On September 23, 2008, five Harvard undergraduates were interviewed by journalist for the Washington Post, Sally Quinn, about their religious convictions (video). Students represented Islam, Mormonism, Judaism, Presbyterianism and Buddhism. Before an audience of approximately 50 students, faculty and chaplains of diverse religions at Beren Hall at Harvard Hillel, these five students were asked to reveal their ’spiritual biographies.’ The panel discussion was titled “Engaging Religious Difference: Personal Quests for Purpose” and was part of day long series of events on “Faith Live on the Harvard Campus: Personal Quest, Public Conversation, and Global Citizenship.”
Notably, Rachel Esplin (left in photo), an undergraduate studying East Asian Studies, and president of the Latter-day Saint Students Association, was asked to explain her background growing up in Idaho, and how coming to Harvard has impacted her religious views and convictions. I was extremely impressed at her ability to articulate her beliefs to others in universal terms and yet in a passionate manner.
Rachel did an excellent job framing the religious questions that she has faced by coming to Harvard: “What does religious diversity mean? What does it mean to be in a secular environment? What does it mean to come face to face with what I don’t know and what I have to learn?” In Rachel’s case, coming to Harvard has actually strengthen her faith by working through these issues. As she has learned about other faiths, her faith has been strengthened.
Quinn: “I know a lot of people are concerned and I’ve actually read books by ex-Mormons, particularly women, who say that the Mormon church, that there is not equality of women in the Mormon church. How do you feel about that?”
Rachel’s answer was lucid and well-presented. In part, she explained the Latter-day Saint interpretation of the optimistic role of Eve in garden of Eden and explained that the “rib” in the creation narrative symbolizes equality between man and woman. Rachel explains, “Although I believe God is perfect, I don’t believe religion is perfect. And although I believe my church is true, I don’t believe all the cultural elements that come with that are a hundred-percent true.”
Quinn quickly followed up with: “Can you give me some ideas of the elements of the Church you don’t think are actually true, or don’t follow or don’t believe wholeheartedly?”
Rachel was asked to explain the Joseph Smith story for the audience. Again, I was particularly impressed at not only how Rachel explained the history, but how she placed the story in the context of other religious narratives that one cannot passively accept. Such framing allows the audience to sympathize with her spiritual journey and to perhaps identify similar challenges in their own faith. Quinn inquired into the priesthood, temple secrecy, garments, and marriage.
One thing that stood out for me was Rachel’s ability to balance her explanation of Mormonism in collective terms and in personal terms. One of the struggles with explaining one’s faith to others is to what extent one explains the faith as an observer, one who can “interpret” religious meanings to those outside the faith, and to what extent one speaks not as an interpreter but as a conversant who communicates one’s personal faith in “I believe” terms rather than “we believe” terms. It isn’t easy to strike this balance. I felt Rachel did an excellent job in this area.
I want to thank Rachel for her preparation in this interview—it is clear she has thought seriously about these issues—and for being an excellent representative of her faith.
Videos
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 1. Introduction
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 2. Sally Quinn
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 3. Rachel Esplin (Latter-day Saint)
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 4. Sadia Ahsanuddin (Muslim)
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 5. Ilan Caplan (Jewish)
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 6. Liz Cook (Presbyterian)
Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 7. Mihiri Tillakaratne (Buddhist)
News Article
Thanks for this. I taught Rachel her only BYU religion course in Summer before she transferred to Harvard, and have wondered what became of her. Good things, looks like.
Rachel deserves serious props. She did a better job, as a non-RM junior in undergrad, than I could then, or maybe even as a RM grad student. I think the only thing that I would have stated differently, was when she said that because the Church has a “Patriarchal priesthood, that the actual priesthood ordinance is not given to women.” This could be misinterpreted by some to mean that women aren’t blessed by the priesthood, when in reality “Mormon women don’t perform priesthood ordinances.” That was the only thing I would say differently. Major Props!
