Wise Virgins?

Are we wise or foolish virgins?

Since the parable of the 10 virgins is about the Second Coming, I thought this is as good a place to start as any. 

The parable of 10 virgins describes those who were waiting for the Bridegroom to show up, just like us!

I find it fascinating that all of the virgins had lamps, all of them had oil, and all of them were waiting to celebrate.

So what was the difference between them?

Lucky for us, the Lord interpreted his parable, so this should be easy.

    For they that are wise
    and have

     (1) received the truth, and

     (2) have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and

     (3)  have not been deceived― 

    verily I say unto you,
    they shall not be hewn down
    and cast into the fire.

(D&C 45:57)

   (1) How do we "receive the truth?"

Well, "truth" is light.  Truth is the word of God.  Truth is things as they really are and really will be.  How do know the truth of all things?

   * By the power of the Holy Ghost.

    (2)  How do we "take the Holy Spirit for our guide?"

Well, the Spirit is light.  The Spirit is truth.  The Spirit is the word of God, which is a lamp unto our feet.  How are we led by the Spirit?

    * By the power of the Holy Ghost.

   (3)  How do we avoid "being deceived?"

Am I deceived?  How would I even know?  Well, what do the scriptures teach is the antidote for deception?

    Beware lest ye are deceived;
    and that ye may not be deceived
    seek ye earnestly the best gifts.

(D&C 49:8)

Where do the "best gifts" of the Spirit come from?  That's right!

    * By the power of the Holy Ghost.

(Are we starting to see a pattern?)

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

​The Lord has many, many mouths and a multiplicity of tongues.

No wonder his voice is as the sound of the rushing of great waters, like tributaries falling from cliffs into a common pool.

With so many voices, how can we discern which words are His?

Well, it doesn't matter which tongue is moving ― it only matters if the words they speak are given by the Holy Ghost.

   Whatsoever they shall speak
   when moved upon by the Holy Ghost
   shall be scripture,
   shall be the will of the Lord,
   shall be the mind of the Lord,
   shall be the word of the Lord,
   shall be the voice of the Lord,
   and the power of God
   unto salvation.

(D&C 68:2)

You see, the Lord speaks through all of us from time to time.  We each have the light of Christ in us.  

God speaks through angels.  He speaks through nature.  He speaks through music.  He can even speak through a hobo arising from an all-night bender (I mean, the Holy Ghost spoke through Caiaphas ― the man who tried and crucified Christ (John 11:49-52), for heaven sake).

So let's see what all these "mouths" that God speaks through have in common:

   1.  Holy Men and Women.  "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).

   2.  Holy Ghost.  "The Holy Ghost also is a witness to us" (Hebrews 10:15).

   3.  Wisdom.  "We speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth" (1 Cor. 2:13).

   4.  Angels.  "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:3).

   5.  Conscience.  "My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 9:1).

   6.  Joy.  "Taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost" (Alma 36:24).

   7.  Babes.  "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise" (Matthew 21:16).

   8.  Miracles.  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost" (Hebrews 2:4).

. . . and my personal favorite way that God speaks . . .

   9.  Love.  "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts the by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).

Are we getting the message? 

The most important thing is following the Holy Ghost, who bears record of Christ.

Deny Not the Gifts of God

I wrote in Part 6 of this Series:

"The Brethren are no better and no wiser than we are.  Why can I say that?  Because we all have the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We all have the greatest Source of sanctification and knowledge there is."

So, in deciding whether we are wise or foolish virgins, we should ask, "Are we being led by the Holy Ghost, or by mortal authorities?"

Let's look at this inside-out. 

What would be the worst way to prepare for the Second Coming?

   (1)  Reject the truth;

   (2)  Don't take the Holy Spirit for our guide; and

   (3)  Be deceived.

Well, now I am feeling a bit "foolish."

Because I think that list sums up Babylon pretty well.  It sums up the Great and Abominable Church and the Great and Spacious Building, too. 

And it certainly sums up the Sectarianism mess we find ourselves in, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof" (JS-H 1:19). 

Say, what are those "chains of darkness" Satan has in the back of his Ford pickup?  How does the devil encircle us in the bonds of captivity?  What is the cause of our spiritual lethargy and sleepiness?  

   "Awake, and arise!"

Pick Our Team

Do we want to be like the foolish virgins who squashed their gifts and who ran out of oil by:

   (1)  rejecting truth from the Holy Ghost in following men and women who taught for doctrine the commandments of men; 

   (2)  following counsel given by our leaders even if it is not in accord with the words of Christ and the Holy Ghost; and

   (3)  being deceived in believing our leaders are greater source of guidance than the Holy Ghost, and by suppressing our own gifts from God?

Or do we want to be like the wise virgins whom Christ dressed in a wedding garment, saying:
​
    Well done,
    thou good
    and faithful
    servant:
    thou hast been
    faithful.

(Matthew 25:21)

To whom are we "faithful?"   

"Awake, and arise!"

Enough Tip-Toeing Around

You may have noticed I've been avoiding something. 

You see, I know where this Series is headed, and it is hard for me to write about it because it sort of breaks my heart. 

I guess I am an anti-Jonah: instead of running away from Nineveh because I don't like them, I am running away because I do. 

As if my silence would change anything.  (At least it wouldn't distress the tender hearts of my friends and family.)

But the Lord asked us to warn our neighbors.  You see, you don't have to warn the whole world.  You just have to go next door.

   It becometh every man
   who hath been warned
   to warn his neighbor.

(D&C 88:81)

So it is time for me to climb out of the whale's belly and get to business.  Really, it is no big secret what lies ahead of us and what lies ahead for the Church.  After all, the scriptures spell it out pretty well.

But that's the problem: the scriptures teach something contrary to our typical worldview.

And I have been loathe to capsize anyone's faith by overturning our carnal-security paradigm.

But, here goes.  Better hold on tight. 

The End from the Beginning

It occurs to me as I write these posts that sometimes it requires a long climb (by which I mean, a ton of words) to reach the sunset at the summit (by which I mean, the climactic conclusion). 

I guess it's because of all the background needed for the conclusion to make sense (to those of you who aren't in my head).

So today I am going to flip it around and begin with the conclusion (for what it's worth):

   1.  What is the essence of the gospel of Christ?

   2.  Why is love the highest law?

   3.  What does it mean to "know" God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent?

Conclusion:  The primary way we come to know God is by discovering Him in each other.
​
See?  I knew it would make so sense.  

So let's start at the beginning . . .

Epista-What?

​As a community of believers, we don't always get along.  (Aren't there people who just . . . rub you the wrong way?)

Well, we've got to accept this simple fact:

   Righteousness is relative.  

What?!

Okay, before you accuse me of heresy, I need to explain what I mean.

I mean what Paul meant when he wrote his epistle to the Romans in Chapter 14, describing the way that the body of Christ could be "one" even if they didn't share the same standards. 

Huh?  How would that be possible?

In order to answer that question, we need to first say a few things about epistemology. 

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge.  How do we acquire knowledge?  What are the limits of our knowledge? 

Epistemology digs into the question, "How do we know what we know?"

Oh Say, What is Knowledge?

What color are those mountains in the picture?

   1.  How Do We "Know" Facts?

How do we know something is true?  How do we know if something is fact?

Take the color blue.  How do we know blue is blue? 

Well, someone once upon a time told us what blue is.  It was probably our parents.  They lined us up as preschoolers and pointed to the sky.  "Blue.  Blue.  Sky.  Blue."

As we grew older, we confirmed our understanding of "blue" to be generally acceptable.  Because if we called the sky "green," an adult would correct us.

There!

But let's say a tyrant hated the color blue.  And he commanded his people to call the color "blue" something else.  Fripple.  Yes, that lake is a beautiful shade of fripple.  

Now we see an interesting thing: the lake is the same color, but it is no longer blue.  It is a different color ― not because it has changed, but we have changed how we see it.

