I have long been intrigued by the devoted and deliberate manner in which Mormons (LDS) live out their faith. Some might even label their purposeful and structured practices as "methodical." Particularly striking is the cultural expectation placed on their youth: the voluntary sacrifice of two years of their lives in service as a missionary. Incidentally, this missionary service is based on an appointment system administered by church leadership.
If you are already beginning to find parallels between the LDS and the faith practices of early Methodist circuit-riders, small wonder. Just as Methodism was sweeping across the face of Texas during the period the New Republic winning converts with a dominance that no three other denominations combined could match, the LDS is also still experiencing that same kind of phenomenal growth in the 21st century. In contrast, the UM church is currently in decline, as are all other Protestant denominations. Why?
Haunted by a driving passion to uncover the truth lying in the paradox between the remarkable effectiveness of Methodist practices 150 years ago and while struggling through the disheartening decline of our church today, I began a personal study of the LDS culture. For the last year and a-half I have orally read almost the entire Book of Mormon while being tutored by an LDS elder using seminary study guides during our lunch break every day at work.
What I have discovered is that what the LDS know and believe is of no greater importance in their dominant church culture than the way that they live out their faith. There is nothing passive or retiring about the practices for living out each individual member's call to discipleship. There is a strong cultural expectation for personal, spiritual integrity throughout the body of the church.
In essence, they know about their faith because they live it out in a way that no mainline denomination even attempts to do. By living out their faith in such a sacrificial manner it becomes more than just a belief system, it becomes an ingrained way of life. Major theological differences aside, this is pretty much the same type of dramatic witness provided to the world by sacrificial service of the early Methodist circuit-riding preachers.
I proudly claim my Wesleyan heritage and consider myself well-versed in Methodist history. So when I discovered that the successful faith-practices of the LDS church of today looks remarkably like the Methodist church culture 150 years ago I immediately ask myself, "When/why did we cease to live the word 'church' as a verb and instead resign it to function as merely a noun?"
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Great question! I am no scholar, but I imagine we lost our moral compass somewhere around 1914. During the Civil War John Wesley and the Methodists took a strong stand against slavery at great personal and corporate cost, however in 1914 as WWI loomed on the horizon pacifism, reconciliation and self-preservation became the order of the day for most Methodists. By 1932 the Methodist acknowledged it had a problem.
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