LDS and Weird Spiritual Experiences: The Tale of Sister Cleo

[_Livingstone22]

I have had a few experiences through the years. From a missionary who was constantly feeling the spirit so much that he made prophesies about my family to a lady, speaking at a fireside, who spoke of an experience in which she died and met God--but she was told it wasn't her time. I'm not sure if I should marvel at these things--or be freaked out.


"In the beginning, Joseph Smith had emphasized the importance of personal revelation for everyone. Denigrating the established churches of the day, which were more inclined to filter the word of God through institutional hierarchies, he instructed Mormons to seek direct 'impressions from the Lord,' which should guide them in every aspect of their lives. Quickly, however, Joseph saw a major drawback to such a policy: if God spoke directly to all Mormons, who was to say that the truths He revealed to Joseph had greater validity than contradictory truths He might reveal to somebody else?...

"Joseph acted fast to resolve by announcing in 1830--the same year the Mormon Church was incorporated--that God had belatedly given him another revelation: 'No one shall be appointed to recieve commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jr.' But the genie was already out of the bottle. Joseph had taught and encouraged his Saints to recieve personal revelations, and the concept proved immensely popular. People liked talking to God directly, one-on-one, without intermediaries. It was one of the most appealing aspects of Joseph's new church.

"Thus, even after Joseph told his followers that henceforth they were forbidden to recieve divine commandments concerning church doctrine, many of these Saints quietly ignored the edict and continued to heed the voice of God, whether He was talking to them about matters of theology or personal issues. The simple fact was, God's words were always going to carry more weight than Joseph's, ans there wasn't much the prophet could do about it. This goes a long way toward explaining why, since 1830, some two hundred schismatic Mormon sects have splintered off from Joseph's original religion; in fact, sects continue to splinter off on an ongoing basis. The UEP communities in Colorado City and Creston are prime examples. The followers of Robert Crossfield, the Prophet Onias, are another--and of them would turn out to be Dan Lafferty" (Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven, 78-89).

[_Some Schmo]

I don't remember anyone like that, but our ward certainly had its share of over-religious weirdos. I remember one woman telling us in Sunday School class (she was our teacher) about the time she died and came back. I really liked her, though, so I just nodded my head and acted like I was in awe of her sacred spiritual experience. Then she went on to tell us the evils of eating pork.