So are facts fixed or are they malleable?  Yes!

Facts reside objectively outside of ourselves (what we could call reality from the vantage point of a Supreme Being), but our perception of reality is always subjective (internal).

Clear as mud pie?

2.  How Do We Know How To Cook Bananas Foster?

​Okay, "knowing" something is a lot different than knowing "how" to do something.

Have you tried cooking a recipe from a cookbook and your dish did not turn out anything like the picture in the book?  

Or have you tried learning a new hobby by reading a book on it?  Fly Fishing for Dummies. 

How good at Fly Fishing would we be our very first time, with only what we "know" from a book to guide us?

Will we be able to feed our family with fish from all our book "knowledge?"

So there's a big difference between knowing about something, and actually knowing how to do that thing. 

The thing we're interested in is how do we gain practical knowledge, or knowledge that increases our abilities? 

By doing.  We learn how to do something by experiential practice.

Once you've learned to ride a bike, for example, can you ever forget?

Mind AND Body

The "Spirit knoweth all things" (Alma 7:13).  So why did Jesus need to come down to earth?  Why did he need to suffer in Gethsemane? 

Why wasn't He able to propitiate for our sins from heaven?

Why was it essential that "God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people" (Alma 7:13)?

Hmmm.  Christ's anguish was not just physical but was also spiritual.  The atonement encompassed both spirit AND body, where he bled from every pore.

The Point:  There are some things we can only "know" with our minds AND our bodies ― but not one without the other.

A "fulness of joy," for example (see, D&C 93:33-34).

Intelligence for Dummies®

Intelligence, or the light of truth, is not about knowing "facts" or the truthfulness of propositions. 

Intelligence does not reward players of Trivial Pursuit.

Intelligence, or the light of truth, is about "knowing" how to do something . . . in both spirit AND body.

I'll skip to the main point.  Of all the possible things we could learn; of all the possible things we can "know"; of all the greatest and most glorious things ― the ultimate form of Intelligence that requires both our body AND spirt is "knowing" how to be "one" with each other. 

   And the glory
   which thou gavest me
   I have given them;
   that they may be one,
   even as we are one:

   I in them, and thou in me,
   that they may be made perfect
   in one; and that the world may know
   that thou hast sent me,
   and hast loved them,
   as thou hast loved me.

(John 17:22-23)

You see, it is not enough to "know" that God loves us, as if it were simply a fact. 

The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, to be "one."

3.  How Do We "Know" Someone? 

   And this is life eternal,
   that they might know
   thee the only true God,
   and Jesus Christ,
   whom thou hast sent.

(John 17:3)

What does it mean to "know" God?  

Can we back up and ask a foundational question:

What does it mean to "know" someone, period?

Take our earthly parents.  Assuming we were raised by human beings and not animals (I don't know about you, but Mowgli in The Jungle Book didn't mind) how well do we really know our parents? 

Well, we know a lot of things about them.  We know their names and birthdates. We know what they look like.  We know the sound of their voice.  We know if they like anchovies on their pizza or not.

Okay, this is getting depressing.  Do we really, truly, deeply, know . . . anyone? 

How can we know someone completely and  comprehensively if we haven't stared into their souls and seen their deepest desires and fears; if we haven't experienced their joys and sorrows; we have not unlocked the secrets buried deep within their hearts?

So how did Christ come to "know" us?  And why was it necessary for Him to know us first?

We are Known (capital "K") to Him. 

So how in the world am I supposed to "know" the mind and heart of . . . God?

The "Knowledge" Jesus is Trying to Teach Us

Let's start with the premise that everything God is trying to teach us (that is, our spirits AND our bodies) is how to love. 

To love purely, like Him.  So we can become "one" with Them.

The Pharisees, you see, held a view of God where He was "outside" and "other."  To them God was external. 

For the Pharisees, you had to appease God with tithes and burnt offerings and fatted calfs in order to turn away his anger, as if He were a mean Hells Angel biker-dude.

And then Jesus showed up and taught them, "No, God is not 'out there.'  God is here.  In me.  In you.  God is love" (1 John 4:8).

Hey! Who Do You Think You Are?

If that seems surprising, we just have to remember who "we" are!  We are "gnolaum."

​   Two spirits,
   notwithstanding one
   is more intelligent than the other,
   have no beginning; they existed before,
   they shall have no end,
   they shall exist after,
   for they are gnolaum,
   or eternal.

(Abraham 3:18)

God is eternal.  And so are we.

In the King Follett discourse, Joseph Smith taught, "The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself."

How do we comprehend God?  By comprehending each other . . . and ourselves.

   The day shall come
   when you shall comprehend
   even God, being quickened
   in him and by him.

   Then shall ye know
   that ye have seen me,
   that I am, and that I am
   the true light that is in you,
   and that you are in me.

(D&C 88:49-50)

God is in each of us.  We get to know Him by discovering Him in each other. 

When we seek and nourish the divine intelligence in each other we come to know Him. 

   Isn't this what Christ taught us?

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them,

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

(Matt. 25:35-40)

Ready for Some Bombshells?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I mowed the grass in the cool autumn air and made homemade chicken noodle soup with rolls.  I feel reinvigorated.  (And I have leftovers for lunch!)

So this is a good day. 

I urge you to re-read the following two blog posts to contextualize the claims I make in this post.

   1.  "Now I have a Priesthood" from August 23, 2020

   2.  "The Key of the House of David": Part 5 from December 21, 2020

Or you can read ahead and switch back to those earlier posts later.  You do you!

A Unified Theory of the Priesthood

Those who are not familiar with Church history may believe things have always resembled the way they are today.

In reality, nothing has to be the way it is today. 

So how did we get to this point?  Things are the way they are because people in the past used their agency to make decisions . . . and here we are.

We find ourselves inheriting the consequences of decisions made by previous generations of members and Church leaders. 

   And it's not a pretty sight.  

If we wanted to go down the rabbit hole studying Church history, it would show us a very messy and complicated story of ordinary people like us who chose Big Brother over an Elder Brother.

I suspect generations yet unborn will look down the tunnel of history at us in 2021 and wonder why we didn't rise up and do something when we had the chance.

Shape-Shifting Authority

Take the priesthood, for example.

If anything should be constant, true and unchanging, it should be the priesthood, right?  

Well, then why has priesthood appeared like a werewolf who seems during the daytime to be a sweet, harmless old baker in the village, but at night when the full moon rises the werewolf emerges to kill and eat others?

And then, when the villagers wake up in the morning and see all the chewed corpses on the ground, wondering who is responsible, everyone (including the baker) shake their heads.  "Beats me."  

Well did the Alma say:

   The good shepherd doth call after you;
   and if you will hearken unto his voice
   he will bring you into his fold,
   and ye are his sheep;
   and he commandeth you
   that ye suffer no ravenous wolf
   to enter among you,
   that ye may not be destroyed.

(Alma 5:60)

The history of the priesthood and the way its been reorganized again and again and again in the Church of Christ / Church of Latter-day Saints / The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a great story.  It shows the priesthood-as-form changing and morphing.

   We can see white bone and torn cloth.  

There's a few ways we can approach the problem (by which I mean, the proof of severed limbs and dried blood from the werewolf stalking us): 

   1.  Keep calm and just follow along with whatever our current leaders are doing.  Keep our head down and shoes shined.

   2.  Hold on to the belief that the way the priesthood is currently organized is the best organization we've come up with so far, but it may continue to be improved in the future (but only at the direction of the Prophet and Apostles.)

   3.  Look at our history and the fluidity in which we've shuffled and altered and revoked and released and reorganized and recalled and rewrote the way priesthood quorums and offices and keys work, and realize that everything is on the table. 

Well, if we're comfortable turning a blind eye to wolves, I can just imagine what Christ must be thinking.

   Beware of false prophets,
   which come to you
   in sheep’s clothing,
   but inwardly they are
   ravening wolves.

