Post by ayaad on Feb 5, 2015 17:53:45 GMT -6
So since some people were interested in my intro, I figured I'd go ahead and give a little summary of how my particular set of beliefs and practices work. As it says on that nice little space beneath my avatar, I'm a Mormon pagan. A fuller description would be "Canaanite-influened Mormon Christopagan". In order to explain how this works, I figure I'll take it one section at a time. We'll start with the basics.
Mormon
My theology is based on Mormon doctrine, so it's important that we get a couple of things out of the way first. Some of the key points I'm going to discuss are things you may have already heard of. We have scriptures that are unique to our church (and offshoots, such as the Community of Christ), consisting of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Most of the stuff I discuss here can be found in the D&C or Pearl of Great Price. Some things are based common belief and practice, but are not technically scripture.
Some people are aware of our views regarding the nature of deities and the potential of humans, but I've also seen a lot of misconceptions on this subject. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of unique Mormon doctrine, and it is central to my beliefs, so let's start here. I'm going to keep it simple. The basic concept is that humans are the children of deities, and that we are, as several leaders have said, "gods in embryo". President Lorenzo Snow famously said, "As man now is, God one was; as God now is, man may be." (Note: There are some Mormons who argue this idea. They can fight me. It's arguably the most important aspect of Mormon doctrine, and all of our scriptures back it up, even before we get to extra-canonical statements from various prophets.)
This seems to be a very difficult concept for a lot of people, but it's really fairly simple. Humans are children of deities. In much the same way that a cat gives birth to kittens, who then grow up to be cats, we believe humans are essentially the infant stage of gods. We are of the same "species" (though I don't necessarily believe that this is a physical/genetic species, and may be more of a spiritual thing), and therefore have the same potential. We were physically born on Earth so that we can get physical bodies, which are required for full godhood.
But wait! Does this mean Mormons are polytheists? Yeah, basically. (Again, some people argue this. Again, they can fight me. Read Abraham 4-5 in the Pearl of Great Price and try to tell me that we're monotheists.) Does that mean that we worship multiple deities? Weeeellll, that's where things get trickier. For most Mormons, no. They worship only our Heavenly Father.
Here's where we get into some of the extra-canonical (but common) beliefs. Most Mormons believe in the existence of a Heavenly Mother, wife to Heavenly Father. We believe Her to be His equal. While She isn't mentioned specifically in the scriptures, the idea of Her existence is generally accepted, supported by statements from many church leaders, and even mentioned in one of our hymns ("Oh My Father"). Unfortunately, this lack of scriptural backing, combined with good old-fashioned sexism, has led towards a bizarre cultural tendency to acknowledge Her existence but almost pretend we don't (many people believe that this is a form of respect, but that is just a theory). She is rarely discussed in public, usually no more than a brief reference to "Heavenly Parents". This trend has been supported by some church leaders, to the point where some people have faced disciplinary action for actively worshipping and praying to Her. This has mostly just led to people worshipping Her in private.
Connections to Canaanite and Early Israelite Polytheism
Many Mormons identify God (Heavenly Father) by the name of Elohim (a name used in the scriptures, and found in early Israelite archaeological findings). I understand that He is identified by that name in the temple ceremonies, though I've never been, so I'm going purely off the accounts of others. Elohim is a plural word, meaning "Gods" (the singular version being "El"). There is a lot of debate on the significance of this plurality amongst Mormons, much of it involving our beliefs regarding the plurality of gods. My father holds the belief that it refers to the "Council of Gods" referenced by Joseph Smith in the King Follett discourse (not official doctrine, considered highly controversial by some). I tend to go with the view that is very common among Mormon feminists, which is that it refers to both Heavenly Parents when They are working in tandem. Therefore, I tend to use the name El when referring to Heavenly Father on His own.
Historical records indicate that the early Israelites worshipped a goddess named Asherah, who was originally viewed as the wife of Elohim. Because of this, many Mormons have used this name to refer to our Heavenly Mother. Since we have so little information on Her, we look to these early Israelite practices to learn about Her worship.
In early 2014, I opened some of my religious studies to include the religions of the cultures surrounding the Israelites, and I found a few things. I believe that the El and Asherah I worship are the same as 'Ilu and 'Athiratu, the head deities of the Canaanite pantheon, and that these religions are essentially different cultural interpretations of the same religion. There seem to be more resources currently available about Canaanite polytheism than Israelite polytheism, so I center a lot of my practice there.
