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<\/a>A passage in the stake president\u2019s remarks at our stake conference this morning got me to thinking along the following lines, closely related to but not identical with the line of thought that he was pursuing:<\/p>\n
I sometimes hear from former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, and from grace-alone evangelical critics<\/em> of the Church, that escape from Mormonism often delivers the escapee from the demoralizing sense that he is never good enough, that she always needs to change and to improve, etc., etc. \u00a0There is, of course, evidently such a thing as \u201ctoxic perfectionism,\u201d although it\u2019s far from clear that the Church\u2019s teachings or culture particularly foster that kind of thing<\/a>. \u00a0And, while some apparently do suffer from \u201ctoxic perfectionism\u201d \u2014 Sister Tamara Runia\u2019s memorable talk in General Conference a week ago<\/a> was obviously designed, at least in part, to help such people \u2014 I must say that I myself have never found the encouragement to repent and to do better especially oppressive or debilitating.<\/p>\n That said, I\u2019ve always been amazed at those who claim to want a faith that doesn\u2019t<\/em> ask them to repent, change, and improve. \u00a0Heck, let\u2019s leave religion and faith out<\/em> of it: \u00a0I can\u2019t imagine life<\/em> without a desire to improve. \u00a0We can never do or be all that we want<\/em> to do and to be, of course, but surely most normal people would like to exercise more regularly, be better parents, lose weight, master Spanish, play better piano, eat less junk food, take up painting, read more, make more regular entries in their journals, get better sleep, improve their golf swing, read the scriptures more faithfully, learn to dance, pray more mindfully, give more time to community service, earn a promotion, save more, and\/or take better care of the yard.<\/p>\n A person completely and absolutely comfortable with his or her status quo<\/em> would strike me<\/em>, anyway, as very weird indeed. \u00a0Indeed, as virtually comatose. \u00a0Nor can I really imagine a God who wouldn\u2019t want us to learn and to improve. \u00a0And this has implications for our theology, for our doctrine of both God and humanity, for our understanding of human destiny.<\/p>\n Would you approve of a parent who, judging that a toddler was unspeakably cute \u2014 which, of course, toddlers very commonly are<\/em> \u2014 decided that the toddler should remain<\/em> a toddler? \u00a0Would you agree, if such things were possible, if the parent were to take measures to ensure that the child remain wobbly on its feet, illiterate, immature, inarticulate, and dependent? \u00a0Or again, were such a thing conceivable, if the parent had, say, undertaken genetic modifications to prevent a newborn from ever maturing beyond toddlerhood? \u00a0Even if there is unavoidable sadness in it, isn\u2019t the goal of normal, responsible parents to help their children to grow to maturity and independence? \u00a0But how could that possibly happen without learning, repentance, and improvement? \u00a0How could it ever be possible without change?<\/p>\n Here are some resources that you might find helpful for today and for this week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, Easter:<\/p>\n \u201cHoly Week Insight: President Holland Explores the Last Moments of Christ\u2019s Life:\u00a0Engage in deeper study during these sacred days with the Church\u2019s Easter resources\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe First Presidency\u2019s 2025 Easter Message: \u2018He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows \u2026 and with his stripes we are healed\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Officially from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: \u00a0\u201cExperience Jesus Christ\u2019s Greater Love For You. Experience Holy Week.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n From the Church News<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cArcheological insights and modern witnesses of Easter:\u00a0Ancient findings and a living Prophet and Apostles help deepen understanding, says Richard Neitzel Holzapfel\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat is Palm Sunday and why does it matter to Latter-day Saints? Palm Sunday commemorates Christ\u2019s triumphal entry into Jerusalem\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Mesa Easter Pageant Celebrates the \u2018Greater Love\u2019 of Jesus Christ\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHow Palm Sunday in New Zealand involved an Apostle and shouts of hosanna in a house of the Lord:\u00a0\u2018To shout hosanna to God and the Lamb on Palm Sunday is a singular experience,\u2019 says Elder Patrick Kearon as he dedicates the Auckland New Zealand Temple\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n We had our regular quarterly Interpreter Foundation board meeting on Saturday morning. \u00a0It\u2019s difficult to put these together, because the members of our board are somewhat scattered \u2014 two of them almost invariably attend virtually, from Hawai\u2019i and from Wisconsin; two others typically drive in from Idaho and from Wyoming \u2014 and because we all have rather full and complicated calendars. \u00a0There are some really important and somewhat urgent issues (both opportunities and challenges) facing the Foundation at the moment and, for that reason and for the reasons already mentioned, it wasn\u2019t feasible to postpone the meeting. \u00a0And, since I\u2019m the president of the dang thing, I couldn\u2019t very well skip<\/em> it. \u00a0Which saddened me, because I would like to have been supportive of our friend Don Bradley at his son\u2019s funeral. \u00a0I think that I wasn\u2019t the only one of us who would have attended had it been possible; he and his unspeakably tragic loss were explicitly mentioned during our meeting.<\/p>\n A very different matter:\u00a0On Saturday night, my wife and I caught a Brigham Young University student performance of Anton Chekhov\u2019s The Cherry Orchard<\/em>. \u00a0The BYU theater program\u2019s several-year stint in the former Provo High School has turned out better than I expected, but we\u2019ll be glad \u2014 and I\u2019m sure that the theater faculty and their students will be really pleased \u2014 when performances move into the new BYU theater building<\/a>. \u00a0Had I been a theater major, as my wife in fact was<\/em>, I would not have relished the possibility that I might conceivably spend my entire undergraduate career in a modified high school building. \u00a0My wife was melancholy about seeing the Harris Fine Arts Center demolished \u2014 she had spent untold hours in it, even before her freshman year of college (having come over more than once from Denver for extended summer theater programs on campus) \u2014 but we\u2019re excited to begin to enjoy the new building. \u00a0It\u2019s scheduled for completion later this year, though I have no idea whether or not it will be ready for fall semester.<\/p>\n Of course, since it\u2019s being constructed for theists and to be used by theists, the new building will inevitably serve to fatten the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122. \u00a0There\u2019s no escaping that. \u00a0The building and every performance in it will be rendered toxic by the baneful influence of its theistic owners and users. \u00a0Consider, as a rough parallel, how religion destroyed BYU\u2019s athletic programs this past year<\/a>. \u00a0(Here\u2019s another recent story that will serve to illustrate that same theme: \u00a0\u201cBREAKING: BYU football Head Coach Kalani Sitake Makes History with Major Wins at NCAA Coaches\u2019 Conference, Taking Home Awards for \u2018Coaching Staff of the Year,\u2019 \u2018Innovative Offense,\u2019 and \u2018Outstanding Recruiting Efforts\u2026full details\u2026\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 A passage in the stake president\u2019s remarks at our stake conference this morning got me to thinking along the following lines, closely related to but not identical with the line of thought that he was pursuing: I sometimes hear from former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and from grace-alone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":109840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1363,4747,4741,2905,788,35304],"class_list":["post-109822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-easter","tag-good-friday","tag-holy-week","tag-latter-day-saint","tag-mormon","tag-perfectionism"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/a>\n
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