(Matt. 7:15)

As Sisters in Zion

   1.  FACT or FICTION?  Our doctrinal basis for denying women priesthood authority stems from the idea that the Fall of Adam was Eve's fault, and the Lord telling her, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Genesis 3:16).

   2.  FACT or FICTION?  If the denial of priesthood authority to women was a consequence of the Fall, then Eve held priesthood authority prior to the Fall.

   3.  FACT or FICTION?  If the curse of Eden will be removed during the Millennium as the earth returns to a paradisiacal state, and man and woman will be restored to their Edenic condition, then women will once again hold priesthood authority during the Millennium.

   4.  FACT or FICTION? The Celestial Kingdom includes women who hold priesthood authority as Queens and Priestesses. 

​A President Who Wasn't?

   1.  FACT or FICTION?  The President of the Church holds priesthood authority.

   2.  FACT or FICTION?  God committed to the President of the Church, through Joseph Smith, all priesthood keys that can be committed unto man. 

   3.  FACT or FICTION?  God, through Joseph Smith, committed certain keys and authority to women which are separate from and co-equal to those He committed to man.

   4.  FACT or FICTION?  In order to serve as President of the Church or in the 1st Presidency, a man must hold the office of high priest pursuant to D&C 107:22:

   Of the Melchizedek Priesthood,
   three Presiding High Priests,
   chosen by the body,
   appointed and ordained to that office,
   and upheld by the confidence,
   faith, and prayer of the church,
   form a quorum of the
   Presidency of the Church.

(D&C 107:22)
​
   5.  FACT or FICTION?  Brigham Young was never ordained a high priest. (Whoops.)

   6.  FACT or FICTION?  Joseph Smith never called members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles into the 1st Presidency.

   7.  FACT or FICTION?  Brigham Young erred in denying priesthood authority to Blacks.

   8.  FACT or FICTION?  Brigham Young erred in denying women the authority and keys God had given them through Joseph Smith.

What's Brigham Young's Issue With Women?

It took a lot of work and courage for President Kimball to persuade his fellow apostles not to be racists and to treat Blacks equally.  I love him for it.

Now come with me to Nauvoo on March 9, 1845.

Joseph Smith is dead.  In the chaos and confusion that followed the martyrdom, things are already beginning to change. 

Brigham Young addresses the Quorum of High Priests (remember, Brigham was NOT a high priest.)

Brigham Young, Discourse, Mar. 9, 1845, Nauvoo High Priests Quorum Record, 1841–1845:

Relief society — going to meet again— I say I will curse every man that lets his wife or daughters meet again— until I tell them--

What are relief societies for? To relieve us of our best men— They relieved us of Joseph and Hyrum— that is what they will lead to--

I don't want the advice or counsel of any woman— they would lead us down to hell--

There is no woman on the face of the earth that can save herself— but if she ever comes into the Celestial Kingdom, she must be led in by some man— God knew what Eve was. He was acquainted with woman thousands and millions of years before--

He made a few remarks in relation to the revival of the Female Relief Society, and disapprobated it.

(https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/the-first-fifty-years-of-relief-society/part-1/1-13?lang=eng#note20)

Yikes.  ("Lead us down to hell?"  Really.  It reminds me something J. Golden Kimball said, "If I had a home in St. George and one in hell, I would sell the home in St. George.")

"A Damned Lie?"

Brigham Young was 43 years old when Joseph died.  He soon thereafter told the Quorum of the 70:

When I want Sisters or the Wives of the members of this church to get up Relief Society I will summon them to my aid but until that time let them stay at home & if you see Females huddling together veto the concern and if they say Joseph started it tell them it is a damned lie for I know he never encouraged it but I know where the Chit was laid but I am determined to stay these proceedings for by it our best men have been taken from us.

(https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/the-first-fifty-years-of-relief-society/part-1/1-13?lang=eng#note20)

The victors write our history, I guess. 

Which is why the Relief Society ― which Joseph Smith had prophesied a glorious vision for ― would, under Brigham Young, become an impotent auxiliary to the priesthood of men. 

Ironic, isn't it?

​Open Letter to Believers and Non-Believers in 2021

What would we do if we were given the opportunity to create something new, something better, as a body of believers?

What if the Church convened a convention (like the American Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia) and we went about writing a constitution for Christ? 

Because right now it feels like we are more divided and contentious than ever.  There seems to be an increasing focus on issues that plague us (which we don't agree on) rather than on the individuals that surround us. 

Do we care more about masks and mandates than about loving each other and being precious to one another?

Never has Zion felt further away than it does now.

Sure, it could be we're just experiencing the dark before the light of dawn.  But I worry that things are going to get much bleaker before they get better.

And so I want to address the three segments of my faith community:

   1.  Believing members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

This group includes, for example, the General Authorities, leaders, lay members who are active in Church, and also members who are beginning to question things.

   2.  Nuanced believers and those who still see value in the Restoration tradition.

This group includes active, less-active, and former members who have come to see the complexity and messiness of our LDS history and culture (including an honest assessment of the bad parts), but who still remain tethered to the ideals of the Restoration in some fashion: the Dialogue folk, the Sunstone folk, the Givenses, progressive Mormons, the Restoration (Snuffer) movement, the Community of Christ and all the other branches.

   3.  Disaffected and Post-Mormons who view the Church as unhealthy and harmful, and who no longer believe in Joseph Smith's prophetic call.

This group includes those who formerly worshipped with us but who have moved on in their faith journeys to new churches or religions (or to no religion at all), but who still remain part of the Mormon zeitgeist in the 21st Century, and who participate in the ongoing discussion of Joseph Smith's legacy; and those who are involved in the ex-Mormon reddit, for example.

1.  To Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dear friends and family:

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God always for you: my primary teachers and young men leaders; my Sunday school teachers and bishops; my missionary companions and presidents.

I beseech you that there be no more divisions among us; but that we be "perfectly joined together in the same mind" (1 Cor. 1:10), as equals in Christ.

Now, we need to talk about the smell.

That's right: does anyone else smell something foul?  What stinks so bad in here?  (No amount of Axe Body Spray® is going to cover that up.)

I think what we're smelling is the decomposing doctrines of the Restoration ― there! you see that?  The corpse of Common Consent?  The subjugation of personal conscience to authority figures?

Don't freak out.  We can clean up this mess.  Here are some friendly suggestions to get us back on track.

What Does Repentance Look Like?

When prophets tell us to "repent," what do they mean?  What are we supposed to do, in particular? Can someone give some practice pointers?

   1.  Ways We Can Repent

Perhaps we could learn something from Alma's people, who "were not proud in their own eyes, and they did impart the word of God, one with another, without money and without price" (Alma 1:20). 

The real problem we're facing is priestcrafts.  In fact, priestcrafts are flourishing among us.  Alma warned, "Were priestcraft to be enforced among this people it would prove their entire destruction" (Alma 1:12). 

Yup.  We're almost there.  Members are hemorrhaging out of our chapels because of the idolatry and priestcrafts going on. 

The Church is not going to survive much longer if we continue to uphold priestcrafts. 

What are priestcrafts, you ask?  It's when people:

   a.  Set themselves up for a light unto the world (2 Nephi 26:29).

   b.  That they may get gain (2 Nephi 26:29).

   c.  That they may get the praise of the world (2 Nephi 26:29).

Let's see: do General Authorities preach for us to follow them and/or the Prophet?  Has the Church amassed a fortune?  Do the apostles and Prophet get praised a lot?

Houston, I think we have a problem.

