An article I read a few months ago stated that it
is a positive thing for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints to offer a dissenting opinion about curriculum and rules. Here’s
a quote, “It’s
difficult for dissenters, but it’s vital that Mormonism has them. The
healthiest organizations are not the ones that shut down dissent or pretend
that everyone is always in agreement. They’re the ones that allow multiple
points of view to inform their decision making process.” (Why we need Mormon
Dissenters) I thought a lot about that article. Here are a few of my thoughts:
I agree that members of the church with differing
opinions should not be shut down and that we should not pretend that everyone
agrees, but sometimes when people disagree about something, it gets blown out
of perspective and they forget about the testimony of truths they’ve already
gained. If I have, or if someone I love has questions or if we don’t
agree with policies and standards in the church or some of its leaders,
I think it is important to remember to look to understand the doctrine and
reasons. Look for the good, do not pick apart and criticize. The devil will use
contention to harden hearts, and dissent is a close cousin to that. That does
not mean that you cannot ask questions, seek to understand, seek to be
understood, and help to make positive change, but it does mean that you have to
be very careful not to miss out on the blessings that Heavenly Father has in
store from following the prophets and living His doctrine. It is
also important to remember that the Lord’s ways are higher than our ways or
other man’s ways and sometimes He may have reasons we don’t understand or know
about. (Isaiah 55:9) We
should look for the good in those who have questions and concerns. We should love them and help them find faith,
remember the faith they already have, and learn together.
We should not to rest on someone else’s revelation
and testimony no matter who it is. God gave us the gift of personal revelation
because he expects us to ask questions. He expects us to study, think, and come
to come to Him. But we need to live and continue to live the gospel
standards and doctrine, to come to know for ourselves of the validity of them.
When something comes along that I don’t understand, first I try to live it to
understand it, like Jesus states, “if any man will do His will he will know of
the doctrine.” (John 7:17) I
know the Lord’s promises are sure because I’ve tested the Lord’s word from
scripture and from past and current prophets and I have received blessings,
knowledge, peace, etc. When we have tested God’s words in the past, no future
obedience can really be blind obedience because we know His words are sure.
In the Book of Mormon there were many groups of
people who dissented from the Nephites (Zoramites, Amalekites, Amulonites,
etc.). They stoned the prophets and cast them out from among them. As a result,
they lost the protection that comes from listening to and heeding the prophets'
words and they were destroyed. The prophets and apostles are not perfect, but they are called of God. When they give counsel, we would be wise to try to live by their counsel to gain a testimony of it. We have to use faith to support and sustain each other.
Just as the early Book of Mormon saints had to live the Law of Moses even
though they knew Jesus Christ would come and the law would be dead, we may have
to live temporary laws that lead us closer to perfection.
If we take a cafeteria approach to living the
gospel and dissent from certain standards, policy, or doctrine, that puts us on
a slippery slope. We may be able to hang on to part or most of our
testimony, but our children and our children’s children may not. They
can see our partial obedience and then they most likely will be partially
obedient to the things we live. Pretty soon they may be out of the
church all together. In the Book of Mormon there are instances
recorded where apostasy happened after 1-2 generations.
I want all the blessings that come from having my
feet firmly planted on gospel sod (Hymn
“I Believe in Christ”) for me and my children. I also want those blessing for everyone I
know, meet, and come in contact with.
