
We Latter-day Saints know that our doctrines and values are not widely understood by those not of our faith. This was demonstrated by Gary C. Lawrence's nationwide study published in his recent book, How Americans View Mormonism. Three-quarters of those surveyed associated our Church with high moral standards, but about half thought we were secretive and mysterious and had "weird beliefs."1 When asked to select various words they thought described Latter-day Saints in general, 87 percent checked "strong family values," 78 percent checked "honest," and 45 percent checked "blind followers."2
When Lawrence's interviewers asked, "To the best of your understanding, what is the main claim of Mormonism?" only 14 percent could describe anything close to the idea of restoration or reestablishment of the original Christian faith. Similarly, when another national survey asked respondents what one word best described their impression of the Mormon religion, not one person suggested the words or ideas of original or restoration Christianity.3
My disappointment with these findings is only slightly reduced by Lawrence's other findings and observation that on the subject of religion Americans in general are "deeply religious" but "profoundly ignorant." For example, 68 percent said they prayed at least several times a week, and 44 percent said they attended religious services almost every week. At the same time, only half could name even one of the four Gospels, most could not name the first book of the Bible, and 10 percent thought Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.4
Many factors contribute to the predominant shallowness on the subject of religion, but one of them is surely higher education's general hostility or indifference to religion. With but few exceptions, colleges and universities have become value-free places where attitudes toward religion are neutral at best. Students and other religious people who believe in the living reality of God and moral absolutes are being marginalized.
It seems unrealistic to expect higher education as a whole to resume a major role in teaching moral values. That will remain the domain of homes, churches, and church-related colleges and universities. All should hope for success in this vital task. The academy can pretend to neutrality on questions of right and wrong, but society cannot survive on such neutrality.
I have chosen three clusters of truths to present as fundamental premises of the faith of Latter-day Saints:
The nature of God, including the role of the three members of the Godhead and the corollary truth that there are moral absolutes.
2.The purpose of life.
3.The threefold sources of truth about man and the universe: science, the scriptures, and continuing revelation—and how we can know them.