“Their prison is only in their own minds”

Last updated on: March 30, 2022 at 4:19 pm by Dan Peterson

“Their prison is only in their own minds” 2022-03-30T16:19:28-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Fortaleza Brazil Temple was dedicated on 2 June 2019 by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Media Library)

***

It is, I realize, a weird character flaw — or, probably more accurately said, a regrettable personality defect — but I’m quite interested in what critics of the Church have to say. For example, I look in every few days on two extremely unpleasant (and mostly atheist) online anti-Mormon message boards, so as to see what’s agitating or delighting people there.

I’m often astonished, to be frank, at the profound cynicism, the deep and hostile negativity, of some people on those sites. I don’t discount the fact that there are reasons for doubt and occasions for taking offense or feeling injured. But the attitude of some seems to me to go beyond that. Candidly, it often seems to me a spiritual illness. And a debilitating one.

I sincerely hope that these folks are happier and more pleasant in real life, away from those sites. If they were ever interested in my counsel, though, it would be to avoid such places like the plague. Not merely because they’re faith-destroying, but because the sneering, angry cynicism and the incessant fault-finding and defamation that flourishes on such sites seems to me soul-destroying.

Since the annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coming this weekend, a particular episode is on my mind. I well recall the period back a few years ago when I watched reactions to the call to the apostleship of Elders Gerrit Gong and Ulisses Soares. Previously, many on these sites had mocked and derided and denounced the Church for its failure to include a Latin American or a non-Caucasian among the Twelve. And, in the days immediately leading up to that particular General Conference, these folks had been confidently predicting the choice of certain (absolutely worthy but) Utah-born white guys to fill the two apostolic vacancies. In fact, they were already denouncing the Church based upon their assurance that the new appointees would be more of the same.

They were wrong, of course. But they didn’t miss a beat. (“Often wrong,” goes the saying, “but never in doubt.”)

Elder Soares was really a European Brazilian, they said, not a genuine Latino. His skin was too white. So he didn’t count. Elder Gong’s ancestors came to the United States too early, so he was really just another predictable American. His Asian roots and appearance and his extensive experience in Asia itself were irrelevant. He was too well-educated. (A doctorate from Oxford? Really? How terrible!) Why weren’t these new apostles poor fishermen, like those chosen by the mortal Christ? They were too old. So they were out of touch. There should be younger apostles — in their twenties, or at least in their thirties. Old people just don’t get it, and Elders Gong and Soares were old. And, anyway, the Church should have been appointing ethnic-minority apostles years before. Church leaders are desperate. But it’s too late.

I wasn’t surprised. I was just saddened.

As long as they insist on viewing everything in the most negative possible light, rejoicing (in a sense) in iniquity, delighting in anything that might embarrass the Church, seeing base ulterior motives in everything Church leaders say and do, mocking believers, and so forth, such critics won’t be able to see good. They’ll be beyond help.

The passages in the Bible and the Book of Mormon that describe people as “murmuring” seem to me, in this light, utterly believable and prescient, and I’m honestly surprised, occasionally, that today’s murmurers cannot plainly see that they’re following that same path, making the same obvious mistake that, when they were believers, they had probably read about and marveled at.

I’m powerfully reminded, too, of a passage toward the end of C. S. Lewis’s novel The Last Battle, one of the seven books in his “Chronicles of Narnia” — books that I earnestly, earnestly recommend to any still unfamiliar with them. (The movies based on them convey little of their true power.)

In the final, culminating battle in the history of Narnia, a group of cynical dwarves refuse to commit themselves either to the good cause of Aslan and the Narnians or to the evil forces of Tash and the Calormenes, and their cynicism prevents them from seeing reality as it is:

Aslan raised his head and shook his mane. Instantly a glorious feast appeared on the Dwarfs’ knees: pies and tongues and pigeons and trifles and ices, and each Dwarf had a goblet of good wine in his right hand. But it wasn’t much use. They began eating and drinking greedily enough, but it was clear that they couldn’t taste it properly. They thought they were eating and drinking only the sort of things you might find in a Stable. One said he was trying to eat hay and another said he had got a bit of an old turnip and a third said he’d found a raw cabbage leaf. And they raised golden goblets of rich red wine to their lips and said, ‘Ugh! Fancy drinking dirty water out of a trough that a donkey’s been at! Never thought we’d come to this.’ But very soon every Dwarf began suspecting that every other Dwarf had found something nicer than he had, and they started grabbing and snatching, and went on to quarreling, till in a few minutes there was a free fight and all the good food was smeared on their faces and clothes or trodden under foot. But when at last they sat down to nurse their black eyes and their bleeding noses, they all said: ‘Well, at any rate, there’s no Humbug here. We haven’t let anyone take us in. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs!’

‘You see,’ said Aslan. ‘ They will not let us help them. They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they can not be taken out.’

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 29, 2022

"Testimonials like this one helped convince him they were real"

Next Post

March 31, 2022 A Pretty Good Planet to Be Born On

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many days are in a week?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Twelve Seven Ten Five