Andre Wright, Staff ReporterThis is the second in a two-part feature on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS).
WHILE THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also called Mormons, is familiar with having to defend their faith, they haven't wasted time in making their message count where it probably matters most - the family.
Elder Rodney Showalter and his wife, Geneva, two missionaries from the church's International Public Affairs Office - said apart from emphasising spiritual salvation, Mormons focus a lot of their time and effort on nurturing the family.
According to Mrs. Showalter, "The family is in trouble worldwide. The family is the most important thing on earth. We always believe that our first responsibility is the family." And Elder Showalter repeated a Mormon axiom, "No success can compensate for failure in the home."
Yvet Dennis, a member of the LDS in Old Harbour, St. Catherine, said, "The most important thing is what is done within the walls of the home."
She attributes the failure of many families to the fact that the root causes of problems are not being tackled. "We believe in getting right back to the basics," she said. "(What's wrong is) that we're trying to deal with the problem without the source."
Mrs. Dennis cities the absence of many fathers in the home as a major contributor to the breakdown in the family. She said the LDS host a number of programmes, such as their 'Family Home Evening' session, where they encourage families to spend meaningful time together.
The Mormons' family-oriented focus suggests they may be on to something big. The typical evangelical thrust of winning one soul at a time at crusades without the requisite follow-up home visits could be one of the major factors behind backsliding. The win-the-family, win-it-all strategy actually resembles St. Paul's experience with the Philippian jailer in Acts 16.
In a previous interview, Elder Sealy, another Mormon missionary, told The Sunday Gleaner, "We believe in family. The deterioration in family life has taken place in not having a father figure to look up to. We go to places where men are found, such as hardware stores, and go back and teach them and encourage them to get the family together and pray for their families."
And Nannet Hayles, a young believer who has been a Mormon for seven years, said, "Person-ally, in Jamaica, the church can be useful by bringing to more people the know-how of doing it (caring for the family). All our auxiliaries are designed for all age groups in Jamaica. Anybody who wants to know how to strengthen his or her family should come to us. It's not about preaching, it's about teaching."
The Latter-Day Saints have also given lots of humanitarian assistance to Jamaica, specifically Food for the Poor, in the form of food, clothing, medical and educational equipment and wheelchairs. On February 1, they will be making a donation of books and educational CDs to the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. The LDS are also gearing up to get their Perpetual Education Fund off the ground, which is an educational loan facility seeking to assist needy students in the Caribbean. Money will be paid directly to educational institutions and the beneficiaries are required to make small contributions towards paying off the loan, so that the Fund can be 'recycled'.
MORMON FACT FILE
Founded in New York in 1830 by Joseph Smith
Smith claims visions which lead him to plates, which he translates as the Book of Mormom
Armed mob assassinates founder in 1844
Church makes rapid growth, epic march under Brigham Young to Utah in 1846
Officially ends practice of polygamy in 1890
In 1978, revokes policy of excluding Black men from the priesthood
11 million members worldwide 4,100 in Jamaica
62,000 missionaries internationally
Principally uses the Bible and the Book of Mormom, as well as Smith's Doctrine of Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.
Note: In response to last week's article 'Misunderstood', Mrs. Geneva Showalter says that the church's position on accepting Black men to the priesthood was not influenced by political and social forces, but by revelation.
