Blind Obedience

Some people worry about our strong adherence to the directions from our prophet. One of our biggest mottoes is "Follow the Prophet." We Mormons are known for our strict abstinence from coffee, alcohol, smoking, and premarital sex, and all these rules came through these prophets. I'm glad people worry about us because they worry with good reason. There are many examples of leaders in the world abusing their power and garnering support with slogans, while repressing genuine education.

So, are we being blindly obedient? We could just as easily bring up blind disobedience. The term "blind" here indicates that a decision is made with little or no knowledge on the subject, especially in the context of doing something just because we were told to do it. We Mormons don't believe in this. We are taught to heed the words of the prophets, but to do this with our eyes wide open. Not all obedience is blind.

We know the reasons that a prophet's words have greater weight than some Joe off the street. They communicate with God and become His voice on the earth. This whole idea is the crux of the Old Testament and the reason we read it. We listen to and follow the prophet because he knows about the plagues of locusts; because we want to be on the safe side of the Red Sea; because they know what we can do to be truly, honestly happy.
Nearly every member of the Church can tell you a story of how obeying the prophet's direction to pay tithing, or attend the temple, or fast and pray for a specific purpose has resulted in real, tangible blessings. These Mormons have had personal experiences to urge them into further obedience -- it is not blind.

Should a false or misleading message ever be preached from the prophet's pulpit there are safeguards against it. Every member is encouraged to seek personal answers from God himself to confirm or deny in their own hearts the truth of a prophet's words. These Mormons are obedient, but they know why.

What Do Mormons Believe? - The Restoration

What is it that makes us different? Why do Mormon missionaries knock on the doors of Christians if they preach the gospel of Christ? It is more than a desire to gather sheep into our flavor of worship.

Since the Garden of Eden the Lord has given us instructions on what we ought to spend our time doing in life. His pattern is to choose a mortal man, call him a prophet, and dispense the information through him. He needs two things: access to truth and authority (priesthood) to preach it. It's simple and efficient. At least, it is when the people listen to him.

Invariably, the backlash against the prophet leads to a revolt against him and against God. When the prophet is killed, the dispensing of gospel truth is thwarted and the people are left in the dark. We Mormons call this "apostasy." Fortunately, the Lord has always followed apostasy with a new prophet and a new dispensation, beginning with Adam, then Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Elijah, etc.

Case in point: John the Baptist was called as a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus' ministry. He and Jesus taught the gospel truth, restored the priesthood power, and organized his church. He called Peter and the other apostles to lead the flock after his departure.

Up to this point you probably feel comfortable. Here comes the primary theological difference between Mormons and most other Christians:

John the Baptist was beheaded, Christ was crucified, and the apostles were rejected and murdered. They who held the authority of the Lord were eliminated and the world became apostate again. This time it lasted for over a millenium, allowing a smattering of false teachings from non-prophet church leaders to creep in.

Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Roger Williams, and others saw problems in the religions of their days; they did their best to correct them, but lacked the capacity (and the authority) to fully revert to Christ's original church. They could not authoritatively speak for God, since he had not spoken to them or given them permission, and many of these reformers recognized that fact.

This dark apostasy came to its end when a young man of 14 years prayed in seclusion in a grove of trees in 1820. Joseph Smith was looking for the true church. Not a nice church, or a charismatic church, or a ceremonial church, but the church that God himself directed. As he searched the Bible he read,

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5

He felt that if anyone lacked wisdom he did, for what to do he did not know. And unless he could gain more wisdom he would never know. In a grove of trees near his country farmhouse, he knelt and prayed. In his words:

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...

"When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right...—and which I should join." Joseph Smith-History 1:16-18

Joseph received an answer from the lips of the Savior himself: That his Church was in apostasy. There were no prophets on the earth and there hadn't been for over a thousand years.

However, even in these demoralizing words was a message of hope: the apostasy was now broken, and Joseph was receiving direct communication from God. Over the course of Joseph's life, he was visited by the Lord, and also by other angelic messengers, many more times. He was chosen to be a prophet and through these visitations the priesthood authority was restored. The church was reorganized upon the foundation of apostles and prophets.

Now, we carry this amazing message of hope to all nations of the earth. We are honest in our desire for others to know that the Lord's work is restored. His successor, Thomas Monson, is the living prophet today. We know it, and we want you to know it too.

How? It's simple. Pray.

God knows whether this is all true, and I daresay he has an opinion on the matter. Ask him yourself. I have, and so have millions of now-Mormons. You may not receive as glorious a visitation as Joseph did, but he will answer. Often it comes as a feeling from the Holy Ghost, or an idea you hadn't thought of. Maybe in a word from a neighbor. Ask and ye shall receive. If you won't ask, you don't receive.