So… who thinks Mormons are weird? Many people roll their eyes or cringe when they hear about us or talk about us. “Oh great, it’s the Mormons!” I’m sure a lot of folks have exhaled such a phrase as they see me and my companion approach their front door, ready to preach what the world likes to call the “Mormon bible.” But are we really all that crazy?
I’ll admit, we’re a peculiar people. I mean, come on, just look at our doctrine and the things we teach! Don’t smoke? Don’t drink alcohol? Don’t do drugs? Don’t swear? Follow Jesus Christ by being baptized? Go to church? Give tithes? Be kind to others because we’re all children of God? Strive to be like Jesus and follow His teachings? Read the scriptures every day? Study the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon? Pray daily? Share Christ’s gospel with others? Take two years out of your life when you’re 19 to spread the Word? Don’t have sex out of marriage? Be loyal to your spouse? Keep your thoughts clean and avoid pornography? The family is ordained of God? We can be together forever? Happily!?
Yeah, weird stuff, huh? Who would want to involve themselves in such thinking! Oh, wait, yeah there are some even more peculiar things. We do believe that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to a 14-year-old farm boy from Vermont to restore Jesus Christ’s church to the earth.
That’s obviously ridiculous considering a burning bush told Moses to go free an entire race of people from Egyptian slavery.
But we also believe that three years later that same boy received golden plates on a hill from an angel named Moroni.
And that’s also downright crazy since Moses received stone tablets from the Great Jehovah on a mountain.
Mormons are just out of their minds, huh? I mean, going along with that 14-year-old boy’s account, we also believe that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate, distinct individuals. That can’t be right, ’cause Jesus obviously talked to Himself on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane! Stephen was obviously seeing double vision from getting pegged in the head with stones when he saw Christ on the right hand of God. Jesus was obviously just patting Himself on the back whenever He gave glory to the Father. And God was obviously just traveling at a super fast speed when He got baptized by John, appeared in the sign of a dove, and shouted down at Himself from Heaven all at the same time!
Yes, Mormons are indeed weird. We also believe in prophets and continuing revelation. That’s ludicrous! Why would God want to continue to reveal His word through prophets as He’s done since the dawn of time? Why would He want to give us more scripture? A God who loves His children would obviously find one book sufficient to help guide them back to His presence.
If the world finds us strange, so be it. I know that our doctrine is correct, and I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only [completely] true and living church on the earth today.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9)
Closer Than We Think 