Perfecting the Church

I believe that God will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God. As Moroni said, "if there be faults they be the faults of a man." (Mor 8:17) I think that wrong practices and beliefs of humankind generally need to be removed in order to have a church that is acceptable to God.

I have found understanding and comfort in a passage in Jacob 5 that says,

And as they begin to grow ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard. (Jac 5:65)

Part of receiving many great and important things, is pruning out the branches that produce bitter fruit. That the church collectively will be perfected even as we are individually. The scales will fall from our eyes and we will not longer see through a glass darkly.

We will see things as they really are. Until that day, we must forge forward, making the best approximation of what we understand God wants us to do. And then move forward trusting our connection with the Spirit to guide us, as well as our intellect to understand and do and be what God has in design for us.

-

Nov 2015

When I talk of clearing the most bitter branches, I am talking about clearing the traditions that are false. Peter in the New Testament had a vision where the gospel was freed up to be taught to all peoples. Does that mean that the church policy before that was wrong? I think it was as correct as the membership allowed it to be. The traditions of the members of the church.

I do not pretend to know what the future policy changes, the future revelations are for the church. I have faith in the prophets, seers and revelators as they stand and as they will stand.

I trust the work of the Lord in the perfecting of his church.

Another example of the perfecting of the church that I have seen in my lifetime is the emphasis and balance of justice and mercy. It is possible that this may only be my understanding going from a child to an adult. It does seem that the church emphasizes the power of grace in our lives. As an older teenager, I read Believing Christ. I also look to the parable of the piano practice. It seems to me that we have a more perfect understanding or that in practice that understanding is getting to our children better. I hope it is.

-

Beware the Wrong Turn

Many of us take the blessings of the gospel for granted. It is as if we are passengers on the train of the Church, which has been moving forward gradually and methodically. Sometimes we have looked out the window and thought, “That looks kind of fun out there. This train is so restrictive.” So we have jumped off and gone and played in the woods for a while. Sooner or later we find it isn't as much fun as Lucifer makes it appear or we get critically injured, so we work our way back to the tracks and see the train ahead. With a determined sprint we catch up to it, breathlessly wipe the perspiration from our forehead, and thank the Lord for repentance. 

While on the train we can see the world and some of our own members outside laughing and having a great time. They taunt us and coax us to get off. Some throw logs and rocks on the tracks to try and derail it. Other members run alongside the tracks, and while they may never go play in the woods, they just can’t seem to get on the train. Others try to run ahead and too often take the wrong turn. 

I would propose that the luxury of getting on and off the train as we please is fading. The speed of the train is increasing. The woods are getting much too dangerous, and the fog and darkness are moving in. ("Spiritual Revival".Glenn L. Pace. Oct 1992)

We sometimes think we know better than the prophets, seers and revelators where the train of the church should go. Perhaps we are insightful to what the Lord would have. Sometimes not.

I trust the 15 that are leading the church. I think that the organization the Lord puts into place balances strong personalities. That the President of the Church leads by persuasion. That he seeks the input of the other prophets.

The church organization is not perfect because those that administer it are not. But it is the Lord's church nevertheless and we will continue to prune the most bitter branches off according to direction of the selected servants of God until it becomes wholly acceptable to Him. (Jacob 5:64-65)

A Simple Set of Rules

The opening scene of  Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey (2014) starts with this beginning of this quote.

The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries. (Carl Sagan, "Cosmos (1980)")

Neil deGrasse Tyson tells us that Carl Sagan started us on a great adventure.

This adventure is made possible by generations of searchers strictly adhering to a simple set of rules 

- Test ideas by experimentation and observation
- Build on those ideas that pass the test
- Reject the ones that fail
- Follow the evidence wherever is leads.
- Question everything 

Accept these terms and the cosmos is yours.

These rules fit perfectly well into the rules of spiritual exploration too. As I experimented on Alma's word I observed the Good Word of God swelling in me.

I have come to see that not all of my childhood suppositions seem to actually be real and I am OK with that.

I love the allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5. The tree is dunged and pruned to remove the most bitter branches, according to the strength of the roots.

Line upon line we learn, live and become the Good we receive from God.

And science has been a gift of God to us. And is part of the great whole of good and truth.

---
You can watch it on Fox Now.
Episode List

Race and the Priesthood

"There are relatively few things that 'the servants' collectively have said with one united voice over time – and I accept those things as God’s will."
I thought of this quote as I considered the recent posting on lds.org about "Race and the Priesthood".

I see in the centuries that the church has been here, a clearing away of the branches which bring forth bitter fruit (Jacob 5:64-65).  I see the Restoration continuing until the church and its people are wholly acceptable to the Lord.

