I am part of a Band of Brothers. Though nothing as dramatic and dangerous as the band of brothers that Stephen Ambrose writes about in his book on the men of Easy Company during World War II, it is nonetheless a group of men with a bond, with a trust and respect forged over several years.<\/p>\n
We are men who meet regularly, friends whose shared connection is Mormonism.\u00a0 We are a diverse group, with our ranks ranging from strident atheists to fully active and believing LDS, and our ages ranging from mid-twenties to mid-fifties.<\/p>\n
Our monthly fellowship meetings consist of everything from spiritual and theological discussions to bawdy humor and angry confrontations. Mostly, though, we have spirited and candid discussions about our faith and about our lives. These candid discussions \u2013 and even the angry confrontations \u2013 are made possible because of the high level of trust and respect within the group. We have developed a real love for each other, a true brotherhood. We disagree, we fight, and we do so forcefully. But we have shared enough to maintain the love and respect within the group to come back again and again.<\/p>\n
Our friendships move beyond the monthly meetings, sharing conversations regularly through our private email list, through attendance at movies and events, and through service. We are there to help a brother move, to spend weekend mornings canvassing neighborhoods for a fellow brother running for public office, to respond to needs and comfort those who face pressing struggles.<\/p>\n
In the past year we have formalized our monthly meetings in order to focus on one individual. When assigned a month, the individual prepares a narrative of his faith journey, sharing the experiences that shaped him and the values and beliefs he holds most sacred. The experiences have striking similarities, even as they are incredibly diverse. Through this process we have come to understand our brothers in new and even intimate ways, increasing our bonds and cementing friendships.<\/p>\n
Key to this is our ability to strip ourselves of pretense; to lay bare our faults, our doubts, and our struggles. It is a refreshing – and frightening – experience to be completely candid, to trust the others within the group to listen and respect our experiences, even as they candidly respond and criticize. It can be brutal at times, but behind that brutality is always a sense of love and friendship.<\/p>\n
What I have found in this group is a level of trust and brotherhood unlike any other I have experienced. It is a brotherhood forged through shared struggles and grief, of shared humor and joy. It is the friendship and brotherhood I think Joseph Smith preached, that he at various times experienced, and that he valued dearly. He called friendship \u201cone of the grand fundamental principles of \u2018Mormonism\u2019\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n