So I Can Move On

Are the voices in my head bothering anyone else?

Sometimes I need to write a blog post so that the ideas swirling in my brain will be transferred elsewhere…and I can start thinking about something else.

Like what to make for dinner.

Last night our book club met. I love our book club. When I go to book club I feel like I’m in a warm cocoon of love and stability. These are good women.

We read a book called Escape by Caroline Jessop. And we discussed it last night.

And discuss it we did. It was a lively dialogue.

Escape is a book written by a woman who escaped from a polygamous group. They call themselves FLDS or Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. I felt a little trepidation about the book. Plural marriage is part of our history as Mormons. It’s not a part of our history I’m always comfortable with. It takes a certain degree of faith for me to accept that I don’t have all the answers and to know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me. And it will all make sense some day.

Did I want to read a book that would dredge up those pesky polygamist thoughts that are troubling?

I went ahead and read it.

I’ve always been mystified that people think Mormons aren’t Christians. Mystified. It’s like people claiming Americans don’t value freedom…or cheeseburgers. Just not possible.

It was more than a little shocking as I read this book to realize that maybe this is why people don’t see us as Christians. Maybe they’re associating us with the horrors found on the pages of Escape.

At book club last night, I think several of us went away with the resolve that we need to make our voices heard a little bit more.

THIS IS NOT US!

Stephanie had heard someone say they considered the FLDS people to be like Mormons—only the FLDS were living the religion at a higher level.

Not true!

I wish I had a forum larger than my anemic blog with its small following.

I wish everyone in the world could have been at our book club last night (and you’re all welcome, any time). I wish everyone could have heard the faithful and wise women I’m lucky enough to be friends with talk about the inherent value of women and free will. I wish everyone could have heard these beautiful women talk about the amazing privilege each person on earth has to be able to pray and find out for ourselves what is truth.

And what is not.

I wish.

For the record, I want to include what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has to say about polygamy (from LDS.org):

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. At certain times and for His specific purposes, God, through His prophets, has directed the practice of plural marriage (sometimes called polygamy), which means one man having more than one living wife at the same time. In obedience to direction from God, Latter-day Saints followed this practice for about 50 years during the 1800s but officially ceased the practice of such marriages after the Manifesto was issued by President Woodruff in 1890. Since that time, plural marriage has not been approved by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and any member adopting this practice is subject to losing his or her membership in the Church.

There.

Now maybe I can think about something else.

What should I make for dinner?