I will defend to the bitter end anybody's right to believe in whatever Divine Order they choose to, or none at all if they choose, wether they would choose to defend my right or not. But when those beliefs are brought into the public square, as the purported cornerstone of a politician's character and values, and of their life experience then it is worthwhile and justifiable to have more than a cursory understanding of the particulars, not to ridicule, not to despise, but to understand what drives, in this case, the man. My intent is not to bash the Church or its adherents, it is to illuminate what has become an ever growing mystery in the public mind; what ARE Mitt's principles anyway? How is he able to withstand the cognitive dissonance of embracing every side of every issue with apparently perfect equanimity. That takes training and a very particular, and peculiar kind of mental discipline. I've heard and proposed a number of hypotheses here and elsewhere regarding what exactly it is that makes the Mittbot tick; power, control, greed whatever. Nearly all people posses those drives in some degree but, to me, it is the particular pattern of thought indicated by the sum of his statements, blunders and shape shifting that, well, makes me wanna go; 'hmmmm'.
Like a psychic spelunker I descended to seek for the source in the caves of his mind, or as close as I could get. To do that I decided to take a much closer look than I previously had at just exactly what was publicly available about the inner workings of his Church with a view towards deducing how that might shape a person inculcated in those doctrines and practices from this instant of his birth, if not before. Now, by way of full disclosure, I grew up around some really sweet, hardworking excellent people who happened to be Mormon as well, and at the time I really didn't think too much about it. My mother on the other hand was born Jane Doe, a nameless and abandoned child as was the fashion for such inconveniences in those times and adopted from a county orphanage by an unmarried Pentacostal school teacher, to be saved from her sinful origin and do the chores as penance for same. Suffice it to say that mom was outta there at 15, got her pilot's liscense at 17 and never looked back. While she did not actively bad mouth religion she had instilled in me at an early age a deep skepticism about all religion, charismatic evangelical ones in particular, strong enough to have lasted me a lifetime and effective enough to have passed another couple generations down the family tree, thank God(dess).
In my early teens, along with the Baghavad Gita, Siddhartha, Atlas Shrugged and many other pieces of Myth and Philosophy I chanced to acquire a copy of the BoM (Book of Mormon) and Dyanetics. Honestly, Ayn Rand held me for four books but I just could NOT make it past the first 10 pages of either of the last two. I've delved back in a few times since and I'm happy to say that Ayn grew less convincing with each successive book, but I really had to wonder how any thinking person could read either the BoM or LRon's blatantly ridiculous 'theology' either, cover to cover and, looking up at the end say with true sincerity "Halleluja, the Truth has been shown to me!". Obviously millions do but I remain unshriven and satisfied with the condition, and until the Advent of Willard, apart from one notable exception I consigned the subject of Mormon idiosyncracies to the There ya Go list.
But as the saga of RMoney has unspooled through a labyrinth of contradictions like Thesus' tangled lifeline, everyone who tries to understand just what it is that guides this malleable Minotaur seems to end up at a dead end. I know that the thought "Really, he just said that? Bbbbut just last hour/day/week/month/year he said/did exactly the opposite!" has popped again and again like one bad blister after another in the middle of a loooong hike in the minds of many observers, and it is obvious from the illustrious commentary here and elsewhere that the cognitive dissonance causes we adherents of rationalism far more discomfort than it does him, as much as it is possible to descry from his shielded stony chiseled visage. But why? What makes a person 'think' like that? Beyond the fold the secret lies, and there are lies and secrets there and light in dark places too, so come with me if you dare to, if you care to. If not then I bid you adieu.
I am here bringing Balm to Gilead, or to my aching head anyway. Balm in the form of understanding, to throw perhaps a little light in the dark tunnels of his thinking. But to do so there are a further series of tunnels we must traverse together, a brief journey for the reader, but as you will see a lifetime project for many, both current and former 'Saints', and they are some very dark and spooky passages too. So, who better to guide us through those tangled depths than folks who have been there before, made it out and lived to tell the tale, and thereby hangs a tale in it's own right as you will see.
And why does this matter? Why go there? Because the man who would be President Elect of the USA in about 90 days is what the folks at exmormon.org call a TBM or True Blue Mormon, and no reader need take this author's word for it, hundreds of users there discuss in exquisite detail just how their participation in the Ordinances of the Church effected their thinking and their lives. These people are not spittle flecked haters of the Church that nurtured and shaped every aspect of their lives. Most are hurt, confused, ruefully amused and to a person deeply grateful to have finally mustered up the courage to say "no more, I'm done". I highly recommend following the links and spending some time with their thoughts and concerns, I found it quite illuminating, sad and touching, and funny too.
