We hear the Leaders testify with certainty that they and the Church are led by Christ. We have had some leaders approach language that implies they have seen Christ. We also receive teachings that seem to offend, sadden, and even possibly harm us. How are we to reconcile A Church led by Christ with teachings that marginalize and ostracize at times? This episode deals with paradigms and frameworks that will help us make it all fit if we are willing to push ahead. I think there are many paradigms that can make things work in our minds, this is only one alternative that has worked for me.
The Testimonies of LDS Leaders that approach something near having seen Christ
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Very well expressed. Thanks, Bill.
I also really enjoyed the Ty Mansfield podcast, and he recommended listening to a talk by Bruce Haven given at BYU in 1979 called Love is Not Blind. I really enjoyed that– and it goes well with your points here.
Thanks again.
The way I explain it to myself is that I see the Church as made up of the Gospel, programs set up to help us to live the Gospel, and a large amount of Conservative US culture.
I believe all of the Gospel, and try to live it. The programs, we are each to select if the help us. The culture I find quite offensive, as I am neither a conservative or American. The problems the church has had, racism, polygamy, opposition to inter racial marriage, opposition to birth control, opposition to gay people and gay marriage, and opposition to women being ordained, all are as a result of this conservative US culture.
I look forward to a time when our leaders will remove the conservative culture from the Church and we will be the better for it.
I dont think conservative US culture has anything to do with polygamy. If anything conservative US culture is opposed to polygamy. As far as birth control and marriage relationship go many major christian religions feel the same way generally speaking. The context of the issues you address cannot be labeled as a US phenomenon as many world religions feel the same.
Christ taught us that we can discern whether a person or prophet is a true follower of Christ by whether or not they keep all of his commandments. This is not hard to see either. It’s very easy to tell a true follower of Christ from someone who just professes to be such.
So though all the leaders of the Church from Joseph Smith to today ‘profess’ with their lips to believe in and be led by Christ, it is very apparent that their hearts are far from him and that they don’t really believe in Christ, nor does he lead the LDS Church.
For all LDS leaders preach and practice so contrary to the teachings of Christ that it really isn’t even a Christian church, let alone a true church, and especially not one that is led by Christ.
The problem is that few people ever stop to check what Christ really said and taught, they just take other people’s testimony or teachings as truth, especially men who with agendas who call themselves prophets but are really not.
True prophets look and act completely different then what the LDS leaders do and say. But one would have to know and follow Christ’s teachings in order to be able to tell.
It takes on to know one, a true follower of Christ can always tell true followers of Christ, and if people who claim to have seen the Lord really have. Most who profess to have seen and talked to Christ have clearly been deceived by a false angel of light claiming to be Christ, as Christ warned that many would be so deceived today.
what does a true prophet look like? Does he murder (moses)? Does he Lie (Abraham)? Does he shirk his responsibilities (Jonah)? Please do tell……