churches and attitudes. Many people
accepted Swedenborg’s vision of life
after death in the 19th century, but a
Dominican prior was quoted in 1980:
“No reasonable person can hold such a
belief any longer.”
Emergence from the Depression in
the ‘30s, victory in World War II, and
the prosperity of the ‘50s encouraged
optimism and a feeling “that the
General Church was a success.” But
now we are in a more skeptical age.
The cultural climate of the ‘60s
brought new challenges for churches in
general, as young people increasingly
embraced radical and subversive
ideas. But Jeremy said he grew up in
the ‘60s hearing how well the Church
was doing, with virtually no one criticizing or challenging church leaders.
Obviously that has changed.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s the need for new strategies became apparent. Jeremy
quoted the Rev. Lorentz Soneson in a statement to the Joint Council in 1980:
“The Church has come to realize its responsibility for evangelization. The
hard fact is, if we don’t increase our membership, the Church will pass out
of existence. In the years immediately ahead, this will undoubtedly become a
major use of the General Church.”
The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss said in his response to the Assembly
Confirmation Vote for Executive Bishop in 1991: “I dream of a church that will
accept without fear, without concern, the call of the Lord to go out and make
disciples of all nations. The Heavenly Doctrines are not ours. They are for all
people. We have the opportunity to begin as 4,261 adults and their children
and their friends to carry this message.”
But, Jeremy said, “Evangelization efforts have not been as successful as we
have hoped. Predictions of success in evangelization have been consistently
frustrated, leading to increasing calls for change, new methods, new vision,
new attitudes.”
In this same period a decreasing number of Academy graduates are
joining the Church.
“Issues of equality and social justice, especially surrounding the equal
treatment of women and the acceptance of homosexuality lead many, and
especially the young, to view the Church as a negative force.
Emergence from the
Depression in the ‘30s,
victory in World War
II, and the prosperity
of the ‘50s encouraged
optimism and a feeling
“that the General
Church was a success.”
But now we are in a
more skeptical age.
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