The "shift" I experienced was the pressure I received (from the bishop to the stake president) to "conform" and "subordinate" anything and everything I did (thought, said, etc.) to the will of whatever "file leader" was "in charge". Whatever he dictated was to be done, right or wrong, inspired or not (they implied, even stated as much).
Everything I said in Sunday School and Primary and Sacrament Meeting, everything I wrote on my blog was to be "filtered" through their permissive (or restrictive) "authority". It got to the point that I wasn't even allowed to speak in Church any more, give a talk, lead a lesson, or bear my testimony.
The question wasn't just "Do you support and sustain the Brethren?" (I was "supporting and sustaining" them all along! Always had!)
But rather: "Is Thomas S. Monson a prophet [and thus, by extension, am I entitled to tell you what to do....and thus ought he and I be obeyed in all things]?"
They quote two scriptures to support this new "doctrine", scriptures which they interpret to say that whatever he says (or they say) is scripture: the mind, will and power of the Lord, etc.; that they have all power given unto them to tell me what to do, etc.
Bull crap! They twist the scriptures and ascribe to themselves powers and privileges that were never authorized or justified by those very same scriptures.
The scriptures say that those who are sent forth by God and speak by the power of His Spirit speak by His voice, will, etc. They don't say that whatever someone says (prophet or not) ought to be obeyed in all things, as if they were the Lord! Where did that come from?!
Joseph Smith taught you can baptize a man a hundred times as you would a bag of sand and do him no good...and, by extension, ordain him to the priesthood a thousand times...and it will do him no good...unless the Lord places His Spirit upon that man.
The question ought not be: "Do you recognize that Thomas S. Monson holds the keys", blah, blah, blah, but rather "Do you believe Thomas S. Monson demonstrates the power of his office and calling as a prophet, seer and revelator?"
I said "I don't know. I think so! I'm willing to say he does!"
But that wasn't "good enough" for them. I asked the bishop and stake president, "When has Thomas S. Monson ever prophesied, translated, or revealed anything?" They couldn't cite one example. ("Nothing comes to mind at the moment," the stake president said.)
And yet, like bullies and pharisees, they cast me out because I couldn't think of one either!
I imagine they shall live to rue their blindness of mind and hardness of heart. They are duped into "following a prophet" (and serving an organization) rather than respecting the agency and preserving the integrity of those who are striving to follow the Lord. They have taken the strength of the roots unto themselves and see themselves as "the kingdom of God on earth" even as their "tree" bears little or no real fruit (or only "wild" fruit).
And by "fruit" I mean "Who has come unto the Lord?" (Not them. They've never met Him, heard His voice, or seen His face, admittedly. Can they lead us to Him?)
But they follow a prophet!
And they are in charge...to do and say and control you as they see fit. And whatever they see fit (because they're in charge!) is the Lord's will. Period. That's their doctrine.
There's only one doctrine left in the LDS Church. It's "follow the prophet". That doctrine trumps everything. History can be rewritten and changed (or ignored altogether) along with doctrine and ordinances.
As long as we're "following a prophet", all is well.
And that, my friend, is the most damning doctrine of Mormonism. It is putting one's trust in the arm of flesh.
I won't do it.
As long as TSM (and others) are walking in the same direction as I am (toward the Lord), then all is well. I have no qualms with them.
But when they depart, I will not follow them! (And when I stray, they shouldn't follow me!) Their "calling" does not entitled them to control my conscience...or punish me for speaking the truth!
The only fault they found with me was speaking the truth and refusing to "follow the prophet" right or wrong. (Oh, and they demanded that I deny that Jesus is our personal Savior.)
They can all go to hell.
I was excommunicated from the LDS Church on a theoretical construct that is antithetical to agency, unscriptural and immoral: that one man should subsume his agency to another and "trust in the arm of flesh".
There is a difference, my friend, in heeding the prophets and following them. We listen (hearken) to prophets. They invariably teach us to follow Christ (not them)! Prophets lead people to Christ...then get lost! (See Samuel the Lamanite.) They do not organize a cult of "followers" of men. The Church was intended to be a "flat" organization in which all men know the Lord, from the least to the greatest, and none has need to be instructed by their brother concerning Him.
10 ...I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:10-11.)
Best wishes and all my love to you and yours,
--Will
Have to agree with you, Will.
ReplyDeleteThe LDS Church is no better than the FLDS Church because in both it comes down to "follow the prophet".
I've heard some fairly ridiculous things promoted in church under that banner, and I have personally grown weary and leery of anyone using that as their basis of opreration.
