Day 35: Touched by a something

When I was Mormon I believed in angels, cloven tongues of fire, and all sorts of supernatural phenomena.

Well, sort of.

Sure, our scripture talked of angels, and early church history even chronicled Exorcist-style demonic possessions. But the Mormonism I knew felt pretty sanitized of all that. The Mormonism I knew exuded a palpable discomfort, verging on embarrassment, whenever any one of our number got up to share an honest-to-god angel story — or anything that involved a direct and jaw-dropping manifestation of the supernatural. That’s certainly not what you’d find in General Conference or the Ensign!

The angel and miracle stories of my Mormon past, the ones I remember folks nodding to with a beatific smile, involved lots of warm feelings, the serendipitous aligning of fortunate events, and healings that gradually occurred over time (not in a single, jump-from-your-wheelchair hallelujah).

Hell, I can still get down with all that.

(This is Day 35 of a 100-day project. For more about When I Was Mormon, read the introductory post. To access older posts, visit the archive.)