Harry Potter and the Faith Crisis

[@philandrews2860]

I like this comparison.. thank you for sharing it. In our family, we've always been big fans of the Harry Potter books and the movies as well :) I think that also, in a very general sense, young children tend to think of things in terms of 'bad guys' and 'good guys', kind of in an 'all or nothing' kind of way. As we get older, we find that things are not always so clear cut, as there is good and bad in everyone, to varying degrees, since all of us have our faults and weaknesses, as well as our good points. I think that universal concept also applies to many of us who grow up in the church with this sort of 'all or nothing' tendency kind of built in to our psyche, and so it takes growing up and maturing to get to the point where we question it and grow out of it without becoming bitter and cynical towards people, and instead becoming loving and understanding towards others by staying true to our faith in God. I also think that all children, no matter what the beliefs of their parents who raise them, go through this kind of 'all or nothing' good guys vs bad guys mentality that they are kind of born with, so I don't think that is peculiar to our faith. However, I do think we need to be careful to help wean them out of that tendency gradually as they get older and to try not to reinforce it. Unfortunately many of the children's stories and movies also tend to reinforce that 'good guys' vs 'bad guys' concept.

[@asierlanchodiego7203]

Even though Harry Potter is maybe not the best example of "faith" the way we understand it, I kind of see the idea behind it now: I will definitely not give up when it gets tough with this new understanding! ❤😊

[@jaybravo2199]

The most real part about this comparison is using an imaginary story involving magic with the church, which was started on the premise of frontier magic. But taking the analogy a different direction, Dumbledore knew that it was Harry that needed to die to kill Voldemort, so to that end, Dumbledore kept Harry on a path through manipulation and withholding information to serve his own purposes, essentially taking Harry's free will away. Another story which I find to be a more relevant comparison is that of Nancy in the book Oliver! by Charles Dickens. Hers is a tragic tale of being in an abusive relationship which continued after she found something good, but instead of leaving the abusive relationship which eventually led to her violent death, she followed her feelings and kept going back to the villain.

[@churtle1143]

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[@DannyAGray]

I never read the books, and got bored with the movies by the 5th one. So..... I'm a little bothered y'all didn't add a spoiler alert. 🙃

[@scriptureplus]

Well, I figured that since the last book came out 17 years ago and the last movie came out 13 years ago, the spoiler warning statute of limitations had probably passed already ;)

[@DannyAGray]

@@scriptureplus ROFL! Fair enough.

[@churtle1143]

As a former member who was incredibly devout, it is incredibly disingenuous to categorize my faith transition as "caving to the critics." Losing my faith in the church was incredibly painful because the church meant everything to me. It was my reality, my comfort, and my path for life. Losing all of that at once is not as trivial as you make it sound. "Choosing to interpret the facts with faith," as you put it, is confirmation bias. Faith is a belief in things that cannot be seen, not a belief in things in spite of what can be seen. I didn't "interpret the facts with... cynicism and unkindness." I researched everything objectively and without bias. I brought my findings before God. I pleaded with the Lord for the church to be true, but the answer I received is that it simply wasn't. I understand your analogy, but there is a clear distinction between the church and Dumbledore. That distinction is, Dumbledore didn't claim to speak for God.

[@Calango741]

You say that you "researched everything 'objectively and without bias'. [you] brought [your] findings before God. [You] pleaded with the Lord for the church to be true, but the answer [you] received is that it simply wasn't." There are a couple of problems with that: Whatever your findings were, they could not have been accurate, because the Church IS true, and therefore the answer you "received" could not have been from God. I would love to have a discussion with you about this and find out what it was that you "found" and how you came to the conclusions that you did. I'm also very curious how you "received" the answer you say you did. The Lord will only confirm or deny the truth of the conclusions that we come to, as he explained to Oliver Cowdery in Section 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants. You have to "study it out in your mind", come to a conclusion for yourself, and then ask The Lord if the conclusion you came to is correct. If you received a spiritual confirmation that the Church isn't true, then it was not from the Spirit of the Lord; it was some other spirit. Do yourself a huge favor and watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nV6WY5-XmL94d9k