This message is for all who will read. Please understand that this topic has been in my cranium for quite some time, and that I can't make it go away. It is meant with the best intentions, and no offense is intended. I include myself in this admonition.
We simply must stop turning our meetings, associations, and studies together into an excuse to bash the LDS Church.
Seriously, it has to stop.
Those who know me might say: "That's easy for you to say. You haven't been on the receiving end of the persecutions and unrighteous dominions that we have." And this is all very true. I still attend my ward each week. I play the organ every third week. I teach Gospel Doctrine once a month. My whole family still has "one foot in the pool."
But the other side of that, is this: I, too, have been angered, appalled, saddened, and thunderstruck by the treatment some of you have received at the hands of representatives of the Church. My dearest friends in the world had callings revoked and temple recommends yanked for simply knowing too much about the gospel. Other friends and acquaintances have had similar, but more drastic, things happen to them, including being excommunicated for simply being married to a blogger. These are things that Jesus Christ would never condone, and those who have perpetrated these atrocities in his name shall be called to stand for their misdeeds.
The issue, to me, is this: it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The church of JESUS CHRIST. Despite what men have done to the Church over time, it is still the Church of Jesus Christ. He has not disowned it. He has not discontinued it. He has not banished it from the world, caused it to be destroyed by flood or fire, or caused it to be hewn down and cast aside.
Christ called it his own church. In D & C 115: 3-4 the Lord states: "And also unto my faithful servants who are of the high council of my church in Zion, for thus it shall be called, and unto all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, scattered abroad in all the world;
For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
“My church.” “My church.”
Regardless of where you stand in relation to the Church as an organization, we must remember that, at its origin and its heart, this is the Church that Christ established in the Latter-days to facilitate the restoration. The Lord has stated that the Church has received certain keys and covenants. (D&C 42:67-69). In that respect alone, it is still worthy of our respect, no matter what “the arm of flesh” has done to it.
But that is not all. We purport to be seeking a Zion society- we aim to become that Zion that must be restored before the Lord can come again. Does a Zion people snipe or backbite at other peoples? Do they hold ill will, grudges, or an attitude of mocking or belittling to others?
Nay.
The Lord has commanded: “Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.” (D&C 18:20). Additionally, He has told us to “…see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking.” (D&C 20:54). Finally: “Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another.” (D&C 88:124).
We need to bear in mind the words of Alma the Younger as he taught in Zarahemla and ultimately throughout all the land:
“And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
“Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?
“Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.
“Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare quickly, for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such an one is not found guiltless.
“And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?” (Alma 5:26-30).
It is as if we are become the finely-appareled folk in Lehi’s dream, mocking and pointing and bringing shame to others.
This is decidedly not Zion-like action.
Finally, and most importantly, what the Church does, as a corporation or entity, has not one whit of relevance to our eternal salvation. No man, no church, no organization can save you. No man, no church, no organization can damn you. Whether the Church chooses to feed all the orphans in the whole world, or build a shopping center or housing development, or to even build a temple next to every Starbuck's in the land, it does not matter to us. It does not change our desire to draw unto Christ, and to become one with him and the Father. In short, the presence or absence of the Church, with all its strengths and weaknesses, is not relevant to Zion. Let us leave it out of our conversations.
Look unto Jesus Christ Himself for an example to follow. When subjected to the most hateful of insults, the most grievous of pain, and the loss of his life and all that surrounded that event, what did he do? Did he mock those that spat on him? Did he point his finger at Pilate and call him names? Did he make jokes about the soldiers nailing him to the cross? No, he most assuredly did not. Quite the opposite: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
If we are, indeed, to become a Zion people, to create an environment into which the Lord can come, and to meet him face to face, we must put off the urge to condemn, criticize, mock or joke about the institution that, frankly, opened the doors to us being here in the first place. Again, the men associated with leadership positions of the Church have done things that they will have to answer for at some point in the future. There is not a doubt about that. But, what does that fact have to do with our own progress, salvation, and learning? Nothing. Not a damn thing.
All we do when we get caught in the temptation to make a wise-crack about the Church, or to turn a lesson into a condemnation of the Church, is to dilute our message and reduce our effectiveness.
Brethren, Sisters, please. To the extent that we are not exhorting each other to do better, or warning of dangerous or false doctrine, let us cease our negative speaking about that institution. It does nothing to draw us unto Christ, or to make us better people. I beseech you, let us stop. I promise that I, myself, will make conscious effort to avoid those thoughts and words. Please, won’t you join me?
No comments:
Post a Comment