The Priesthood is the Power of God; Given to those that He Chooses (and we don't know why)

This topic was brought up again on Facebook today, so I thought that I'd copy my note over here so it's easy to access.

I ask only that you read the entire message before passing judgment.

At the risk of persecution from my brothers and sisters that I love dearly, I submit that I can 100% have faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, believe that the Quorum of the 12 Apostles are all divinely inspired prophets, seers, and revelators, sustain them in their roles, disagree with some of their views as to who will and who won't hold the priesthood, and still have the potential to receive celestial glory.

To support this feeling, I would reference another group of individuals who were kept from holding the priesthood of God for decades. Here are some quotes relating to this;

The first is from Elder Mark E. Peterson, a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, Race Problems -- As They Affect The Church; Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 27, 1954.

The reason that one would lose his blessings by marrying a Negro is due to the restriction placed upon them. "No person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood" (Brigham Young). It does not matter if they are one-sixth Negro or one-hundred and sixth, the curse of no Priesthood is the same. If an individual who is entitled to the Priesthood marries a Negro, the Lord has decreed that only spirits who are not eligible for the Priesthood will come to that marriage as children. To intermarry with a Negro is to forfeit a "Nation of Priesthood holders"....

The discussion on civil rights, especially over the last 20 years, has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political affiliations to color their thinking to some extent, and then, of course, they have been persuaded by some of the arguments that have been put forth....We who teach in the Church certainly must have our feet on the ground and not to be led astray by the philosophies of men on this subject....

I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the Negro seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, "First we pity, then endure, then embrace"....

Now let's talk about segregation again for a few moments. Was segregation a wrong principle? When the Lord chose the nations to which the spirits were to come, determining that some would be Japanese and some would be Chinese and some Negroes and some Americans, He engaged in an act of segregation....

When he told Enoch not preach the gospel to the descendants of Cain who were black, the Lord engaged in segregation. When He cursed the descendants of Cain as to the Priesthood, He engaged in segregation....

Who placed the Negroes originally in darkest Africa? Was it some man, or was it God? And when He placed them there, He segregated them....

The Lord segregated the people both as to blood and place of residence. At least in the cases of the Lamanites and the Negro we have the definite word of the Lord Himself that he placed a dark skin upon them as a curse -- as a punishment and as a sign to all others. He forbade intermarriage with them under threat of extension of the curse. And He certainly segregated the descendants of Cain when He cursed the Negro as to the Priesthood, and drew an absolute line. You may even say He dropped an Iron curtain there....

Now we are generous with the Negro. We are willing that the Negro have the highest education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a Cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world. But let them enjoy these things among themselves. I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation? It reminds me of the scripture on marriage, "what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Only here we have the reverse of the thing -- what God hath separated, let not man bring together again."

Think of the Negro, cursed as to the priesthood.... This Negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in their lineage of Cain with a black skin, and possibly being born in darkest Africa--if that Negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory.

I unequivocally and completely disagree with everything that this Apostle had to say about blacks and the priesthood. Though I do not represent the Church in any way, it is also not my understanding of what the doctrine of the church teaches either. It was and remains his opinion.

Here's another from President Ezra Taft Benson; General Conference Report, October 1967

The Communist program for revolution in America has been in progress for many years and is far advanced. While it can be thwarted in a fairly short period of time merely by sufficient exposure, the evil effects of what has already been accomplished cannot be removed overnight. The animosities, the hatred, the extension of government control into our daily lives -- all this will take time to repair. The already-inflicted wounds will be slow in healing. But they can be healed; that is the important point.

First of all, we must not place the blame upon Negroes. They are merely the unfortunate group that has been selected by professional Communist agitators to be used as the primary source of cannon fodder. Not one in a thousand Americans -- black or white -- really understands the full implications of today's civil rights agitation. The planning, direction, and leadership come from the Communists, and most of those are white men who fully intend to destroy America by spilling Negro blood, rather than their own.

Next, we must not participate in any so-called "blacklash" activity which might tend to further intensify inter-racial friction. Anti-Negro vigilante action, or mob action, of any kind fits perfectly into the Communist plan. This is one of the best ways to force the decent Negro into cooperating with militant Negro groups. The Communists are just as anxious to spearhead such anti-Negro actions as they are to organize demonstrations that are calculated to irritate white people.

