Most people reading this have had the awkward experience of trying to explain the Church’s standards of homosexuality and same-sex attraction. Let’s face it: it can often be very difficult.

The Church believes that same-sex attraction is not a sin but that same-sex sexual activity is a sin. The Church also supports traditional marriage.

A few stories and recent blog posts may help readers explain the Church’s position.

Most importantly, people should visit the Church’s web site on this issue.

There is an interesting case of two men who live together and were formerly lovers but who now maintain the standards of the Church and are both temple worthy.

As our relationship has changed, I feel a greater love for Kenneth—a love in the purest sense of the word “Christ-like”—than I ever felt when we were in a sexual relationship together. I’ve learned that no kind of love in this world can compare to the pure love of Jesus Christ, the love that is a gift bestowed by God upon those “who are true followers of his son” (Moroni 7:48). We truly love each other truly like I imagine Jesus Christ loved His disciples. I know that the Lord is blessing us and will continue to bless us as we continue to live in accordance with His gospel. There is no greater joy than when we join in prayer throughout our day. Also, being worthy to maintain temple recommends makes our hearts sing. We truly feel blessed in our love and brotherhood since I converted (and Kenneth re-converted) to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You can read more about these two men here.

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How often have we read or listened to the Word of Wisdom and heard the concept “run and not be weary, walk and not faint”?  How often is it described as receiving good health, and an evidence of the gospel’s truth?

As that is one way to interpret such scripture, I thought it would be interesting to take a different approach to the concept, by going to its origins in the Old Testament, and see what is meant by the phrase.

The earliest verse that suggests this concept is in Isaiah 5:26-27

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken

Here we see in First Isaiah that the concept of not being weary has to do with coming swiftly to the Lord. In this instance, an ensign is lifted to the nations, to which the people hasten to unwearingly.  For Latter-day Saints, the ensign to the nations is the fulness of the gospel of Christ, found in the Restored Church.  While we see many joining the Church now (more than 250,000 per year), the day of reckoning shall approach, where millions will joyfully flock to the banner of Zion for safety and refuge (D&C 45:66-71). 

For Mormons, it is akin to those who flocked to Captain Moroni’s banner of liberty, in order to defend their homes, family, religion and freedoms (Alma 46).  Moroni created the standard of liberty from his cloak, and marched throughout the land calling others to join him.  Many rushed forward and tossed their own cloaks at his feet, as a symbol that they were willing to give all to establish and protect that ensign to the Nephite nation.

Jeremiah shares this thought with us:

But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee. (Jeremiah 12:3-6)

Jeremiah could be speaking to the Lord or his fellow Israelites in stating that if they are wearied by their own people in Jerusalem, how can they be happy elsewhere (and in particular, Zion)?  If they are not happy when living in a peaceful land, then how will they be happy when the floods (from the Jordan River) come and ravage the peace and prosperity they do have?

In this instance, they are not called to seek after Zion, because they are already supposed to be there!  Yet, in establishing David’s kingdom, the temple, and what was to be a holy people, Judah was not Zion.  It still leaned on royal kings, other nations and gods, rather than having Yahweh as their Lord and King.  They were not happy with the best God had to offer them, and so they lost everything.  All the markers of a Zion people: temple, priesthood, the covenant (ark of God’s Presence), were lost or diminished because the people grew weary of the things of God.

The most common and most easily spotted version of the phrase is in Isaiah 40:31:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

In this first chapter of Deutero-Isaiah (probably written by one of Isaiah’s followers), we see that it definitely sounds like a strengthening of physical health?  But let’s look closer at the .context.

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Those who actively seek after God do not just receive good health, but they receive an attribute of God: they do not grow weary and faint!  God, who has created the earth, does not tire. We cannot find out all that he knows by searching, suggestive of the Word of Wisdom’s promise of secret treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In the world, the time will come when the hearts of men will fail. Even the young, who are normally full of hope and energy, will become weary because they have not sought eagerly after the Lord.

