Mormons Preserving the Best of European Heritage?

When first investigating Mormonism I was biased in favor of Catholicism, because I believed Catholicism possessed and preserved the the best of European heritage. Unfortunately Europe in general and even the Catholic church seems content to see everything modernized/undermined.

Culturally and morally, Mormons do appear to preserve the best of Christian Europe. It is good to see them also doing it with music.

Mormon Work-Ethic and Success

I'm wondering if the Mormon work-ethic and their material success in this-world is directly linked to their conception of heaven. I've noticed many leaders among the Mormon church are very successful financially, the Mormon church itself heavily invests in profitable projects, and even the Harvard business school has a lot of Mormons...

In contract you have in Catholicism a sense that living in poverty is actually the highest ideal. Renouncing all personal possessions, etc. though few live up to the ideal.

Now if we look at the Catholic idea of the beatific vision, everything material is merely temporary, a delusion, keeping one from focusing entirely on God. That is, maybe your worldly endeavors could lead you to hell, and you're a lot better off renouncing everything.

In the Mormon Heaven, there is a sense that one may possibly progress to working with or for God in a real material sense. Literally helping children in another world reach God...

Now if one images their present situation as being a "training" the tasks such as leadership, organization, managing to have a beautiful home, etc. could in some sense be parallel or almost preparation for the highest task.

In a sense, leading and nurturing a healthy and successful family is literally parallel to the work God does and possibly our Heavenly work, and the above are merely extensions.

This is all, of course, entirely speculative.

Mainstream Evolution Doublethink

Evolution is responsible for all changes, diversity, intelligence differences between species, physical differences, etc.

That is, a world without God and how it came to be.

Despite this, and apparently millions of years of gender differences between countless lifeforms, there are absolutely no real gender differences. Genders are identical mentally, and any appearance of gender is fake and entirely malleable.

Also, despite this, and apparently tens of thousands of years of separation between different groups of humans, and obvious physical differences, it is absolutely and totally impossible for there to be any stereotypical character unique to different races or ethnic groups, especially with regard to intelligence or behavior.

So the mainstream opinion, very seriously and devoutly held, is that not only did evolution responsible for everything, in a couple circumstances unique to humans, and despite natural selection still working on some physical differences, evolution completely and totally stopped making any mental differences for tends of thousands of years with regard to race and gender among humans. That is, without any God to cease the process, or any reason for the process to cease. It just did, and if you doubt it shut up.

Isn't that just a little speciesist? ;-)

Mormonism: The Most Useful Religion

The most critical, important, core duty of any successful society is to nurture families. Every other organizational structure in society but mimics the root family structure. Every good function of state and religion can be seen as a reflection of the good family.

This should be obvious, it should be a basic mental model that everyone understands. The military as fatherly protector, the judicial branch as the fatherly role of judge, the state and church's charity as reflection parental love for its members. Fraternal organizations always consider its members brothers, young soldiers look up to their commander as children to a trusting father, etc. I could go on!

So, for example, we see the state sanctioning family-destructive practices such as murdering unborn children, inverting sexual relationships and "family" from reproductive to primarily consumptive. I mean this literally in both its meanings - two men playing house is primarily a useful union for the economy as consumers, but also is a reflection of a disease undermining the state's foundation.

Because, of course, without healthy, reproductive families, the state dies. The current trend to replace all the state's own children with foreigners is a temporary band-aid seeking more consumers. Of course, the joke is that the adopted children aren't quite as bright or productive, and they still need to have children or the whole diseased pyramid falls apart...

Yet, unfortunately, in a state in which the state is trying to cut away its own root, religion should be the traditional defender to chastise its ways and call it to repent or perish. The Catholics have been doing admirably at calling out symptoms... but policy agreement with Mormons doesn't really get at the core of what is going on here.

As far as I know, the Mormons are the only group that by-definiton can't compromise on this point - that resolutely refuses to have the family attacked in any way. That still actively promotes, encourages, nurtures, teaches, and protects the family.

Ignore the top-down perspective for a moment:

When a young husband and wife are struggling financially and emotionally with raising children, with being good parents, with staying together no matter what - what is to protect and keep them?

A moral duty may be sufficient for some, but apparently not most, the behavior of society at large and most denominations at large attests to this.

The Mormons are the only group that directly links family (which is absolutely, bar-none, the most critical aspect of a nation and society's health) with sacred.

That is, the only denominations that family duty really and totally is spiritual duty - not just a reflection, analogy, or whatever - but absolutely and totally. The everyday, mundane, beautiful things are elevated to the most important spiritual things. One is actively living out everyday a spiritual existence when providing for ones family, raising children, loving them.

