The purpose of an open mind, says Chesterton, is to shut it on something true. And that shutting the mind upon truth opens us up to possibilities, or to further truths, that we had not suspected before. It is in the quest for knowledge as it is in matters of love: just as no one can wholly love another who keeps an escape hatch open, who considers it possible that not-loving might be a better option, so the relativist or the indifferentist keeps all doors open by neglecting to enter any of them. He prides himself on a radical opennness which is really refusal and timidity. But to him who knocks, it shall be opened. Enter that first room of truth, enter it without the constant glance backwards that keeps your feet fixed close to the door, and you will find that this is a mansion that never ends.
I just spent about an hour on the phone with a Mormon elder. (Has anyone else noticed that their “elders” are awfully young?) I didn’t really have time to listen that long, and he repeated himself a lot, but I truly felt compassion for the young man. He frequently reiterated his request for me to just listen to the prophet (Gordon B. Hinckley) and read the Book of Mormon and ask the Holy Spirit to show me if Mormonism were true or not. I had some sympathy for his approach and for his request. After all, I would like for non-Christians to check out the Bible for themselves, to pray, to ask for Truth to be revealed to them. Ask, seek, knock, find.
But what I didn’t tell the young man on the phone in these words, because I hadn’t read Anthony’s Esolen’s blog post until after my phone conversation, is that I’ve already shut my mind upon Truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” I couldn’t possibly go back through that door, open up the one labeled “Mormonism,” and commit myself to a world in which the adherents believe that God saves them from their past sins and if they try hard enough after that, He’ll let them rule a planet someday.
Yes, it’s important to go through the Truth Door and quit waiting around in the entryway; it’s also important to use more than just “a good feeling” (the recommendation of my Mormon elder friend) to tell you which door to enter. I would suggest that study (mind), feeling (heart), and prayer (spirit/soul) are required in order to discern Truth. Any one of the three alone can lead you through a dangerous door to worse than error. Don’t be timid, but don’t jump off a cliff into the void.
Or to try a different analogy:
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:7-9
Be careful where you place your roots, your trust, but once you find the right place, dig in deep.
I very highly value your blog. However, keep your arguments clean: he asked you to study (listen to the prophet, read the Book of Mormon), pray (ask the Holy Spirit), and feel, not *just* feel, as you end your argument.
Interesting post Sherry. You’ve looked at beliefs presented and answered. I think there is a place to discuss beliefs, particulalry if that is what the conversation is all about. I like how you were able to be respectful to him personally but keep your own boundaries.