Being Mormon...

This weekend, I was given the opportunity to give a talk at church (a standard Mormon experience for those who do not ascribe to that faith). Normally, I would not be so bold as to post those thoughts in this blog. However, a sincere request from a loved one urged me to do so. As I weighed the decision to post or not post, I came to the conclusion that religion is an important component to my composition of thoughts, talents, and perspective. In order for this blog to be true to its name, I need to share the Mormon influences. 

Perhaps in another post, I will write about the many facets to my personality and skills. For example, how do I reconcile religion as a scientist? How do I reconcile my patriotism to this country as a Native American with a knowledge of its history? (see below, but there is so much more to those thoughts!) 

Background info:

• Mormon is the informal name of members who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Members of the church are given the opportunity to give short talks (~15 minutes) during sacrament meeting. He or she can decline or accept.
• A talk should reflect the doctrine and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ

So without further ado, here is the general idea of what I had prepared and said:

The topics for the month are “liberty” and “love of country”. These topics inspire a range of emotion, including but not limited to gratitude, hope, humility, frustration, and pride. I wish to share with you how I have come to love and understand these concepts as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To start off, I asked myself—why do I love this country? My immediate response included “it is home”, “it is a land of opportunity”, “it is a country founded upon ideal freedoms”. These are all great reasons to love this country. However, my thoughts kept returning to the simple answer “it is home”. There are people through-out the world who are patriotic to their country, which is wonderful. If I was born and raised in New Zealand, I would be singing the praises of that country today. For me, I am rooted to this land. Fun fact about me—I am Navajo. To’dich’iinii nishli. Kinlich’iinii bashishchiin. Kinyaa’aanii dashichei. Aadoo Tsenijikini dashinali. My four clans, which I just said in Navajo, establish my ancestry and my kinship to other Navajos (I needn’t translate, but basically, if this were Hogwarts, Slytherin house would be giddy to have me with that pureblood lineage.)

Oftentimes, when you hear the word Navajo, the word codetalker follows. During World War II, the Marines recruited Navajo men to create a code that solely used the Navajo language. Prior to this, the Japanese had broken every code used by the Army, Navy, and Marines. The codetalkers were a success. The Japanese never broke the code. And they were vital to battles in Iwo Jima and elsewhere. Pertinent to my psyche, the word the codetalkers used for America was nihima, which translates to ‘our mother’. I was raised with a powerful image of what those Navajo warriors were defending.

Although this story explains my love of the land, my love of the country—as a nation—evolved as I learned of its history. With that love come some frustration, but also an acute awareness of the price of freedom and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunities made available to me as a citizen of this country.

Returning to the Navajo codetalkers, the more I thought about their stories, the more I was reminded of a group of young men who pre-dated their existence. In the Book of Mormon (BoM), we repeatedly read of conflict between two nations—the Nephites and the Lamanites—that led to many wars in the name of liberty. Typically, the Nephites were trying to preserve their liberty and the Lamanites were seeking to bring them into bondage. In the latter chapters of the book of Alma, we read of the correspondence between Nephite military leaders. Helaman, one of the leaders, recorded the account of a remarkable group of young men whom he called his sons. We refer to them as Helaman’s stripling warriors. These young men lived up to their name. They were the sons of a group of Lamanites who had broken ties from their wicked Lamanite brethren earlier in the book of Alma. These “good” Lamanites had accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and had covenanted to not take up their weapons of war again. The Nephites welcomed them and protected them from the wicked Lamanites, who wanted to kill them. As the years flew by, these righteous Lamanites witnessed the toll of war on the Nephite people (Alma 53:11-13). They were eager to help and to even break their covenant with God. Helaman counseled them not to do so. In Alma 53:16-17, we read—

16) But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites.

17) And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. –Alma 53

Three chapters later, Helaman more succinctly describes their dedication in Alma 56. He writes, “They thought more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives.”

These verses point towards one of the great conclusions in the book of Mormon: Liberty is a precious truth. We know that truth is eternal. Therefore, liberty is an eternal principle!

Liberty is introduced early in the BoM when Lehi, a prophet and father to both Nephi and Laman (of whom the different nations are named after) said to one of his sons:

27) Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. –2 Ne 2

The “great Mediator” is Jesus Christ. This scripture begs the question, “How will choosing to follow Christ grant us liberty?” The scriptures offer many answers. My favorite is in John 8. Here, we find Jesus teaching at the temple. He testifies that he is the Messiah. The Pharisees don’t believe him, but there are some Jews who do believe him. He says to them,

31) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This is a profound scripture to contemplate. It is logically sound. I liken it to learning how to read music. There are tiers of knowledge to that skill. You must first learn that each note corresponds to a particular sound; you learn that each note has a certain beat, and that many notes will create a rhythm. As you put that knowledge to practice, it will become easier to read a sheet of music. For some that might be sufficient knowledge. However, someone who continues learning will then be introduced to music theory where they will understand key changes and chords. They will have more creative liberties than someone who has a superficial understanding of the sheet music.

So what is the evidence of this scripture in our lives? As we choose to follow Christ, we will come to recognize and know truth. What type of truths? We can come to know in our hearts that we are children of God. We come to know that this life is NOT the end. We come to know that through the Atonement of Christ, we are NEVER alone despite the tragedies, weaknesses, failures, and loneliness that we have faced, are currently experiencing, or will encounter. That is a powerful truth to comprehend—that there is a God who will not forsake us. Knowing these truths brings happiness and confidence. It brings a liberty of the soul, which is the greatest of all liberties that I can speak of, write of, or discuss.

How can I make such a claim? We can return to the scriptures and read of men who, I think, experienced ‘freedom of the soul’, despite being imprisoned, beaten, and deprived of sustenance and those basic liberties that we hold dear. Joseph Smith is one example, the apostle Paul is another. In 2 Cor 11:24-27, Paul describes some of his experiences to the Corinthians:

24) Of the Jews 5 fives received I forty stripes save one.

25) Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

26) In journeying’s often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

27) In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

Despite all of this, he wrote to Timothy while in a prison cell in Rome, shortly before his death:

6) I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto ALL them also that love his appearing. –2 Tim 4

I think these scripture accounts are beautiful. I add my testimony to so many others who testify that peace, hope, and every imaginable form of happiness derive from Jesus Christ.