A good friend of mine asked me what I thought of
the interview Tom Christofferson had with Rational Faiths. This is what I wrote her.
From
the interview
RF: Some people have said this is the last straw, and they’ve written their resignation letters and others are preparing to do the same thing. They just feel like this is a dividing line and the church doesn’t want people like me and I don’t want to be part of church that is like this.
Tom: I’ve also been thinking: where is the way forward for me? I was in CA on business and flying back to SLC last night and my phone blew up, and I was trying to sort it through. On the plane when I had a few moments to myself I turned to the scriptures and I turned to John 6. I love that chapter: the Savior feeds 5000, the storm on the Sea of Gallilee and Jesus walking on water, people who knew him in his hometown couldn’t get him being the Savior because he’s the brother of their friends, and at the synagogue in Capernaum people said, “These are hard things and who can hear them?” And He turns to His apostle and says, “Will ye also go away?”
The next line is so Peter, he responds, a ringing declaration and testimony, “Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life,” and when I was reading it last night on the plane it came to me so differently. Peter could also be saying, “Yes, Lord, these are hard things, and I don’t understand them; but I know what I feel and thou hast the words of eternal life.” And that’s where I am. I know what I have felt about the Book of Mormons and Joseph Smith, and I particularly know how I feel about the Savior and the prayers and inspiration I’ve had. So for me these are hard things that I don’t understand, but I know where the words of eternal life are. So all I can do is try to walk in the path of faith and hope that someday I will better understand or that all of us will have a different understanding and move forward to a different place.
I like Tom have asked myself, "Will I too go away?" I ultimately come to the same answer Peter and Tom have to Jesus and his authorized servants. "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life”
I feel strength and compassion and caring and an unwavering dedication to the truth and what the Lord has revealed. I feel and get this from the 15 prophets, seers and revelators. I get this from my bishop and stake president.
I am sure that the restoration of the gospel is ongoing. There is a passage that a good friend of mine turned me to.
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.
(Jacob 5:65 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/jacob/5.65?lang=eng#64 )
I believe that the church is being pruned today as it has always been. The servants of the Lord with all their human frailties clear away the branches that produce bitter fruit. They do it according to the strength of the roots.
God is wise and patient and all will be turned to for good. I do not know many things in connection with homosexuality and its relationship to the church and eternal life. I do not think that the brethren know all there is to know. I trust the timeline of the Lord.
I will not look to a possible future that I think will be and judge today's day according to that standard. I see what that has done for me and others when I looked back to polygamy and the accessibility of the priesthood. I choose to be charitable to the current leaders, to me and to those advocating that the church adopt a more inclusive approach to gay who chose to marry.
I feel settled in that I will follow the united word of the 15 men in the leading councils of the church. I choose to believe that they are carrying out the will of God in connection to their calling in His church.
I do not know what the future will hold with the official relationship between the LDS church and gay marriage. I know love will chart the best possible one.
Lastly I say that the answer is love. True love. Love that Jesus demonstrated to all humans. Love heals all. Love brings power and knowledge and all that is Good and True.