No one else does that. No one defends the family as such. No one protects and supports civilization and society as a whole as such.

Mormons: The Only Fatherly Denomination

In most traditional societies, such as pagan Rome and Japan, the father had a duel role of priest and provider. That is, he planned and provided for both his family's spiritual and temporal success and survival. It makes sense, doesn't it? Just as Christ is the Shepherd of His Church, so the father is to be the shepherd of his family in following Christ.

Most people still recognize the fatherly role as protector and provider, and so also pray to God generally asking for both spiritual and temporal assistance as protector and provider. It's interesting that Mormons also literally consider the father a priest, along with expecting him to provide for his family. Assuming the priest-hood duty is a coming-of-age rite that teaches the future father to assume responsibility - it's beautiful, and connects temporal duty with spiritual duty.

As far as I know, Mormons are the only group that actively prepare for all their members long-term temporal well-being along with spiritual well-being. I know of no other denomination that teaches and seems to care for its members in this way. The advice is rather simple - such as making sure you have 3-months worth of food, to pay off your mortgage, to practice self-reliance - but it is also critically important advice because it is almost entirely lacking in mainstream practice and common sense.

https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/topics/emergency-preparedness?lang=eng
http://providentliving.org/self-reliance/health?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/topics/family-finances

This is exactly the sort of thing people really need today. It would greatly help poor people, but more than that actually provides real assistance the the main body of the church - young, middle-class families - the exact demographic that is absolutely crucial, yet largely ignored by and mostly deserting most mainstream denominations.

It is the sort of help and education one would hope to receive from a father. It's both entirely practical and useful, but also an indicator that the church truly loves and wants to look after its members.

Family Focus

I found my experience with Catholicism's view of the family a bit demotivating. I know it's not intended to, and this may be a personal flaw, but I'm big into trying to understand the top-down metaphysical view of something.

That is, in an ultimate sense, under Catholicism family isn't really necessary. It is in a biological sense, but an the ultimate eternity it may not even exist (depending on who you read, it doesn't exist) and even if it does exist, it isn't of some ultimate importance - it is primarily a temporal expedient.

Now, when you're constitutionally lazy like myself, this isn't exactly the most motivating view. Maybe I'd have been better off in a monastery contemplating God, and not getting side-tracked by the real, everyday difficulty of earning money, getting along with a wife, raising children, etc.

That said, I do really enjoy my family. I love them greatly and find enjoy our relationships and time spent together... but I feel really bothered if what I'm doing isn't important, or not ultimately important. That is, I'm always asking "what is the purpose of this all, what should I be doing?"

I feel a constant nagging to do the most important thing. So maybe playing ball with the kid isn't that important, even though its enjoyable, but in the ultimate sense isn't it just a waste of time - an empty distraction? I mean, it feels in some sense important, and I think I should be here in the moment... but maybe that's just self deception and I should actually be off doing-something-more-important.

I found this sort of nagging and these sort of questions very hard to deal with.

As far as I know, Mormonism is the only religion where what I love doing most and what is most-important in an ultimate sense coincide: spending time with my family. Maybe the everyday joys of reading a book and playing ball are the most important in a very substantial, real, and eternal sense.

That is, I might hope to be with my family eternally, and in an eternal sense to continue to enjoy loving relationships as an ultimate joy and purpose. That what seems like difficult or tedious labor isn't so bad, because it isn't merely a temporal expedient and essentially meaningless, but has in itself ultimate purpose and is very important, both now and unto eternity.

That is incredibly beautiful to contemplate. Those thoughts are also incredibly motivating to me.

Why Mormons and not Amish?

Looking strictly at fertility rates among Christian groups, the Amish look pretty impressive. They are in my prayers and have my full support, but to protect their good they have fully isolated themselves from the world. They may serve as an example, but they don't try to "recruit" or spread their message.

By contract, the Mormons have around 88,000 fully active missionairies. They have managed to preserve and grow their good while participating in large corporations, politics, higher education, etc.

That is, instead of turning inward (defensive), they are actively looking outward (offensive). They are available so that people - like myself - might consider joining and participating in the good they have to offer.

Even if Amish, say, started actively inviting me in, going door-to-door asking people... I imagine they would be almost entirely unsuccessful. To disconnect fully from society (effectively career, family, friends, etc.) would certainly be too much to overcome - while a Mormon convert can still be fully integrated into the same life, while "merely" changing things like place of worship and habits.

Yet the crucial part, is they can still step away from the evil pervasive in modern society and mass media - the kind of "subtle" evil that utterly disconnects people from reality, that turns them into self-hating, destructive, pleasure seekers - without giving up technology, career, etc.