Christianity does not have a corner on ‘goodness,’ nor can it claim this virtue originated in Christ. Nevertheless, the LDS church has canonized his words in the Book of Mormon:

“[G]ood cometh of none save it be of me.”

Book of Mormon – Ether 4:12 (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, September 2008 edition), 495.

As a former Mormon turned atheist, I take issue with this, even though I should have been offended at the concept from the beginning. It’s no small wonder non-members and apostates are summarily dismissed as not having loving virtues since the only way goodness happens is by and through the hands of the Mormon-Jesus.

It is not only erroneous, but a deeply dangerous notion to think that only “people of faith” can show real compassion and goodness. In fact, since I’ve lost my faith, I feel that my love of everything has deepened as there is no program attached to my good-will, and the urgency to be nice is accelerated by the knowledge that things are far more temporary than I imagined before.