I find myself getting upset, maybe even angry, over small
things on Facebook. All of them are in some way related to religion, whether
it’s obvious upon first glance or not. I’ve told my husband on occasion that
prior to leaving the LDS church, I never experienced true anger. Frustration?
Countless times. Disappointment? Of course. Disgust or irritation? Yes. But
never a pure anger. Some, especially those who are religious, might be
thinking, that’s wonderful. Why would you want to experience anger? Anger is a
negative emotion, therefore, it is from the devil. I grew up believing this
wholeheartedly, which I truly believe contributed in good measure to my
suppression of most emotions.
But I’m angry now. Despite the belief among the religious
that being angry at god is the main reason why individuals leave religion, I
can’t claim that sentiment. I am not angry at god. I am, however, angry at
Joseph Smith. This man was real. This is something that can, and has been,
proven. I’m angry at the damage he’s caused since creating this “one true
church”. I’m angry at him because of the women he took advantage of. I’m angry
at him for taking advantage of their husbands, though on a completely different
level. I’m angry at the ideals he created and inspired continuing generations
to uphold. I’m angry because his desire to be famous or rich or just
needed/loved hurts people every day, whether they believe it or not.
I find that little things make me angry, and nearly all of
them, as I stated before, are linked to religion, and more specifically, to the
LDS belief. For example, a few days ago a picture was circulating on Facebook.
This picture was of Gail Halvorsen, “the candy bomber” and member of the LDS
church, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and, much to my surprise, Harrison Ford. For
some context, I have been a loyal fan of Harrison Ford since I first watched
Star Wars at 6 years old. Even as a member, if I had been asked who I would
rather spend a day with, the prophet of the Church or Harrison Ford, I would not
have hesitated to say Harrison Ford. Okay, now that this is clear, let me see
if I can explain in some measure, why this picture bothers me.
To begin, the comments that were inevitably posted in
response to this picture irritate me to no end. Most focus on wondering if Ford
knows who he’s standing in between, implying that his accomplishments as a
human being pale in comparison to the two LDS men beside him. Others rejoice in
the thought that since Ford is “associating” with these priesthood holders, then
perhaps there’s a chance that he will convert. Comments such as: “I wonder if
there were any Book of Mormons given afterwards???” or “Does Harrison Ford KNOW
who he’s standing by? One man is an incredible man! The other is an APOSTLE! I
don’t think he knows that. Did someone tell him? Does he know? He needs to
know! He needs the Gospel Too!” (I really hate this comment, because it implies
that whatever Ford has accomplished in his life, is nothing compared to a pilot
in WWII and an apostle. This person obviously has no idea of the humanitarian
work Ford has done, nor of the search and rescue missions he’s been a part of.)
A small, but interesting conversation followed after this comment in particular.
I completely agree with the Blue highlight individual. It
doesn’t matter if Harrison Ford knows what being an apostle “means”. That’s not
why Uchtdorf and Halverson were with him. They were attending the Legends of
Aviation Awards, not a religious meeting.
They’re being commended for the abilities and exploits as pilots, not
for any missionary work they may have done.
Now, while I’m not a huge fan of Uchtdorf at the moment
(just read his talks from October 2016’s General Conference), I don’t see
Uchtdorf using this Awards gathering as a platform to perform missionary work.
I think, unlike many laymen members of the LDS church, and religion in general,
that Uchtdorf is intelligent and respectful enough to recognize that there is a
time and a place to introduce his believed version of the gospel. So I’m not
angry at Uchtdorf. Not even for posting the bloody picture to Facebook. After all,
Harrison Ford? In the flesh? Who wouldn’t want to show their followers and fans
that they’d met a huge Hollywood star?
But I am angry at the underlying agenda of the Church. If
you are a member of the Church, active or not, you have heard countless talks
pushing the concept of ‘Every Member a Missionary’, which implies that you
don’t have to wear a suit and a nametag in order to convert people. You’re
taught that you should DESIRE to want to share the gospel with those
unfortunate enough to have not yet heard it and to seize every opportunity to
teach. I can’t begin to recount how many testimony meetings I’ve sat through
where at least one individual stood up to relate their most recent experience
with Missionary work. In seminary we were encouraged to carry around extra Book
of Mormon’s so that we could give them to people who seemed to need it. We were
given Pass Along cards, which are primarily used by missionaries. These cards
are generally given to potential investigators and inactive members of the
Church. Each card has a Toll Free # on it so that the individual who takes the
cards can call for more information on the Church.
The idea of always being a missionary is constantly pushed
on every member of the Church, so the fact that comments like the ones I
provided are attached to this image of an LDS apostle with a Hollywood actor
isn’t really that surprising. But it doesn’t make it any less maddening.
Always being on the look-out for missionary experiences was
a directive that I had a really hard time with. I’m not good with confronting
people, even if it’s not necessarily a controversial encounter. And I am not
the only one who feels this way. Some people are shy and it’s not a part of
their character to ‘serve’ in this fashion, but the constant pressure to be a
missionary, even without the official tag, can be really damaging to a person’s
psyche. It’s one more characteristic, in a long line of characteristics, that
you come to believe is imperfect, and therefore a weakness. It’s one more thing
you have to overcome before you can truly feel like you can ever be a true
member of the Church.
The image bothered me even before I read any of the
comments. Maybe this initial reaction is indicative of some underlying issues I
have yet to fully identify and address, but I feel somewhat justified after
reading through some of the comments. Just because ‘you’ believe something
wholeheartedly on nothing but faith does not mean that anyone else should
follow your example. Leave religion out of it and just rejoice in the fact that
THREE great men came together on a special night to celebrate their
accomplishments outside of religion.
Feeling anger towards the church is normal. In a way, even therapeutic. I've been out of the church for some time and I still get angry. It can be helpful to view anger towards one's former religion as one of the stages of grief, due to the huge loss which can occur when one loses their religion/worldview. At least, this has helped me process through some of my anger towards the church.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Mormon Fanboys are annoying, especially when they look down their noses at the beliefs of others.