Zion in ruins?
Posted by Ryan on February 20th, 2006
Albert Einstein:
A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
I’m starting to think that Einstein had a greater grasp on reality than just some nifty physics insights. After all, in Rough Stone Rolling, Brother Bushman makes it resoundingly clear that Joseph initially had no concept or expectation of church schedules and meeting patterns and such things. Joseph understood “the church” not to just be a religion but to be the way of a life as a result of knowing and living the truth. In essence, a definition for optimal human behavior based upon “sympathy, education and social ties”. The concept of Zion was not that everybody attended sacrament meeting, sunday school and PH/RS meetings but that the whole community lifted each other up, studied the mysteries of godliness together and built up micro family units that would unite the macro human family.
So where did we go wrong? How did we get so bureaucratic and starved for early morning and late night meetings? The firesides, the seminaries, the councils and committees, the policies and procedures, the courts and covenants…
I can’t help but think that it isn’t the church leadership that’s the problem but that the church population, myself included, is to blame. Why? Well I work in a pretty big organization and I have found, as I learn our myriad of policies and procedures, that almost invariably, our most inane and ridiculous rules have come about as a result of one person doing something stupid. Then the owners meet with the supervisors and someone suggests a new rule that precludes us from running as efficiently as possible to protect us from more stupidity. The problem in my company gets worse every year, and so, I fear, do we… the church. Where is my Zion? Methinks it drifts away with every new committee.
I think that it is society that is to blame. When the church started, not everyone had a 9-5 job. People were farmers or they could set up their own schedules. People were more flexible with their time.
Now, this is nearly impossible to do with few exceptions. Before, everyone could almost spontaneously gather. Try that now. Without stricter organization, I beleive that the church could not hold together. Imagine the Bishop deciding that there should be a meeting and trying to get everyone in his Bishopric together during the day. I don’t think it’s possible.
Having our strict meeting times and such is the only way that we can make sure the saints are being edified. It’s one of the evils of the industrial age.
Comment # 1 left by Ian on February 21st, 2006
People were more flexible with their time
As I understand it, people were quite unflexible with their time.
There are only so many hours in a day to get all your farm work doen. I have been under the impression that discretionary time is a relatively new commodity. I don’t have much to support that however so I’m off to research it….
Before, everyone could almost spontaneously gather. Try that now.
You can spontaneously gather at http://mahonrimoriancumr.blogspot.com. (Yes i ama ctually suggesting that, used correctly, the bloggernacle trends us back towards Zion, or living a theological lifestyle such as Joseph tried to establish during his time.
Comment # 2 left by Ryan on February 21st, 2006
Nice plug for the Blogs.
I may be wrong about the flexible thing, but, from what I have read (and I am currently reading Rough Stone Rolling) and it seems to me that society was a less rigid, and it was easier to pick up everything you were doing and move on.
I could be way off though.
Comment # 3 left by Ian on February 21st, 2006