Puzzle pieces


I was reading old journal entries for material for my BYU series and I came across this, written on Sunday, December 30, 2001, while I was attending the Campus Crusade for Christ Conference in Spokane, Washington as a sophomore from BYU:
I remember once hearing a woman teaching [LDS] institute, and she talked about how Mormonism is like a puzzle, and when somebody gives her a piece of the puzzle that doesn’t seem to fit, she doesn’t throw the whole puzzle away; she just sets the piece aside and keeps working on the puzzle until she finds where it fits.
I agree with that analogy; I think it’s a great one. I apply it to Christianity. When someone gives me a piece of Christianity that I don’t understand, I take that piece and set it aside and trust that I’ll understand it some day.
Both me and an LDS person do that from the assumption that our puzzles are in fact correct and that we have complete faith that we’ll someday see the fulness of the truth. But the fact is, our respective puzzles are not both correct. One of us has a messed up puzzle. Sooner or later, one of us is going to wind up with a jumble of pieces that don’t fit.
That’s what I do at BYU. I give Mormons puzzle pieces that don’t fit. I myself want to be a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit. I don’t expect them to act on it now. But I trust God to put other people into their lives who will give them more puzzle pieces that don’t fit. And someday they’re going to have a jumble of puzzle pieces that don’t fit and they’re going to have to say, “Something’s wrong. Something’s missing in my life.”
Robert Millet said something similar in Bridging the Divide regarding “the shelf”:
I have, as I assume many of you do, a number of questions—doctrinal or historical—about my own faith tradition that I have not resolved or found adequate answers for. After I have taken the time to read, study, and research an issue and fill in whatever blanks I can, I put the question “on the shelf” and move on. As time passes, as new insights come, I am able to take many of those issues down from the shelf, for now they are no longer a problem for me. But I determined years ago that I would not obsess over or become unwound spiritually by the things that have neither been revealed nor discovered. (p. 97-98)
I’ve often heard ex-Mormons speak of how they put so many issues “on the shelf” that the shelf eventually broke.
So… how are your puzzles and shelves doing?
By the way, liberal Mormon bloggers are cheaters. They keep sawing off the interlocking parts of individual puzzle pieces to make them fit. I haven’t quite decided how to handle the lot of you, but I’m working on it.


Comments

Puzzle pieces — 14 Comments


  1. That’s interesting. One reason I started giving Mormonism a serious look is because my evangelical shelves were getting too full. Here I was being told that all our doctrines come from the Bible, and then I’d look in my Bible to try to find them and they weren’t there. The doctrine of the Trinity, sola scriptura, the belief that those who haven’t heard of Christ will burn in hell (something many evangelicals don’t often say now, but they did when I was growing up), the concept of Satan being a fallen angel, and others — I just couldn’t find definitive Biblical support. (And it wasn’t because I didn’t study the Bible or was unfamiliar with the doctrine. I went to an evangelical Christian college and had enough religion credits that in many schools I could have had a minor in it.) So when my life situation was such that Mormonism had something to offer, I figured, why not give this other belief system a look and see how it fits in with what makes sense to me?
    Do I still have a shelf? You bet. (Tops on the list — why no priesthood as we understand it now for women? But if my wife, who is a product of the women’s movement as much as anyone, can live with it, so can I.) But in my old age, perhaps, the shelf bothers me less. Ultimately, my goal is to become like Christ, and I have more important things to do than to try to fit all the pieces together if I want to reach that goal.
    And, to be blunt about it, I find your attitude of 2001 (I’ll show them how my shelf has less on it than their shelf) a bit arrogant. That isn’t to say I don’t see the same attitude among some Mormons. (I don’t see that attitude in your modern writing, by the way, so don’t take this as an insult.)
  2. Someday I’ll have to do a post about what I think of the Trinity, sola scriptura, and other evangelical ideas; I think having weathered the attacks of LDS apologists on those topics has forced me to have rather unconventional approaches to them. It’s good to hear your perspective though, Eric. You’re kind of the opposite of me in a lot of ways; I have an unofficial minor in Mormonism but don’t believe it, you have an unofficial minor in traditional Christian doctrine but don’t believe it. Kind of ironic.
    And no offense taken, I was arrogant; remember, I kept taking all those hard religion classes because I was so sure I knew everything about the LDS church that mattered. I’d only done two semesters at BYU when I wrote this, and I still had a lot to learn about not approaching Mormons like a know-it-all. That’s one of the things that’s changed about me, that I feel like neither side should approach the other as though they’re all completely lost.
    I’m glad I wrote it down though. It’s good to see how my attitude has changed.
  5. Stretching, but still holding.
    One question is whether the piece you hold is from the same puzzle you’re working on, and that is a far more difficult question to answer.
  6. I’m actually a fierce Independent, but I couldn’t make a difference against Hillary without registering last year and going to caucus.
    Truth is, we (lovelywife and I) looked at both candidates (and the list of eight crazies below them from the other parties), went “BLEARGH” at it all and sent in one vote for Obama and one for McCain. It’s not like McCain was going to get any electors from Washington State anyway…
  7. Rob, you are in Washington? What part? You must have read by now that I’m in Tacoma.
    And… caucus!
    I should do a post sometime on my own puzzle pieces from evangelical Christianity, but I’m too lazy today.
  9. Ah, you live in God’s country. Live in Washington, don’t pay state tax, shop in Oregon, don’t pay sales tax.
    If you have no objections to meeting strange people from the Internet, I believe my husband and I will be making a trip to Portland sometime next month.
  10. I am much more outgoing than my wife, who would have to clear it: “Kimdear, would you like to meet an Internet friend of mine, who might want to discuss transducianism and what Mormons think of Obama?”
    For most of us Vancouverites, the condition is “Work in Oregon and pay income tax, shop in Oregon and don’t pay sales tax” unless it’s day to day stuff. Either way, the Man gets his due.
    I will speak to the dear wife.  If nothing else there’s Kenny&Zukes on Burnside, owned by another Internet friend of mine I haven’t met. It could be a trifecta!
  11. I liked living in Alaska, where the government pays YOU to live there. Unfortunately, hubby isallergic to cold, so I think moving back there is out of the question.
    My husband is usually fine with meeting my dialogue friends from the Internet so long as he comes with me. Well, he doesn’t really like it when I drag him along to meet ex-Mormons, but he likes it less if I go to meet them alone.
    I’ll let you know what day we plan the trip for and we can talk then.
  12. Oooh, Jack, I will be at my mom’s house in Vancouver, WA from March 28-April 5. Are you planning on going at the end of the month?
    Tacoma is only a couple of hours from Vancouver, so maybe I can drive up and see you sometime!
  13. Oh, if you’re coming to Vancouver Alisha, we definitely need to plan some kind of meet up. Have you even ever met Harley?
    I’ll mark your dates on my calendar and let you know when my plans are more solid.
  14. No, I have not met your little dolly girl! I would love to. Definitely let me know your plans. If you can’t see us this time, we can definitely see you on one of our next trips. Love ya!
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