In this podcast, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Charles Randall Paul, Liz Shropshire, and James Faulconer reflect upon today’s world a decade past September 2001, as well as the nature of peace itself and what it means to be “at peace.” The discussion then turns to the history of Mormon prophetic discourse as it calls, with varying vigor, church members to be peacemakers, as well as to some of the key scriptural passages, stories, and theological notions that inspire the panelists’ own peacebuilding work.

We trust that you will find this a thoughtful and important discussion at this solemn and reflective moment in time, and we encourage you to join in the conversation in the comments section below.

_____

Please check out (and donate if so moved!) these two peace building foundations run by two of this episodes’ panelists:

The Shropshire Music Foundation–Teaching Children Peace Through Music

The Foundation for Religious Diplomacy

_____

Other Mormon-led peacebuilding and humanitarian foundations, and LDS peacemakers, to learn about and support:

Joan Betros. Joan heads up F.U.T.U.R.E. (Families United Toward Universal Respect), which uses the model of Relief Society to get women to connect, support, and help each other in Iraq.

Chad Ford. Chad runs the Intercultural Peacebuilding Certificate program at BYU-Hawaii, and he is also involved with the Arbinger Institute and Peace Players International, which uses basketball and other sports to bring together children and adults from both sides of divided communities together. Chad is helping podcast panelist Charles Randall Paul put on a goodwill match next year in Salt Lake City between the Iranian women’s soccer team and an American equivalent.

Peggy Rogers. Peggy founded and runs the Zambia Scholarship Fund, which provides stipends for teachers and scholarships for Zambian students to attend high school and college and learn to become teachers themselves.

Cecile Pelous. Cecile went to India to help Mother Teresa and ended up starting an orphanage that she still runs in Nepal. Cecile gave up her life as a fashion designer in Paris to go to India, and she is who inspired panelist Liz Shropshire to start looking for a way she could help children affected by war.

Warner Woodworth works tirelessly to bring money and expertise from church members who have it to aid new entrepreneurs in establishing sustainable businesses in South and Central America.

Daniel Peterson runs the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI), which opens important dialogues with Muslims by producing bi-lingual classical Islamic texts that have not previously been translated.

Bill Jackson directs the Intermountain Research and Medical Foundation (formerly the Deseret Foundation), which has operations in Africa, the Philippines, and South and Central America that bring doctors and supplies to train local doctors in procedures that cure and heal thousands.  

The Brent and Bonnie Jean Beesley Foundation works to establish elementary schools in rural India.

We invite Mormon Matters listeners to write about other LDS-led peacemaking and humanitarian organizations that we can add to this list.

There was a big disagreement about this on my mission.  An investigator who had been given a chapel card showed up for church just as the sacrament service was beginning.  When the bread tray came to him, he was unsure what to do, so he took a piece of the bread.  Just then, an older missionary who was serving in a branch leadership role jumped up from his seat on the stand and commanded the man (in Spanish) to “Drop it!” which he did.  Needless to say, the investigator never returned.  To explain his actions, the missionary referred to the following scriptures:

3 Ne. 18: 28-29 28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to ^apartake of my flesh and blood ^bunworthily, when ye shall minister it;

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and ^ablood ^bunworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

While this missionary was perhaps alone in his strict interpretation of these scriptures in this specific situation, there is clearly a scriptural prohibition to prevent someone taking the sacrament unworthily.

Should non-members be asked not to partake?  The current mormon.org provides a description of our services for visitors:

A typical meeting would consist of the following:
Hymns: Religious songs sung by the congregation (hymn books are provided).
Prayers: Offered by local Church members.
Partaking of the sacrament (communion):The sacrament consists of prepared bread and water, which is blessed and passed to members of the congregation by priesthood holders .
Speakers: Typically a meeting will have two or three assigned speakers.
We do not pass a plate to request donations as part of our worship services.

There is no specific prohibition made here instructing visitors to not partake.  Does that omission imply non-members are welcome to partake in the spirit of worship although it is not a renewal of their baptismal covenants?

Children and the mentally disabled frequently partake because they are considered innocent and in no way unworthy.  What about ex-Mormons who are not returning to the church but attending due to familial obligation?  What about crazy people (there are lots of brands of crazy)?  What about ex-Mormons who are crazy?

If intervention is desired, who should intervene?  How and when should this take place?  Isn’t a lay member intervening kind of like a citizen’s arrest?  This is one area where I agree with Elizabeth I:  I have “no desire to make windows into men’s souls.”  Nor have I seen anyone burst into flames for touching the sacrament or keel over dead like Uzzah the ark-steadier.  My tendency would be to leave it up to the individual, but perhaps I am being remiss.

And when do you feel you should recuse yourself from taking the sacrament?  For major infractions only?  If you are yelling at the kids to hurry in the morning?

9. I have never registered to vote as a Republican. When I turned eighteen, I registered as an American Independent solely to receive wacko political screeds about the New World Order from the militia point of view. I later registered as a Democrat so I could have a say in the Salt Lake City Democratic primary mayoral race. Since then, I have been unaffiliated and plan to remain that way.

8. My wife and I have one nearly three year old boy. He’s our miracle baby. That’s all, no mini-van “quiver” full of “arrows.” I’m not trying to deprive him of siblings; the good Lord apparently hasn’t seen fit to send more yet.

7. I allow my wife to not only work inside of our home, where she does a great job, but outside of our home as well, where she also does a great job (only part-time, of course ).

6. I have a low tolerance for Jell-O.

5. I love music composed and performed by people of questionable moral standing

4. I eat meat in the summer and in times of plenty.

3. I hate, Hate, HATE Mary Kay, Amway, Nu-Skin, Tupperware, scrap-booking and any other socially manipulative pyramid scheme which masquerades sales presentations as “parties.”

2. I walk to church as often as possible (3 blocks) and leave the car at home.

1. I blog on Mormon Matters with the rest of the reprobates.

Confession time, brethren and sistren: