Shoulder to the Wheel of Uncontainable Grace
A reflection on 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43, Proper 16B Thursday night, curious about what they would say, I watched Rock Center with Brian Williams, and its report on the Mormon Church. Born into a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, I am a descendent of pioneers who put their “heart to song, their shoulder to the wheel” and travelled across this country in order to live their faith in peace and prosperity. Rock Center’s report spoke of the values of the Mormon faith: hard work, strong family ties, deep faith, and a commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they understand it. By the time the report was over I found myself wondering why I left the church. I was a faithful member for the first fourteen years of my life. My parents were married in the temple. I was baptized by full immersion in the baptismal pool in the building known as the tabernacle on Temple Square. (In case you don’t know how special Mormon’s think that is, you just have t...