The foundational tenet of the LDS Church, the tenant that separates us from every other Christian church, is that we believe the leader of our church is a prophet. And we don't mean "prophet" in the sense of "wise and inspired." We mean prophet in the sense of Moses or Abraham or Peter. As in, we believe the president of our church is fully authorized by God to declare His mind and will. And we believe he is the only person on earth to whom God has given this authority. So when we are asked in our temple recommend interviews whether we sustain the current president as a person with this kind of authority - as a modern day Moses - our answer reveals a great deal.
I am troubled by the trend among many of my peers to consider themselves active members of the Church, but to disregard official teachings from the Church's leaders. No one follows all prophetic teaching perfectly - we all need to improve. So it does not trouble me one bit that many of my peers (myself included) struggle to fully accept and live all of the Church's teachings. What troubles me is how some of my peers feel about the struggle.
Many do not see their disbelief as a struggle at all. They see their dissent from the prophet as simply another way to be a Mormon. And they usually legitimize their dissent by labeling themselves Unorthodox Mormons or Progressive Mormons. But that's not how being a Mormon works. We either want to believe what the prophet teaches, or we don't. Once we stop wanting to believe what the prophet teaches, we are no longer active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Struggling to believe is completely normal. What distinguishes members who can answer "yes" to the temple recommend interview question we're talking about, and the person who must answer "no," is how the person feels about the struggle. It mattered to Nephi that he struggled to believe that his father Lehi really was a prophet - so he prayed for help to believe. 1 Nephi 2:16 But if we dismiss the prophet's official teaching as mere opinion or prejudice, and we see our dismissal as justified - then we cannot honestly answer "yes" to that question. And if we cannot answer yes to that question, then we need to repent - just as the Hebrews needed to repent when they disregarded Moses's teachings.
We cannot cover our need to repent by labeling ourselves Unorthodox Mormons or anything else. We cannot reject the foundational tenet of the Church and still be active members of the Church. Dissent by any other name, is still dissent.
Struggling to believe is completely normal. What distinguishes members who can answer "yes" to the temple recommend interview question we're talking about, and the person who must answer "no," is how the person feels about the struggle. It mattered to Nephi that he struggled to believe that his father Lehi really was a prophet - so he prayed for help to believe. 1 Nephi 2:16 But if we dismiss the prophet's official teaching as mere opinion or prejudice, and we see our dismissal as justified - then we cannot honestly answer "yes" to that question. And if we cannot answer yes to that question, then we need to repent - just as the Hebrews needed to repent when they disregarded Moses's teachings.
We cannot cover our need to repent by labeling ourselves Unorthodox Mormons or anything else. We cannot reject the foundational tenet of the Church and still be active members of the Church. Dissent by any other name, is still dissent.
Well said, Nate. I couldn't agree more. Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
I think it is dangerous to set ANY man on such a high pedestal.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly answer an emphatic "Yes!" when I am asked if I sustain (currently) Thomas S. Monson as prophet, seer, and revelator and the only person on Earth authorized to hold and administer ALL the keys of the Restoration.
But I think he is also a man, in need of prayer just as we all are. I believe that he, along with the Council of the Twelve and all other general and local authorities can, and do, make mistakes... and need to repent.
I can separate the office from the human being. I know that he holds our best interests at heart and that God will NOT allow him to lead the church astray, but I pray about EVERY. SINGLE. THING. that ANY Prophet has said... because there are a lot of contradicting revelations in our church history. God gives line upon line, precept upon precept, He gives us minds and free agency, He gives us a THIRST for knowledge. Failing to use those gifts would be a crime.
Thank you for commenting, Choice Spirit. But I am not quite sure which part of my post you are responding to. Could you be more specific about which part of what I said you believe is dangerous?
DeleteThanks,
Nate
It is the spirit or idea of making the Prophet infallible, a person who's every word is the word of God... it is dangerous.
DeleteReading you reply to the poster below me... I understand your intent. Thank you.
DeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
Hey Nate. I like that you're standing for taking the prophets seriously. I think they aren't taken seriously enough by many, only I've taken it the other way and can no longer justify thinking of them as anything more than really nice men. My active LDS friends don't seem to particularly care if it's true or not, but several of them wonder why I don't go to church...
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I believe you're oversimplifying a thorny issue. What does it mean to be a prophet? That everything they say is true? What about prophets that contradict each other--David O. McKay differed from several other prophets about the priesthood ban on blacks. Which do we regard as true in that case? What do you make of the fact that several leaders of the Church continued to practice plural marriage after the Proclamation that officially ended it? Is there no room for individual testimony regarding the truth of the teachings of the prophets? Or do we have to take the hardline stance outlined by Pres. Benson in the Fourteen Fundamentals talk? For me, that whole talk contradicts the spirit, if not the letter, of instruction to study out truth and pray about it.
