I’m fine with consciously underestimating my gift of agency.
This is the first of three parts of a discussion that looks at Mormon doctrine concerning the consumption of meat, vegetarian practices, and the current observed response of American Mormons to this doctrine.
In choosing my eating habits, I have had almost entirely different experiences than have Mark (
part 1) or Denzil (part 2). Though I grew up around vegetarians, vegans, and all other kinds of foodists, I can recall on many occasions when, after hearing about their habits or describing them to other people, I would say, '…but I could never be vegetarian/vegan.' Though I have since recanted (and to a much further extent than I ever would have imagined, becoming vegan myself), this is a phrase that many people, LDS or otherwise, use to absolve themselves from changing their habits. It’s a comment that, in the end, professes the same apathy and ignorance while undermining your own power of agency. This is exemplified by a popular LDS t-shirt that says, ‘I can’t. I’m Mormon.’ I find that absolution insulting and, in reality, points out how even oversimplifications can weaken our faith; you can, you just don’t.
Those phrases are tantamount to saying, ‘I can’t, because I haven’t really researched it, I just want to keep living the same way I always have.’ With that said, I can encourage people to understand and even accept my interpretation of the Lord’s suggested diet, but it would be wrong of me to say they should. Mark discussed 1st Timothy 4, which explains that we must not command someone to eat or abstain from eating meat. Agency, after all, is everyone’s God-given right, but with that amazing gift comes our responsibility to search out and understand truth. So, by all means, agree or disagree, but please refrain from shortcutting yourself with false absolutions that deflect responsibility.
Often, just like many people reject the church after hearing but a cursory explanation of our teachings, church members often reject new and different interpretations of doctrine, especially something concerning their own eating habits. Though we often share the gospel with others and hope for a change in their lives, we sometimes forget about how to accept new concepts and ideas ourselves. LeGrand Richards shares a quotes in his book A Marvelous Work and a Wonder by William George Jordan that says, ‘If [one] were a lover of truth, he would be willing at any moment to surrender his belief for a higher, better, and truer faith’ (11). I was simultaneously surprised and pleased one day to hear a friend reply, ‘I’ll have to pray about it,’ after I explained my eating habits and encouraged her to give it a try. I wish more people would have this response. We are, after all, given the gift of inspiration and agency for a reason, and though we don’t have to wait on affirmation from the Lord in every instance, open-mindedness and action is key to our eternal progression. ‘Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only’ (James 1:22). Being able to recognize the need for change is the first sign of repentance, and enacting that change is the first step towards becoming more Christlike. From personal experience, saying, ‘I could never become vegetarian’ only precludes you from finding out for yourself and giving it the thought that it deserves.
Returning to my own experience, I can say that the primary obstacle for my unwillingness to accept what my siblings have been saying to me for so long was, in fact, myself. I hadn’t given it much thought, I hadn’t researched it on my own, and besides an occasional vegan meal when dining with my sisters, I had never committed to test the principles they were professing. Agency is simultaneously the greatest gift and the cruelest curse God has ever granted mankind. It lets us make harmful mistakes, but conversely allows us to discover the ‘mysteries of God,’ letting us grow closer to him, and therein lies the key. Having an open mind allows the door to be opened for greater blessings to those who know nothing of the gospel, as well as those who have been members their entire lives. Once we have open minds, we are free to study the question at hand for ourselves, request assurance from our Heavenly Father in obtaining an answer, or if need be, just doing it.
How many times have we heard stories of new converts relating their newfound love of tithing, of fasting, or of any new concept? How hard must it have been for them to take that first step into the unknown? As a visiting church leader once colorfully proclaimed in a meeting I attended, ‘The celestial kingdom isn’t for pantywaists!’ We need to take a step out of our comfort zones and remember that we are all converts, and will continue to be so as long as we keep enduring to the end. Don’t let yourself be the one that gets in the way of what could possibly help you receive greater blessings than you’ve ever had before.
The Lord loves us. He knows us each individually, and based on that fact, I’d rather listen to what he has to say to me than depend on my or anyone’s fallible intellect. I hope that whether you agree or not, you are open to new ideas, you exercise your agency, and refrain from saying, ‘I can’t,’ because, standing as a living witness, I know you can.
Dean
8 June 2008