But those who run or walk eagerly to join the Lord shall receive not just good health, but HIS strength.  As he is not weary, they will not be weary, either.  God will impart his strength. They will be lifted up on wings of eagles, suggesting being carried to a celestial level of holiness.  It suggests action or movement toward God.

In D&C 84:33-34, it notes that when we accept the priesthood and magnify our callings (something both men and women can do), we become the children of Moses and Aaron, and the seed of Abraham.  In rising up to a new holy lineage, we are then “sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies” and become “the elect of God.”

While we often see the renewing of our bodies as giving us good health, so we can live long lives and serve, may I suggest a better interpretation: we are changed from telestial beings to a higher spiritual and temporal sphere of existence. Our spiritual body, connected to a physical body, will be changed from the natural man to the spiritual man, even the man in Christ.  In so doing, we become as God: not weary or fainting, but able to overcome all things and do great things, even as the Creator does such marvelous things as well.

An LDS bishop tells the following story:

Members of the Relief Society Presidency were upset. Several sisters felt completely overwhelmed by the visiting teaching duties. There were members who were suffering, and the sisters were spending hours every day helping. They were cooking for the people who were suffering and doing their laundry and organizing groups to take care of weeding the garden.

But after several months of doing this, the sisters discovered that the people involved had grown very comfortable with the constant attention. The people had overcome their problems but continued to expect constant visits, constant meal preparation, constant help with the yard. The people involved were physically able to do such work, but they preferred having someone else do it.

And this of course created resentment on the part of the sisters who were doing the helping. They had no problem helping out temporarily, but they assumed that the people involved would become more self-sufficient. And they didn’t. And the sisters who were helping had become part-time maids, constantly doing things for people who were pretty capable of taking care of themselves. This constant work of helping others was taking over their lives, making them neglect their own families and their own needs.

An LDS counselor I recently talked to says that this is an extremely common phenomenon. People in the Church love to help people. They love to give of themselves to another. Caring, sharing, compassion and empathy are extremely important qualities. But sometimes they don’t know when to stop. And pretty soon the people doing the helping start “owning” the problems of other people. This creates more problems than it solves, this counselor said.

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Almost every critic who read the wildly popular Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer seemed to pick up on Mormon themes, even when they weren’t there. Wild speculations about Mormon views on domesticity, feminism, romance, conversion, deification and even the Mountain Meadows massacre were delved into as curiosity or mockery. No matter what she did or said there seemed to be Mormon roots found by someone no matter how obscure or tedious. Even Orson Scott Card’s works were never scrutinized to the degree her works have been. What is amazing is that one of arguably the most prolific and popular Mormon writers has not been given the same treatment. This despite the fact his works are filled with nods and allusions to Mormon theology and culture.

Brandon Sanderson is best known for completing Robert Jordan’s massive fantasy series The Wheel of Time when that author died. He was given the task by Jordan’s wife after she read Sanderson’s own Mistborn fantasy trilogy of books. It was a good pick considering the final books became number one best sellers and how quickly he churns out whole series of thick tomes. He also teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University when not putting down words to pages.

Perhaps there are a few reasons Sanderson and Card don’t have scores of readers trying to pin down every Mormon reference real or imagined. For one thing, Meyer is a female writer who is Hollywood friendly. That means a capacity to reach out beyond the limited fan base of literate individuals to those who might not even open up a book. Someone once pointed out that television and movies are the modern popular literature, while books have nearly returned to the domain of a select (and self selecting) few. Perhaps that might explain why only the original Battlestar Galactica has come closest to the same nit-picking. Will the release of Ender’s Game open up Mr. Card, like it already has for a small group, to the same search for details and diatribes? Perhaps because Meyer is female, much like what occurred with J.K. Rowling to a lesser extent, she is considered an acceptable target.

Clearing the above musing out of the way, what Brandon Sanderson writes has Mormonism in it with some of it blatant. There are a few motifs shared by other Mormon writers, including Meyer’s vampire series. Examples here will include the Mistborn Trilogy and the currently stand alone Rithmatist novel. A routine warning is added that below might contain spoilers. Continue reading →