Practical Suggestions For Overcoming Priestcraft, A - Z

Here are some practical, friendly suggestions if we're serious about repenting of our priestcrafts:

   a.  Emeritus Status.  General authorities could all be released at 70 years of age, including the Prophet and the apostles.  In fact, they considered doing so back in the 1970s, but chose to only make members of the Quorum of Seventy emeritus.  Well, since we already do it for the Seventies, what's good for the Goose is good for the Gander . . . .

   b.  No Remuneration of General Authorities.  No General Authorities should receive money, stipends, expense accounts or remuneration for their service.  Remember how people say, "Oh, the apostles left lucrative jobs and took a pay cut when they became a General Authority?"  Well, guess what?  It's not necessary.  Our Area Authority Seventies currently keep their day jobs.  Why can't General Authorities?  Why does the Church pride itself on not having a paid clergy when . . . it has a paid clergy?

   c.  Tithing.  The practice of Tithing should be discontinued so members can give alms to the poor anonymously as Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount, using the Holy Ghost to direct their giving (see, Matt. 6:1-4).  Discontinue the abusive and manipulative practice of "Tithing Settlement."  If we need $1 Trillion dollars in stocks, bonds and real estate investments to get us to the Second Coming, then fine, we've got it.  We should stop oppressing the poor and the widows.

   d.  Church Bureaucracy.  Discontinue the Church's civil service bureaucracy.  You know, like how the Church fired all of its full-time janitors who used to clean our buildings and asked the members to scrub the toilets instead?  Well, let's go further.  Members can step up and give voluntary service, like those who teach early-morning seminary for free.  If General Authorities need bodyguards, like Orrin Porter Rockwell, then let's form a neighborhood watch and take turns guarding the Prophet.  We don't need hired security or hired . . . anything.  I don't recall Paul employing thousands of employees to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  (Trust in the arm of flesh, much?)

   e.  Instruction.  Discontinue the curriculum which requires us to rehash a General Authority's conference talk during sacrament meetings, priesthood and relief society.  Does no one in this Church have the gift of the Holy Ghost?  Why is God the Ghost benched while we play the second string of the junior varsity?  It makes no sense.  Our meetings are boring because people are not speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost: they're reading from a correlated message that was assigned.  I don't understand why the leaders do not trust the members enough to let them be . . . themselves.

   f.  Temple Recommends.  "Worthiness" to enter the House of the Lord should not require the payment of money.  This is the clearest and most blatant example of Priestcraft.  It is a tool of control and extortion.  (There are a lot of issues with the way we handle "worthiness" interviews, but let's leave that for another day.)

   g.  Transparency.  Release a full accounting of all Church holdings and assets.  Release the minutes of the Quorum meetings of the First Presidency, Twelve, and 70s.  Release the budgets and expenditures of local units.  Release the records sealed in the Church libraries and vaults.

   h.  Abolish the Handbook.  The General Handbook is an abomination.  Literally.  It mixes the philosophies of men mingled with scripture.  Look at its various iterations throughout the years and how it has changed as society has shifted.  It is anonymous, has never been canonized, and is updated without input from the membership.  When there is a conflict between the Handbook and the laws of God we have accepted in the scriptures, the Handbook prevails.  That is backwards.  Why are we led by a Handbook rather than the gift of the Holy Ghost?

    i.  Common Consent.  Restore the doctrine and practice of common consent.  Full stop.

   j.  Ward and Stake Councils.  Abolish the ward and stake councils in which leaders gossip about the "needs" of various members and make judgments without consulting the members themselves.  I have seen more decisions based upon hearsay and rumor (what the wife of the bishop saw on Facebook) than I have based on the Spirit of God.

   k.  Callings.  Leaders should stop issuing callings unilaterally.  Members should be consulted about where they want to serve and they need to be informed of what the needs in the ward are.  Why do leaders have access to special reports and information that is withheld from the body?  Members should be free to reject a calling or to ask to be released.  Members are better judges, using the Spirit, of where they can be the most helpful, than is a group of men sitting around a desk looking on their phones at what vacancies need to be filled and matching it to a report of "Members Without Callings."

    l.  Word of Wisdom.  We need to start a discussion about the future of this "principle with a promise."  Is it time we go back to it being a Word of Wisdom rather than a Word of Commandment?  Bless President Heber J. Grant, but we are now a century beyond the Prohibition movement.  The war is over.  We've inherited the torch of a dead cause.  When the Lord returns and sips a coffee, won't it be awkward for the rest of us?

   m.  Apologize.  There are a number of things we need to apologize for as an institution before we can heal from the wounds of our past and move on.  Look at all the black eyes we've caused!  We've been abusive towards Blacks.  We've been abusive towards LGBTQ members.  We've been abusive towards women in the Church.  Let's make it right.  Let's live up to our ideals rather than ignoring them.  (Who said we neither request nor give apologies?  That is stupid.)

   n.  Follow the Prophet.  When did we start needing a mortal intercessor to use his keys to grant us salvation, when we already have "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1)?  The scriptures do not teach that when an apostle or Prophet speak it is as if the Lord Himself were speaking.  Angels speak the words of Christ.  Prophets and apostles occasionally speak the words of Christ.  Regular members occasionally speak the words of Christ.  The test is not who's speaking, but whose words they are.  Someone might wonder, "But Tim, how in the world can we discern whether the General Authority is speaking the words of Christ or not?"  Ummm.  By the Holy Ghost?

   o.  Discontinue Ministering / Home Teaching.  In for a penny, in for a pound.  Where to begin?  Maybe I'll write a series on this topic.  Let me just say that Ministering is a net-negative.  Sure, the bishop can't be in every home, and he needs boots on the ground to seek out the needs of the widows.  Etc. Etc. Etc.  We've all heard it.  How did home teaching become such an idol?  I remember an elderly sister who testified once in Church that her husband was a perfect Home Teacher, never missed a month, and that no priesthood holder who failed to do their home teaching was worthy.  Sorry to break the news to this woman, but Jesus was not a Home Teacher/Minister.  Why do we go to such lengths to justify this program?  Is it a sign of how broken we are.  Rather than uniting hearts, Ministering hardens them.  Why?  Because the performance of duty is toxic to love.  (Which is why Christ said if we love Him, we'll keep His commandments.)  When love is primary, then doing is a pleasure.  When duty is primary, love is stifled because the action arises not from pure love but from assignment.  Ministering is foremost a duty, as demonstrated by the fact we have to report our numbers on it.  Some might say, "But Tim, can't it be both?  Can't I love those I am called to serve?"  Of course you can.  But you can't love them as much as you would have been able to without the calling to serve them.  Christ did not learn to love us because the Father assigned Him to be our Savior.  Christ loved us first, and so the Father chose Him to be our Savior.  See the difference?

   p.  Put "Jesus Christ" Back in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I saved the most important one for last.  The Brethren are no better and no wiser than we are.  Why can I say that?  Because we all have the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We all have the greatest Source of sanctification and knowledge there is.  So the Brethren should stop treating us like we're in their down-line, as if the Church were a Multi-Level-Marketing company, and get back to basics where "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ" (2 Nephi 25:26), rather than talking, preaching, rejoicing, and prophesying so much about their own callings, offices, and keys!

In Conclusion

My friends and family, I believe the Lord has a purpose for all of us.  We can be better.  We are better as equals. 

We can repent and come unto Christ and live his royal law of love.  How?  By not dunging the olive trees in the vineyard with the manure of priestcraft.

I love you, and always will. 

​Tim 

We Are All Human Beans

Do you like being labeled?

By labeling a person as some-thing, we exclude the other parts that make them special.  

Labels often become shorthand for whether another person is "acceptable" or not; whether they share my views or not; whether I should like them or not.  ("What? She's a felon?  She must be a terrible person," said Javert.)

But it is hard sometimes to not label others (or ourselves).  After all, we all have multiple identities:

    Sexual identity
    Gender identity
    Ethnic and racial identity
    Religious identity
    National identity
    Political identity
    Socio-economic identity
    Family identity
    etc.

How would you rank that list?  Which identity is preeminent?  Which should we highlight?  Which "identity" do we value most?

Independent But Not Neutral

Personally, I don't really "identify" politically because no political party represents my values.  But I am an American because I live in Utah.

