In a wonderful new book, Future Mormon: Essays in Mormon Theology, Adam Miller sets his spirit and intellect loose on the important task of helping clear away debris and suggesting some possible new framings for Mormonism that might appeal to coming generations. As he writes in the Introduction, “Every generation must live its own lives and think its own thoughts and receive its own revelations. And, if Mormonism continues to matter, it will because they, rather than leaving, were willing to be Mormon all over again. Like our grandparents, like our parents, and like us, they will have to rethink the whole tradition, from top to bottom, right from the beginning, and make it their own in order to embody Christ anew in this passing world. To the degree that we can help, our job is to model that work in love and then offer them the tools, the raw materials, and the room to do it themselves.”
In this episode, Adam Miller, Rosalynde Welch, and Jim McLachlan join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon for a discussion of Future Mormon and various themes in Adam’s thinking. What question that we hear quite often in Mormonism seems too “thin” to lead us to the kind of “load-bearing” answers that can serve us in the midst of “white knuckling” prayers? Is “truth” static, sitting in God’s mind or heart like a vault waiting to be opened and shared, or is the ideal approach to truth something more dynamic, something that calls on us each, in our lives, to “make” true, to see how far a truth can carry us? Are there more powerful ways to think of “grace” beyond its role in the Atonement and matters of our salvation? Have we in Mormonism skipped over some elements that the apostle Paul might claim are essential, Christianity 101 kind of things—and how can these animate our lives in fresh and powerful ways? The discussion moves fast, and at times perhaps might seem a bit too “insider-ish” (as the four panelists talk about things in a book most listeners will not have read), but those moments pass in this immensely enjoyable conversation.
Please help continue the conversation in the comments section below!
Links:
Adam S. Miller, Future Mormon: Essays in Mormon Theology (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2016)
Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes (2016)
Adam S. Miller, Grace is Not God’s Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2015)
Adam S. Miller, Rube Goldberg Machines: Essays in Mormon Theology (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2012)