But, let me boil it down right here. The key to the puzzle lies in the nature of what is called the Temple Ordinances, also known as "the Endowments" and in particular the recent history concerning their administration; the Holiest of Holy and deeply secret (only not anymore) central ritual of the Church, which every faithful Mormon must pass through at least once in order to gain access to Salvation and Paradise. Now every religion has its rituals, and, with the transubstantiated cannibalism, Catholics too might be seen to have some 'splainin' to do regarding psychic messaging there, but the LDS (Latter Day Saints) really do take the cake for WTF?
From the very beginning of Time itself, up till 1990, the ritual went like this;
1. The 'Entrant' disrobes in a tiny cubicle and don 'The Sheild', a very skimpy triagular covering with a hole in the middle for the head, then a temple worker of the same gender anoints various portions of the body with water then oil.
2. One is assisted in donning The Garments, or 'garmies' as the exMo's (ex-Mormons) so charmingly call the famous sacred underwear and proceeds into a roomful of others in said garmies. One then dons the sacred temple robes which, like the entire ritual are nearly identical to Masonic initiatory practices at the time that, perhaps coincidentally, the Prophet and Founder Joseph was a member of that ancient order, just prior to the famous events of the Hill of Cumorah.
3. Entrants are given one last chance to back out before taking momentous and sacred oaths, ones that first timers, crucially, have no idea whatsoever of the content of. Since this is the culminating event of one's religious life, and a kind of rite of passage into adulthood there is enormous family and peer pressure and few actually leave.
4. The Entrants then watch either a play or a film/video, depending on one level of tithing perhaps, depicting ancient events revealed to JS that provide theological context for what happens next.
5. Four (formerly) secret handshakes are revealed in succesion, each with its own oath and penalty and as the celebrant repeats the oaths they must pantomime the penalty and swear in front of God to obey and keep the oaths secret and never to speak of them outside the Temple, even to one another on pain of, in this order, having one's throat slit, having the heart cut from the chest and finally being disemboweled.
6. Entrants then proceed to The Veil, somewhat shakily one presumes, a curtained doorway with many small slits where they act out what is absolutely guaranteed to happen upon their ultimate arrival at the Pearly Gates so they MUST get it right, they thrust through their hands, grasp those of a temple worker on the other side and repeat the oaths and secret handshakes, submit to a peculiar embrace, receive their secret name which they also must not reveal to ANYBODY, EVER and then proceed through The Veil to The Celestial Room, pre-enacting their ultimate entrance into Heaven where everybody shakes hands, enjoys the overstuffed all white Louis XIV decor and chandelier and its over. For some the Room was a bit of a letdown after the bloody oaths, kind of a Hokey Pokey experience, and for many its a bit of a letdown as well to find out that everyone gets the same secret name on any given day.
Whatever you may think of the details, however you react to uninformed and intimidated 17 year old kids taking blood oaths in front of God Himself on pain of bloody punishment and eternal damnation to submit to or administer such gruesome punishments as required by the Church, TBM's believe and embrace it with all their hearts and souls. They are taught that NO SOUL, even those born before JS set the Bible to rights with the divine asistance of the Angel Moroni, can make it into heaven until that soul is given its Endowments in Temple ritual, by proxy if necessary by pinning a dead persons name on the robe of a TBMer who goes through the whole rigmarole noted above time and time again in 'proxy baptisms' to play out the ultimate purpose of all those spiky Temples, wich is literally to thus offer salvation to every human soul ever born on planet earth, which they figure to be about 14 billion, wether they were Jewish, Buddist, no faith or any. Sheesh!
All that aside, finally, here's the nut of it. PREVIOUS to 1990, the ritual was conducted as outlined. AFTER 1990 the suicide pantomime and other details were significantly altered to a less explicit form most likely due at least in part to the extreme discomfort of many participants. So, you ask, that matters how? What follows is a quitnessential example of how the LDS Church inculcates in its true faithful a bland, blind acceptance of truth by decree despite any internal contradictions or inconvenient historical 'facts' to the contrary. This is by no means the only such example but it does overlap with Mitt's experience with the Church, to wit;
The Prophet Jospeph Smith taught, 'Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed.
From August 2001 Ensign (page 22), An this is AFTER those same Ordinances had been significantly modified.
No jot, iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to true patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God
James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord, 1968, p. 84 And this was BEFORE the removal of the gory bits.