We must insist that duly authorized legislative investigating committees launch an even more exhaustive study and expose the degree to which secret Communists have penetrated into the civil rights movement. The same needs to be done with militant anti-Negro groups. This is an effective way for the American people of both races to find out who are the false leaders among them.

He seems to be saying that the civil rights movement, something that was absolutely essential and vital to the progress of our country as a nation, was actually a communist movement, and black americans were simply ignorant pawns in this process, rather than a terribly subjugated population that cried for equality. I find this to be paranoid, and whether or not there were communists that attempted to capitalize on the civil rights movement, the core of the civil rights movement was just that, giving rights to those that had next to none.

This one is from Bruce R. McConkie, member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles; Mormon Doctrine, p. 114

In a broad general sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole Negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry. (Gen. 4; Moses 5.) The whole house of Israel was chosen as a peculiar people, one set apart from all other nations (Ex. 19:5-6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2); and they were forbidden to marry outside their own caste. (Ex. 34:10-17; Deut. 7:1-5.) In effect the Lamanites belonged to one caste and the Nephites to another, and a mark was put upon the Lamanites to keep the Nephites from intermixing with and marrying them. (Alma 3:6-11.) All this is not to say that any race, creed, or caste should be denied any inalienable rights. But it is to say that Deity in his infinite wisdom, to carry out his inscrutable purposes, has a caste system of his own, a system of segregation of races and peoples. The justice of such a system is evident when life is considered in its true eternal perspective. It is only by a knowledge of pre-existence that it can be known why some persons are born in one race or caste and some in another. "However, in a broad general sense, caste systems have their origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the lord. 

This is NOT the position of the church as I understand it. I do NOT believe that black people are from the "mark of Cain." While I love Bruce R. McConkie, he was seriously off base. He was drawing from his life experiences, and his own personal feelings, NOT any church doctrine that I have ever read.

From Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation:

There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits.

No doctrine of the church that I have been able to find teaches that "The Negro" or black people, were less righteous than anyone else.

In short, these well-meaning inspired men tried to attach meaning to something that really had none. They didn't know why God didn't want blacks to hold the priesthood, any more than you or I do today. They simply didn't hold it. There were some who were in fact given the priesthood by Joseph Smith. For some reason that stopped, for no reason that we understand, and then given back, again for no reason that we understand. Joseph Smith gave women the authority to give blessings. That practice was also taken away. As stated by Elder Oaks during Priesthood session, women hold the priesthood in the temple under the direction of the temple president in an extremely similar way I hold the priesthood under the direction of my Bishop and Stake President. 

As stated by Elder Oaks during the Priesthood session last night:

"...they are not free to alter the divinely decreed pattern that only men will hold offices in the priesthood."

This has been the divine pattern for some time, but I have yet to see anything that says it will always unequivocally be thus. I feel that the issue of women and the priesthood is similar to blacks and the Priesthood. I appreciate much of what Elder Oaks had to say. I appreciate that he feels that women will never hold the priesthood, but it's important for all of us to remember that this is God's priesthood, and He will determine who holds offices within it, and should he reveal that women will hold it, then they will, end of story. It's not our job to speculate why, or declare whether they will or wont, any more than it was the job of these earlier church leaders to speculate on the same topic as it relates to race. The answer should be "no they don't hold the priesthood, I don't know why."

Let me be clear that I am not advocating for trying to force the Prophet to give women the Priesthood. Never has this been the pattern, and never will it be. I'm simply drawing a correlation between two circumstances that I see as similar. Please don't take this as me going apostate, or going rogue, I'm simply voicing my opinion that God will give His Priesthood to whomever He wants, and just because it's "always been this way" doesn't mean it always will.

Many might become frustrated with this post because I'm pointing out some of our ugly past. Well, brothers and sisters, it is our past. Don't be ignorant of it, own it. We are not infallible. One way or another, history will justify the truthfulness of the Gospel. If God really doesn't want his daughters to hold the Priesthood, then they won't. If He does, then they will, and either way it will be right. 

In closing, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I know that it was restored throught he Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon is Scripture, and that studying it, and applying it into ones life will bring an individual closer to God than anything else will. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is God's Prophet on the earth today. I am grateful for the power of the Priesthood, and know that it is God's power given to His children to bring about His eternal purposes. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Reynolds High School shooting; A Call to Love

I've taken a little while to write something substantial regarding the shooting recently at Reynolds High School. It has been, and will continue to be, something that is terribly difficult to process; emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My heart brakes for the families that have been directly affected by this tragedy. Two young men with limitless potential have been taken from us, and my heart breaks for what might have been.

