Toss the Milk and Lose the Meat

Last updated on: March 26, 2008 at 12:07 pm by smallaxe

Toss the Milk and Lose the Meat 2008-03-26T12:07:21-05:00 smallaxe

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.

I think most of the people that frequent the Bloggernacle believe that classes such as Sunday School and Priesthood/Relief Society fall short as far as how engaging they could be. This has been discussed in numerous places. Most recently at BCC; and earlier here at FPR under the rubric of “Consequentialism”. “Engaging” of course means different things to different people, but it often is expressed along with the idiom of “milk before meat”. I want to argue in this thread that employing the “milk before meat” rhetoric will not solve the problems people are trying to articulate.

As far as I see it, the paradigm of milk before meat is heavily attached to the following ideas:

(1) Hierarchy and pride. “Milk” is often understood as the fundamentals–faith, repentance, etc. “Meat” is that which is beyond the fundamentals. Those who claim to be ready for meat imply that they have mastered the fundamentals, and are ready for a “higher” teaching. To claim to have mastered the fundamentals also implies that one is on a “higher level” of gospel understanding/living/righteousness than other LDSs. This is the hallmark of pride.
(2) Humility. This is basically a further implication of the point above. Since milk are the fundamentals such as faith, and my faith always has room to grow, I’m not ready for meat and would not (and perhaps should not) claim otherwise.
(3) The esoteric. “Meat” refers to things that are not essential for my salvation, at best; and at worst is nothing better than navel-gazing.
(4) Scholarly enterprise. “Meat” refers to skills that take long amounts of time to develop (language training for instance, or time spent reading/researching history). That’s fine for professional scholars and those who want to spend the time doing it, but not all members have the desire, the time, or perhaps the capacity to do it. The “meat” therefore is not practical.

Ultimately speaking, I do not believe that those looking for more engagement in SS/RS/PH necessarily buy into this paradigm (at least not entirely). However, it seems very much entrenched in the culture of the church. Given how prevalent this paradigm is, I do not believe that arguing in its terms will lead to the changes hoped for.

Theoretically speaking the problem(s) should be approached by avoiding the milk before meat rhetoric altogether. In other words, there would be something like a two step solution:

(1) Clearly identify the problem(s)
(2) Couch the problem(s) in terms more socially acceptable than milk before meat

Example:
The problem in SS is that the same old answers are given after the same old passages of scripture are read.
Solution: We are still under the “condemnation” of D&C 84 for not taking the BoM seriously, and part of escaping this condemnation means reading it closely and understanding it more. What exactly does Nephi mean when he says that “we lived after the manner of happiness” given that the same chapter talks about severing their family ties (and God cursing those severed), building weapons, and waging wars?

Admittedly this is more of a theoretical solution (and the solution isn’t so much of the point of this post). Which is to say that there are still practical issues this doesn’t resolve–do I stand up in SS and announce that we are still under condemnation? Or do I use it as my justification when accused of searching for “meat”? It would be interesting to hear some of the practical applications of this, and other thoughts perhaps challenging my premise that the argument cannot be won (at least probably not in this generation) by playing in the terms of milk before meat.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 21, 2008

EQ--Ethical Intelligence

Next Post

March 27, 2008 Jesus and the Sabbath

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2013 Scriptures Administrative Apologetics Atonement Bible Book of Mormon Book Review BYU Doctrine Extra-Biblical Literature Family Feminism Guests History LDS Church History Leadership Marginalia Metaphysics Mormon Culture Mormon Studies Personal Issues Political Philosophy Politics Scripture Sexuality Speculation Spotlights Studying Religion Ten Tidbits The Tenure Track Theology Tips on Applying Series Tips on Being an Independent Scholar Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz