Mormonism, Christianity and a touch of irony

As a devout Mormon, I have found the recent public debate about whether or not Mormons are Christian to be fascinating.  I realize that Christianity can be defined differently depending on one's religious background, education and world views.

But as someone who worships Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer, who strives to become more like Him in deed and in thought and who does my best to instill Christian values in my children -- I naturally take issue with the idea that I am not Christian.

I live in a mid- to upper- class North Dallas, Texas community which houses a plethora of Christian churches and devoted church-goers.  I have friends of many religions and appreciate the diversity they bring to my life and our friendships.

Although I cannot speak for all these Christian churches, I do know that some of them preach openly from the pulpit against Mormonism, citing the unchristian and errant nature of its followers.  I was once in such a church on a weekday to give a presentation to a mom’s group and saw fliers posted prominently throughout the building.  The fliers were directed at the youth, inviting them to attend a special presentation about how to talk to their Mormon friends and, in essence, explain to them how wrong they were.

 My daughter Kirsten, a sophomore basketball player, has been attending our large high school’s FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings.  She prays with the group, volunteers to give devotionals, is involved.  After the first devotional Kirsten gave, one of her teammates approached her and asked, incredulously, “YOU believe in Jesus?  I didn’t realize Mormons believed in Jesus.“

I also found the following experience Kirsten had at school noteworthy.

Kirsten recently read the book ‘Lord of the Flies’ in her sophomore pre-AP English class.  This school takes its pre-AP classes seriously.   They are tremendously challenging and filled with super-smart kids (of which my daughter is one, genes from her mom notwithstanding).

The exam on the book included two essay questions.  One was to discuss examples of irony found in the book, and the other was to discuss the character of Simon as a Christ figure in the book.  The students were to pick one of the topics.

Kirsten decided to write about Simon as a Christ figure.

When the essays had been graded -- the number of kids who had written on each topic was basically split down the middle -- the teacher chose the best two essays on irony and the best two on Simon to read aloud.

I am not familiar with the religious views of this English teacher, but understand that she was unaware of Kirsten’s religion at the time of this test.

Here's the noteworthy part.  The two Simon essays she chose were written by Kirsten and the other Mormon student in the class.