What pains me even more than this, is seeing some of the reactions of my fellow human beings. Before the parents had even been notified, political parties were rallying their troops trying to push their agenda's. Looking at Jared's Facebook page broke my heart, as I saw countless of his classmates, his "friends" calling him the most vile of names. While deep anger and grief are merited in such instances as this, such sheer hatred as I saw there has no place.

Then watching the news media as they pulled his picture from his Facebook page, hearing about them relentlessly seeking interviews with his friends, sending them text messages, like dogs fighting over a scrap of meat they slavered for any information they could get. Refusing to let his friends grieve. Then watching as they threw their "stories" up on Facebook as so-called "adults" attacked not only Jared, but his parents, and at times, his religion.

Is it any surprise, in a society that not only condones but encourages such blatant and utter hatred of our fellow human beings, that shootings occur?

While some turn this into politics, and others want to point fingers at the shooter and his family, and yet others want to take it a step further and scream and yell obscenities at Jared and his family, I say take this opportunity to examine yourself. There is a sickness within our very culture. The sickness of pride. The idea that we need to do it all on our own, and everyone else should as well, and that we can't reach out to others and help them in their time of need.

How might this story have been completely different if we took responsibility for each other as we should. If we stopped being so quick to judge, so immediate to run to our political opinions, and cutting down those that we feel aren't as "enlightened" as we are.

I have chosen to go into pastoral counseling because almost no one was there for me when I went through my dark times. I was very nearly a sad statistic, not exactly like these two young men-teenage suicide rarely gets national coverage-and it was only because of the intervention of friends that I was able to make it through.

Somehow, we as a people failed Jared and Emilio.

Among the Iroquois, it is the responsibility of the entire clan to look out for each other. When one is harmed, all are. There was a time when the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" was actually practiced. No more. Now it is up to the immediate family, often just the parents, to raise a child, and when that family is reduced to one either through divorce or untimely death or never having been "nuclear" in the first place suddenly those odds look pretty grim.

It's time to stop shifting blame. It's time to stop saying "he did this, I had nothing to do with it." It's time to stop saying "it was all his parents fault." It is time to start asking "do I really love my neighbor? Do I even know my neighbor?" Because yes, Jared-or someone like him-IS my neighbor, and he or she is in some way my responsibility.

The Master said "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Can we believe it again? Can we LIVE it again? Can we love each other? Can we be our brothers or sisters keeper? Can we accept when we fail, and try to do better in the future? To me the RHS shooting, and every shooting before it, is a clarion call to rise up. Not to enact new legislation, because this problem is not about any law that can actually be enforced, or to get furiously angry, and scream obscenities to the sky and blast your vitriol on Facebook, but to shake off these chains that keep us from being all that we truly can be. It is time to love each other, to care for each other, to be concerned with each other. To be united. If we fail to heed this call, then we are doomed to continue on this same path, wringing our hands and repeating the mistakes of our past.

My Response to the so-called "Frozen Gay Agenda" as posted by "A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman"

To clarify for those of you reading this for the first time, a popular blogger posted about the movie Frozen, trying to say that it was "pushing the gay agenda." I wrote this in response.

If you agree with the statements contained here, whether LDS or not, please share this-we need to let the world know that we are not paranoid homophobics, but followers of Christ.

First of all; if you post vulgar or negative language on this post, it will be deleted. Thank you.

For your information: The bolded comments starting with A Kingdom of isolation are the parts of the song Let it Go that this individual felt were promoting the gay agenda, and my response to them.

I've read your entire blog post, and I completely disagree. As a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, pursuing a Masters Degree in Divinity, currently a Chaplain Candidate in the United States Army, I couldn't disagree more in fact. After watching Frozen I felt that it teaches not only Christian Values, but LDS Values specifically. In fact, I've already framed a fireside that could be between 1 and 2 hours based entirely on the song "Let it Go" allow me to respond to the italics that you have chosen to focus on in your attack on this song that has so much potential for teaching our youth.

A kingdom of isolation: Most if not all individuals will feel this way throughout their lives. Having conducted extensive work with youth both inside and outside of the church, this is especially the case among that group. Satan's plan is to try and isolate us, divide and conquer is his goal.

And it looks like, I'm the queen: We are all royalty. We have a royal birthright. Whether Kings or Queens, we are all royals in embryo.

Couldn't keep it in, Heaven knows I've tried: One of the strongest messages that the LDS culture (NOT THE RELIGION, THE CULTURE) teaches is we have to be perfect. Weaknesses are bad, and we need to hide them. I'll go into this again later as this theme is repeated in the song. The point is, many people struggle with keeping in their trials and struggles. They try and emulate what they think others want them to see. They are holding back on their potential, because they're afraid to show how they really feel.

Be the good girl you always have to be, conceal don't feel don't let them know: This is an outcry that many of the youth are silently screaming right now. "Be perfect, don't show your weakness, don't talk about the things that you are struggling with." I teach seminary, and I know that this is true. This is one of Satan's great lies, that you have to do it on your own, and you have to be perfect. This is the same struggle that the main character in Frozen has been struggling with. She has been taught that she needs to present a certain face to the world, and it's not who she is. It's time to be herself.

Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back any more: I can sum this up in one simple phrase: cast your burden upon the Lord. Stop carrying this terrible load that you've been carrying for possibly years. You don't have to carry it by yourself. Let. It. Go. This can also be related to forgiveness. You don't need to be burdened anymore. In context with the song, Be Yourself. Don't hide it any longer.

I don't care what they're going to say: Good. The only person you should care about impressing is Heavenly Father. This was my exact response when I found out that the Gospel was true. I bore my testimony to my parents, and immediately thereafter we began fighting, eventually this culminated in them kicking me out of their house because of my belief in the LDS Church. I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SAY! Let's scream it LOUD! Joseph Smith didn't either, and I'm thankful for that.

The fears that once controlled me: Fear is in opposition to faith, but many people fear what they don't know and don't understand. (As an aside, I feel that your entire paranoid blog post is a clear representation of your fear of homosexuality, but that's beside the point.) Everyone experiences fear, it doesn't matter who you are. Everyone has been controlled by fear at one point or another, it's time to LET IT GO. Let go of that fear.

It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through: What an awesome liberating principle of the Gospel. Let's see what we're capable of!

No right no wrong no rules for me, I'm free: When you've been living the commandments because you have to, because they've been forced upon you, they feel constricting and controlling. You begin to feel held down and held back by them, rather than liberated by them. You'll notice that she does continue to live by rules and standards throughout the rest of the movie, the difference is, she's now living them because it's her choice, because she has gained a testimony of them. There is a right and a wrong, but she wants to live them, she's not doing it because her overbearing parents have forced them upon her.

Here I stand and here I'll stay Let the storm rage on: STAND YE IN HOLY PLACES AND BE NOT MOVED

The Past is in the Past: Another wonderful gospel message. I've repented, it's time to move on. Let's not focus on the past.

I'll Rise like the break of dawn: Yes you will. As you embrace the Gospel you can't HELP but rise like the break of dawn. Christ lifts us from the dark, and brings us into the light.

The perfect girl is gone: Or at least the facade of the perfect girl or perfect boy. It's time to break down that wall, and embrace the wonderful, imperfect you. Ether teaches us, God gave men weakness that they may be humble, and His grace is sufficient for those that rely on Him... let's embrace the imperfect you, and rely on God to make up the rest

Here I stand in the light of day: No longer am I hiding in the dark, I'm in the Light, and I'm in the Light because He is in the Light, and has brought me out of the dark.

The cold never bothered me anyway: all of those things that I thought were huge issues that kept me from running the Savior, they were nothing. This is everything. I can recognize now that those were small, and His love and His infinite atonement has allowed me to conquer all.

Now this has taken me about fifteen minutes to compose. Your response to Frozen does nothing more than further establish a divide between the LDS Culture and the LDS Religion. Jesus Christ taught principles of love, compassion, and forgiveness, not bigotry, hatred, and paranoia. This posting does far more harm than good. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints it is imperative that we love as the Savior loved, and embrace good media, such as Frozen, for what it is-not try and look into it as something that it isn't, and was never meant to be.

To see the original posting you can visit: http://wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com/2014/02/movie-frozen-gay-homosexual-agenda.html#comment-form

If you agree with the statements contained here, whether LDS or not, please share this-we need to let the world know that we are not paranoid homophobics, but followers of Christ.

