atoneing on the part of all members of the Jewish people and the congregation.

There is something profound here that I actually think that member of the LDS church can learn from. Those that are cast out of the community are viewed perpetually as still part of that community and of vital concern. Spiritual improvement of the individual is viewed as tied up with the communal. The highest form of spiritual success could only happen when every person of the covenant was restored to the fold. One ancient Jewish tradition stated for instance “The Jewish Messiah will come if every Jew properly observes two consecutive Sabbaths (Talmud, tractate Shabbat 118).” Every year, Jews were given a chance to renew their covenants with God and to regrow their ties to the faith. In some ways, perhaps we are doing a massive disservice when we do not allow excommunicated members of partake of the sacrament. If the sacrament is truly a weekly companion of what is a yearly practice among Jews, then should we not likewise truly give all individuals a chance weekly to restore themselves spiritually with God. I think there’s a lot to admire and learn from the Jewish custom.

“Heaven House” rather than “Hell House”

I just watched the movie Hell House which is a documentary about a “Hell House” put on around Halloween time by Conservative Christian Trinity Church in Cedar Hill Texas. Since Trinity pioneered this phenomenon several decades ago, the concept has spread across the country and many other major churches have made their own versions. The purpose of a hell house is basically to scare everyone that enters into accepting Jesus Christ. Thus, they portray vignettes of domestic violence, rape, suicide, abortion etc. in great graphic detail. Later, they show all of the characters roasting and being tormented in hell eternally. The only person that is ultimately saved is one that lived a “life of sin” but has a death bed conversion literally confessing his sins in the last minute of his life. It seems to me, that this way of teaching the gospel is absolutely dangerous and degrading. For instance, the hell house is very insensitive to rape victims. The devil character mocks them and often provokes these characters to commit suicide. Yet, instead of finding a loving father that understands their weakness and gives them comfort and forgiveness, they are cast into hell eternally and suffer. Ultimately this just seems inconsistent with the love of God and the very purpose of humanity. Though we don’t know every detail, I am so thankful for the additional revelation and light that we hold that allows us to live a life of joy rather than fear.

All of this led me to contemplate whether Latter Day Saints should offer a competing product during Halloween time. I think that someone should develop a “heaven house” that could show people the grandeur of Gods plan of salvation and encourage them to come to Christ by appreciating his glory rather than fearing the consequences. Just as in the hell house, there would be little vignettes, but they would be centered around the plan of salvation. Thus, we could see the divine council, the earthly minister of Christ etc. We could also see glimpses of the Glory that awaits us in the Kingdoms of God. Life situations could be displayed, but ultimately I think with a focus on how the light of Christ is constantly intersecting with our lives. Above all, I think that we would focus on God as loving father rather than cruel despot. I don’t know if there would be any audience for this, but I think it would be an interesting experiment. I imagine that people ultimately will achieve a deeper true conversion in their heart if they go through a process that focuses on love rather than terror and hell

Have a happy and sweet new year!

For those who do not know much about the Jewish faith, this weekend is the celebration of the Jewish Spiritual New Year Rosh Hashanah ( Passover was the traditional start of the Jewish calendar/ political new year). As a convert to the Mormon faith, the Jewish holidays take on different and very fascinating meanings in my life. Especially profound is the incredible focus on covenant relationships, spiritual renewal, repentance and judgement. In the next week I hope to write a couple of posts about this time and to draw on reflections and connections that are of interest to me at the very least.

Last saturday, I attended a midnight prayer service that is called Slichot (Apologies/Repentance) this is a prayer service that is said throughout the around two week period from the saturday before Rosh Hashanah and Yum Kippur or the Day of Awe and Atonement. Slichot is a lengthy prayer service entirely dedicated to repentance for ones transgressions. Slichot is a service that is done in order to bring one up to a spiritual state of purity whereby one can stand before God as a friend in worship in service this weekend. The Slichot are made up of what Jews refer to as the Thirteen Attributes of God which can be found in the Book of Exodus

“Merciful God, merciful God, powerful God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth. Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, forgiver of iniquity, willful sin and error, and Who cleanses. (Exodus 34:6-7)”

By reciting these attributes and dwelling on the insignificance of man in comparison to God, one is able to achieve a state of forgiveness and spiritual forgiveness.

One thing that is slightly abnormal about Slichot is that it is begun on a Saturday evening. The usual focus of the Jewish week of Prayer is the Sabbath which begins Friday evening, and continues until an hour after sunset on Saturday. Interestingly, some Rabbis and Jewish religious authorities explain this day shift by saying that the Jewish community during the prayer of Slichot is taking upon itself the redemption of the whole world rather than just its own community. The Sabbath day is viewed as the bride of the people of Israel, and is something specifically linked to Judaism. Sunday, in contrast, is viewed as the first day of general creation and so Slichot is done so that it may best effect the whole world.

This is consistent with the Jewish interpretation of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 as referring to the Jewish people as a collective rather than to an individual messianic figure ( I of course would hold that a passage can have multiple layers of meaning and that both may be possible):

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Thus, there’s a focus that I often heard, especially in Chabad services, growing up on the redemptive nature of the Jewish experience. Jews are suffering in the world and persecuted in order to bring further and greater light into the world.

To all of my non-Jewish and or LDS readers, I will continue writing tomorrow about the symbolism of the shofar, and a few other rituals of repentance that I think are incredible interesting such as Kaparot and Taschlich. Until then, realize that this weekend is a spiritually significant one on which Jews believe that Heavens are especially close to the earth. There is a belief that our prayer has more efficacy and power this week than on any other. In other words, during this period, it is almost as if the whole word is transformed into a temple or place of rest of God. It is a spiritual belief that seems to be a prefiguration of the millennial period when gods presence will rest perpetually on the earth and all will be at peace.

Shanah Tova v’Metucha