I don’t even know how to pronounce Bokononism
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 4:51 am
The last few times I’ve heard my mother give her testimony it has been along the lines of: “The church gives me meaning and purpose and makes me happy…” She hasn’t mentioned any truth claims about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, or President Thomas S. Monson. I think she may be a Mormon Bokononist.
One of the main tenants of Bokononism as defined by Kurt Vonnegut in his book Cat’s Cradle is the following: “Live by the ‘harmless untruths’ that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.” Most Mormons believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God’s one true church, that only men and boys can wield God’s power/authority, that Mormon’s are a “peculiar/chosen people.” I don’t think that the LDS church’s claim to superiority and exclusivity is doing anyone any favors except for the church itself. It doesn’t seem very harmless to me, to quote Mormon Jesus in D&C 165:33, to believe in untruths that “stir up the hubris of my saints.” The problem, as I see it, is that it’s hard to get people to do what you want them to if you’re only selling “harmless untruths.” Legit truths sell much better.
Question time: If an untruth makes you brave or kind or healthy or happy how can we know if it is harmless? Is anyone ok living knowingly by harmless untruths? Or do we always need to think that our beliefs are grounded in “truth?” Wouldn’t it be fun to be a card carrying member of a made up religion like Bokononism?
One of the main tenants of Bokononism as defined by Kurt Vonnegut in his book Cat’s Cradle is the following: “Live by the ‘harmless untruths’ that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.” Most Mormons believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God’s one true church, that only men and boys can wield God’s power/authority, that Mormon’s are a “peculiar/chosen people.” I don’t think that the LDS church’s claim to superiority and exclusivity is doing anyone any favors except for the church itself. It doesn’t seem very harmless to me, to quote Mormon Jesus in D&C 165:33, to believe in untruths that “stir up the hubris of my saints.” The problem, as I see it, is that it’s hard to get people to do what you want them to if you’re only selling “harmless untruths.” Legit truths sell much better.
Question time: If an untruth makes you brave or kind or healthy or happy how can we know if it is harmless? Is anyone ok living knowingly by harmless untruths? Or do we always need to think that our beliefs are grounded in “truth?” Wouldn’t it be fun to be a card carrying member of a made up religion like Bokononism?