Talks in the LDS Church, a Sacred Opportunity Too Often Missed

To All of My LDS Friends

(I am not saying you are guilty of this)

(As usual, if you post any off-color comments, or comments laden with swear words, they will be deleted. Thank you for reading.)

The scene is an all-too familiar one. You're in an LDS meetinghouse on a Sunday morning (or maybe afternoon if you're one of the lucky ones that has church at 2pm) and someone has just gotten up to give a talk. They often have some form of notes, typically some typed out pages or a magazine or note cards, and the person is often nervous. Then comes the 5 minute diatribe.

"Hello I am so and so..." it often begins, accompanied at times by a fairly long-winded explanation of who that person is, and why they are in the ward. Whether or not it's a long introduction we usually get something that sounds like the following:

"The bishop called (however long ago) and told me to give this talk. This is the topic I've been assigned_____. I really don't want to give a talk. I only prepared for 5 minutes (depending on whether or not they're speaking first) so I hope the person after me prepared more (or if they're speaking second) I was really hoping that (person before me) would have spoken longer so I wouldn't have to speak. Even though I've known for ________ long I procrastinated until last night so I'm hoping that the spirit will be with me and you'll get what you're supposed to out of my talk..."

5 minutes have passed, the silly joke about being scared has been given and everyone has laughed. The next step is often the person reading someone else's (a general authorities for instance) talk rather than their own-or perhaps a conglomerate of talks.

Rarely do they look up from their notes, and the only time anything from the heart is spoken it's at the very end of the talk in the "I'd like to bear my testimony" section. Often when a talk is read verbatim or is a conglomeration of other people's words the excuse is "so and so says it better than I ever could, so I'm going to read their words."

Another often given talk is the life journey talk. The speaker goes on and on about stories from their life that don't seem to have any centralized theme, except in their mind. They're disjointed, disorganized, and unprepared, and the result is a train wreck.

Now, I am not saying that every talk is this way, I'm expressing my frustration that more and more talks are becoming this way. Now before you tell me that you haven't heard talks like this, or that your ward is an exception let me say that in the past eight years I have lived in three different states, and attended some twenty different wards or more, and this pattern of preparation (or lack thereof) and talk delivery is becoming more and more prevalent in the church. So much so in fact that it is becoming the norm in many of our classroom settings such as sunday school or priesthood lessons. The "I forgot I was supposed to give a lesson today so I didn't really prepare and I'll really need the class to carry the lesson-lesson." The reason I'm writing this note is because, brother's and sisters:

We Can Do Better

One of our claims to fame as members of the LDS Church is that we are a lay ministry. We do not have a paid minister. We do not have the same individual or group of individuals telling us every week what we should think, how we should worship, what we should believe. Every week we have an opportunity to attend a ward where we are taught by someone who is just like you and me, a regular person with a regular job. They have been called by one having authority to prepare, and share the message that they have been inspired to give. More and more often lately, we are passing the buck. We are making excuses as to why this sacred opportunity is a chore, rather than a blessing beyond imagination.How can we have forgotten that this, the ability to give a talk in church, is a sacred privilege that is largely unheard of in the rest of the religious world? The same person that prepares as described earlier, that bemoans giving a talk, would likely despise having the same pastor every week. My suggestions are these;

Realize first of all, the sacred opportunity that you have to give a talk

If you have been asked to give a talk, it is not because the Bishop thinks that you need to work on that area, it's because the Bishop feels that it's something that everyone needs.  You have been called and chosen to bring the spirit into the lives of those that you are speaking to. This is a sacred charge, and the words that you say may have eternal impact on those that you are speaking to. Treat your preparation and your delivery as such.

If Ye Have Not The Spirit Ye Shall Not Teach

We all know the principles of receiving the Spirit, they haven't changed in hundreds of years. Keep the commandments, internalize them, and all of the primary answers that I'm not going to include here. But if you want to have the Spirit while teaching, preparation is key. It is absolutely essential. Before going out to teach, the Savior of the world spent time in fasting and prayer. You must get the Spirit in order to teach, and you must take your preparation seriously, in order to get the Spirit.