Thanks for reading, Nate, and I appreciate your comment. You're right, no single blog posting can cover all the angles on this topic. The Church doesn't teach, and I didn't mean to suggest, that anything any president of the church has ever said is the mind and will of God. I meant to emphasize that when the president of the church speaks in his official capacity, or when the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve speak unanimously and publicly (i.e. official declarations), he is speaking the mind and will of God. A nice comparison is Moses: what Moses said over dinner at night wasn't necessary the mind and will of God - but when he came down of the mount and began his speech with "thus sayeth the Lord" or something like that, he was definitely speaking the mind of God. So in the case of the president of the Church, when we treat what he declares officially the same way we would treat casual remarks over dinner - we're denying that he is a prophet. And we're free to do so - but it means rejecting one of the Church's foundation tenets. My point is simply to clarify that while we are free to dissent from the prophet's official teachings, if we do so and feel justified - then we've stopped practicing Mormonism and started practicing something else.
DeleteAs far as the official statements changing over time, that is not unusual. The Lord adjusts his policies to the historical moment. A good comparison is when God commanded Peter to take the gospel to the gentiles when before, He had commanded him to do the opposite. The point of having a prophet is to find out what God wants for the church right now, at this time. The president of the church has a special calling because he is the only person authorized to deliver that message.
Thanks for this clarification. I would have liked to have seen it in the original post.
DeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
Obviously prayer must be involved when applying prophetic counsel to one's life. It would be foolish to leave this out.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of distinguishing between official church doctrine and the personal opinion of a prophet is fairly straightforward. Church doctrine is something that is taught in the scriptures, an official publication/proclamation of the church, or regularly in General Conference. One quote here or there can't really be considered official church doctrine - there is no "infallability" doctrine in the church. So it is really dangerous to get caught up in minute differences in opinions - this could lead to rejecting the prophets altogether.
That being said, I believe it is extremely important to pay attention to what the prophet and apostles are saying. I know they are inspired of God and give counsel that will keep us safe in an increasingly evil and dangerous world. I agree that if we pick and choose what teachings to listen to that we have need to repent. In my mind, if I have a belief or practice that contradicts what the prophet teaches, then it is I, not the prophet, that needs to do some soul searching and changing (changing = repenting).
Thanks for posting, John - I appreciate your comment. You're right that distinguishing between official statements and unofficial ones is fairly simple. Proclamation on the Family? Official. What someone wrote in their journal that an apostle said in a sunday school lesson somewhere in 1952? Not so official.
DeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
I respect that you feel you need to call your peers to repentance, but I am troubled by the fact that you take it upon yourself to determine who gets to be a Mormon, or at least an active Mormon. You don't kneel with your unorthodox peers while they pray to God, nor do you sit in on their interviews with their bishops. Although you may perceive people rejecting the words of apostles and prophets, it may very well be that they are being guided by personal revelation and that they've been perfectly honest with their bishops in temple recommend interviews. Are we not all "beggars before God?" Haven't our apostles and prophets instructed us to "replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children?" For me, that means it is not my place to worry about who needs to repent, who is temple-worthy, and who gets to call themselves an active Mormon, but instead to welcome others to accompany me on the path toward Zion, even if they are at a different place spiritually than me. And even if they understand the gospel differently than me.
ReplyDeleteI think that last sentence is where we will disagree. It appears that you have no trouble distinguishing between official church doctrine and guidance. I think that is wonderful. It is not so easy for everyone, though. As an example, consider the propehts' many clear, emphatic statements about the differing roles of husbands and wives. On one hand, it is simple. Women should stay home with the kids, if at all possible. On the other hand, prophets increasingly acknowledge that there circumstances vary for every family. I know *many* families who have taken their circumstances to the Lord and received personal revelation that they should take a different path. I don't think it is fair, or even possible, to say that these families have disregarded church doctrine. I think it is damaging and un-Christlike for members to criticize these families for their choices, to suggest that they are not worthy to attend the temple, and to essentially cast them out of the community of the faithful. This is only one example, but I think it demonstrates the difficulty of distinguishing between doctrine and guidance, the danger of discounting personal revelation and agency, and the hurtfulness of deciding who gets to be an "active Mormon."
Thank you for reading, Sandy - I appreciate your comments. And I sincerely apologize if I touched on the hurtfulness you mention in the last part of your comment. I did not mean to do that. And I also apologize if I gave the impression that I was condemning people (not until I get this beam out of my eye, at least). But I disagree that it is not our place to worry about the spiritual state of other people. See http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/to-the-rescue?lang=eng&query=*+(name%3a%22Thomas+S.+Monson%22)
DeleteWhen I see my friends fall away from the church, it hurts me deeply and I want to help.
In my posting, I meant to emphasize a fairly narrow point: if we knowingly disregard a foundational tenet of the Church and feel justified in doing so, then we have stopped practicing Mormonism and started practicing something else. And referring to whatever it is we have started practicing as just some other kind of Mormonism does not change the fact that we're dissenting. (I use the word "dissent" in the kind of technical way that Mormon uses it). I emphasize this point because I it is getting increasingly popular to legitimize dissent by giving it a new name (and in the case of some people, make a decent living doing so).
The foundational tenet that I refer to is the tenet that when the president of the church speaks in his official capacity, he speaks the mind and will of God. As John notes in his comment above, distinguishing between official statements and other kinds of statements is fairly straightforward.
