Quote:
"The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. "Repent" is its most frequent message, and repenting means giving up all of our practices—personal, family, ethnic, and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that requires change."
Dallin H. Oaks Repentance and Change
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Being an American LDS living in Taiwan, I think culture is the single greatest obstacle to gospel progression. Culture has such a strong influence over people, an influence that most are not even aware of, and it influences even those who try to take a sincere and objective view of the gospel.
I do think that those who are truly trying to follow the gospel will/should certainly move towards a common culture.
Traditions are a little different. In America, we have the tradition of Christmas, which I think, even with Santa Claus, which is the spirit of giving, is itself within the spirit of Christ. In Asia, families have the tradition of honoring their dead ancestors, a tradition I hope is never lost even among those who convert. One can still participate in a ceremony or ritual honoring the deceased as long as they know in their hearts, that it is showing respect only and they don't pray to their ancestors or any other gods or participate in the movements of such rituals. It is really touching how much reverence is given to one's ancestors over here--compare that to the "American" way; very different.