Truth Will Prevail

I have a friend Randy I have known in my LDS ward for several years.  I have been serving in the primary for about a year and a half.  I did not notice or did not take the time to find out when I did first notice to see why he and his family had stopped coming to church.  This week I saw a post on facebook about how he is an atheist now.  Here is a link to an audio interview he had with mormonstories.com.  His story is in part one.

I have had some friendly email exchange with him in the last few days.  He (and I hope I) have been respectful of each other’s convictions.  I do not pretend to understand why he has made such a leap in his world view in the last few years.  I did not know he was undergoing such a change.  I hope to understand more fully what has prompted this change for him.  I want to share with you my own journey with some of the hard histories of the LDS Church.  And why I continue to believe in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For Christmas 2009, I got Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling.  It is a biography of Joseph Smith by a historical scholar that is a faithful member of the church.  He does, however seem to try and give the history of Joseph Smith an even hand.  He tells the facts as best they are known.  He does admit that he does approach the history from a faithful LDS perspective.  I got so much out of the book.  It is worth anyone’s reading especially if they want to understand the roots of Mormonism.  There were several parts that gave me concern but none more than the description of Joseph’s practice of polygamy.  I am not sure why or what can explain what seems to be evident.

This and other concerns even before reading this book have caused me to rethink what I do believe and why.  I went back to my childhood.  The first thing I can remember knowing for sure is that my parents love me.  I respect them and trust what they taught me.  Another experience I had was in reading the Book of Mormon in my freshmen year in high school.  I came to understand the doctrine of Christ.  The experiences of Alma the Elder, the Younger.  The teachings of King Benjamin.  They all rang true.  I came to peace and forgiveness as I practiced the teachings I learned.  As a husband I have felt the bliss and blessing of forgiveness from my wife.  She has been an incarnation of what I have read of how the Savior will and does forgive.  

I am not sure what to make of Joseph Smith.  I believe in all the doctrines we continue to teach from him.  That God the Father is a perfect, physical man.  That Jesus Christ is separate from Him and his literal, physical Son (JS-Hist).  That the Holy Ghost is also separate and that He has the power to lead to all truth.  I believe in the plan of salvation and the universal access all men have at gaining it (D&C 76).  I believe that the fall of Adam was a necessary part of that plan and that moral agency is a key to the plan (2 Ne 2).  I believe that only Christ can save us from our sins before, while and after we make our best effort to follow him (“After All We Can Do”).  I believe that God will change me as I partner with Him.  From a fallen, broken man to receive all that He has (D&C 84:33-41).

There are many, more doctrines than is easy to list here that ring true to me.  I have felt it emotionally, spiritually, and as a clarity in my mind that seems extraordinary.  As I have lived the teachings of the church, I am happy.  When I have failed, I have been miserable.  I am grateful for the practical structure of the church that helps me become who I am to become.  To cast off the base and selfish nature of my self.  To glory in the lifting of others that somehow lifts me.

How do I reconcile Joseph and the other hard histories of my church?  If I were alive in Joseph’s time and I knew what I know now, I would ask him to help me understand.  But I am in my own time.  I know that history may not paint the picture fully.  If what I have read is true, there are still some things I do not understand.  I am not being asked today to practice what is reported Joseph did.  I do know that there are many teachings from Joseph that clarify what God is like and what he wants us to become.

What I see in my church today is nothing short of miraculous.  I see women and men serving voluntarily in all sorts of capacity.  I see people being called to positions of authority that would never choose it.  And are increased because of it and those that they serve.  I see in the centuries that the church has been here, a clearing away of the branches which bring forth bitter fruit (Jacob 5:64-65).  I see the Restoration continuing until the church and its people are wholly acceptable to the Lord.

I choose to be charitable to the history of my church when I look with 21st century eyes on those in the 19th and 20th century and even now.  I believe God sends angels to prophets to declare the good news.  Those prophets in all their weakness ask us to believe their words.  We have the Holy Ghost and the fruits of the Restoration to verify their words.  The following passage rarely fails to stir my heart.

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free. (D&C 128:22)

What do I make of Randy and the other good atheists that I know?  What do I make of the countless others with different faith or of no faith?  Those that are often better examples of a Christ-like life than my own or the members of the church I have known?

I believe truth will prevail.  Randy quoted J. Reuben Clark in one of his emails, "If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed."  Truth will prevail in more than in the factual “what is real” questions.  It will prevail in the hearts of honest women and men.  Those who wish to live by truth will continue to receive truth upon truth.  Whether that path leads them into and eventually out of atheism.  Whether that leads me out of my currently held and even most cherished beliefs.  If I am courageous enough and really want it, the truth will prevail in me.

There is a calculus that occurs in all our lives whether we want it to or not. We eventually get what we want. The trick is to choose that which will bring lasting happiness instead of only immediate pleasure.  As any person truly seeks to find and follow truth, truth is inevitable to come and that truth will make us into what only God can imagine.