"The Mormon Church Is perfect. People Aren't"

From a blog by the same title, written by a woman who left the church.

AUGUST 6, 2012 9:22AM

"The Mormon Church Is Perfect. People Aren't"

As a Mormon girl, my fellow Mormons and I had a saying that we would repeat every-time that someone or something within the church frustrated us. The saying was --- "The church is perfect. People aren't." By that, we meant that whereas people might be frail and corruptible, the church was the one institution that we could rely on to always lead us in the right direction. People might make mistakes but the Mormon Church did not. We viewed the President of the Mormon Church -- whom we considered to be a prophet inspired of God -- to be our spiritual leader. The Book of Mormon was considered to be "the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion." The Church would never lead us astray. Any offense caused by another member was the result of human imperfection. Any issue that we had with doctrine or the teachings of authorities was the result of our own human failings. Since the Mormon Church is composed of a lay clergy -- the majority of local leadership positions are filled by unpaid volunteers, most of whom have received little to no training for the task at hand -- these leaders are also convenient scapegoats for the idea of a perfect church, imperfect members.

This idea of doctrinal infallibility places an enormous burden on church members. As a faithful Mormon, I had some serious mis-givings about some of the Mormon Church's teachings. I felt very uncomfortable with the church's stance on gay people. My heart told me that two people in love --- no matter their gender --- was something to celebrate. My church told me otherwise. And since "the Church is perfect", the implication was that my heart was leading me astray. The burden was on me to change myself in order to fit the dictates of Mormon doctrine.

I also had no avenue in which to try and change the Mormon Church. I was taught not to contact authorities about my concerns. Criticism of the authorities is a very serious matter within the Mormon church and can lead to excommunication. As a member, I was powerless to effect change. My voice was silenced. Since the church was perfect --- and the only true church on Earth --- the implication was that I had to conform my convictions to match that of the Mormon Church. My eternal salvation depended upon my ability to internalize the doctrinal teachings and make them my own. This led to quite a few mental gymnastics on my behalf as I struggled to conform my heart and my mind to the ideals that Mormonism demanded of me.

All of this leaves members in a very vulnerable position. Mormons are expected to give over complete control to authorities. There is no space for dissension. In situations where the Mormon Church's actions are less than perfect --- such as the priesthood ban on blacks or the support of Proposition 8 --- members have no room to voice their concerns. Authorities expect complete obedience, no matter how heart-breaking obedience may be to the individual.

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Do you think this same kind of absolute obedience to doctrine is common with most world religions? Do you see any problems with it, or do you feel that such it's beneficial for the churches to dissuade followers from questioning the wisdom or logic of the rules, tenets, doctrines or beliefs in general? I'm especially struck by how the author tags the lay clergy as imperfect as the rest of them (they're just human, too, after all) and notes how they become the scapegoats for the unquestionably perfect church.

Also, if you enjoyed reading that blog, you might enjoy another written by the same author, entitled "Why Ex-Mormons Keep Quiet About Their Experiences".

Answer Question

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Asked by jsbenkert at 2:14 PM on Aug. 13, 2012 in Religious Debate

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Answers (9)

My husband is Mormon and I do NOT see this point of view AT ALL in our ward. Differing views are welcomed.

Answer by Rosehawk at 2:23 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
Credits: 85834 Level 36 Religious Debate 101

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Aren't most churches, in fact aren't ALL churches lead by PEOPLE? Thus they cannot be perfect. Not even those that claim that "God" is the head of their church as he is not the "authoritative voice". Whoever is the head of the church is. frankly I think the best form of learning one's own "spirituality" is to question EVERYTHING. So I am obviously in disagreeance with any religion or denomination that encourages blind obediance or knowledge by rote.

Answer by KristiS11384 at 2:28 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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The only time you see this POV with Mormon's are ex Mormon's. With my experience, no active Mormon will EVER speak a word against the church.

As for your question, I do think many (most) religion's encourage absolute obedience but I do not think it is wise to blindly follow without researching it and questioning it yourself. I was raised Baptist... as an adult I have read the Bible myself, prayed and researched and have come to see that many things that I was taught are incorrect, the Bible did not state these certain things at all but it was a person's interpretation, which I see now, was wrong.

Answer by amazinggrace83 at 2:33 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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Last I knew, a "church" is not an entity in and of itself. it is made up of it's members and therefore led by the people.
There is no such thing as "perfect" anything. that's a fallacy.

Answer by sahmamax2 at 4:07 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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I've read this a couple times and still don't know how to answer other than it fabricates some things which gives a skewed view of Mormon life.
Darn, that they don't give you more characters in which to make your answer, but yes, you do have avenues in which to ask your questions. Every congregation has a "bishop" and counselors in which you can address your concerns with. This statement is also not true: Mormons are expected to give over complete control to authorities. It sounds like somebody has a bone to pick.. If anyone has any questions about Mormons, you are welcome to ask at the LDS moms group here at CM or go to www.mormon.org

Answer by Jambo4 at 6:00 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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The pope owns infallibility when speaking on doctrine.

Pope John XXIII once remarked: "I am only infallible if I speak infallibly but I shall never do that, so I am not infallible" It rarely has happened in the church outside of Tradition and Scripture

Answer by adnilm at 9:14 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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I guess I am in the mindset there is no one perfect church or fellowship, no one perfect faith/belief or path to take
spiritually. It just depends on what you need at that time that makes one path more suitable than another. There are flaws as well as strengths in every religion but I would never use perfect to describe any one specific one.

Answer by frogdawg at 9:34 PM on Aug. 13, 2012
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I am Episcopalian, and we are pretty open to many points of view. I think other than the Unitarians where (according to my Unitarian friend) you don't even have to believe in God, Episcopals are not very strict in what you "have" to believe. I do have a problem with religions that say they are the one and only true religion. Sounds arrogant to me. But according to South Park, only the Mormons get into heaven.

Answer by musicmaker at 6:56 AM on Aug. 14, 2012
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This is why it is important for Christians to follow Christ, not a church or denomination; to study their Bibles and not rely on the word of any man; and to live in fellowship with God and trust in Him alone. It is the very reason why Christ came...to give us this extraordinary gift. Be ye not decieved.

Answer by NikkiMomof2grls at 3:10 PM on Aug. 17, 2012
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