Be Grateful that you have been asked to give a talk

You are one of a relatively small number of people on the face of the earth that has been given this amazing opportunity. Rather than despising the bishop for having called you to talk, you should be rejoicing at the opportunity. Is it uncomfortable? Of course it is! There are a relatively small percentage of people on this earth that are naturally great at public speaking, and feel super comfortable up in front of a crowd. But that is not reason to not rejoice at the opportunity, and be grateful.

Realize how ridiculous the alternative isFor instance, when was the last time you heard this in General Conference:

"The Prophet called me up about six months ago and told me to give a talk. I really didn't want to talk in General Conference and I really wish that Elder Holland had taken up more time so I didn't have to speak as long as I do. I guess I'll go ahead and talk. So I wasn't assigned a topic so I prayed about it and I guess this is what Heavenly Father wants me to say. I completely forgot I was supposed to give the talk until last night, so I didn't really prepare, and I really hope the spirit will teach you what you need to know about this."Ridiculous. No way should this ever happen, and it shouldn't happen in our ward or stake meetings.

Realize that you don't have to be an amazing public speaker

 This is not a call to be an amazing public speaker. It is a call to be you, just a less whiny you. A grateful you. A you that understands and appreciates just how amazing an opportunity it is to stand and give a talk on a certain principle of the Gospel. If you don't have a testimony about the principle you've been called to speak on get one. If you're nervous about giving a talk, take comfort, you're not the first. If you downright don't want to give a talk, don't tell everyone. We don't need to know.

I realize that I'm probably going to offend some people with this post. There will be some people out there that will say "I don't know what you're talking about." There will be other' that want to bash me and tell me all the reasons why I'm wrong. That's ok. I've got pretty thick skin, and I can take it. Someone else might say "this seems like small beans compared to other things he could be talking about." But it isn't. One of the most essential aspects of our worship is our attendance at sacrament meeting. We go every week, and we go to be fed and nourished by the good word of God. If you go that way every week, and you want church to be a spiritual experience, then when you are called to give a talk that should be your entire goal, to give everyone else that same opportunity.

I will say that it's not my goal to offend anyone. I am not finger pointing, or laying blame. I am not calling anyone out in particular. I love my Church, and I want to be a force for good within it. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is God's word. It's time for us to step up and take our responsibilities seriously, especially as it pertains to speaking at Church. I know that this is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My Thoughts on Grace

My Thoughts on Grace

Ever since I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints one of the most common questions I’ve come across is “why do Mormons think that they can work their way to Heaven? Don’t you understand that that it is “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God?” (Ephesians 2:8). There are many responses that a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints could give to this, the easiest and most straightforward being this simple truth—of course we don’t believe that we can work our way to Heaven. The next question would be—then why do you put so much emphasis on all of these rules? It seems like you’re trying to earn grace, but grace can’t be earned. Romans 10:9 states “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

This is a topic that I have spent many hours pondering on, and these are some of my thoughts on it. I will say before I go any further that I in no way speak for the LDS Church. With that said, here are some of my personal thoughts on Grace.

First of all, it is important to recognize that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that agency, or the freedom to choose, is an essential gift that God has given to us, His children. Without understanding this, you can’t understand why striving to keep the commandments is so important to us. If you believe that we do not have free will, then this won’t make much sense to you. For us, the right and ability to choose is a vital part of our eternal salvation, and something that informs much of what we do. “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:28)

Next, I feel that it is important to try and take the scriptures as a whole. Jesus taught constantly during His ministry the importance of keeping the commandments. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:10) “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment’ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34) “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)

These are only a few of the words of The Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, on this subject. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount is one great treatise given by Christ on the importance of commandments. Many of the existing commandments He takes a step further, turn the other cheek, if you lust after another person you have committed adultery in your heart, if a man takes your coat give him your cloak also, if someone asks you to go a mile with them go two, and so forth. When it comes to the teachings of Christ it seems clear that He invites all of His children to keep the commandments. Why then does Paul seem to focus so much on Grace, and why has much of Christianity decided that keeping the commandments isn't an essential part of salvation in the kingdom of God?

The answer to this question lies in a few places. First of all, it is important to recognize context. One of the purposes of an apostle or a prophet is to keep the doctrines pure. Many of the writings of Paul as found in the New Testament are letters that he is addressing to different members of the church in different areas of the world. These Christians are brand new in the faith, and most of them grew up Jews. In fact they likely still considered themselves Jews, and for much of their lives the importance of ritual was stressed constantly. Paul saw a need to address this issue, and focus on the importance of Jesus Christ as the source of salvation. Some 1500 years later Martin Luther saw a similar trend in the Catholic Church, specifically spurred on by the practice of indulgence, or the paying of money in order to be forgiven for sins. These God-inspired men saw that the pendulum had swung too far to the side of works, and I feel stressed the opposite side, the side of grace, in order to hopefully bring things back to center.

