BYU study: Disconnect between Mormons and Easter

Deseret News ^ | April 3, 2010 | Carrie A. Moore

[Paragon Defender]

Interesting article. We had our Easter-centered meeting last week since this weekend was conference. Is there room for improvement? Sure. No doubt we all impefect beings have lots of improving to do in many areas.

The atoning sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior gets mentioned every single Sunday that I can recall. Not just on Easter.

Like I said, interesting article. Somehow evidence that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints isn’t exactly what it is proclaimed to be? Not hardly.

I am sure you will keep trying though.

[Colofornian]

Is there room for improvement? Sure.

Hey, I understand.
I understand why BYU prof Kent Wilson says lds let Easter become...
..."almost completely usurped"
..."overshadow[ed]"
..."an awkward juxtaposition..."
...a "disconnect with...Lds observance"
...& "receives little attention beyond a regular Sunday service" which may receive nothing more than token acknowledgement.

I mean, after all, and foremost (1)
...why would Lds even much acknowledge the original 'Good' Friday when many (not all) Lds leaders do cartwheels to avoid mention or focus on the cross or Calvary or Golgotha? Here, let me give you a prime-time example from Saturday morning's General Conference in Salt Lake City...from the lips of your very "prophet":
"No mere mortal can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane," Monson said in the Saturday morning session.
Source: Easter Day conference talks highlight Atonement, showing others love

(Anybody who has studied Mormonism knows Lds highlight Gethsemane's blood that Calvary's blood...right after the Last Supper on Thursday of the original Easter Week, Jesus went to Gethsemane to spend many hours in prayer that night...)
Of course, you would think that since Lds play down the blood of Christ shed on the cross in favor of the blood of Christ shed as he sweated during intense prayer in the Garden, that Mormons would come up with their own...
...'Good Thursday' and go wild about celebrating that (but they don't)...
..."LPT" (Living Prophet Translation of the JST -- Joseph Smith Translation) -- changing well-known Bible phrases of Jesus like "pick up your cross and follow me" to: "pick up your garden and follow me" but perhaps that will occur some time in the future.
(2) Cruciphobic Mormons: The Salt Lake Trib, in this Good Friday article, A Return to 'Mormon' made mention of several Mormon blogs that would be covering last weekend's General Conference. I looked up one of those blogs mentioned by the Trib & found a previous discussion about how Mormons (don't) celebrate Easter -- a 2006 discussion: FeministMormonHousewives . Here are some of the comments from that discussion by Mormon bloggers...commentators who concede Mormons are "cruciphobic":

I agree with your concern about how we as a people avoid the cross — I think we need to think about the differences between Mormons and vampires at the sight of the cross. I’ve lost most of my cruciphobia the past decade or so, once I came to identify it.I think it’s very important that our reasons for not using the cross in our worship should not be confused with the reasons that others do — we are avoiding the worshipping of objects, but they aren’t worshipping the object so much as worshipping what the symbol stands for, for example. (from poster Blain, April 17, 2006)

In the historic defensiveness about our doctrines we have grown up cruciphobic. (Nice, Blain.) (From poster Guinevere, April 18)

I know just what you mean about the undercurrent of superiority from some members / communities…. I grew up in one of the super Mormon suburbs in the SL valley, and as a kid, every glimpse of a cross / crucifix was a little jolt to my system: That person is different. Other. Wrong, even. I didn’t mean to feel that way. I didn’t want to feel that way. But I did. I moved away as soon as I could with the intent of broadening my horizons, but it still took me several years to get over that response (and similar others to grown women in tank tops, for instance, or people drinking coffee — so many COMPLETELY inconsequential choices that felt shocking to me). I got married and started my family out here in “the mission field” but we’re about to move to a very small town that is even more LDS (if such a thing is possible, lol) than where I grew up, and I worry about my girls picking up that attitude. I guess that’s all kind of tangential to the point of the post, though, huh? Sorry. Anyway, I love the cross now. I belonged to the student Christian association at the small college I attended in North Carolina, and one of my treasured possessions is a gift they gave me — an empty cross pendant, hand crafted out of nails. I don’t wear it often, as I do feel that would misrepresent myself in some way, but I have worn it. My association with those people (and other wonderful “mainstream” Christians since) has helped me appreciate what an amazing and beautiful symbol of faith it really is. I love that our faith has a unique perspective on the resurrection (and I love the “He’s not dead” response, lol) but — call me dangerously ecumenical if you must— I think there is so much to be gained from hearing (and REALLY listening) to the testimonies and perspectives of other sincere Christians about Christ’s sacrifice for us. If only to wipe that smugness off our collective faces (though I suspect we’d get more from it than that). (from poster Rch, April 17, 2006)

I sometimes wear a cross. It’s interesting that Mormons so readily shun the cross, as the empty cross (as opposed to the curcifix) is actually a symbol of Jesus’ resurrection, not his death and suffering. I do think that we skim too much over the atonement and especially the cross. I’ve heard it said many times that the atonement only took place in Gethsemane, which is blatently wrong. It encompassed the crucifixion too, at which time Jesus was then able to say his work was finished - not before. The atonement also represents for us the ability to be forgiven of our sins; the resurrection - the ability to live again after death. I think we lump these together and forget that each of these events had its own purpose. I think ‘The Passion of the Christ’, while brutal is probably not far off how horrific it would have been and I too, like Mindy, found it incredibly testimony strengthening. It gave me a real sense of his suffering and therefore his love for me. (From poster Rebecca, April 17, 2006)

[Elsie]

HE is Risen!

Now...

Go ye into ALL the world...