And lest anyone think that Independents are political moderates, that's not the case. 

The BYU Kennedy Center conducted a study of those who "identify" as Independents.  And guess what?  Independents are generally more extreme in their views than either political party.  Why?  Because Independents who are conservative think the Republican party is not conservative enough; and the same thing goes for liberals: they think the Democratic Party is too moderate.

Do Identities Matter?

Sometimes we complain about "identity politics."  Identity politics is to objectify a person based on what we perceive as their dominant identity.

But identity groupings allow us to form communities much more efficiently than we could without them.

   Birds of a feather flock together.

But the more important question is, Do identities matter to God, who
  
   maketh his sun to rise
   on the evil and on the good,
   and sendeth rain on the just
   and on the unjust?

Does God Care?

Does God care what nationality we are?  What race we are?  What sexual orientation we are? 

   1.  National and Ethnic Identity

In the Great Commission, Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to preach to all nations (what percentage is 'all?'). 

No nation left behind!

    Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
    baptizing them in the name
    of the Father, and of the Son,
    and of the Holy Ghost.

(Matt. 28:19)

While our ethnic and national identities contribute to who we are, they shouldn't contribute to division among the body of believers when God Himself is "no respecter of persons," as Peter taught (Acts 10:34).

In fact, the apostle Paul preached:

   God hath made of one blood
   all nations of men for to dwell
   on all the face of the earth . . .
   and the bounds of their habitation.

(Acts 17:26)

The issue is how to celebrate diversity without creating division.  

   2.  Racial Identity

​If God appointed the times and bounds of our habitation here on earth, that means He sent us here with a particular racial identity that we cannot change.  

The prophet Jeremiah asked, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" (Jeremiah 13:23).

So we cannot use race as a means to divide one another, because, as Nephi taught:

   The Lord esteemeth all flesh in one.

(1 Nephi 17:35)

That was a pretty bold statement for a young man to make in 600 B.C.  

(I guess Nephi was ahead of his times.  Are we?)

   3.  Sexual and Gender Identity

Why do we create division based upon sexual and gender identity when we worship a Man (Christ) who experienced all our sin and suffering ― both male and female ― and who referred to Himself as a "hen" (3 Nephi 10:4) and his role as our mother (Isaiah 49:15)?

In Blaire Ostler's book, Queer Mormon Theology, she points out that in his atonement, Christ transcended sex and gender by being in all and through all.  

   Think about that.

What sort of "identity" does Christ have after he experienced the lived-experiences of all people?  

Or, as Nephi so beautifully put it:

   Christ inviteth them all
   to come unto him
   and partake of his goodness;
   and he denieth none
   that come unto him,
   black and white,
   bond and free,
   male and female;
   and he remembereth the heathen;
   and all are alike unto God.

(2 Nephi 26:33)

So if Christ doesn't "deny" any who come unto Him . . .
 
​   . . . why would we?

Survival

What is the most important survival skill? 

Is it: 

   - Purifying water?
   - Skinning a dear?
   - Planting a garden?
   - Knowing all the celebrity guest appearances on the Simpsons?
   - None of the above?

Well, others have said (and I think they're right):

The Award for Most-Important-Survival-Skill goes to. . .

   ATTITUDE.

A Personal Lesson Learned

This past weekend I was feeling discouraged. 

I didn't realize it right away.  From time to time, I think, we all experience ennui or nihilistic thoughts.  We question whether anything we do really matters.  

   Or maybe it's just me?

So I began to wonder why I was feeling "off."  I traced the thread back to its origin: last Thursday, when I had a passing thought, "Why do I bother to write this blog?  Does it make any difference?  Is it worth my time?  Are there better things I should be doing?"

(You're probably thinking, "Yes Tim, give up now.  Before you make a bigger fool of yourself.  Pretty please.")

As I pondered these feelings of futility and their source, I had another thought.

The thought formed in my mind as the word unwearyingness.  And I began to think about what 'unwearyingness' means.  And bit by bit, I saw it in a new way.

I don't know how you recognize the Spirit when it is talking to you, but for me, the voice of the Spirit is usually a blend of (1) gentle reproof, mixed with (2) non-judgmental acceptance. 

Does that seem contradictory? 

​Is it strange to feel at once the need to improve something but also to be reassured that God loves us completely?

I have come to call this feeling, "Edification."

Edification

I feel edified when I sense God looking at me (through me), warts and all, as I stand before Him with his light highlighting all my shameful parts (like a blacklight shining on the coffee stains of my spirit) ― but the weird thing is I don't feel ashamed or defensive because I know what He sees in me is the raw, naked truth ― the real me ― and I don't get the feeling that God is disappointed in me or is judging me ― just that He loves me and knows I will be happier and healthier if I work on this thing, this character defect, and He wants to help me do it.  

    And that which doth not edify
    is not of God, and is darkness.

    That which is of God is light;
    and he that receiveth light,
    and continueth in God,
    receiveth more light;
    and that light groweth
    brighter and brighter
    until the perfect day.

(D&C 50:23-24)

Maybe "edification" is the hope we feel when coming unto Christ ― while we are not like Him now, we have faith He will not forsake or abandon us. 

I hope I am not crazy.  I hope this feeling that God understands us totally without any condemnation, and yet wants us to reach our divine potential by making positive improvements, is real for all of us. 

I wish I could express this better. 

Have you ever felt uplifted even as you viewed your own imperfection, like going to a doctor who says, "You've got this disease, but I am going to treat you and together we're going to beat this thing."

   Christ is our Physician.

Well, maybe the voice of the Spirit speaks to you in a different way.  But for me, it makes me chuckle whenever the Spirit gives me a good kick in the pants and tells me to stop being an idiot.

   It's gonna be okay.

"Unwearyingness"

Now here's the part where I learned a lesson.

I had always thought of "unwearyingness" as being about hard work, something related to our physical stamina as we served the Lord.

For example, the prophet Ether.  We are told:

   He could not be restrained
   because of the Spirit of the Lord
   which was in him. 

   For he did cry from the morning,
   even until the going down of the sun,
   exhorting the people to believe
   in God unto repentance
   lest they should be
   destroyed.

(Ether 12:2-3)

​Ether was a hard worker.  As a missionary, I used to feel exhausted but kept knocking on doors, thinking I couldn't take a break for fear I would miss someone who was ready to hear the good news of the gospel.  

So I used to think "unwearyingly" meant skipping lunch breaks and burning the midnight oil. 

Joseph Smith said that:

   We should waste and wear out our lives
   in bringing to light all the hidden things
   of darkness, wherein we know them.

(D&C 123:13)

But I want to focus on another connotation of unwearyingness, beyond that of diligence and hard work.

I want to talk about spiritual and mental unwearyingness. 

   Thou hast with unwearyingness
   declared the word,
   which I have given unto thee,
   unto this people.

(Helaman 10:4)

​I began to see a connection between "unwearyingness" and enduring to the end.

Remember what had caused my discouragement?  I had been thinking about whether this blog was doing any good, or if the world needed another maniac with a keyboard opining on gospel subjects online, or whether I should call it quits . . . 

Mental and spiritual fatigue is as real as physical exhaustion (especially when we see no fruits from our labor, or worse, face opposition). 

Maybe I was feeling just a taste of what Nephi felt on his garden tower, indulging in a little self-pity perhaps, as he saw the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats — having usurped the power and authority of the land, laying aside the commandments of God:

"Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord --

"Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.

"But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren.

"O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?

"But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world."

(Helaman 7:7-9, 20-21)

   See?  We all have bad days.

Shall We Press On in So Great a Cause?

Nephi said to  just keep pressing forward with a steadfastness (i.e. unwearyingness) in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men.   

   We love God.  
   We love all men.

So I am not giving up.  I am not going to stop declaring those things that God has placed in me like fire shut up in my bones. 

And so here we go . . . charting the course of the Church from here to the Second Coming.

(And believe me, there will be many opportunities for all of us to exhibit our unwearyingness between now and then.)​

Building a Culture of Love

​This morning I was excited to find in my email inbox a message from the Church with the subject line, "Building a Culture of Love."  Just up my alley!

So I read the linked articles, which were excellent.  They included:

   1.  "Overcoming Racism and Prejudice"
   2.  "We Are Better Together"
   3.  "Finding Belonging in Christ"

(By the way, sometimes people are confused why I am active in the Church when I criticize it so much.  Well, just because your family is dysfunctional doesn't mean you abandon it, does it?)

As I read the articles, I thought of all the wonderful, amazing people I am surrounded by.  Most are members of the Church (since I live in Utah) but many are not.  My neighbors, when I had COVID, brought me mango Gatorade; the Elders Quorum in my ward is filled with spiritual, humble giants; when I was removing a tree from my backyard I had two friends who helped without hesitation; when I see an old ward member who's moved away at a soccer game, we embrace.  And the list goes on and on.

There is so much good in the Church.

Why Can't Good People Build Better Communities?

And so, as I finished reading the Church's articles, I pondered the question, "When most of the members of the Church I know are such good people, and really want to be Christ's family, why haven't we been able to establish Zion?"

Well, spoiler alert (or not, if you've read anything on this blog).

   The problem is not the members; the problem is an institution which prevents all these awesome members from reaching their divine potential.

   Huh?  "I thought churches improved our spirituality.  You're saying they actually hinder it?"

Well, let me answer that question with another question.  Back in 33 A.D. did the Jewish religion help or hinder its members from following Christ?

Does the Church today help or hinder its members from following Christ?

Modern Religion:  "Here, we'll help you come unto Christ.  Give us your tithing and swear fealty to us and we'll let you in our temples where you'll get the ordinances you need to know Christ.  But even then, please don't get too close to Him."

Me:  "Umm, shouldn't I be seeking the Second Comforter?  Don't I need to the more sure word of prophecy?  Aren't we supposed to have our calling and election made sure?"

Modern Religion:  "No, no, no.  That's how you go off the deep end.  Do you want to be deceived?  Better stick close by us.  Yes, there ― in our shadow.  That's where safety is found."

Me:  "Umm, guys, shouldn't we be standing in Christ's light?  Isn't he our Guide?  Isn't safety found in His arms?  Aren't you my brothers?  Aren't we equals?"

Modern Religion:  "For heaven's sakes!  Where did you get that idea?  And don't stress so much.  Don't worry about following Christ at all.  That's too messy.  It would be chaos if everyone out there was worshipping God according to the dictates of their own conscience.  We need to establish a House of Order.  Which means, of course, you only need to do what we tell you.  We've put up bumpers, like in a bowling alley, along the straight and narrow path so you won't stray from our path.  Cling to our words and you won't go astray.  Look to us when in doubt.  Sure, Christ is out there, somewhere, but what good is that?  Be practical: you need our keys to get into heaven.  So trust us."

What is Hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy means "the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform."

You see, the words we hear from our leaders are pretty good; just like the Rabbis in Christ's day spoke of "God" (while crucifying Him) and "faith" (in Moses) and "obedience" (to the Sanhedrin).   

Elder Gong wrote in this month's Ensign (I mean Liahona):

"An aspiration of Zion is to establish a united place of faith founded on the celestial principles of heaven, wherein God’s people can walk with Him and God Himself can find abode."  (Gerrit W. Gong, "Bring Forth Zion," Liahona, September 2021.)

​That is a fantastic definition of Zion!

   So what's the problem?

Well, the leaders aren't practicing "the celestial principles of heaven."

"Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!"
​​
I'm a hypocrite.

I admit it.  I do not always live up to my ideals.  I fall short and sin.  

But I am not talking about our leaders being imperfect.  We understand that.  We're all human.

I am talking about something else.  I am talking about the hypocrisy Jesus accused religious leaders of in his day, who love to sit in Moses' seat and tell others what to do; who placed heavy burdens on the backs of the members; who broadened the borders of their garments to appear more righteous than they were; who hogged the chief seats and demanded others respect their titles; who shut up the kingdom of heaven with their "authority"; who devoured widows' houses because they're obsessed with gold and altars and using correct language and tithing people's mint and cummin; who are blind guides who get worked up over small things but who swallow camels in one big gulp; who appear outwardly to be righteous but are full of hypocrisy.

That's what we're talking about.

I daresay everything the Savior accused the Scribes and Pharisees of in his day, we could find examples of among our own leadership today.

See, the problem is we use language from scripture as if we meant it, when our institution/hierarchy demonstrates we're only giving it lip-service.   

Isaiah prophesied about our day, and he could not have hit the nail on the head any better describing our current situation:

   Wherefore the Lord said,
   Forasmuch as this people
   draw near me with their mouth,
   and with their lips do honour me,
   but have removed their heart
   far from me, and their fear toward me
   is taught by the precept of men.

(Isaiah 29:13)

Well, I sorta feel bad for our leaders. 

I mean, it must be challenging for leaders to talk about Zion with a straight face, preaching "love, unity, faith, service, sacrifice, and obedience" (but notice what Elder Gong conspicuously leaves out? Equality), when our hierarchy makes a solemn mockery of those things.

Now that's a strong statement.  After all, we're taught in the temple to not mock God.

So how does our religion stifle our divine potential and growth?

God is a CREATOR
​
We worship a Creator.  

Think about that.

We follow The Creator of heaven and earth, who is Jesus Christ.

​   He shall be called Jesus Christ,
   the Son of God, the Father
   of heaven and earth,
   the Creator of all things
   from the beginning;
   and his mother shall be called Mary.

   And lo, he cometh unto his own,
   that salvation might come
   unto the children of men
   even through faith on his name.

(Mosiah 3:8-9)

Notice the conditions of salvation given by the Angel to King Benjamin: faith in Christ ― not faith in man, or a prophet, or an apostle, or bishop, or parent; not faith in a giraffe, or political party, or ideology, or vaccination.

   Faith. In. Christ. Alone.

A hierarchy, as history has sadly shown, invariably creates dependency upon its leaders among the membership.  This is how churches acquire converts, cash and control: by making themselves (not Christ) the mediators of your salvation.  

Whereas in Christ we are free and spiritually self-reliant, "relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of [our] faith" (Moroni 6:4), we find ourselves at present under the yoke of sectarianism, wrapped up in the trappings of worldly religion (authority, power, priestcraft, control, tokenism, inequality, oppression, hypocrisy, envy, and pride).

   Let's not forget the Great and Abominable Church is . . . a Church.

The unique community we call "Zion" keeps eluding us because we are unwilling to let go of our sectarianism.  We really, really like our flaxen cords of carnal security.

Maybe we're unable to join God in the work of Creation because we're too busy managing other people's faith (or at least, the way we think they should live their faith).

"No, you're not doing that right.  Wrong hand.  Wrong color shirt.  Wrong caffeine.  Wrong number of earrings.  Wrong truth.  Wrong group.  Wrong light of Christ.  Wanna be right?  Then do as I say."

Painter Analogy

It's like we're artists teaching an art class and telling our students there's Only. One. True. style to paint by.  Let's say we're fans of Picasso's cubism, so we think all true believers should only express themselves in Cubism.

But our students' gifts are so diverse!  Some of them paint like Rembrandt, others Monet, some like Renoir or DaVinci.  

"No, you're not holding your brush right.  Wrong hand.  Wrong color paint.  Wrong subject.  Wrong shadowing.  Wrong technique.  Wrong lines.  Wrong everything!"

   Wouldn't the world be a sad place if we all painted like Picasso?

What Does it Mean to "Create?"

​Personally I love Monet's impressionistic art.  I have some of his masterpieces hanging on the walls in my home (reprints, naturally).  When I was a missionary in France I made sure to tour his home in Giverny.