Where am I going with this you may ask? There is a common misconception that Mormon’s believe that there is some checklist, that if we mark off all of the steps to salvation then bam, we’re in. Some of the items on the list include being baptized, reading our scriptures, going to the temple, praying, attending church every Sunday, obeying the Word of Wisdom, not having sex before marriage, and so forth. There is indeed a perception that we are trying to work our way to Heaven, and denying Christ’s grace. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

Nephi, a prophet from the Book of Mormon, teaches something similar to Paul, only with a bit more added insight. He states, “…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” (2 Nephi 2:25) Ahah! You may say. There it is! The evidence that you are denying grace, because you think that you can earn it! Grace isn’t grace if there are conditions placed upon it right? Wrong. You see, God’s grace is always extended to us, however receiving that grace requires action on our part.

Take for instance the accepting of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. For much of the Christian world this is all that is required in order to gain salvation. Herein lies the first key: as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we do not deny the absolute necessity of accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Redeemer. I know that Christ died for me. That He suffered for my sins, and made it possible for me to return to live with Him. I will praise His name forever for His great and marvelous sacrifice. For members of the LDS Church though, this is only the first choice that we make, the first acceptance of God’s grace as it were, on a life’s journey of grace.

The Bible Dictionary in the LDS edition of the scriptures reads: “The main idea of [grace] is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ…This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.”

Take for instance the principle of forgiveness. Jesus Christ is very clear on the importance of forgiveness. He often would speak and teach in parables, but in Matthew 6:14-15 He teaches as plainly as He ever did, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” But how does that jive with Paul’s teachings on Grace? Because it seems pretty clear here that God will not forgive if we do not forgive. Simply accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer does not automatically mean that we will forgive those that have trespassed against us. Forgiveness is a choice, just as accepting Jesus Christ into our lives is a choice. It is another opportunity to receive Grace.

Let me explain with a hypothetical situation. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I have felt His influence in my life, and know that He is my Redeemer, but I am still struggling to forgive some of the people from my past who have hurt me. I know that Christ has commanded us to forgive others, but I have been so terribly abused by these individuals that I simply can’t let go and forgive. The scars are too deep, and they haven’t healed yet. Now, if I believe that my sins have all been washed clean through the blood of the Lamb (who is Christ) then I may feel justified subconsciously in holding onto my anger, simply because I believe that my sins have been forgiven, not understanding that it is impossible to forgive another, or even yourself, without leaning on the Lord’s Grace. It is also impossible to forgive another, or yourself, without deciding to do so.

Keeping the commandments, any of the commandments, is an opportunity to receive grace every day, and hinges upon our choices. I have come to believe that the commandments are stepping stones. Christ says “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) The decision to become perfect as our Father is perfect is one that requires daily effort. I have to make a choice to keep the commandments, but it is impossible for me to fully keep them without God’s grace. I have come to believe that I cannot truly, completely forgive another or myself, without the grace of God, but the decision to forgive must be made by me. He is not going to force me to do so, even after I have accepted His son as my Redeemer. There are other commandments that I have tried to keep on my own, but due to my own human nature I simply cannot, until I turn to God and receive His grace.

To me, accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer is only the first step in receiving divine grace from the Almighty in a lifetime of receiving His grace. Accepting Him as your Savior and Redeemer is a choice, it is an action, and it is work. Even if you only believe that you must accept Him, you still believe in the principle of being saved through your works, because you must choose Him, you just believe in being saved by fewer works. That is all that work is, deciding to do something. What follows is only the fruit of that decision. Obeying the Word of Wisdom, being devoted to my spouse, attending church on Sunday’s, going to the temple, and all of the other commandments that we stress as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are simply opportunities that God has given us to lean on Him, to gain His grace, and to become ever more like Him. This life to me is about becoming. It is not about a check list, nor is it about accepting God’s grace once. It is about striving to be in constant communion with His grace. That is why I strive to keep the commandments, and that is one of the many reasons I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.