He said that Latter-day Saints weep at funerals, and therefore they do not really believe in heaven or an afterlife.
I wondered if, at any time when he was a member of the Church, this professor had read the following verse:
“Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die…” (D&C 42:45).
The Lord gives us not only the ability to weep, but permission to do so. It is a blessing not to be shamed for having feelings.
On the other hand, it is important not to conflate emoting with spirituality. Tears may be shed for numerous reasons; most of them are not spiritual.
“And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy” (Mosiah 4:20).
Peace, love, joy, and, apparently, silence, are among the fruits of the Spirit.
Testimony Meeting
People who get up to share testimonies in Fast and Testimony meeting will often weep. This is not necessarily good or bad. I sometimes wonder if sharing less feeling and more thoughts would be more effective; in other words, sharing more information about personal revelation and experiences with the Spirit, and less about how these makes us feel, would help others to experience the same thing.
Imagine being grilled by someone who is not a Latter-day Saint:
“Why are you willing to give ten percent of your income, enormous amounts of your time, and defer to a group of elderly men by following their instructions?” An attempt to answer these questions would definitely include elements of a testimony, but in the original sense of the word: a courtroom deposition given by a witness.
Far from tender hearts and wet eyes, a response to such interrogation would be sober, factual, and to the point. The hymn sums it up: “The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true” (I Know My Father Lives, Hymns, 302).
The next logical question would be something like, “Why are you so willing to trust those whispers, impressions, and promptings?
This could be followed by a multitude of personal stories about being led by that same voice out of danger, into success, or into a crucial learning situation that affected a person’s life for years afterward.
All of this could transpire without expecting tears.
Tears in sacred settings are appropriate; they do not, however, necessarily intensify spirituality, or even indicate authenticity of spiritual experiences. Perhaps the injunction to “bridle all your passions” (Alma 38:12) is a good guide for shedding tears in worship settings. A bridle does not eradicate; it guides and restrains, if need be.
Brother Joseph: A True and Faithful Guide
Openness about feelings notwithstanding, coherency and dignity are hallmarks of true messengers of God.
Joseph Smith taught regarding the excited and bizarre behavior exhibited at various groups’ religious meetings, such as swooning, twitching, falling, shouting, etc., “Now God never had any prophets that acted in this way; there was nothing indecorous (undignified) in the proceedings of the Lord’s prophets in any age…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 209).
“…there is nothing unnatural in the Spirit of God” (TPJS, p. 214).
“Not every spirit, or vision, or singing, is of God” (ibid, p. 162). This might be said of shedding tears or other strong emotions exhibited in church settings.
The Spirit is a revelator; if no revelation, no knowledge, is communicated, then that manifestation is most likely not of God: “…a manifestation of what? Is there any intelligence communicated? Are the curtains of heaven withdrawn, or the purposes of God developed? Have they seen and conversed with an angel—or have the glories of futurity burst upon their view? No! …all the intelligence that can be obtained from them when they arise, is a shout of ‘glory,’ or ‘hallelujah,’ or some incoherent expression; but they have had ‘the power’” (ibid, p. 204).
“A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge” (ibid, p. 217), so we ought to make sure that, regardless of whether we weep or not, we convey the knowledge the Lord prompts us to speak when we get up and share our faith with others.
Jesus Christ Weeps
Joseph Smith criticized a particular kind of people whom he referred to as “long-faced hypocrites,” people who attempt to seem holy by being sour and stoic, dampening emotional expressions, while also being judgmental toward others. He preferred to associate with coarser people who were open, friendly, and, honest, than with pious frauds. There is a time and place for silence and stoicism, solemnity and sobriety, but there is also a time and place for tears, laughter, and other emotions.
Jesus wept.
A granddaughter tried to stifle her tears while discussing her divorce, and her grandfather consoled her:
“Remember John 11:35—‘Jesus wept.’” In this verse, Jesus wept for his friends, Mary and Martha, who ached for the loss of their brother, Lazarus.
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
“Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me” (Alma 7:12-13).
Jesus Christ also wept tears of joy after His resurrection, as recorded in 3 Nephi:
“…and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
“And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
“And when he had done this he wept again…” (3Ne. 17:20-22).