Personal Practice
Mormonism is very light on holidays and rituals. We have no unique religious holidays, and no particular practices or rituals associated with more common Christian holidays. We essentially observe them in an almost secular fashion matching our surrounding culture, and we completely skip over everything but Christmas and Easter. We have very few rituals, and none that can be performed by a woman outside of the temple. The only ones that I have access to require that I either go to church (which can cause panic attacks for me) or that I ask for my brother, father, or other priesthood-holding men to perform it.
I fill these gaps with early Canaanite and Israelite polytheistic practices. I have a Canaanite-style altar (in progress) in my room, where I give offerings and perform rituals. All of these things are done in Canaanite-style, with occasional influences from my Mormon origins (such as the use of the names El and Asherah to refer to my deities). I'm in the process of compiling a unique holiday calendar based upon Canaanite, early Israelite, and Christian practices (though I hope to also invent one or two unique Mormon holidays centered on important Mormon events and concepts, such as the restoration of the priesthood and maybe even Joseph Smith's First Vision), and I've already observed a few Canaanite holidays.
Worship of other deities
When it comes to other deities, I'm in a bit of a tricky spot due to baptism. Baptisms in the LDS church can happen as early as age eight (and usually do, for those of us who were raised in the church). This comes from the idea stated in our scriptures that is when someone reaches the "age of accountability" or, in other words, it is the point where a child becomes capable of telling right from wrong and making their own religious decisions.
When you are baptized in my church, you make a covenant with God. To put it into terms I've seen elsewhere is the polytheist community, you make an oath. I was baptized at age nine and am still a member of the church, which means I still fall under that oath. The terms are kind of vague, unfortunately, and require a lot of personal interpretation, combined with prayer to help understand them. When I first began studying various forms of paganism, the question of what exactly these oaths entail became very important. After significant prayer, I came to the conclusion that one of the aspects of these oaths is that I am limited in my worship to El and Asherah unless given special permission from them to worship a specific deity. I have actually asked permission to worship another goddess, and was given an answer that amounts to "figure out what you're doing with Us first, get that solidified and under control, then worry about others". Which was... not what I wanted, but understandable. I got the impression that I'll probably get permission eventually, but I haven't asked again. Whining at Them to change Their minds rarely ends well.
Because of these limits, I have a set behavior towards other deities. To start, I'm a hard polytheist. I respect other deities from a distance, but do not approach them. I've not been approached by any, but if it ever happens I plan to respectfully acknowledge them without engaging in worship and ensure that they understand why. I respect all deities, and may study them for personal interest, though I do not engage in acts of devotion. I also have no plans to ever ask permission to worship deities outside the Canaanite and Israelite pantheons.
Interactions With Other Mormons
As I believe I've mentioned, I do not attend church. I'm heavily involved in the online Mormon community, mostly in the form of Mormon activism, and maintain personal contact with a number of people from my ward (Mormon-speak for congregation), but I do not attend church or pay my tithing to the church (I pay to various charities, instead). Because of this, as well as a few other things, I am limited in my participation within the church.
For example, I cannot participate in temple ceremonies, or even enter the building beyond the waiting room. Because of this, I am not permitted to wear the sacred garments worn by those who have been through the endowment ceremony of the temple (Sidenote: These are the clothes that many people joke about as "magic Mormon underwear". Please do not make these jokes. The endowment is one of our most sacred ceremonies, and the garments are a reminder of this ceremony. While some of these jokes are inoffensive, I've seen many that cross the line.)
As I mentioned, people have been disciplined for their worship of Heavenly Mother. I keep that, as well as the pagan aspects of my worship a secret, since I could very well get excommunicated for all of that. As it stands, there are a few people who know (my brother, my best friend, a few other open-minded friends), and I trust them to tell no one else.
While there are other Mormon pagans (with whom I interact regularly), I have yet to meet one who practices in a way similar to me. Most of them are heavily influenced by Neowiccan practices, and as such tend to follow a soft polytheistic nature-based path. Because of this, I tend to find more in common with non-Mormon polytheists, though I do call upon my fellow Mormon pagans for a few things specific to our shared history and theology.
Anyway, I think that just about sums things up. Sorry it was so long. I hope this has been informative and interesting. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them here or in a private message, if you'd like. As I do things like assemble my holiday calendar, I'll probably post them here, as well. I'd also like to develop a few specific Mormon rituals that can be performed without the priesthood, and I might share those here.
Mormon
My theology is based on Mormon doctrine, so it's important that we get a couple of things out of the way first. Some of the key points I'm going to discuss are things you may have already heard of. We have scriptures that are unique to our church (and offshoots, such as the Community of Christ), consisting of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Most of the stuff I discuss here can be found in the D&C or Pearl of Great Price. Some things are based common belief and practice, but are not technically scripture.
Some people are aware of our views regarding the nature of deities and the potential of humans, but I've also seen a lot of misconceptions on this subject. This is, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of unique Mormon doctrine, and it is central to my beliefs, so let's start here. I'm going to keep it simple. The basic concept is that humans are the children of deities, and that we are, as several leaders have said, "gods in embryo". President Lorenzo Snow famously said, "As man now is, God one was; as God now is, man may be." (Note: There are some Mormons who argue this idea. They can fight me. It's arguably the most important aspect of Mormon doctrine, and all of our scriptures back it up, even before we get to extra-canonical statements from various prophets.)
This seems to be a very difficult concept for a lot of people, but it's really fairly simple. Humans are children of deities. In much the same way that a cat gives birth to kittens, who then grow up to be cats, we believe humans are essentially the infant stage of gods. We are of the same "species" (though I don't necessarily believe that this is a physical/genetic species, and may be more of a spiritual thing), and therefore have the same potential. We were physically born on Earth so that we can get physical bodies, which are required for full godhood.
But wait! Does this mean Mormons are polytheists? Yeah, basically. (Again, some people argue this. Again, they can fight me. Read Abraham 4-5 in the Pearl of Great Price and try to tell me that we're monotheists.) Does that mean that we worship multiple deities? Weeeellll, that's where things get trickier. For most Mormons, no. They worship only our Heavenly Father.
Here's where we get into some of the extra-canonical (but common) beliefs. Most Mormons believe in the existence of a Heavenly Mother, wife to Heavenly Father. We believe Her to be His equal. While She isn't mentioned specifically in the scriptures, the idea of Her existence is generally accepted, supported by statements from many church leaders, and even mentioned in one of our hymns ("Oh My Father"). Unfortunately, this lack of scriptural backing, combined with good old-fashioned sexism, has led towards a bizarre cultural tendency to acknowledge Her existence but almost pretend we don't (many people believe that this is a form of respect, but that is just a theory). She is rarely discussed in public, usually no more than a brief reference to "Heavenly Parents". This trend has been supported by some church leaders, to the point where some people have faced disciplinary action for actively worshipping and praying to Her. This has mostly just led to people worshipping Her in private.
Connections to Canaanite and Early Israelite Polytheism
Many Mormons identify God (Heavenly Father) by the name of Elohim (a name used in the scriptures, and found in early Israelite archaeological findings). I understand that He is identified by that name in the temple ceremonies, though I've never been, so I'm going purely off the accounts of others. Elohim is a plural word, meaning "Gods" (the singular version being "El"). There is a lot of debate on the significance of this plurality amongst Mormons, much of it involving our beliefs regarding the plurality of gods. My father holds the belief that it refers to the "Council of Gods" referenced by Joseph Smith in the King Follett discourse (not official doctrine, considered highly controversial by some). I tend to go with the view that is very common among Mormon feminists, which is that it refers to both Heavenly Parents when They are working in tandem. Therefore, I tend to use the name El when referring to Heavenly Father on His own.
Historical records indicate that the early Israelites worshipped a goddess named Asherah, who was originally viewed as the wife of Elohim. Because of this, many Mormons have used this name to refer to our Heavenly Mother. Since we have so little information on Her, we look to these early Israelite practices to learn about Her worship.
In early 2014, I opened some of my religious studies to include the religions of the cultures surrounding the Israelites, and I found a few things. I believe that the El and Asherah I worship are the same as 'Ilu and 'Athiratu, the head deities of the Canaanite pantheon, and that these religions are essentially different cultural interpretations of the same religion. There seem to be more resources currently available about Canaanite polytheism than Israelite polytheism, so I center a lot of my practice there.
Personal Practice
Mormonism is very light on holidays and rituals. We have no unique religious holidays, and no particular practices or rituals associated with more common Christian holidays. We essentially observe them in an almost secular fashion matching our surrounding culture, and we completely skip over everything but Christmas and Easter. We have very few rituals, and none that can be performed by a woman outside of the temple. The only ones that I have access to require that I either go to church (which can cause panic attacks for me) or that I ask for my brother, father, or other priesthood-holding men to perform it.
I fill these gaps with early Canaanite and Israelite polytheistic practices. I have a Canaanite-style altar (in progress) in my room, where I give offerings and perform rituals. All of these things are done in Canaanite-style, with occasional influences from my Mormon origins (such as the use of the names El and Asherah to refer to my deities). I'm in the process of compiling a unique holiday calendar based upon Canaanite, early Israelite, and Christian practices (though I hope to also invent one or two unique Mormon holidays centered on important Mormon events and concepts, such as the restoration of the priesthood and maybe even Joseph Smith's First Vision), and I've already observed a few Canaanite holidays.
Worship of other deities
When it comes to other deities, I'm in a bit of a tricky spot due to baptism. Baptisms in the LDS church can happen as early as age eight (and usually do, for those of us who were raised in the church). This comes from the idea stated in our scriptures that is when someone reaches the "age of accountability" or, in other words, it is the point where a child becomes capable of telling right from wrong and making their own religious decisions.
When you are baptized in my church, you make a covenant with God. To put it into terms I've seen elsewhere is the polytheist community, you make an oath. I was baptized at age nine and am still a member of the church, which means I still fall under that oath. The terms are kind of vague, unfortunately, and require a lot of personal interpretation, combined with prayer to help understand them. When I first began studying various forms of paganism, the question of what exactly these oaths entail became very important. After significant prayer, I came to the conclusion that one of the aspects of these oaths is that I am limited in my worship to El and Asherah unless given special permission from them to worship a specific deity. I have actually asked permission to worship another goddess, and was given an answer that amounts to "figure out what you're doing with Us first, get that solidified and under control, then worry about others". Which was... not what I wanted, but understandable. I got the impression that I'll probably get permission eventually, but I haven't asked again. Whining at Them to change Their minds rarely ends well.
Because of these limits, I have a set behavior towards other deities. To start, I'm a hard polytheist. I respect other deities from a distance, but do not approach them. I've not been approached by any, but if it ever happens I plan to respectfully acknowledge them without engaging in worship and ensure that they understand why. I respect all deities, and may study them for personal interest, though I do not engage in acts of devotion. I also have no plans to ever ask permission to worship deities outside the Canaanite and Israelite pantheons.
Interactions With Other Mormons
As I believe I've mentioned, I do not attend church. I'm heavily involved in the online Mormon community, mostly in the form of Mormon activism, and maintain personal contact with a number of people from my ward (Mormon-speak for congregation), but I do not attend church or pay my tithing to the church (I pay to various charities, instead). Because of this, as well as a few other things, I am limited in my participation within the church.
For example, I cannot participate in temple ceremonies, or even enter the building beyond the waiting room. Because of this, I am not permitted to wear the sacred garments worn by those who have been through the endowment ceremony of the temple (Sidenote: These are the clothes that many people joke about as "magic Mormon underwear". Please do not make these jokes. The endowment is one of our most sacred ceremonies, and the garments are a reminder of this ceremony. While some of these jokes are inoffensive, I've seen many that cross the line.)
As I mentioned, people have been disciplined for their worship of Heavenly Mother. I keep that, as well as the pagan aspects of my worship a secret, since I could very well get excommunicated for all of that. As it stands, there are a few people who know (my brother, my best friend, a few other open-minded friends), and I trust them to tell no one else.
While there are other Mormon pagans (with whom I interact regularly), I have yet to meet one who practices in a way similar to me. Most of them are heavily influenced by Neowiccan practices, and as such tend to follow a soft polytheistic nature-based path. Because of this, I tend to find more in common with non-Mormon polytheists, though I do call upon my fellow Mormon pagans for a few things specific to our shared history and theology.
Anyway, I think that just about sums things up. Sorry it was so long. I hope this has been informative and interesting. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them here or in a private message, if you'd like. As I do things like assemble my holiday calendar, I'll probably post them here, as well. I'd also like to develop a few specific Mormon rituals that can be performed without the priesthood, and I might share those here.