Now let's pretend I want to become a painter like him.  So I get in my time machine and head back to 1880 and find my buddy Monet's place.

Guess what I'd find hanging on the walls of the Master's home?

   Not impressionist art. 

What?  Wouldn't you expect the master of the artform to display his own work? 

   Nope.

Monet surrounded himself with Japanese woodblock prints. 

   Really.

Wisdom from the Master

​Now, pretend I tagged along with my friend Monet one morning and set up my easel en plein air as Monet was working on his studies of Rouen's cathedral, trying to catch the way the light played on the exterior throughout the day.

I look over at his canvass and begin copying everything he does. 

   And this annoys him.

"Timothée!" Monet shouts, "Arrêtez-vous.  Stop copying my work!" 

"But you're the master!" I protest.  "I want to paint just like you."

"You imbécile," Monet grunts.  "You do not honor me be being a plagiarist.  I get no joy from seeing my own work duplicated on your canvass."

"Well, what else would I paint?  I love your work so much.  I want to be as great as you."

"Mon garçon, my dear boy," Monet says, putting down his brush.  "You do not become great by following another.  Do you want to be an artist or a forger?"

"An artist," I say shyly, my eyes lowered, staring at the splotches of color on Monet's painting frock.

Monet takes me by the hand, lifting my eyes to his.  "Ecoute-moi.  Then paint, my boy, what God has placed in your heart ― not mine.  We must all bring glory to our Maker in our own unique way.  To paint as I do would be to deny the gift God has given to you.  Reveal His hand through your own unique works."

You Can't Copyright a Phone Book

Did you know the United States Supreme Court ruled you cannot copyright a phone book?

   Why not?

Because arranging phone numbers in a book fails to satisfy the creativity requirement in the Constitution.  Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 111 S.Ct. 1282 (1991).

Think about that.

Creation always involves an element of novelty or originality.

God's been around a long time.  Don't you think the reason he gave us agency and bodies to act (as opposed to being acted upon) is for us to create?  So let's create something new!  Something better.

   Why, then, do hierarchies resist creation?

. . . to be continued.

"Proving Contraries"

I love the wisdom in Joseph Smith's famous statement, "By proving contraries, truth is manifest."

Wrestling with only one side of an issue is like wrestling with yourself.  We need two wrestlers facing off, side by side, in order to determine which one is stronger.

So let's look at this question:

Was Jesus able to remove contention from His church, from among His believers?

Think about that.  Look at both sides.  Let your conclusion sink in. 

A Bridge Too Far

Question:  If Jesus Himself was incapable of making us love each other and to live in peace as His children, why do we think a Strongman or Authority Figure will succeed where the Savior did not?

Answer:  All Jesus could do is show us the way.  He persuaded, taught, pled, enlightened, quickened, loved, and invited us to love one another.  But He. Could. Not. FORCE. us to love one another.

He couldn't.  But we can. 

Not real love, sure.  But we can create communities wherein we fake (or "feign") love pretty good. 

So while Jesus can't steam-roll over our agency (which really, let's be honest, is why the gospel is so inefficient), we can create systems that literally abuse each other's agency.

In a way, you could say we're more powerful than God.  

Second Best

Since no one can control real, or genuine, love, we better figure out the best way to feign love, right?

   Isn't that what do we do? 

Look around!  We cross a Bridge Too Far, crossing into territory that Jesus never set foot upon ― using coercion, guilt, control, repression, and fear . . . (does anyone really think these things will bring us into a "unity of the faith?")

So why do we use such terrible tools?

Why have we chosen to govern the Household of God as if it were Ford Motor Company?  Why have we embraced the lecherous lips of Mammon in a spiritual French Kiss?  Why did we abandon common consent; why do we lack transparency among leadership; why do we require General Authorities to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements; why do we hide our counsels in the dark; why do we place Authority Figures on pedestals; why do we quench the Spirit and deny the gifts of God by censoring those who speak God's truth?   

   Why?

Because Priestcraft cannot survive where charity thrives.

   Objection.  "Tim, buddy.  Jesus called Twelve Apostles.  So the Lord Himself established a hierarchy.  Stop with the crazy talk."

Fine.  You've got me there.  But let's take a closer look at what Jesus commissioned his Twelve Apostles to do, first.

Top 10: The Apostles Charge

In Matthew 10 we read about the great Apostolic Charge that Jesus gave his 12 Apostles in the New Testament.  When the Lord sent this Twelve Apostles into the world, he "commanded them," saying they should:

   1.  Gather the lost sheep (Matt. 10:6)

(That doesn't sound like the message to shun our LGTBQIA+ relatives, does it?)

   2.  Preach the gospel of good news (Matt. 10:7)

(You know, the one about Christ and His death and resurrections?  Rather than carrying on ad nauseum about who gets to wear His Letterman Jackets while preaching "All is well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth.")

   3.  Heal the sick (Matt. 10:8)

(As opposed to preaching that it takes greater faith not to be healed than to be healed.)

   4.  Cleanse lepers of their disease (Matt. 10:8)

(As opposed to telling them, "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled" (James 2:16.)

   5.  Raise the dead back to life (Matt. 10:8)

(If not literally, like Paul raising Eutychus, then how about just figuratively?)

   6.  Cast out devils from those who are possessed of an evil spirit (Matt. 10:8)

(Do we have a Rite of Exorcism?  Is it the priesthood?  Can someone give a talk in General Conference about this?)

   7.  Freely give to others what they have received freely from Christ (Matt. 10:8)

(As opposed to keeping the sensitive materials in the Church libraries and vaults under lock-and-seal.)

   8.  "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses" (Matt. 10:9)

(As opposed to becoming millionaires and billionaires, I suppose.)

   9.  Minister to others in their homes (Matt. 10:11-13)

(You are always welcome in my home.)

   10.  "Take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matt. 10:19-20).

(I'd love to hear more of the "Spirit of your Father" speak through you.)

No Problemo

So, now we know what it means to be an apostle called by the Lord.  Nothing on that list involves creating a hierarchy or financial empire.  

We see that Apostles are supposed to exercise the gifts of God in healing and curing and inspiring.  All without "gold nor silver!"

So take your pick.  Choose anything on the Master's Top 10 List. 

   And I sustain you.

What is the Cure for Contention?

None of us wants to be contentious.  

So what do we do when we disagree with friends and family over an issue?

Well, let's see.  If only there was a silver bullet we could use to always win an argument.

Oh, wait, there is!

   By appealing to authority!

"When the prophet speaks, the debate is over." 

   See?  (I just proved my point.)

The 4 Pitfalls of Appealing to Authority

There are four significant problems with appealing to an Authority Figure to resolve an issue:

   1.  Fallibility of Authority. 

The Authority Figure may err (example: race and the priesthood).  That's right, we're all human.  Even prophets have been proven to err from time to time. 

In fact, we find numerous examples of Authority Figures who do not agree  between themselves (like whether it's okay to use the name "Mormon"). 

This is a problem we always have with experts ― you can always find other experts who disagree.

So by appealing to authority, we're actually (ironically) creating more contention as we escalate the disagreement up the food chain, invoking others' names in defense of our position in a "Battle of the Experts" (or as I like to play, Battle of the Prophets).

This leaves the underlying disagreement unresolved.

   2.  External vs. Internal Change. 

If the debate ends after an Authority Figure speaks, does it resolve the underlying conflict?

A generation after Roe v. Wade, did the Supreme Court's decision settle the issue of abortion for the country? 

Even if the parties make peace outwardly, have their hearts changed?  While it may temporarily achieve an absence of conflict, the problem hasn't gone away and may blow up into a bigger problem down the road when the cease-fire ends.

   3.  Authority Promotes Judgmentalism. 

Once an Authority Figure has spoken, it creates division between their followers.  Why?  Because after the Authority renders a final decision, you'll find ill-will among their followers increasing, driven by the division of  the group into those who obey the Authority's counsel and those who do not. 