For a discussion of the way individual revelation and prophetic revelation work together, see http://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-george-albert-smith/chapter-11?lang=eng
The Church welcomes all kinds of people from all walks of life (especially when they're struggling spiritually) - but it still takes the very unpopular position that not all viewpoints are created equal: some are right, but some are wrong.
In regards to your point about family life, people are free to choose for themselves regarding the Lord's teaching about bearing children, for example - and their choices are personal. You or I don't get to decide who is ignoring the teaching and when (what would our opinion matter, anyway?) But that does not change the Lord's teaching. For a nice discussion about the doctrine of parenthood, in particular, see http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/children?lang=eng
My point is not to identify and condemn people who I think are disregarding the prophet. My point is to remind anyone who cares to read my posting that the Lord's teaching about how we should feel about the official statements from prophets is still here - it has not been modernized out of the church. And while we're free to approach the teaching as we please, our choice matters as much now as it did for the Hebrews thousands of years ago.
Well said, Sandy. It's not our job to separate the tares from the wheat.
DeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
Also, as a quick note and because language matters, I'd like to point out that the church counts you as Mormon unless you actively resign or die, and they count you as "active" if you attend one sacrament meeting a month. Until the church tells me otherwise -- and maybe not even then, because I'm an unrepentant, prophetic-counsel disregarding apostate, apparently;) -- I'll continue to identify as an active Mormon, even if my understanding of the gospel does not perfectly align with yours. I mean, those three hours a week + time served in callings have to count for something, right?
ReplyDeletePoint taken about the term "active." My point isn't really about who gets to call themselves active, though - my point is this: "No one follows all prophetic teaching perfectly - we all need to improve. So it does not trouble me one bit that many of my peers (myself included) struggle to fully accept and live all of the Church's teachings. What troubles me is how some of my peers feel about the struggle. Many do not see their disbelief as a struggle at all. They see their dissent from the prophet as simply another way to be a Mormon."
DeleteAnd I personally want you in the church no matter how prophetic-counsel-disregarding-apostate you get - so don't go anywhere!
I don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
Hi, Nate. You don't know me. But I grew up with your wife and I think she's amazing. So, there's that.
ReplyDeleteI trust that your words come from a good and loving place, but I just wanted to (briefly) let you know how they made me feel.
There are aspects of this Church that are struggle with. There are points, even points made in official declarations or conference talks, that have caused me to study, ponder, and pray on my own and have led me to my own conclusions. My faith wavers, but I do my best to adhere to the tenets of Mormonism as my ecclesiastical leaders and I understand them. I pay tithing. I have a temple recommend. But I struggle, and I have most of my life. I do not call myself anything but Mormon, but I've sought out many groups (that I think you've referenced, though not by name) for support that I can't get from Mormons who don't struggle in the same ways. My cousin spearheaded one of these organizations and, I assure you, he doesn't do it for personal gain.
The point is, when I read posts like this, the underlying message for me seems to be, "shape up or ship out." It confirms my suspicions that if my fellow latter-day saints knew how I doubt, how I struggle, how I really feel, they wouldn't want me sullying their temples and chapels with my unbelief. And I feel even more alone.
I hope I'm wrong.
Hi Gretta, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for reading and I appreciate your comments.
DeleteSome of my responses to other comments may prove helpful as a way to clarify what I meant to convey in this post (if you care to peruse...) My main point is this: "No one follows all prophetic teaching perfectly - we all need to improve. So it does not trouble me one bit that many of my peers (myself included) struggle to fully accept and live all of the Church's teachings. What troubles me is how some of my peers feel about the struggle. Many do not see their disbelief as a struggle at all. They see their dissent from the prophet as [perfectly legitimate and] simply another way to be a Mormon."
Hang in there, Gretta - remember that you're never alone. I wish you the best as you continue with the struggle, and I, for one, don't want you shipping out anywhere!
Thanks for your thoughtful and quick response. If you and the wife ever find yourselves out in Southern California, I hope you drop us a line, so we can meet in real life!
DeleteI don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
DeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng
I don't know if the readers of this nearly 10-year-old post will receive a notification from this comment, but hopefully that is the case. As I re-read this post, I am--frankly--embarrassed. What arrogance! This is not something I would write today, or even several years ago. I remember the rebuke Elder Uchtdorf gave to this type of "all or nothing" approach in Oct 2014, it really invigorated the way I think about membership in the church since that time. I truly apologize to those who felt hurt or othered by my smug, critical comments and wish all the very best--please call yourself whatever type of Mormon you want!
ReplyDeleteHere is a key quote from the talk and a link to it:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place for people with all kinds of testimonies. There are some members of the Church whose testimony is sure and burns brightly within them. Others are still striving to know for themselves. The Church is a home for all to come together, regardless of the depth or the height of our testimony. I know of no sign on the doors of our meetinghouses that says, “Your testimony must be this tall to enter.”
The Church is not just for perfect people, but it is for all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” The Church is for people like you and me. The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separating or criticizing. It is a place where we reach out to encourage, uplift, and sustain one another as we pursue our individual search for divine truth.
In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/receiving-a-testimony-of-light-and-truth?lang=eng