ANNA KING
Assistant News Editor
Pepperdine University enrolls students from a wide range of religious beliefs and backgrounds, including those religions that may not directly connect with the university’s Church of Christ affiliation. While students who are members of the Mormon Church have always been a minority, the number of Mormons enrolled in Pepperdine has declined from 30 in 1996 to 15 in 2004.
One Mormon student, sophomore Camille Gamboa said she is proud of her faith in spite of the challenges she sometimes faces when her peers find out that she is Mormon.
“A few people judge, sometimes look at me differently, sometimes even stop talking to me,” Gamboa said. “But people who know me and know me well don’t treat me differently.”
Gamboa, a public relations major who grew up in Upland, Calif., was raised in the Mormon faith and continues to attend church every Sunday, traveling to churches in either Calabasas or Santa Monica.
Last year, 2005, in particular, was an important one for those members of the Mormon Church, as it marked 200 years since the birth of the faith’s founder and prophet Joseph Smith. The year-long celebration, which ended Dec. 23, inspired events held by the church throughout the year, including conferences, an exhibit of several of Smith’s personal documents at the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City, Utah, the making of a biographical movie, publication of several books and a country CD inspired by Smith’s life. Performances portraying the life and message of Smith were also held throughout Utah in 2005, drawing more than 200,000 youths.
Gamboa said the church spent the year focusing on the life of Joseph Smith and what he did for the church.
“It helps us learn about the faith and what we stand for,” Gamboa said.
According to the Mormon tradition, in 1820 Smith received a visit from the visions of Jesus and God while praying to the Almighty to lead him to his faith. Smith said Jesus told him to wait for further instructions on how to restore the Christian church to its authentic state.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded 10 years later with six followers in the state of New York. Today, the church has grown to more than 5 million in the United States and 12 million worldwide, with members practicing in more than 26,000 congregations.
One of the most successful, influential and involved group of members within the Mormon Church is the young adult demographic, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Web site. More than 56,000 young missionaries are serving on a volunteer basis across the globe, each for a period of 18 to 24 months.
The church’s Web site credits these young people and their influence with making the Mormon Church one of the fastest-growing faiths in the world.
As with any idea that is unfamiliar to so many people, the Mormon faith finds itself constantly under scrutiny from those who are not members of the church.
“Some people joke about whether I have nine moms,” Gamboa said. “Polygamy is not part of the Mormon faith, contrary to popular belief.”
Another Mormon on campus, freshman Megan Carolin, from San Diego, Calif., is the only practicing Mormon in her immediate family. Carolin said she began attending church regularly with her friends when she was 13 and later discovered that her grandma had been raised Mormon but left the church as a teenager.
She said she finds that Christian students at Pepperdine are often curious about how the Mormon faith correlates with their Christian values.
“Some people don’t think Mormons are Christian,” Carolin said. “But I’ve always thought that Christian is defined as a follower of Christ, and we are definitely that.”
In response to questions asked by a group of religious journalists questioning the faith’s core beliefs, Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley explained away their doubts.
“Are we Christians? Of course we are,” Hinckley said. “All of our doctrine, all of our religious practice stems from that one basic doctrinal position: ‘We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.’ This is the first article of our faith, and all else flows therefrom.”
Consequently, programs and their messages, such as Convocation, that are central parts of the university have little conflict with the Mormon students on campus.
“I feel like the messages are not sermons or preaching,” Carolin said. “They are more like people’s stories about their own faith. I think that is something people from all religions can appreciate.”
Additionally, the strict set of standards that accompany the affiliation of the university with a Christian faith are a selling point, rather than a detriment, for Mormon students in their search for a college.
“Even though it is not my religion, one of the reasons I chose Pepperdine was because it is a Christian school that upholds the same standards that I live in my own life, such as no drinking or drugs,” Carolin said.
Mormon students have been able to find religious gatherings on campus to share their faith with fellow students.
“Some of the law school students hold gatherings one night a week in their apartment,” Gamboa said. “We have discussions about our faith and readings from the ‘Book of Mormon.’”
The central teachings of the faith come from this “Book of Mormon,” a 531-page addition to the King James version of the Bible, composed from writings in “Reformed Egyptian” that were written by God and later found and transcribed by Smith, according to Mormon tradition. Additionally in 2005, the president of the church urged all followers to read or re-read the “Book of Mormon” by the end of the year in response to the bicentennial celebrations.
Gamboa said that she tries to set time aside every day to read a little of the “Book of Mormon,” and Carolin also heeded the words of the president of the church by reading the book in 2005.
Having the “Book of Mormon” out on their desks tends to raise questions from curious friends.
“One of my suitemates asked me about my faith because she didn’t know much about it,” Carolin said.
Carolin answers the questions she is asked patiently. Both she and Gamboa agree that rather than making assumptions about someone based on their faith, people should ask questions to clear up misunderstanding.
“People are usually pretty constructive with questions,” Gamboa said. “People have heard so many different things, I like it when people ask questions to clear things up.”
03-23-2006
