Don't box me in.

I have noticed that we like to categorize things.  If you have these things, you go in this little box.  But people are so much more complex than that.  Just because we have X doesn't make us Y.

What makes a "Mormon?"  What is cultural and what is doctrine?  Is it the culture that defines us or is it the doctrine?  I propose that it is the doctrine.  We have some cultures that grow out of our beliefs, but they are not doctrine and there are active Mormons that don't follow those cultures.  As you read the profiles on mormon.org, you can really see that.

Mormons are known for having big families, but not all do and just having a big family doesn't make you Mormon.  There are plenty of other people that have large families, whether it is because of a religious belief they have, a cultural belief or their own personal desires.  We do have doctrine that supports having a big family, but there is no commandment, "thou shalt have 10 children".  In fact it is a personal matter.  It is between the husband and the wife and the Lord.  We believe in personal revelation.  The Lord knows how many children will make your perfect family, he will let you know if you ask him.

What about not drinking alcohol.  It is a commandment for us.  Although there again, are all people who abstain from alcohol Mormon?  No.  There are plenty of people who don't drink of other faiths or no faith at all.

Are all Mormons Republicans and have the same beliefs on social issues?  No.  I remember when I learned that Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, was also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I was shocked.  But he is and according to this article, "The Temple-recommend-carrying Reid is very active in his church."

So what defines mormons as opposed to other people.  It is that we have a faith and testimony that the Book of Mormon was written by prophets on the American continents and is the word of God.  That the Priesthood authority of God was lost to the earth after Christ's original apostles died and that it was restored again through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  And we believe that Thomas S Monson is a prophet, called and authorized by God to receive revelation for the world today.   I think those are the beliefs that are uniquely ours.  We definitely have other beliefs that shape how we think and feel, but they are not exclusive to us, so therefore can't be said to make us a Mormon.  They just make us Christ like or thrifty or honest or kind or a "family man" or what ever (and honestly, these characteristics  are usually works in progress).