Why Mormon teens are so devoted & what we can learn from this - Missional Thought of the Day

[James Nored]

As I am reading through Almost Christian, What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, I want to share with you some thoughts on the contents. In yesterday's post, I wrote how this book seeks to interpret the data from a massive study that was done of American teenagers and their faith.

What was discovered through this study was that most teens are learning from their parents and their churches that Christianity is simply about helping people become nice and to provide some help when needed, but it really has little call on their lives.

There are, of course, notable exceptions. About 8% of teens are highly devoted and have a high sense of calling from their faith. Unfortunately, this highly devoted group consists most predominantly of Mormon teenagers. And in reading about the faith formation of Mormon teens, I begin to see why.

Note the following about Mormon teens and their faith:

• About half of Mormon teens get up at 5 AM each morning to go to "seminary" for four years This is where they learn Mormon faith, belief, and behaviors. And this seminary is usually taught, not by a youth minster, but by a parent. "Seminary is frequently taught by a parent and typically involves reflexive practices like journaling about one's life and spiritual growth, as well as practical advice on how to plan and save for a two-year mission commitment to service and evangelism."
• Highly devoted Mormon teenagers "tend to have highly devoted parents who are married and well-educated. They are more likely than other youth to say their parents love, accept, understand, and closely monitor them."
• Nearly half of Mormon teens report having given a presentation in church in the last six months, and nearly half attended a meeting in which they were part of a church decision.
• "Mormons are almost twice as likely as other teenagers to pray with their parents at times other than meals or worship (79%) and to talk about God or religion as a family almost every day (74%)."
• The Mormons have designated Monday nights as "family home evenings, forbidding Monday evening temple and ward activities and creating curriculum for nuclear families to gather for devotions, religious instruction, and wholesome activities."
• The purpose of all of this faith formation is mission. Molly, a Mormon teen used as an example in the book, says that life's purpose is to (in her words) fulfill "the mission you were supposed to come here for; help whoever you were supposed to help, . . . be the example you're supposed to be." The Mormons are creating outward-focused, mission-oriented teens, with all that they teach and train pointing towards a two year, voluntary mission that Mormon teens save and plan for.

How many of our Christian parents, families, and churches can say that we have this kind of intense, intentional teaching and training of our children? Most of our teens--again, reflecting us--live pretty good lives, are "nice." and may attend church as an extra-curricular activity. But precious little faith formation is happening in the home. Few Christian families have family devotionals. Almost none have a 4 year seminary taught by a parent. Most Christian parents, and therefore teens, struggle in talking about their faith with non-Christians. Mission is not the driving focus or culmination of faith formation in virtually any youth "program," and certainly not in most Christian families. The idea of having teens save up for, pay for themselves, and plan for a two year Christian mission is nowhere to be found in most Christian families.

Maybe the Mormons have learned something about faith formation that we have forgotten. Faith formation must have its primary focus in the home, taught by the people that teens respect and listen to most--their parents. It must be intentional. It must be a significant part of their lives, not an add-on. It must be challenging, sacrificial, and at times, counter-cultural. It must focus upon mission-training. It must be made time for and taken seriously by families and the faith community.

The Mormon theology is totally off and falls outside of historic, orthodox Christianity. They deny that Jesus is God, believe in multiple gods, believe that God is physical in form, that humans can become gods, and a whole host of other wrong beliefs. But they are raising strong families, with devoted kids, and apparently, they know something about faith formation and making disciples.

What can we learn from these findings? What do we need to change in how we form and shape our teenagers faith to make it more effective?

[James Nored]

Excellent thoughts, Diana. And I love the idea of having a young adult representative wherever we can. 

[diana marley]

My sister who is an ordained preacher was talking to me about how they have a 'young adult' as a representative of the youth at thier board meetings.  She mentioned that when he talks they kind of roll thier eyes, seeing how young he is.  We lose young people to thier faith because we don't challenge them and really believe they are capable.  As some in the above posts have said, they need to be included in the Christian walk and see it as something worth giving their lives for.  They will give thier lives for something, why not Christ?

[James Nored]

Thanks for the thoughts, David! Yes, we need to train our youth to be disciples who make disciples. Instead, we challenge them very little to even be disciples, let alone to make other disciples. And we can see the result. 

[David Wesley Spillman]

We also need to be letting our youth be a part of the church family by allowing them to be a visible part of our worship assemblies. Everything in the "adult" worship is geared toward adults and we send our small children off to "children's worship". Why do we do this? Why can we not allow them to have a part in our assembly? Boys and girls both? Reading scripture, prayers, getting up as groups and singing songs and leading the church in singing along with them. We do it maybe once a year and then never hear or see them again for another year. Not only is this good for the youth in teaching them and allowing them to serve one another, but our older people just LOVE it! And we wonder why we are losing our youth...

[David Wesley Spillman]

Great blog that I pray we are listening to. I believe so much of the Western church is thinking that in order to become a Christ follower is simply to modify our behavior when in essence He came to make us a new creation. Big difference! As I have lead youth for over 30 years, it has always been planting in them a commitment to the call of Jesus to be "fishers of men" and to make disciples that make disciples. Our teens have always responded and find joy, fulfillment and purpose in this because this is what we are created for. Thanks again for the post!

[James Nored]

Yes, that makes sense, Ann. And as a point of theology, the Spirit has been sent out into the world ahead of us, touching hearts and minds. We have to believe that God is at work in our culture, and that therefore truth can be found there if we will look. This is what missionaries do.

[Ann Dunagan]

James, I do agree with that. As a parent (and I've especially come to appreciate this as a homeschooling teacher), I've learned that I can "plunder" from the wisdom and knowledge of the "Egyptians" -- like when the people of Israel took from the plunder of Egypt when they departed for the promised land, and be open to learn and to grow from the advice of parents who have been successful in areas I lack, even from non-Christians.

[James Nored]

Ann, of course we should go back to Scripture. If we followed the Shema and taught our children as they got up and as they lay down, we would go a long ways towards solving this problem. Paul, however, was not afraid to find and affirm truth wherever he found it (e.g., Acts 17 & the altar to the unknown God).

[James Nored]

Sarah, I cannot speak to Mormons' motivation. What you say may be true about their motivation being fear and a desire for godhood.

But if we believe that love ought to be the greatest motivator, creating the greatest response and the greatest amount of sacrifice, what does this tell us about how good a job we are doing in instilling love in our teens? If we have the right theology and the right motivation (and I think that we do), why are we seeing much more devoted teens and adults amongst most Mormons?

[Ann Dunagan]

Sarah -- You are so right. And please know that I am in no way looking to Mormon methods for increased effectiveness in our Christian parenting. We only need to look to God's Word to know how train up our children and teens effectively, by God's AMAZING GRACE, to follow God and to allow His heart for others to burn passionately within them, not out of a negative-fear (other than a holy FEAR OF GOD -- see Ecclesiastes 12:13, II Cor. 5:11) or to striving to "earn" their salvation, but motivated by LOVE.

James, thanks for keeping all these discussions going. I do think young people want to be challenged. They need a vision and purpose. If they've seen a lukewarm-or-hypocritical version of Christianity in their homes, especially if it's been mixed with legalism or stupid empty rules, they'll "escape" from the junk they don't want, and search for the truth. Teens aren't stupid. They want what's real. If our kids see the LORD alive and real and impacting others in our homes and families, including a sacrificial love that "makes sense" with the Gospel message, they'll want it for themselves.