Words of Mockery)

As I said in my last post, I am going to spend the rest of this series describing the patterns of un-Christlike and ineffective evangelism, the sort of preaching that drives people away from your message, as it carries a dark spirit, not the Light of the World. In my last post I brought up the importance of the underlying intention in one’s message. People can pretend to pure intentions at first, but over the course of the conversation, it becomes extremely obvious whether someone truly has the welfare of the other’s soul at heart, or simply the desire to decimate his beliefs.

But while intention may take some time to pin down, today we will look at the discussion element that is often the earliest indicator of one’s sincerity: their tone. Tone, of course, meaning the words and voice you choose to describe another’s faith and your disagreements with it.

Mockery, insults, disparagement…these are all tones I frequently see people adopt against my beliefs, and unsurprisingly they have put a very bad taste in my mouth, rather than convincing me of the error of my ways. I am sick of people deriding us members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by talking about us having “magic underwear,” and speculating as to “how many wives” I am married to, and saying we are “part of a cult,” and that we have all been “brainwashed by a conman.”

The moment you approach me with those sorts of sentiments, you have already lost any possibility of a genuine, heartfelt conversation. You are beating the sheep, and they are only going to run from you. And referring back to yesterday’s conversation on intentions, anyone who approaches like this never intended to save anyone. They only seek to hurt.

Respect for Faith)

Now one might say, “but I genuinely do believe that Joseph Smith was a conman, and I really am worried that members of the church have been brainwashed.” Let’s look at the second half of that. Assuming that we are all brainwashed is incredibly patronizing and starts the whole conversation by putting us on a lower level than our accuser. What is more, the claim is impossible to justify given the global and high population nature of the church. Cults and brainwashing consistently require small, isolated, controlled environments, where the leaders are able to cut off outside communication and maintain a single, consistent message. It goes against all research of the phenomenon to say that 18 million LDS worldwide are in such a state, and minimizes the plight of l those who genuinely are victims of brainwashing.

Now let us look at the first bit, about Joseph Smith being a conman. Obviously, I don’t expect hardly anyone outside of my faith to believe that Joseph Smith was a genuine prophet, and if you don’t think he was a genuine prophet, then it’s hard to see how he could have been anything other than a deceiver. I do not begrudge anyone outside of our faith for viewing him unfavorably.

That being said, it seems our culture has lost any sense of respect for the beliefs of others. Even if you don’t believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet, I do. Even if you don’t believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, I do. And I would expect you to have reverence for the seriousness of my faith. The sincere faith of one’s heart is sacred ground, and you should put off your rough shoes before you tread on it! You don’t have to pretend to agree with me, but coming and making insults towards the things which I hold sacred is a sign of immaturity, and of a lack of human understanding, and perhaps indicates an absence of sacred feeling in your own life.

Because I hold my beliefs as sacred, I respect the sanctity of other’s beliefs as well, even those I don’t agree with. I am not a follower of Islam, and by extension I am not a believer in the Quran or Muhammad. But I respect the very real belief that Muslims do have in those things and that man, and I think that that belief matters. I have no interest in disparaging and insulting them. Let me express my different viewpoints with civility and brotherly-kindliness or not at all.

I will not drag your beliefs through the mud. I believe sacred feelings are sacred. I will not cheapen the depth of your feelings by treating them like a subject for a debate club to squabble over, and I will certainly never refer to them in mockery. I will trust the sincerity of your belief and only proceed with a reverence for that faith that lives in your heart. If the detractors of the LDS faith are mature, they will approach us in the same manner.