Joseph Smith is famous for saying, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
See, that sounds really nice and all.
But there’s a LOT of “other things” that pertain to Mormonism.
So much so, that Jesus is very nearly eclipsed in full.
An appendage for extra scripture, an appendage for priesthood ordinations and hierarchy, an appendage for temple ordinances, an appendage for dietary laws, an appendage of premortal life, an appendage for required tithing, an appendage for polygamy, an appendage for work for the dead, an appendage for required home visits, an appendage for multiple heavens, an appendage for generations of Gods, an appendage for racism, an appendage for lay clergy, an appendage for Jesus not even being a God in the first place, an appendage for sabbath rules, an appendage for worthiness interviews, an appendage for appearance laws, an appendage for required missionary service, an appendage for special clothing, an appendage for twice yearly all-day conferences, an appendage for secret temple rites only for the elite Mormons.
An appendage for looking down on other denominations….
It’s truly exhausting.
And how in the world does one find Jesus in the middle of all that?
A Jesus who isn’t even the Jesus Christians have worshipped for two thousand years.
A Jesus who wasn’t even a God before the world began.
A Jesus who just did his job, but other than that wasn’t a particularly special person.
Yeah, meh.
But interesting appendages!
All I Possess 