Religion & Rational Thought
Currently I am reading Azra Evan’s The Keystone of Mormonism, which he graciously sent to me autographed. I’m about five chapters into it, and throughout those chapters I have asked myself constantly; why did I buy into Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon?Chapter two of Evan’s book is a quick reference for rational questions regarding claims made within and about The Book of Mormon. It was during this chapter that I had many “DUH!” moments. While I had studied Mormonism for two years prior to being baptized, and thought I had explored many areas usually untouched by most who investigate the religion, I obviously did not study as deeply as I should have to spot some of the more glaring, and really unjustifiable, inconsistencies taught by the Mormon Church and found within The Book of Mormon.
One such inconsistency that caught my attention is found on page 35 of Evan’s book. Here he describes the amazing ability of the Nephites (one of two main ethno-religious groups within The Book of Mormon) to construct a temple, like that of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in less than twenty years. Evans writes, “The Bible informs us that Solomon contracted with…expert masons to build his temple. It took over 150,000 laborers and 3,300 skills supervisors seven years to complete this project. And yet, Joseph Smith expects us to gullible enough to believe that five men did the job in their spare time in less than twenty years!” Of course, this is impossible.
If such illogical claims are found within Mormonism; why did I become a Mormon?
There isn’t a simple answer to this. I don’t think the Mormon Church is full of irrational people. If it were, they would have a hard time attracting rational people to convert. The issue lies in the fact that rational thought is based on accepted reality, axioms, is like a filter in our minds. When our perceived realities change, our ability to conduct rational thought also changes. With religion, this is dangerous. Accepting religion as a reality, we install religious axioms in our minds, and we are unable to think outside of those axioms. When we accept a religion as reality, we lose the ability to be unbiased and think rationally about that religion. Mormonism, as much as any other religion, encourages this molding of reality and loss of rational thought. During the two years I spent studying about the Mormon Church, I subconsciously molded my reality, bit by bit, until my mind accepted the truthfulness of Mormonism as being a reality, and started filtering any thought contrary to that reality.
It would be false to claim that Mormons don’t think rationally about their religion because they are unstudied. I studied and great deal about Mormonism, pros and cons, before I converted, and afterwards. However, Mormons are not able to process any information contrary to their beliefs because those beliefs are, in their minds, reality. To say to a true believing Mormon that the their beliefs are false is like telling a physicist that the acceleration of gravity is not 9.8 m/s/s. To Mormons, their beliefs are as absolute as gravity.
Much has been said about Mitt Romney being a Mormon and the impact his faith is having on his campaign. Some have written about him not being able to think rationally because he believes in Mormonism and the faith’s illogical doctrines and practices. While I don’t agree with having a Mormon in the White House because of the oaths he has made to Mormonism, being a Mormon does not impact his ability to think rationally outside the subject of his religion. He might be better able to make rational decisions than our current president, or any prior president. I don’t think his religion will impact his policy, as long as potential policy does not conflict with his religion.
So, considering the above, how was I able to think rationally about Mormonism again?
My experience as a missionary constantly challenged what I accepted as reality with regard to religion. As I tested prophecies and promises made regarding missionary work, and as I had opportunities to seriously speak with people about their faith, I stepped closer and closer to being able to think rationally about Mormonism again. It was only after I began asking rational questions that I was able to absorb information logically and form an unbiased understanding of Mormonism, and religion in general. Perhaps being a new convert helped me during this time, as the wall between my accepted religious reality and rational thought was not fortified against what I would experience as a missionary. All I know is that I left for my mission being fully devoted to Mormonism, and returned from my mission an unbeliever.
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