Four Ways The Shame Culture Is Corrupting Mormon Culture.
There is a thriving shame culture in the world today. The shame culture is a cancer; and sadly, it has infected in many aspects Mormon culture. Having lived in the South I experienced persecution for being a member of the church. But nowhere have I experienced more shame and persecution than by members of the church. Like the olive tree overtaken with wild branches, Mormon culture has been overpowered and corrupted by the shame culture. (See Elder Christofferson’s talk on the shame culture). It is time for us to realize that aspects of Mormon culture are really cancerous aspects of the shame culture. I want to outline 4 aspects of Mormon culture that have been corrupted.
“Holocausts, are caused not only by atomic explosion. A holocaust occurs whenever a person is put to shame.”
~Abraham Joshua Heschel
1st. The Caste System Within Mormon Culture.
One of the first things the shame culture does is feed one’s pride. It does this by categorizing everyone and creating a caste system so to speak. (A caste system is a class system). A few examples of The Mormon Caste System are, Pioneer stock vs Converts, Rich vs Poor, Early RM’s vs RM’s, Baptizing Missionaries vs Non-Baptizing Missionaries, Singles vs Married, Those who have served missions vs those who have not, Large Families vs Small Families. I could go on and on about the growing caste system within Mormonism.
We even do this with the leadership of the Church, we want to idolize them as more than men. One time I was doing an endowment at the Salt Lake Temple and Elder Christofferson sat right in front of me! And then Steve Young sat right next to me. I made a comment about how cool it was to do an endowment with Elder Christofferson, Steve Young turned to me and said, “He is just a man, as normal as me or you.”
It was humbling to see that to Steve Young, an Apostle, an NFL Super Star, and a single 24-year-old Mormon were all the same. His words reminded me that in the Kingdom of God, there are no caste systems! Each of us is a child of God with the potential to become like Him.
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