Church, families struggling to connect, dispel misconceptions
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Mark Baldridge repeatedly has heard the questions about his faith.
As a Mormon, people ask him if he’s allowed to have more than one wife or if the church worships more than one god.
Some people believe that he and his fellow church members don’t believe in Jesus Christ and have no ties to Christianity.
All are false.
“A lot of what you hear about Mormons is inaccurate, and you wonder how you battle that,” Baldridge said. “Why can’t they get it right? Why can’t they understand what we believe? Why are we portrayed in this way?”
Baldridge and others in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taking advantage of increasing attention on the church to help clear up misconceptions.
With two Mormon presidential candidates on the campaign trail, the spotlight on the faith offers an opportunity for members to address people’s questions.
They want to dispel the ideas that to be a Mormon is to be an outsider. Their belief system is rooted in Christianity, and its members are a diverse group of people.
“You can be a motorcycle rider. You can be a singer. You can be a musician. We’re out there just like everyone else, and we’re a lot like the rest of the community,” said N. Strait Hill, president of the church’s Indianapolis region.
Mormonism is another offshoot of the teachings of Christ. And like Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths, they share common key beliefs but differ in other areas.
The core difference comes from the assertion that the authority of Christianity’s original apostles was restored when prophet Joseph Smith founded the church in the early 1800s.
Members believe that Smith steered Christianity back on the course that Jesus and the apostles intended.
They read and study the Bible, accept Jesus Christ as their savior and base their lives around his teachings, Hill said.
Number of misconceptions
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Q&A What do Mormons believe about Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the son of God. He is our redeemer. Each of these titles point to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way by which we can return to live with our heavenly father. Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by his mercy and grace can anyone be saved. What is the role of the Bible in the Mormon church? Mormons believe, revere and love the holy Bible. We see it as a powerful, important, and sacred holy record that serves as the bedrock of all Christianity. The Bible is rich in history, doctrine, stories, sermons and testimonies, all of which witness that Jesus Christ is the divine son of our heavenly father. How did the Mormon church start? The church was founded by Joseph Smith, who was chosen by God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ to the Earth. Over a span of 10 years, Smith was visited by God and other heavenly messengers, translated the Book of Mormon through God’s assistance and received divine authority to organize the church. The church was organized in Fayette, N.Y., on April 6, 1830, under the leadership of Smith. What is the Book of Mormon? The book verifies, as another testament of Christ, the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ. Prophets, who knew about God’s plan for his children and the mission of Jesus Christ, recorded that Christ appeared, after his resurrection, to the people in America. Jesus Christ taught them his gospel and formed his church among them. The book contains the teachings of Christ, testifying of his atonement and his love. It supports and verifies the Bible. How is the Mormon church organized? Local congregations are called wards, or branches for smaller congregations. They are organized geographically, and members attend a ward or branch near their home. Because in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all the teaching materials are consistent throughout the wards and branches, a person will study the same lessons no matter where in the world they attend church. The spiritual leader of each ward is called the bishop. He is a member of the congregation who has been asked to serve as a volunteer in this position. A group of wards forms a stake, and the leader of a stake is a stake president. “Stake” is not a term found in the New Testament but is taken from Old Testament tent imagery in which the “tent,” or church, is held up by supporting stakes. What is the restoration that Mormons believe in? A general falling away from the truth occurred after the death of Christ’s apostles. This is called the Apostasy. Smith’s first vision marked the beginning of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Earth. In subsequent years, Christ restored his priesthood and reorganized his church. He has continued to reveal truths to his prophets and to restore the blessings that were taken from the Earth for a time. |
Most inaccuracies about Mormons stem from the belief that they don’t believe in Jesus. Other misconceptions include polygamy, the former practice of men taking more than one wife.
The practice has been forbidden by the church, said Rick Carlson, spokesman for the Indianapolis region.
“There are a number of misconceptions over things that go back over 100 years that we haven’t practiced for more than a century, but that is one,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s because people read about it in history books, or if there have been some shows on TV that have glamorized that, but it’s out there.”
Sometimes, people confuse Mormonism with other less mainstream religious.
Hill, a Franklin native and now a family physician in North Vernon, recounted a conversation he had recently with the receptionist at a weekend clinic. They were talking about their lives growing up, and Hill mentioned that his family didn’t have a phone until he was about 17.
She asked if that was because of his faith.
