The Will

The Stoics realize that the self, though experienced as an independent entity, is in fact only a portion of the great Whole, a part of the Body of God. This concept of God and Wholeness is shared by many ancient and modern spiritual traditions, though in slightly varied modes based on cultural context. It is the Brahman in India, the Tao in China. The idea may also exist in the original philosophy taught by Buddha and in the teachings of the Sufi of Islam. I once read about a Jewish esoteric tradition that believed Stoicism was the true meaning of the Torah. The point is that the principle of oneness with the Universe and God and an understanding that the ego is illusory exists within traditions across the world, though it doesn't seem that the concept typically penetrates the common belief. I contend that the concept exists within Mormonism as well, though implicitly, contained in allegory and buried under pretensions of egoism.

The initial ritual a convert to Mormonism partakes in is Baptism. Baptism is a symbolic washing away of an individual's sins and entrance into the church and the Body of Christ. This baptism is reaffirmed and renewed weekly by partaking of the sacrament, symbols of the Body of Christ. It is believed to bring a person at one with God and functions to bring a person into unity with the community. Mormonism also provides a means for the deceased to enter into the baptism by proxy of the living. Those individuals who have had this ordinance performed for them must accept it in their postmortem estate. It is understood that all souls (with perhaps a very few exceptions) will ultimately accept their baptism and realize their position in the organization of God. If this is understood from the perspective of God, that of eternity, all souls participate in the baptism. They always have and always will. The only difference among them is at what point in the temporal illusion they realize this status.

In partaking of the sacraments, taking on the name of Christ and asking for His Spirit to be with them, a person is offering their will to serve the purposes of God, and effectively becoming incorporated within the Body and under the Mind of Christ. The symbolism of men being a part of a single body is one shared by Christianity and Stoicism. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two allegories. In Stoicism, the self is realized to be a part of a greater moving body, the Universe. In Mormonism, the fact of the self is emphasized and entering into the body and giving of the will is an act of volition. One is a simple fact, the other choice. One an intellectual understanding of the illusion of the ego, the other a belief in the fact of the ego and the good in sacrificing it for a greater cause. However, that greater cause is often viewed as also being a means to rewards for the ego. Thus, Mormonism is a religion of the ego, keeping with the tradition of Christianity. It severs its parts and attempts to gather them all up again. I believe this to be its deepest flaw and primary departure from the truth. Though, it is more an error of emphasis than doctrine, but not one I foresee changing.

The concept of Zion in Mormonism is one of an ideal society in the form of a city organized under the highest laws of God. The qualities commonly associated with Zion is a people of "one mind and one heart." Zion is no longer designated as a physical place, but as a yearning of the heart, though it is generally accepted that it will one day be an actual city. There is an equatable concept in Stoicism, though more as an ideal than as a proposal for an actual city. This is known as the "City of Zeus" which would be populated by rational beings who hold their own well being subordinate to the well being of his fellow citizens, working actively towards the benefit of the whole. Zion believes in the common goal of building God's kingdom and working for God in His purpose (which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man) as received through revelation; the Stoic Cosmopolis believes that, through reason, rational beings can realize the good of united effort and communal good. The fundamental difference, again, is the ego. God's purpose, according to Mormonism, is to bring about man's salvation. Men unite and do good for the sake of their individual place in God's kingdom. It is simultaneously an inflation and submission of the individual. I suspect that this psychological problem of Mormonism will cause Zion to never be fully realized. In Stoicism the person no longer identifies himself as an individual, but instead as a part of the Whole. That is the reality they see. The idea of rewards in life or after it is meaningless in the Stoic ethic (which I will discuss later). Stoicism appears to be a more capable means of bringing about a society of single mind and heart than Mormonism.

That being said, I feel it necessary to point out the adaptive qualities of egoist religion. There is a reason the "western" world has dominated global politics over the past several centuries. There is a reason they innovate at a faster rate than other societies. I think a part of this is the belief in the ego and working towards its benefit. Furthermore, it could be possible that the common mind is incapable of comprehending the ideas behind Stoicism and unable to handle the ramifications of egolessness. If this is the case, the Mormon model may make more sense than the Stoic. This could be why, as mentioned in the Bible, Jesus would speak in parables instead of explicits, so that each mind can take from the words what it is capable of taking.