There is something more mature about tears of compassion for others, versus tears for personal pain. Jesus Christ embodies pure compassion for us, even when we are in our sins.
In any case, it is neither a sin, nor a character flaw, to be sad or to weep.
Abinadi quotes Isaiah regarding the mortal Messiah:
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
“Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Mosiah 14:3-4).
A Joyful End
If shouting and joy are part of worship, why are our worship services so quiet (or at least, attemptedly)?
Elijah witnessed a roaring pyrotechnics display from God—a fire, a wind that broke rocks, and an earthquake. But God was not in any of these phenomena. Immediately afterward, Elijah heard a small, still voice, and it was the voice of God.
Moroni writes at the end of the Book of Mormon about the proper way to conduct a church meeting:
“And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done” (Moroni 6:9).
The Spirit whispers; are we listening carefully? Or are we distracted?
“…as the Holy Ghost falls upon [us], it is calm and serene…” (TPJS, pp. 149-50).
“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus” (ibid, p. 151).
Letting the Spirit in requires us to be still. Then we will have the authentic gifts and fruits of the Spirit. These can include joy, tears, sorrow for sin, a desire to repent, and plenty of knowledge about what each of us needs, on an individual basis, to do next in our lives.
A reverent and attentive congregation is more likely, then, to experience these blessings and receive these gifts.
Tears, joy, sorrow, laughter, are all legitimate parts of this mortal journey. Keeping our feelings restrained and within the boundaries of dignity in sacred circumstances (such as church meetings) fosters clear communication and strong witnesses. It allows others to feel the Spirit authenticate the truth of our words, which can then enable them to learn the truth and validity of what we are saying.
Abinadi quotes Isaiah regarding the mortal Messiah:
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
“Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Mosiah 14:3-4).
A Joyful End
While tears for our own sorrows are also legitimate, their end is eventually inevitable.
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…” (Isaiah 25:8). To wipe away a person’s tears is an intimate and tender act, requiring close physical proximity.
Spark, Then Fire
Many religious groups work themselves into exuberant frenzies during their worship services. Nephi seems to take a different approach.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel” (2Ne. 31:13).
He seems to insist that we first go through formalities, and get the Spirit, experience actual rebirth, and then express the natural feelings that come as a result of these revelations and spiritual experiences.
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…” (Isaiah 25:8). To wipe away a person’s tears is an intimate and tender act, requiring close physical proximity.
Spark, Then Fire
Many religious groups work themselves into exuberant frenzies during their worship services. Nephi seems to take a different approach.
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel” (2Ne. 31:13).
He seems to insist that we first go through formalities, and get the Spirit, experience actual rebirth, and then express the natural feelings that come as a result of these revelations and spiritual experiences.
If shouting and joy are part of worship, why are our worship services so quiet (or at least, attemptedly)?
Elijah witnessed a roaring pyrotechnics display from God—a fire, a wind that broke rocks, and an earthquake. But God was not in any of these phenomena. Immediately afterward, Elijah heard a small, still voice, and it was the voice of God.
Moroni writes at the end of the Book of Mormon about the proper way to conduct a church meeting:
“And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done” (Moroni 6:9).
The Spirit whispers; are we listening carefully? Or are we distracted?
“…as the Holy Ghost falls upon [us], it is calm and serene…” (TPJS, pp. 149-50).
“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus” (ibid, p. 151).
Letting the Spirit in requires us to be still. Then we will have the authentic gifts and fruits of the Spirit. These can include joy, tears, sorrow for sin, a desire to repent, and plenty of knowledge about what each of us needs, on an individual basis, to do next in our lives.
A reverent and attentive congregation is more likely, then, to experience these blessings and receive these gifts.
Tears, joy, sorrow, laughter, are all legitimate parts of this mortal journey. Keeping our feelings restrained and within the boundaries of dignity in sacred circumstances (such as church meetings) fosters clear communication and strong witnesses. It allows others to feel the Spirit authenticate the truth of our words, which can then enable them to learn the truth and validity of what we are saying.
