Latter Day Sinner

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not like the word Mormon. It officially forbids members from calling ourselves one. The logic is sound of course for most members. We are to call ourselves Christians or Latter Day Saints. But if you’ve read more than a few of my posts then you are probably already aware of why I call myself a Latter Day Sinner and a Mormon. For those of you just joining me I will explain again.

I have never considered myself worthy to be called a Saint. I have never even tried to have an interview for a temple recommend. The one real worthiness interview that I had was to advance to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The final question was whether I considered myself worthy to be ordained to the order. My answer was: No. My answer is still No. The stake president who I will always love and respect said that was just the devil trying to trick me. I passed the interview without further objection and was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood a few weeks later by a friend who went to high school with me. He is another man I love and respect. Both men believed I was worthy to be called a Saint. I remain unconvinced but continue to try not to publicly dishonor the priesthood that I hold. I consider myself a sinner. I have read and reread the temple interview questions over the years and I am sure that I am not worthy by that standard.

But the other reason I call myself a sinner is bigger than just unworthiness in the church. It strikes at the heart of the Apostle Paul’s ministry. He wrote and I believe that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all sinners. We all need to confess our unworthiness before God if we are going to surrender to Him. I have a sneaking suspicion that allowing myself to be declared worthy in the LDS church dishonors that principle. The Book of Mormon reflects the principle of humbling oneself before God over and over. The other choice it presents is to continue to be proud and have God do the humbling. I would much rather humble myself than be proud and have God humble me. I will acknowledge my unworthiness and call myself a sinner instead.

I believe we are in the Latter Days so that makes me a Latter Day Sinner. I believe that prophecy has been restored to the earth and we are in a new spiritual dispensation. I believe that the seal of prophecy was reopened by Joseph Smith Jr. I believe that the principles of The Book of Mormon are the most correct of any book. That last one is why I call myself a Mormon instead of a Christian. I have devoured the Bible and found it lacking. The Book of Mormon is just better. I have a fundamental disagreement with Salt Lake that the Book of Mormon is a compliment to the Bible. I call myself a Mormon because I believe the Bible is the compliment. That is in some very real ways a rejection of General Authority. Several of the temple recommend questions is whether I sustain the leaders in Salt Lake. I can not answer that both honestly and affirmatively. I call myself a Mormon as a symbol of my rejection.

So what does cultural Mormonism have anything to do with this? The word Mormonism is harder to blot out than the word Mormon. In the announcement of the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith Jr. and his brother Hyrum Smith it says, “their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a broad seal affixed to “Mormonism” that cannot be rejected by any court on earth” (Doctrine & Covenants 135 : part of verse 7). I have never seen a viable substitute for naming the movement that started with their martyrdom. It is fairly easy to accuse the Smiths of running a charismatic cult until they died. But what came after is so much bigger than the egos of men who preside in authority over the various branches of Mormonism. There is a fairly rigid Latter Day Saint doctrine but a much looser cultural Mormonism which has seeped into the world despite the best efforts of church leaders to own and control it. While I reject the notion that I am a Saint, I affirm a tie to the culture that proceeds from the Saints.

In the end I’m still a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. If you don’t see why after reading all this then you can leave a comment or send me something in private to the email attached to this account.