“That fact that we wouldn’t have phones because we’re Mormons, that was interesting to me. I had to laugh at that one,” he said.
‘I’m a Mormon’
The Mormon church has found that the best way to understand the faith is to get to know members personally, Carlson said.
To help illustrate this, the church has launched a marketing campaign throughout the country.
“I’m A Mormon” features vignettes and personal stories of more than 50,000 worshippers around the world. The idea is to show Mormons of diverse backgrounds, interests and personalities united by faith.
“They go to school. They help their community. They work. They pay their taxes. They try to teach their children correct principals. They’re just regular people,” Carlson said.
He pointed to families such as the Baldridges as an example. For them, faith blends seamlessly into their home lives.
The Baldridge children attend Franklin public schools. Jacob Baldridge, 16, plays on the high school baseball team, while 13-year-old Jennica Baldridge plays volleyball for the middle school.
Rarely does their religion come up among their non-Mormon friends.
“I think people know, because I wear my (Brigham Young University) sweatshirt. But it doesn’t come up often,” Jennica Baldridge said.
‘Just normal people’
Church-organized activities and projects also are a large part of the Baldridges’ lives.
Younger children such as 11-year-old Addison Baldridge participate in Activity Days, where people meet weekly to work on crafts or complete service projects.
Older teens have their own organizations, such as Boy Scouts, and service projects. The church puts together sports teams and hosts tournaments, welcoming children and teens from other Mormon congregations for tournaments.
During a December meeting, teenage girls from the Franklin church helped make fleece blankets for patients at Riley Hospital for Children.
“When you narrow it right down, we’re just normal people trying to raise good families and be good people, make a contribution in the world and be a positive influence,” Debbie Baldridge said.
The Mormon church teaches about the importance of family, and much of their time in the evenings and on weekends is spent together.
They get together for game night, a regular ritual for the Baldridges. Their collection of board games fills a closet and spills into another closet in the basement.
Occasionally they’ll bring out classics such as Sorry and Monopoly or play video games together on their Xbox Kinect.
“I don’t have a whole lot of outside hobbies. I spend my time with the family, I work, and I do things at church. And I’m happy,” Mark Baldridge said. “I don’t need a whole lot of other things. That’s the one thing that I’ve found, that’s what gives me the greatest joy.”
‘Pray together’
A large part of their weekly schedule involves family home evenings — designated time for individual Mormon families to gather and discuss faith-based topics such as morality, baptism and family history.
The sessions are intended to help parents pass on the teachings of the church to their children and help them learn to use those lessons to solve problems in their everyday lives.
The church teaches that the family is the foundation of one’s life, and as such, the structure of the church is designed to help parents raise their children according to the teachings of the church, Hill said.
Every morning before school, teenagers attend a class at the Franklin church called a seminary. They study the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Book of Mormon, which members believe is God’s instructions to Joseph Smith to start a new church.
Church history and other scripture also are covered in daily lessons.
The classes serve as the transition for children to become adult members of the church. Teens also get the scriptural support needed in what can be a spiritually perilous atmosphere at school.
“Imagine going into a dangerous jungle every day, fighting lions and tigers and snakes and bears. But before you do that, you can go someplace where you can gear up to fight,” Baldridge said. “They pray together, they sing hymns together. It really counterbalances what they’ll experience during the day.”
All of the side activities lead up to Sunday, observed as a day of rest and worship in the Mormon church.
Every week, the Baldridges gather with other Mormon families at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward, or house of worship, in Franklin.
They listen to members of the congregation speak about their faith and sing hymns together. They receive the sacrament, the equivalent to communion in other Christian churches.
Afterward, the congregation splits into groups for intensive scriptural study and service projects.
‘What we’re all about’
In the past, Mark Baldridge tended to keep his faith to himself. He preferred to live out his life and go through his weekly routine with his family, focusing more on living out his faith than promoting it.
But the presidential campaigns of Republicans Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have brought Mormonism more into the public arena.
News media have started discussing the church, though not always getting it right. Even though the attention has not always been positive, Baldridge has welcomed the chance to help educate people about his faith. Others he’s spoken with have said the same thing.
“I’m not one to go up to someone and say that ‘I’m a Mormon, would you like to talk?’ That’s not something I can do,” he said. “But I’d love to share with them what I believe and who we are and what we’re all about.”