The most sacred and central rite of the Church which every soul now or ever living must go through in person or by proxy to enter the presence of God was ordained by Him personally in withering detail at the beginning of Time. Then one day, hey presto, its changed, despite the thundering pronouncements of the Prophet himself as echoed from every pulpit in 'the Morg' as the ex-mo's call the Church, for a hundred and fifty years, poof! And every single TBM, including our favorite one, can without a hitch simply unremember that history, those pronouncements, the formerly imperative promises of disembowelment and eternal damnation now retroactively made non-operative like its just another morning at IHop. There is a pattern emerging here, deja vu anyone?
Do church leaders think they have a duty to tell the truth, or to protect church authority at all costs?
My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors.
Apostle Dallin Oaks, footnote 28, Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon, Introduction p. xliii
Sound familiar? As many know, polygamy was equally conveniently demoted for compelling political reasons (Statehood for Utah) despite JS's many revelations direct from God that non-polygamous Mormons could never become the gods of their own planets, could never enter into the inner circles of Heaven and must be satisfied to be servants for all eternity to those more exalted Brethren who would get to humma-humma amongst the stars for ever and ever, Aaaaahhhhhhhh-men. It should also be noted that extraordinary as those blood oaths sound, TBMers have taken them very seriously indeed and have, in the past, many times, carried them out in exact and painful detail upon perceived Apostates with a true vengeance.
Oh, but that was a hundred year ago, water under the bridge, right? After all, the Catholic Church brutally tortured and murdered tens of thousands of people during the Inquisition and the Crusades but not any more. They're cool now, except for the child molesting, cover ups, Mafia money laundering and meddling in women's reproductive rights, they're cool. Sure, cool, after all Paul Ryan is a Catholic, nothing to be afraid of there, right? The point here is that just as PR's particular experience of his Catholic faith informs and shapes his policies, or so he says it does, so does Mitt Romney's experience of his Mormon faith shape and pattern his thinking and strategy. And, during his tenure in leadership in the Church, and on many occasions throughout it's history, that Church has made a notorious public display of it's capacity and willingness to change the previously unchangeable writ of both God and History to suit it's political purposes. In this regard at least Mitt is in fact a true son of his Church. It is reasonable then to ask, in what other respects as well? Is he diligently toiling to bring about its ultimate and divinely ordained supremacy over our entire species, as is the openly proclaimed goal of his Church? He has taken blood oaths, time and time again to exactly that effect.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
Second chapter of the Book of Daniel
We are warranted in the belief, however, that it will be a tangible, bona fide government of God on earth, consisting of a king; subordinate officers; laws; subjects; and the whole earth for its territory - for its dominion.
Church historian B.H. Roberts
One of two possibilities must be in effect regarding the relevance of these facts to our national politics, either (a) Mitt sincerely and truly believes and accepts the content of those oaths, in particular when he took them first on his own behalf as any MIT (Missionary in Training) must, and later on behalf of how many of the unknowing dead later as every good tithing TBM must, suicidal pantomime and all, up until 1990, or (b) He does not. If (a) is true, as his profession of dedication to the faith proclaims, then we should at the very least be interested in and come to understand, in detail, what it is he actually believes and swore to, specifically his attitude regarding the claimed authority of the Church above all other authority. If (b), then he is a complete and utter fraud, apostate, and is at least in theory subject to the punishment those oaths entail, the only other possibility it seems to me. Either way, it is a frightening prospect, but understanding this is key to understanding him.
What the world calls "Mormonism" will rule every nation.
God has decreed it, and his own right arm will accomplish it.
Chief Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, VII, 48-53
And in their secret hearts many of the 'Saints' understand without a shiver of doubt exactly who the right arm of God is meant to be, and so does he. Bet me.
To me this seems relevant. To others, perhaps not. If I have offended, I apologize, if I have misstated the facts I will stand corrected and edit as indicated. But, I will also stand firmly on the ground of my argument; it matters what every person does and/or does not believe, every day and in every way for each and every one of us to the extent that it effects the people we touch in our everyday lives, to some degree. This guy wants to put the touch on all of us every day of our lives in every way for the next eight years if he gets his way (and forever afterwards too perhaps) and so his motivations and beliefs or lack thereof are more critical than those of 'you people' (US that is), they do matter more for the moment at least, and here they are as per the published record of the Church he proclaims his fervent dedication to, and as per the real life experiences of hundreds and hundreds of folks who know whereof they speak.
So which is it Mitt, do you believe in the Supremacy of your Church in ALL matters, spiritual AND temporal, or not? When you took those bloody oaths were you sincere? Do you plan on practicing what you've had preached to you your whole life and have preached yourself from the pulpit or was that just a costumed pantomime too? Inquiring minds want to know, and maybe the Reverend Jeremiah Wright would like to know too. Bitches.