Before delving into Dogma let's define it. From dictionary.com I have this for you.
"dog·ma
[dawg-muh, dog-] Show IPA noun, plural dog·mas or ( Rare ) dog·ma·ta [dawg-muh-tuh] Show IPA .1.
an official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church. Synonyms: doctrine, teachings, set of beliefs, philosophy. 2.
a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption; the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility. Synonyms: tenet, canon, law. 3.
prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group: the difficulty of resisting political dogma. 4.
a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle: the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation. Synonyms: conviction, certainty. Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin < Greek, equivalent to dok ( eîn ) to seem, think, seem good + -ma noun suffix
Word story
At the turn of the 17th century, dogma entered English from the Latin term meaning “philosophical tenet.” The Greek word from which it is borrowed means “that which one thinks is true,” and comes ultimately from the Greek dokein which means “to seem good” or “think.”
The origin of the word dogma acts as a reminder to English speakers that now-established principals and doctrines were once simply thoughts and opinions of ordinary people that gained popularity and eventually found their way into the universal consciousness of society. 20th century American academic and aphorist Mason Cooley concisely observed that “Under attack, sentiments harden into dogma,” suggesting that dogma is spawned as a defensive act. This idea implies that for every dogma that exists, there is a counter dogma. With so many “truths” out there, there is sure to be a dogma to conveniently fit every set of beliefs."There is the doctrine extrapolated from scripture and then there is the philosophy of men mingled with scripture. Now when this philosophy comes from leadership it is considered doctrinal, even if it is in error as Bruce R. McConkie's book Mormon Doctrine and so many of his teachings throughout his life.Most of what people have trouble with, even as members in good standing, tend to be the philosophies, unbacked by scripture, of our leadership throughout the generations of this Church.Take the Word Of Wisdom, Rock Waterman wrote a great piece detailing how it wasn't a commandment until relatively recently and breaking it didn't bar you from Temple entry until the mid 20th century. The philosophy of Ezra Taft Benson is as follows:
"President Benson explained that at first the revelation was not given as a commandment, but as "a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints." (D&C 89:3.)
"In 1851, President Brigham Young proposed to the general conference of the Church that all Saints formally covenant to keep the Word of Wisdom. This proposal was unanimously upheld by the membership of the Church. Since that day, the revelation has been a binding commandment on all Church members," President Benson said."
Can I take out a covenant on your behalf? Not until you die according to current doctrines. So how can Brigham Young take out a covenant for all of mankind from 1851 forward? And for clarification purposes this covenant Brigham Young asked the members to fufil was only ever intended for those in the room with him.
Brigham Young said this after many of those people who made that covenant had broken it; "I will not call upon you to make a covenant to do this, for some might break their covenants, and that would be a sin."
He almost seems to have felt guilt over asking more than so many could live with.
But the philosophy of men has turned a revelation that was not given "by commandment or constraint" and made it one all on their own.
There are countless other dogmatic doctrines in our Church but let's get to the core of why these inflexible teachings are damaging rather than balanced and healthy, let's remember Christ said by their fruits ye shall know them and also saying that good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce evil fruits so then if any teaching is bad and produces evil results they will be obvious.
So let's examine the dogmatic doctrines that homosexuality is a sin.
"According to recent gay bullying statistics, gay and lesbian teens are two to three times as more likely to commit teen suicide than other youths. About 30 percent of all completed suicides have been related to sexual identity crisis. Students who also fall into the gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgendered identity groups report being five times as more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe after being bullied due to their sexual orientation. About 28 percent out of those groups feel forced to drop out of school altogether. Although more and more schools are working to crack down on problems with bullying, teens are still continuing to bully each other due to sexual orientation and other factors."From bullyingstatistics.org
"About 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT, and nearly all homeless youth service providers in the U.S. now serve LGBT youth, according to a comprehensive report on LGBT youth homelessness released Thursday.
Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) respondents indicated that family rejection was a major factor contributing to LGBT youth homelessness, making it the most cited factor. More than half (54 percent) of respondents indicated that abuse in their family was another important factor contributing to LGBT homelessness." From lgbtnation.com
So how is it that these gay kids are being bullied and kicked out on the streets by their good Christian parents if the doctrines against homosexuality are good fruit from good trees? They seem evil to me.
These statistics are not indicative of these anti-gay doctrines being good fruits, if they were why would their be such death and ostracism?
The hate so many of our gay members are subjected to is exactly what drives them away from not only our Church but all Churches. Our collective hate drives these people from God all together given how many of His followers bully, beat and exclude them.
Working on a Sunday is referred to as an abomination in scripture and also carries the death penalty so why is it OK to work on a Sunday but not OK to lie with a man as with a woman?
Because the philosophy of the leadership of most Churches including our own reflect one being OK and the other being a "deal breaker sin."
Jesus equates lust to adultery and hate to murder so why is hate not looked on as a deadly sin as adultery is?
I think it's because people love to justify their hatred as being the fault of those that offend their delicate sensibilities and thus defer responsibility.
I hope some of this resonates with you in terms of how hurtful and deadly these doctrines can be. These separate God from His children because our Church culture can be so intolerant of other lifestyle and points of view, almost as if tolerance is viewed as a trap of some sort.
The point of the Gospel is not to hinder but to nourish and help us to grow as people and grow closer to God. And sometimes you need to look in different and unusual places to fing that truth and that knowledge.
I looked in Hindu scripture, Buddhist, Islamic and some tribal beliefs for additional inspiration.
- One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may.
- Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199
- We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.
- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316
So why is it often considered to be blasphemous or heretical to do what I have done when our founding Prophet seems to agree with my strategy? Yet so many members are of the opinion that it is wrong to consider any opinion outside of Mormonism, and when presented with an opinion they care more about who said it than whether or not it is true! Which seems very sad to me.Once I got enough distance between myself and my past experience in the Church and delved into scriptures from almost all world religions I became inspired again and could finally be at peace with considering myself as Christian. I've seen a bumper sticker that said "Please God, save me from your followers." Because so many people have had the Christian/Mormon message rammed down their throats and are sick of the LDS standard of living being legislated as with the word of wisdom for example or with their views on gay marriage or marriage as I call it. Ya know because I had lunch today not gay lunch and I parked my car but I didn't gay park it?
Love for God and all His children is what Christ said all the law and all the Prophets hang on, so to me Love is the most important doctrine of all. How can love have negative results? Only if it is unhealthy love with unfair or unhealthy expectations. So maybe our expectations of people need to change and maybe our expectations of ourselves need some tweaking as well. We can do better than this, and we are taking small steps from the bottom up to change the hurtful effects of misguided doctrines and dogmas. Mormons Building Bridges of facebook and Mormons for marriage equality are doing great things in the name of a new generation of Mormons. Rock Waterman seems to be one of the poster boys of this new movement based on what can be backed up by scripture and dumping the rest of what we call Mormonism because so much of it has only caused divides and resulted in more homeless youth and estranged families and isn't family at the very core of what it means to be Mormon?
