What Do Mormons Believe: Thoughts on Service

Jesus Raising Jarius' DaughterThis last week a question was received asking about service, a pretty broad topic to be sure.  As I’ve pondered what to write in response, I kept thinking about how important the principle of service is in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In Mathew 25:31-46, Christ teaches us a little about the final judgement.  He makes it clear how much our standing will depend on the service we give others.  In verses 34-40, He addresses those who have filled their lives with service,

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.”

What strikes me most in these words is the attitude of these righteous people.  They served without thought of what they would get out of it.  They even seemed surprised that they were being rewarded for their acts of kindness.  Christ spent His life this way – compassionately serving those around Him – and has commanded us to follow His example (3 Nephi 12:48, Mathew 5:48).

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first sacred promise we make is at baptism.  This promise is to follow our Savior’s example of service and act as He would.  In return, we are promised forgiveness for our sins and help through the gift of the Holy Ghost as we repent.  Alma, a great missionary and prophet in the Book of Mormon, describes this promise and our commitment to follow Christ (Mosiah 18:8-10),

“And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they my be light:

Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life-

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?”

Serving others as selflessly as Christ did takes practice for me.  However, as I keep trying I can feel the Savior’s love for those I’m helping, and I develop a more Christ-like love for them too.  I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that His atonement is the greatest act of service and love anyone could do for us.  He truly is the perfect Examplar.

How Many Children Should Mormons Have?

Q.  Do Mormons believe in the use of birth control or only mass producing children?

A. Only mass producing children.  That’s why so many Mormons are going into engineering. . . there has got to be a more efficient way.

Ha.  There are a LOT of shades of grey between those two options.  This post by Megan addresses some of those issues.  For the record though, there are Mormons with no children and Mormons with 15+ children.  For everyone, it is a personal decision between the husband, wife and the Lord; not a mandate from the Church.


Question Box: Plastic Surgery

Q: How do Mormons feel about plastic surgery?

I am unaware of any church statement on using cosmetic plastic surgery simply to “improve” one’s appearance.  I am certain, that there are a multitude of opinions from Mormons for and against cosmetic plastic surgery, but let it be understood that these are simply their own opinions.  However, I don’t know if undergoing a breast enlargement, or having a face lift simply to attract more people’s attention is the most appropriate thing to do.

We do not shun the use of modern medical technologies, including plastic surgery.  There are definitely circumstance where plastic surgery is appropriate.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a now deceased leader of our church, used the example of a young man undergoing nine plastic surgeries on his disfigured lips “so that others can hear the gospel from his lips, undistracted.”  Obviously, Elder Maxwell,  thought this was an appropriate use of plastic surgery.

In addition, there are  plastic surgeons who are Mormon.  At one time in medical school, I was contemplating a career in plastic surgery myself, but for whatever reason, I didn’t feel it was the right thing for me.  Plastic surgery is a enormous blessing for some people–those that have been disfigured due to disease, cancer, and all form of accidents.  It can restore their confidence in themselves and reduces the “stare” that they often receive while in public.   I know that I would definitely want to be making a visit to a plastic surgeon if I found myself in such a situation.

Thanks for your question!

Mormon Mommy Blogs

I read a recent letter on salon.com last week entitled Why I can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs by Emily Matchar. She is a self-described atheist feminist career woman with no real interest in converting to Mormonism and no plans to settle down to start a family, but there was something in these “Mormon Mommy blogs” (a blog genre that features domestic arts, child-rearing, and stories from home life) that drew her to pore over them with great interest. The reason she gave for this reading addiction was that they are “weirdly uplifting.”

I found her article interesting for two reasons:

  1. As a Mormon with many Mormon friends, I am subscribed to a couple dozen Mormon Mommy blogs on Google Reader to keep up with the lives of my family and friends. As a consequence, under Google Reader’s “Recommended items” tab, I get referred to a handful more of these Mormon Mommy blogs every day: pictures of perfect strangers, children I have never met, stories of their MLK day outings, etc. Google thinks I’m looking for more like these, but I’m actually not interested in strangers’ personal lives, and I don’t typically see anything particularly magical in them.
  2. Ms. Matchar sees something uniquely appealing in these online scrapbooks. Something otherworldly. As she says, “Enter the Mormon bloggers, with their picture-perfect catalog lives. It is possible to be happy, they seem to whisper. We love our homes. We love our husbands.” It’s an angle on traditional womanhood that it seems was never examined in her years of modernist training.

I hadn’t considered her point of view until I read her article. You see, for me, these blogs represent reality. This is more or less home life as I lived it. I had a mom who stayed home to raise her kids. There were creative hand-sewn Halloween costumes, homemade quilts, sit-down breakfasts and dinners, and brown paper lunch sacks adorned with cleverly-coded nicknames for each of us 6 kids.

I had never really thought about a life that didn’t include some aspects of gardening, potty training, or cooking. Even as a man I have always planned on getting involved to some degree in domesticity as a husband and father. For me, the home life is the whole point!

I can certainly understand the predicament career women are in. Many of them need jobs, and they should be paid equally for equal work. A career is a laudable achievement for anyone and I’m pleased with how far our society has come in breaking such barriers. I would just caution anyone who carries the mindset that careers are the secret to ultimate joy and that men have selfishly reserved them for themselves through the centuries. I recently earned a masters degree and started my own career in earnest and…

…it’s not all that glamorous or exciting. It’s a good job; it suits me, and I’m certainly happy to have the income, the security and the professional challenge, but I don’t think I would be fulfilled if I made that the attribute that defined me. My job is really more of a means to my true end: a happy, healthy family life. And I believe it’s that attitude; that priority, so common in Mormonism, which fascinates Ms. Matchar.