Chauncey C. Riddle
c. 1967
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who develop themselves intellectually enjoy the riches of a double heritage. Participation in the Church brings them a legacy of prophets and principles, revelation, and exhortation, as well as an active program of cultural, social, and more reformation. Intellectual development brings to them the knowledge, culture, scholarship, and technology of the world of their fellowmen. These two heritages might be characterized in Greek terms as “mantic” and “sophic”; in direction as vertical as opposed to horizontal source; or, as “other-worldly” and “worldly”. Tensions associated with the proper relating of these two influences, both within the individual person and also within the LDS intellectual community, create rather considerably interest and excitement, both within and without that community. That tensions may be seen as a great asset or as detrimental, depending upon one’s point of view, but it is unquestionably a very real fact in the present social scene.
The religious heritage of the LDS intellectual is centered in a special concept of deity. In this heritage, Jesus Christ is the God of this earth, a personal, specific, divine being who once lived on earth as a man and who now, as a resurrected, corporeal person, controls this universe. Much of this foregoing theological commitment is shared with other Christians. The special difference is that to the LDS person, Jesus Christ is available for personal communication at all times. To be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ has and does literally speak with and appear tot the prophets today. To be active in this religion, each individual member is expected to communicate with Christ daily through the Holy Spirit, receiving instruction and guidance about the practical matters of moral uprightness in daily life. The goal of every person who lives this religion is to overcome unrighteousness and evil through the guidance of the Christ, and having done so, to be allowed into the personal presence of Jesus Christ, to see him face to face, as have the prophets, both ancient and modern. This is the “mantic” heritage.
The “sophic” heritage brings to the LDS intellectual and the total cultural, scientific, and social deposit of the ages. Through the processes of education, scholarship, and experimentation that total deposit Is available to him, as it is to every other human being. Far from being afraid or disdainful of this heritage, as religious persons are sometimes said to be, he is anxious to inherit: “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” (13th Article of Faith)
As the possessor of a dual heritage, however, the LDS person cannot take either light. He must seek revelation constantly to be true to his religion, and he must seek the best that is in the world constantly, through study and experiences; to become a master of both is his religious goal.
A problem arises, however, when the commitment to his religion runs contrary to the wisdom of his fellow-men. He may then be forced to choose between his prophet and contemporary sociology, between revelation and the opinion of his peers. He cannot give equal allegiance to both traditions. The possible solutions to this dilemma mark the tensions within the Church.
LDS persons who accept the prophets and revelation but will not study, discuss, reason, and experiment are automatically excluded from the group known as the “LDS intellectuals.” These, of course, do not fully accept their religion, because it enjoins them to seek learning, to be “intellectual”.
At the other extreme is the member of the Church who is well-acquainted with the heritage of the world and gives it his primary allegiance. Ordinarily he is a person who does not enjoy personal revelation on anything like a daily basis; this makes him suspect that the prophets do not enjoy much, if any, personal revelation. This type of person may be an active member of the Church, but becomes uncomfortable when Church policy or statements of the prophets go contrary to what he has learned from the world. He views the non-intellectual Church member as hopeless and suspects the integrity of any intellectual who puts faith first.
The LDS intellectual who enjoys personal revelation but insists on meeting the intellectual world on its own ground sees himself as taking the best of both worlds. He sees the non-intellectual Church member as needing to be inspired, and the intellectual who rejects revelation as one who is blind. He believes that revelation will help him to solve the problems of the world to the degree to which he himself works hard to solve the problems of the world to the degree to which he himself works hard to implement these solutions. He sees the LDS Church as the nucleus of a perfect social organization that will eventually meet every human need of every human being: economic, cultural, intellectual, political, and religions.
The future of the LDS Church will be a struggle to encourage its faithful non-intellectuals to become faithful intellectuals and to encourage its intellectuals to become faithful to Jesus Christ through their own personal revelation.