Bridge of Reason

Has anyone else noticed how some groups anoint everything with the idea of the 'sacred'? Mormons don’t simply have conferences, they have ‘solemn assemblies.’ Their proceedings may be shared and discussed, but any questioning of these ‘sacred’ meetings is seen as crass. After all, the prophet has spoken and we all should be grateful. ‘ Sacred’ here means beyond criticism. To Mormons, the place where Joseph Smith had his ‘First Vision’ (note the official capitalisation ) is called the ‘Sacred Grove’ (also capitalised). ‘Sacred’ here means unimpeachable, so we had better respect it or we will just let ourselves down. Sacred groves are not and never have been part of the landscape of the Christian faith. Here i n the United Kingdom churches were often built o ver the sites of pagan Anglo-Saxon sacred groves. These groves have been associated with paganism, animism, polytheism, the cult of the dead, but never Christ . Mormons also build and operate temples, considered so ‘...