Good post. Cornell has had similar interfaith gatherings, at least during my time there. It’s great to encourage dialogue among different faiths and, as in the case of Rachel, give people the chance to explain the tenets of their faith and undo any misinformation and stereotypes that may have become synonymous with it.
I thought this was a very interesting and enlightening discussion. Quinn asked many of the questions that we are often afraid to ask people of other religions. Overall it was very fair and balanced in the discussion and treatment of differing views. The only thing I saw that was a little unfair was during Liz Cook’s interview when Quinn said there were no other christian on the panel. This happened not long after Rachel Esplin has just spent a great portion of her time talking about her faith in Jesus Christ. I was confused about why she was not considered a Christian as well. Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of these open discussions in the future, especially interviewing people whose faith was not represented in this panel. Thanks.
Thanks for the comments. Quinn remarked that when she found out who would be on the panel, she said that she wanted a Christian to be on the panel because, she said, 80% of the country is Christian. It’s possible that what she was driving at was that she wanted a student on the panel who could represent that 80%, or someone who could speak to that population. Of course, it’s also possible that Quinn isn’t cognizant of the fact that Mormons consider themselves to be Christian, which would be surprising given the fact that she is the founder and co-moderator of “On Faith,” a Washington Post/Newsweek blog where she interviews religious scholars. At any rate, this is yet another reason why panels of this nature are important to educate and inform.
It was good. I learned a lot from the Jewish man–things I never thought of from that viewpoint before. Interesting to see how my faith relates to their beliefs. I would have liked to hear from a Catholic or a Pentecost or a Jehovah’s Witness person. There are so many other Christian religions. But I do think that Mormons were probably included when whoever decided 80% of the country was Christian, and the LDS woman should have been recognized in the panel as Christian too–I’m glad she spoke up when she wasn’t.
Outstanding.
So what was her answer? How did the audience react?
Alice, thanks for the comment. If people in the audience, including Quinn, were not aware that Mormons view themselves as Christian before listening to Rachel, then they certainly knew it when she explicitly said “I’m a Christian.” Again, that’s a good thing. I also agree with you that it would have been great to hear a wider perspective of students and hopefully these kinds of events will be hosted more often. Universities and places of higher learning should be encouraged to provide these opportunities.
Clark, excellent question. I was hoping that would spur people on to watch the video! (from 08:00 time marker). I believe she was referring more to certain cultural elements that creep into the consciousness of members of the Church. Briefly, one example she gave is the conception that if the Church is true it must mean that all other religions are void of truth. She said she doesn’t believe this. Rather, she accepts the view “you bring with you all the good that you have and let us see if we can add to it.” It is clear that when people take the time to learn and understand others, they learn to have a sense of respect for their subject matter.
Lastly, to those who want to comment on the Mormons as Christians topic, the topic has been covered quite at length elsewhere and it is generally not handled well. For a excellent model of how to discuss this issue effectively see Is Mormonism Christian? A Dialogue. Part of the point of this post is that I’m offering it as a model of how people of faith can effectively express their viewpoints to those outside their community.
Rachel,
I just want to let you know how impressed I was of your composure and surety of what you know is true. I am so thankful to see there are people like you truly representing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for being true.
Three things:
First – Superb lifelong preparation from Miss Esplin. Fantastic.
Second – as to the ‘are Mormon’s Christian’ thing. . . that used to get me worked up. But, I’ve come to the conclusion that we most definitely are not. And, in fact, that I don’t want to be associated with what ‘Christian’ has come to mean. We believe in Christ, sure. As Robinson says, we are working to believe Christ. But the word Christian has taken on meaning and identities that I don’t think we need or want. Mormonism is so much more – theologically speaking.
Finally- in case Miss Esplin reads these- I would like to put a question before her, another dogma. . . Christ is perfect. Is this an objective or subjective perfection? There is some literature about childhood development that contrasts Fixed v. Growth Mindsets (Dweck). I think most Mormons conceive of Christ as having a Fixed (objective) perfection. I would be interested to see whether she concurred or whether she would think it was more of a Growth perfection – dynamic. Or, is the notion of dynamic perfection too paradoxical/oxymoronic?