What do prominent Mormons like Mitt Romney, Harry Reid, and Glenn Beck believe? I don't know. You'll have to ask them. The presumption that Mormons believe anything collectively and uniformly is flawed, and it's a mistake that Mormons themselves make as often as anyone else. Mormon individuals believe a lot of things. A lot of different things.
The presumption that what some Mormons believe is weird, on the other hand, is spot on. But Mormons don't believe anything that's any weirder than the rest of the religious world.
Religion is an art. Like art, religion isn't necessary, it's beautiful. And, like art, it doesn't have to make sense. Religion isn't an explanation of the cosmos, it's a commitment an individual makes to things that are irrational and useless, but that are also creative and lovely. And, like the creativity of art, religion's creativity comes from an individual vision.
My Mormonism describes the expression of one person's religious imagination, and the way it is shaped by and also shapes the Mormon tradition. There's no denying that it's a weird and unnecessary worldview. But think of all those creative worldviews out there that are undeniably weird and unnecessary.
"David Mason drew an authentic picture of Mormonism. He erased that picture and drew another one. Then he scratched out that one and drew a third. The third he tore out of his sketchbook and threw at a trash can, only he missed and didn't get up immediately to recover it, which is why he has to pick up litter in Overton Park for the next three weekends." --Devi Dhvanme Sen, author of This Is Shakuntala: a mormon fantasia on the global village
"A tumble of excuses and justifications. A right proper religious apologia." --Lazarus Filament, curmudgeon
"If you read only one book about Mormonism, you should read at least one more." --Harley Snitch, useless layabout
"I don't know what I'm doing." --David Mason, author of My Mormonism
The presumption that what some Mormons believe is weird, on the other hand, is spot on. But Mormons don't believe anything that's any weirder than the rest of the religious world.
Religion is an art. Like art, religion isn't necessary, it's beautiful. And, like art, it doesn't have to make sense. Religion isn't an explanation of the cosmos, it's a commitment an individual makes to things that are irrational and useless, but that are also creative and lovely. And, like the creativity of art, religion's creativity comes from an individual vision.
My Mormonism describes the expression of one person's religious imagination, and the way it is shaped by and also shapes the Mormon tradition. There's no denying that it's a weird and unnecessary worldview. But think of all those creative worldviews out there that are undeniably weird and unnecessary.
"David Mason drew an authentic picture of Mormonism. He erased that picture and drew another one. Then he scratched out that one and drew a third. The third he tore out of his sketchbook and threw at a trash can, only he missed and didn't get up immediately to recover it, which is why he has to pick up litter in Overton Park for the next three weekends." --Devi Dhvanme Sen, author of This Is Shakuntala: a mormon fantasia on the global village
"A tumble of excuses and justifications. A right proper religious apologia." --Lazarus Filament, curmudgeon
"If you read only one book about Mormonism, you should read at least one more." --Harley Snitch, useless layabout
"I don't know what I'm doing." --David Mason, author of My Mormonism