For example, if the Prophet says, "Wear a mask" and someone doesn't, then the adherents feel justified in judging those who don't wear a face covering as being "out of order" or accuse them of "not following the Prophet."

Lines are drawn.  We stop being precious to each other, and instead become pieces on a chessboard, taking sides.

   4.  Authority is Fragmentary. 

The effectiveness of an Authority Figure's ability to settle a dispute lies in the amount of deference the parties give to the Authority Figure. 

​The problem is when there are multiple Authority Figures.  Whose authority is greater than whose?  If someone supports Donald Trump and uses him as an Authority Figure, and their neighbor uses Barack Obama as their Authority Figure, then they'll get nowhere because they don't share a common Authority Figure. 

Well, that's why we create hierarchies.  

   And . . . Knock Out.

Bolstering Authority . . . For Dummies®

Leaders are aware of the fragility of their authority. 

Since their authority affords them special status, privileges, and opportunities, they create systems to protect their authority against erosion.

Let's look at some of the ways leaders try to address the problems listed above in #1 - #4, above.

   1.  RESPONSE: Fallibility of Leader's Authority.

The Catholics wrote the textbook on the "infallibility" of the Pope.  The LDS Church similarly teaches that the Prophet can never "lead us astray."  

In order to solve the problem of competing authority, authoritarian systems establish hierarchies so there is always a well-defined Top Dog or Supreme Leader.

You'll find in these systems that Authority Figures use surrogates to protect their plausible deniability.  Case in point: the Church's Handbook being anonymously written.

In addition, we see the growth of tribalism wherein Authority Figures try to create an "us vs. them" mentality.  This is important in creating distrust of any authority outside of the hierarchy. 

We also observe Authority Figures creating group dynamics like "the only true Church."  While this may create solidarity among their adherents, it ultimately contributes to greater contention as a whole, since you have warring factions who both feel like they're right. 

We end up with a society that objectifies our personal worth based on group identity.

   2.  RESPONSE: External vs. Internal.

What is the response of Authority Figures to the struggle between external control vs. individual freedom? 

Well, they have to double down on organizational controls in order to promote the "public" good (read: good for those in charge). 

When we elevate the "public good," "public welfare," or "public safety" above personal liberty, then we are free only insofar as our leaders allow.  

This creates systems that reward conformity and virtue signaling.  But it also results in an impoverished culture where appearances become more important than real intent; where individuals become cogs in a wheel whose value is measured in how much they contribute to the "greater" or "public" good of the organization (read: to those who are in charge). 

And if a person rocks the boat and is not beneficial to the leadership, then they are cut loose.  ("Throw them overboard, in the name of Protecting the Authority.")  Because, you see, a person's worth is never greater than a leader's authority.

   3.  RESPONSE:  Authority Promotes Judgmentalism.

Maybe you've got tanks and missiles and apache helicopters to maintain your authority by force.  But for most us, we don't have direct control over others. 

So how do leaders maintain their authority without guns?  

Well, one of best ways is to recruit the Hitler Youth to tattle on their parents and neighbors.  It creates a system of self-enforcement and self-surveillance where eyes-on-the-ground "return and report" against those who are testing boundaries and criticizing leadership.  

This creates an orderly system, but at what cost?  Where people have to censor their words and behaviors lest they be marked as disloyal to the party and get sent to the Gulag?

Better to keep silent; better to stay away from the enemies-of-the-people (read: "sinners") lest we get sideways of leadership.

And so we create a false orthodoxy that prevents authentic speech and action because (if you're like me) you'd rather play along than get in trouble. 

   So we pretend. 

We pretend everything is fine when it is not.  We pretend our systems are good when they are not.  We pretend our leaders are right when they are not.  We pretend we are happy when we are not. 

But if we speak up, what will happen to us?  If we leave the system, what will become of us?

Well, we've all seen how our faith-fellows have been treated by the hierarchy when they push against the boundaries, haven't we?  We've seen that those who speak out honestly get ostracized, blacklisted, or even excommunicated.    

Better keep our heads down.  (Why does it sometimes feel like we belong to a pack of wolves more than to a flock of sheep?)

   4.  RESPONSE:  Authority is Fragmentary.

The Framers of the Constitution knew authority was toxic.  So what did they do?  They chopped up and spread authority as wide as possible ― splitting it between dual sovereigns (federal and state) and among multiple branches (executive, legislative, and judiciary) ― and yet we see the opposite today.

Why is that?

Why do we see systems consolidating authority into fewer and fewer people? 

As power concentrates at the top, it creates a hierarchy in which the leaders become increasingly distant from their followers, who are unable to interact with those with power to any meaningful degree. 

HANDBOOK Sec. 38.8.26

"Church members are discouraged from calling, emailing, or writing letters to General Authorities about doctrinal questions, personal challenges, or requests. Responding personally would make it difficult for General Authorities to fulfill their duties."

   Yikes.  Good thing Jesus doesn't follow the Handbook.  Maybe He'll have time to answer my questions.

Communism and Authority

Why would religion seek to implement the practices of communism, when communism has historically been so antagonistic toward religion freedom?

Is it because both communism and religion share an interest in maintaining a strong, authoritarian structure?

Troubling Trends

There are several troubling trends that indicate the Church is following in the footsteps of communism.  Don't freak out, but consider a couple of examples:

   1.  Disenfranchisement.
​
​​   - Recall that when leaders get nearly 100% of the votes they are usually dictators?

   - For example, a few years ago the "President" of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was reelected with 97% of the popular vote.  No one was surprised.  This was not a landslide election ― it was a fixed election.

   -  In 2014, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un won 100% of the vote (so I guess he could help Berdimuhamedov close the 3% gap). The North Korean propaganda machine went to work, describing how the country was "seething with election atmosphere" on election day and, remarkably, Every. Single. Registered. Elector voted for Kim.  Wow!

   -  You may be wondering, "Why do dictators hold elections at all?"  Well, because it gives the appearance of legitimacy to their rule (even if we're all in on the joke).  And because they don't really care about their international perception since they control the government-run media.

In the Church, our current practice of "common consent" is not so different from the way Kim Jong Un gets elected Supreme Ruler:

   a.  The people didn't choose Kim. 
   b.  The people are powerless to replace Kim.
   c.  But the people get to cast their votes for Kim because . . . well, because that's what they're told to do by those in Authority.

You might be thinking, "But Tim! Our leaders are chosen by God Himself."

Circa 34 A.D. "Yes, the same could be said of Caiaphas."

"We can sustain the General Authorities and our local leaders and officers in several ways:

   -  By our faith and prayers in their behalf.
   -  By following their counsel.
   -  By helping when they ask us.
   -  By accepting callings they extend to us.

Sustaining our leaders is evidence of our goodwill, faith, and fellowship."

(Ensign, March 2012, "We Sustain Our Leaders," 
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2012/03/we-sustain-our-leaders?lang=eng)

By the way, the beloved Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un only has a net worth of $5 Billion.  Not bad for a 39 year old, but he's not even in the big leagues yet.

Cult of Personality

"A cult of personality arises when a leader is represented as larger-than-life through imagery and words of uncritical praise and flattery.

"Leaders are often depicted as superhuman, courageous, wise, and incapable of error, [which makes it] less likely followers will criticize or question their policies or challenge their power."

​(https://libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/propaganda/cult-of-personality)

Whose Side Are We On?

​​​During the Civil War, someone from the North said to President Lincoln that they sure hoped God was on their side. 

President Lincoln responded to the comment, "Sir, my greatest concern is to be on God's side."

In my last post, I mentioned that we should be witnesses of Christ, not witnesses of ourselves.

How can we be witnesses of Christ if we're always yapping about our authority?  

If the scriptures have taught me anything, it is that we need to stop worrying about whether we're "in step" with our leaders and instead worry about whether we're "in step" with our Great High Priest.
​
   Look to Christ
   and live.