Will,
ReplyDeleteBullcrap indeed!
For me it's the lies, the half-truths, the deceptions, the lawyerly obfuscations, the twisted logic, the out of context scripture mashing; and the downright bullying!
Read any transcript of a recent excommunication and you would have to be blind not to notice the blatant bullying that goes on by the so-called "authority" figures.
And they call this "courts of love"? Lies, lies and more lies!
Does anyone think this is how the Savior wants His people who love Him treated?
James Russell Uhl
Amen - trust not in the arm of flesh indeed. I think it's a very important but overlooked/misunderstood part of Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life that he first followed 'a man in a white robe'
ReplyDelete1 Nephi 8:
5 And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.
6 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.
7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.
He had to recognize that he was in 'a dark and dreary waste', the product of following men, and call on the Lord for help.
Last fall I was just beginning to wake up from the spiritual slumber I was in. I went to Primary as I was substituting my youngest son's class. They were busy learning the Follow the Prophet song for the program. While listening to these precious young children enthusiastically singing the chorus, I just felt completely ill. At home whenever we sang the song we always skipped the chorus and the last verse entirely. The reasoning I had was that the chorus was redundant and I didn't like the last verse. I didn't realize until this Sunday how harmful it is to teach our little ones to 'follow the prophet' at such a very young age. We should follow our beloved Savior.
I had the same realization and epiphany. I taught the kids to sing "Follow the Savior" and was summarily punished by the bishop. He removed me from the Primary completely and had a counselor "tag along" wherever I went, recording everything I did or said. It was a surveillance state, to say the least. And sickening.
DeleteBut the Corporation must protect its product line and its consumer base (even if it must "lose" a few customers).
When anyone quotes the above passages from the BOM, it should be coupled with John 8:12 to substantiate the interpretation that Lehi was not following Christ at that time in his vision:
Delete"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am he light of the world: he the followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
It’s frustrating indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is the apex of LDS worship? It is none other than telestial self-sufficiency — that a person can become rich enough with his own savings and food storage so that person will no longer have to rely on God or anyone for anything, and that a person will overcome his own weaknesses through self-mastery exercises.
Wow, Benm. That's a sobering realization.
DeleteFirst of all, there's no place, and I mean no place in scripture that is says, "Follow The Prophet." For some reason we have allowed a primary song to become scripture.
ReplyDeleteI believe it comes down to misunderstood words. The words used in scripture in relationship to Prophets and Messengers is: receive, heed, listen... which means... pay attention to, take notice, consider, take to heart, adhere to, be mindful of, be alert, take into account.
The message become the focal point and not the person or the messenger.
The responsibility rests on each us to confirm the message through study and prayer and relying on the spirit to confirm to our hearts that the message comes from the Lord.
The word "Follow", in this case, is different. It means follow behind a person, such as a father, or follow an object, such as a wagon. The focus is on the person or the thing and not the message.
Over and over again, the scriptures admonish us to Follow Christ and follow his example. They do not admonish us to follow any other person. In fact the scripture warn us not to put our faith in the "Arm of the Flesh."
The danger of following the mantra,"Follow The Prophet", puts one at risk of drinking "Kool Aid" or putting oneself in the position like those who "Follow Warren Jeffs", who never question, even if what he asks goes against common sense and a personal moral conscience. This approach does not encourage one to seek the will of the Lord for themselves but rely on others as a go between. It's a little like washing ones feet with socks on.
I have no problem of heeding good counsel from Salt Lake, Nor do I have any problem heeding counsel from any messenger of sound doctrine, which support the scriptures of the restoration and the writing of Joseph Smith.
I have found that Snuffer, Smith and many others have helped me to:"Consider, Ponder, Take notice and Be mindful of a different view point. It's up to me to go to the scriptures, pray and confirm their point of view. "Yea or Nay" comes from the Lord. In defense of these messengers, they have never, not ever encouraged or said: "Follow Me."
However, there are those who seem to need to follow the flesh or idols, whether it's Suffer or Monson.
My concern is that the LDS brethren have fostered the "natural man" tendency to follow the flesh rather than preach against it.
We will all stand alone at the gate. Ultimately, we are responsible for our relationship with the Lord. He is the keeper of the gate and I don't think, "But, I Followed the Prophet" will justify us any more than saying, "The Devil made me do it."
I believe the 13th article of faith is a good reminder for is to keep our mind and hearts open to all "Good Things"... then seek the Lord's confirmation.
Excellent summation, Insightful Nana. Welcome back and thanks for sharing!
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