Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

KiwiMormon

Home
About

Home
Latter-day Saint
On the Sin of Weaponizing Testimonies

On the Sin of Weaponizing Testimonies

Last updated on: July 28, 2017 at 4:10 am by Gina Colvin

On the Sin of Weaponizing Testimonies 2017-07-28T04:10:46+12:00 Gina Colvin

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’ve been asked on several occasions to bear my testimony. On one occasion I was seeking a renewal of my Temple Recommend from a counsellor in the Stake Presidency who announced:

“I’ve heard your testimony of Jesus Christ often enough, but I haven’t heard your testimony of President Monson – would you bear that for me now please.”

It was admittedly difficult to share a testimony on demand, but I did my best with little to recommend the conditions under which it was being coerced. You see, I thought I’d done pretty well in my expressions of devotion to Jesus Christ, to be saddled with having to muster an affirmation of Thomas Monson’s call under duress seemed an odd and intrusive thing to do. So I admitted that while I hadn’t heard him the prophecy, see, or reveal anything of note I would surely sustain him if he ever chose to.

I was denied a Temple Recommend because this testimony wasn’t up to scratch.

This isn’t an isolated incident. Once in sacrament meeting, I shared my feeling that while I couldn’t say I knew anything, my choice to believe or to exercise faith had consequences for me. So my choice to believe in Jesus Christ’s message of justice, mercy and charity inform the way I approach questions of power and oppression.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough for the Utah Native husband half of a senior couple missionary who took the podium after me and thumped his roaring testimony that he knew, he knew, he knew! Which is fine for him if that’s the way things kick around in his head, but it was clearly directed at the insufficiency of my testimony; Of that, there was no doubt. His red-faced fury and his antipathy for my paltry and inadequate faith were obvious to everyone.

Last week in church we were discussing the Area’s unexplained scuttling of our much-anticipated plans to hold a joint Christmas service with a neighbouring ward. I offered that I felt that the Area’s meddling (without explanation) was insensitive and unnecessary and seemed to be aimed at demonstrating power rather than kindness, trust and wisdom. At which point another woman who I like very much, felt it necessary to bear her testimony that she knew that the Brethren were inspired and there was safety in absolute conformity with their opinions and ideas, decrees and wot not. Which is fine except couching it as a testimony is often the full stop, the exclamation mark, the period – thank you very much it is all over and done now; no more words are necessary. It also has the effect of shutting down a much-needed conversation. I wish people would just tell me to ‘shut the hell up – you are making me feel uncomfortable.‘ Sadly a testimony response to an uncomfortable challenge to one’s sensibilities is more a proof of fear than a serious spiritual conviction.

But I’m used to all of this nonsense, and I accept it as an annoying cultural habit of Mormonism that we’ve fossilised over the years. Our faith tradition is audacious, theologically expansive, filled with contradictions, is shot throw with some strange and rather weird and all of this has been nurtured over many decades by men who have been allowed to run at the mouth for too long. Our theology, our history and our culture point emphatically toward our pressing need for the honest expression of our individual and collective concerns. But what I’ve noticed instead is this tendency to settle questions, not with discussion, but with an unhealthy reflex to expel, diminish and eliminate.

This happened to me again on Christmas Day:

In response to my argument that the Mormon Tabernacle should not be performing at Trump’s inauguration, I was asked by a complete stranger to prove myself a Mormon by bearing my testimony. When I refused the response was:

I’ve listened to your podcast, and I’ve seen your comments in closed forums. By putting two and two together I have a pretty clear view on where you’re standing. I have no problems with your disbelief. It is your privilege. However it takes away the validity of your criticism against the MoTab though. Merry Christmas Gina, or do you, as a Dehlinite, prefer the secular greeting ‘Happy holidays’? (By the way I didn’t feel that he meant his seasons greeting so I took no joy in it).

When a friend similarly expressed her opposition to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Trump into office her ‘friend’ responded:

If a song by the tabernacle can change your testimony of the church. It wasn’t that strong anyway.

I’m sure these folk are taking some satisfaction in their bold defence of the church, but they have this habit of bludgeoning the non-conformists with their testimonies, and it strikes me that that’s not the purpose of testimony. I don’t blame them entirely – the Temple Recommend interviews seem to give folks permission to interrogate people’s belief’s and deny them eternal salvation if the wrong adjectives are used. (I don’t think this is the intent but as the big C church doesn’t invest some of its billions into training and supporting its ecclesiastical leaders it’s no surprise).

I’m not sure if those who use the sledgehammer of testimony are cognizant of the spiritual damage they are doing – but they are. Testimonies are deeply personal and expressed affirmations of particular spiritual truths. We were never meant, as fellow sojourners, to calibrate ourselves to everyone else in this grasping and furious clamour of identical words. That’s not the Christian way – it’s not even the Mormon way. It’s a spiritual aberration and an abuse and it just simply needs to stop.

Obviously, that’s not going to happen anytime soon – not while our church, and Mormon family culture are famously and unhealthily enmeshed so my reflex from now on is to offer:

My testimony, my rules.
Differentiation is not apostasy
Reason and thought don’t diminish testimony; they turn spiritual feeling into wisdom.
You are weaponizing your testimony, and unless you want the fires of hell to consume you, I advise you now to cease.

Mormon church discourse

Mormon Cultural Identity

temple recommend

temple recommend interview

tyranny of certainty

why mormons leave

Previous Post

November 10, 2016

Dear God, Please keep America a Foreign Land

Next Post

January 11, 2017 The Spiritual Dangers of Religious Elitism and Secrecy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Thoughtful Faith Adultery Apostasy Brigham Young BYU Church Culture Church Leadership Clergy Sex Abuse Community of Christ Divorce Excommunication faith crisis Faith Development Heavenly mother Heresy Indigenous Mormon James Fowler Jesus Christ John Dehlin Joseph Smith Kate Kelly LDS Church Politics LDS doctrine LDS Essays LGTB Maori Mormon marriage and family Mitt Romney Mormon church discourse Mormon church history Mormon Conservatism Mormon corporate culture Mormon Cultural Identity Mormon feminist politics Mormon finances mormon matters podcast Mormon Political Economy Mormons feminism New Zealand and US Mormonism New Zealand Mormon Culture New Zealand Mormon Feminist Thought New Zealand temple Official Declaration Two Ordain Women Pastoral Theology for Mormons phillip barlow Polygamy Practical Theology Prayer Protect LDS Children Racism in the LDS church Sexual Abuse temple recommend temple recommend interview Temples tyranny of certainty Uncategorized why mormons leave

Select a Month April 2020 December 2019 March 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 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 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 March 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many chapters are in Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

22 27 50 31