Brook Allred: Mormonism

Brook Allred joins me today for The Lift Podcast's "Year of Faiths" series to discuss her faith with American roots: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, popularly called Mormonism. Brook is the Relief Society President of the Olathe KS stake, which oversees 11 congregations, or wards. Brook is married with two sons, and in the past has worked at the General Relief Society Office for the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Relief Society is the largest women’s organization in the world, comprising nearly seven million members. I appreciate Brook's openness and willingness to explain the basic beliefs of the LDS faith, and dispel some misconceptions.

As I've spent the past month of my "Year of Faiths" journey learning more about the LDS faith (reading the Book of Mormon, abstaining from coffee and alcohol, attending a local "ward", visiting with missionaries and practicing daily scripture reading and Family Home Evening), I've come to especially appreciate its commitment to strengthening families and building community in a world that seems increasingly lonely and disconnected. Though we have different theologies and beliefs about many tenets of Christianity, I have been enriched by my study of the LDS Church, its practical application to life, and its many good people.

Photo credit: lds.org

Link on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2

Link on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr

In this episode:
0:00 Close-knit community among a culture of loneliness
1:44 Introduction to Relief Society President, Brook Allred
2:53 Brook’s family and faith background
4:21 Basic beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
5:14 LDS Church’s similarities & differences with other Christian traditions
6:36 The Book of Mormon
9:30 Stocking two years’ worth of food and provisions: Emergency Preparedness and the LDS faith
11:02 LDS Missions
14:37 The LDS Church’s emphasis on strong families
18:01 How Brook feels the guidance of God/Spirit
19:56 The Mormon Temple
22:07 Beliefs about the afterlife & premortal life
26:27 Genealogy and baptism for the dead
27:46 The LDS women’s Relief Society and role of women

LDS General Conference

April is the month I'm dedicating to Judaism, but like the Hindu Holi festival in March, not every religious experience I hope to gain this year falls neatly into a single month.

The Mormon missionaries I had contacted for my copy of the Book of Mormon (I haven't chosen the month yet, but I will also be learning about the LDS Church as part of my "Year of Faiths" experience) stopped by my home again a few days ago, with a schedule of their General Conference.

The entire LDS world spends two weekends a year hearing from their prophets at this conference, which is held in Salt Lake City, Utah, but shown live on TV and through the Internet. So this weekend, I spent a lot of time in front of the TV (still am - catching up!) tuning in to the conference, in-between hanging shutters on the house.

(I'm drinking coffee as I watch - which is wholly against the Book of Wisdom, for which I suffer a little guilt - and parsing Greek verbs for a quiz.)

I'm struggling with the fact that the speakers are all males, mostly white (there is a special women's session in which this is not the case), but I'm going to try and listen with an open mind and heart, and hear what they have to say. My LDS friends, after all, strive to stand apart as a "peculiar people," and they live their lives in a way that indeed sets them apart - some of the hardest workers, strongest families and dearest friends I've ever had. 

What is standing out about the conference to me, in particular, are the commercials in-between sessions. They are so focused on families - messages about the sacredness of time spent with our children, and building up our homes. There also is a theme that surfaces in the talks - little, daily efforts of devotion to faith produce great fruit. This encourages me to be more faithful to my own tradition in daily life.

You can find the conference here: lds.org