One place I see LDS and Evangelicals talking past one another is on the issue of eternal families. LDS longingly look forward to the day in which they can be together with their family for ever. Temple wedding versus chapel wedding — “don’t you want an eternal marriage?” When LDS missionaries ask Evangelicals “don’t you want to be with your family forever?” they often get a quizzical “What? No.” And with that Evangelicals seem to be tossing aside something that is precious to LDS.
It’s not that we Evangelicals don’t want to be with our families for all eternity, it’s just not any part of our focus when we think of heaven. We look forward to spending eternity with Christ (as I’m sure LDS do as well). We actually do believe that we will be with our families forever. But we don’t think our family will be limited to our immediate biological family. We believe that we will be in loving, intimate relationship with EVERYONE in heaven, not just our families. The closeness I share with my wife, I’ll have with everyone, and I’ll have eternity to get to know them. I look forward to catching up with Paul, Michaelangelo, St. Francis and a little boy in Kenya whose name I don’t even know, and listening to them all recount all that Christ did for them.
Interesting. Though I had a general idea, I didn’t know exactly what Evangelicals thought about eternal families.
The problem with the LDS position you post about is that it is part of the overall, actually overreaching doctrine of man becoming God. The man and woman married “for all eternity” look forward to creating a world and populating it with the spirit children that they will continue to have once in heaven.
“As man is, God once was and as God is. man may become” is a well know couplet to Mormons. Their God is an exalted man, and this colors everything.
Something that Kullervo and I have discussed (and that he can probably articulate way better than me!) is that the LDS doctrine of eternal families doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense. What is to stop families from being families in the afterlife? If you aren’t sealed in the Mormon temple… will you not know each other? Then, let’s face it (and I’m being pragmatic here)… who cares? You won’t remember each other, so it won’t matter.
If you know each other… will there be something to keep you from hanging out? If Kullervo and I weren’t sealed in the temple, but wanted to hang out all the time… would there be a brick wall that eternally separated us? What is to stop us from BEING an eternal family?
Also, many Mormons have the misguieded idea that an eternal family actually means being with your parents and your kids for all eternity… but, of course, upon reflection that doesn’t really make sense, unless we all live in one big mansion that includes everyone ever… and if that is the way that it is, then what is special about eternal families at all, and what makes it any different?
Hey, this is the first time that I have joined in with the WordPress community.
Kenya?
I was there for a summer.
Dando, there are many Kenyans that I will enjoy spending time with in heaven.
Blessings to you.
I was there last summer and I agree!
I wrote a lengthy blog-post on the Mormon doctrine of eternal families, and why I think it is completely incoherent, mostly echoing things my lovely katyjane already said.
http://byzantium.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/incoherent-eternal-families/
Click that link.
Thanks for the endorsement.