The truth of Mormon
As a Mormon living in Japan, I would like to take a moment to comment on John Spiri's article "Against all odds, Mormons in Japan soldier on" (Zeit Gist, Oct. 23).
It is nice to see more written on the church, although I am not sure I appreciate how it was presented. Starting the article with references to Bill Maher, Robert Jeffress and even including the Broadway satire "The Book of Mormon" really set the tone for the author's take on our religion. It is obvious that we are considered a joke to Mr. Spiri, as he tries to portray us as a deluded "cult."
Of course, we Mormons are rather used to being spoken of in such a manner, and many critics point to those things spoken of in this article as proof that we are a "weird" religion, as Mr. Maher so eloquently put it. I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about our beliefs in a different light.