Test of a Prophet: The Bible vs. Joseph Smith

In this unique documentary, produced entirely in Israel, a Christian and a Mormon sit down to dialogue about an important question: How do we know if a prophet is speaking the truth? Listen in on their honest discussion and follow along as they travel throughout the Holy Land in search of the facts. They will put Biblical prophets and Mormon prophets to the test in order to find out if their predictions actually took place in history. If even one prediction fails to come true, that prophet fails the test!

New lds scriptures

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES UPDATE#

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES MANUAL#

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES FULL#

Whether you're looking for a special birthday quote for your sister, a meaningful birthday quote for mom, or a heartfelt birthday quote for your husband, one of these messages is sure to apply, and the recipient will treasure the words you chose for him or her.Īnd if you're celebrating your birthday, know that you are one of a kind and the only one who gets to be you, celebrating a birthday today. There’s perspective and hope for the future year ahead, love from a God who’s made you unique in every way, and security in knowing He’s been there since you were born and will be there till the end. The scriptures are chock-full of encouraging words for celebrating those yearly milestones. (Trust us: No one wants another "over the hill" joke.) This year, look to the Bible for words of wisdom to share on the special day. Another year older, another year better, right? Still, sometimes it can be difficult to find just the right words to write in a birthday card for your friend or family member. You can even purchase a leather sample sheet to see all of the colors before you make your purchase.Ĭlick here to view the entire collection.Birthdays are a time for joy and reflection.

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES FULL#

Three Witnesses Angel Moroni Mormon Hill The Golden Plates (Reconstruction) CONTENTS: This new Kindle edition of the Mormon LDS Scriptures contains the full an unabridged texts of the three canonical works: 1) The Book of Mormon 2. Custom LDS Scriptures mission is to offer attention to detail, honesty. ILLUSTRATED VERSION: Contains more than 10 illustrations depicting key events, prophets, witnesses and monuments of the Church including Joseph Smith, Jr.

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES MANUAL#

The most popular colors are Lavender, Light Pink, Blush Pink, and Violet. Its a significant event in the New Testament because His baptism marks the. 100 Scripture Mastery Passages, New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2016). These new color scriptures are launching July 26, 2022. How do these new scriptures differ from our best-selling hand-bound leather scriptures Check out the chart below.

#NEW LDS SCRIPTURES UPDATE#

Right now, the company offers hand-bound Bibles, Quads, Triples, Large Bibles, Large Quads, and Large Triples. The last update to English scriptures the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price of The Church of. Our leatherette scriptures are made from the softcover scripture editions as printed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. each major book of scripture (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon. Adding to the canon of scriptureEdit April 6, 1830: When the church was organized it is presumed that the Bible and Book of Mormon were unanimously accepted as. that would spark the formation of either wholly new religions (as the LDS. Each one is made by hand and can include ribbons, custom name embossing, and more. The approach to the scriptures taken by the average Latter-day Saint focuses. The new visions of Smith and Gill produced new scriptures the new visions of. , a small, family-owned business headquartered in Orem, Utah, hand-binds scriptures in over thirty beautiful colors. One company hopes to bring affordable artistry back to printed scriptures. These are the 5 Scripture Podcasts: The Old Testament The New Testament The Book of Mormon The Doctrine and. However, personalized colored scriptures are a great way to feel inspired to study the word of God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This change was brought about “in an effort to simplify and standardize products in an increasingly global church environment.” With the advent of digital scriptures and increasing production on printing standardized scriptures in multiple languages, this change makes sense. This included all colors except for black. In 2019, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it would be discontinuing multiple printed scripture styles and sizes.

Holy Week: The Cleansing of the Temple

I have seen multiple people on Instagram talking about Jesus cleansing the temple in the final week of his ministry and misinterpreting the motive Jesus had for doing it. So let's talk about the details we can glean from Scripture to better understanding this story.

The temple complex had merchants who would sell animals to people they could use for sacrifices. The law of Moses in Leviticus 5 (see also Leviticus 14-15) talks about how the sin offering involves sacrificing a lamb or a kid goat. In the case of extreme poverty, two doves were the acceptable alternatives. These offerings would be bled on the Temple altar and burned.

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves. —Matt 21:13

The act of selling these animals was not the problem. It was a necessary part of the temple functioning, especially as people traveled from far distances to participate in temple worship.

The problem that caused Jesus to walk through the stalls turning over tables brandishing a whip was price gouging. Theft, of both money and access to God.

Everything that happened in the temple complex was under the direction of the high priest, the most important figure in Judaism at the time. The animals provided would've been inspected and assured that they would meet the requirements of the law. In a world where various monies were in use, weighed with scales to meet the established exchange rates, nothing would've prevented the high priest from requiring bribes from the privilege of operating in the temple market. Nothing would've prevented the scales from being turned against those who price gouged the public to provide for those bribes, as well as to line their own pockets. All of this happened at the expense of the people who were required by divine law to make these sacrifices to achieve forgiveness of their sins.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly demonstrates his disdain for the senior-most leadership of Judaism in his day. He had condemned the love of money and status over people so many times. He had disrupted ceremonies and insulted the priests to their faces. He had criticized their poor understanding of the law and their duties to others in their community. He had called them hypocrites, a den of vipers, vessels that were clean on the outside but filthy within, whited sepulchres full of dead men's bones, predators akin to wolves in sheep's clothing, and unprofitable servants. And here, he engages in his most pointed and unapologetic criticism yet for those in power:

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. —Matt 21:13

The agitation of Jesus Christ culminated in this exact moment, where he struck back against the Establishment not only in thought, but in their pocketbooks. In the destruction of the temple market, he restored access to the ordinances for all by front the animals to those who were present. He liberated the money to the oppressed in society by flinging it outside the reach of those who had taken it from them. He upturned the power structure and social order which placed the high priest as a wealthy superior over, rather than a humble servant to, the Jewish community.

Make no mistake: Jesus was a Jew. He loved his community and his faith. He loved God. He respected the law, which called his people to be the best versions of themselves to serve God. But this love didn't stop him from publicly criticizing and condemning moral failure in the leadership around him. Love does not enable abuse. And it was abuse that allowed Jewish leadership at the time to limit access to the most important, the most sacred ordinances in Judaism only to those who were willing and able to pay enough money.

What do we learn from Jesus from the destruction of the temple market?

That some evil forces in society cannot be reformed. Reasoning with abusers in ways they don't have to acknowledge, that doesn't cost them anything, isn't a solution for the powerless. That people are more important than money and the economy. That there is restorative justice waiting for the oppressed, in the form of destruction for their oppressors. And when this happens, a greater increase of faith, healing, and power from heaven will follow.

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Matt. 21:14

This Easter season, this is the hope and prayer for many: that God will remember those who have been shut out of their communities because of the exorbitant prices set by their leadership for their participation. That God will restore access to the holiness and forgiveness that has been stolen from them. That there is still a Savior, a Deliverer from the greed and pride that drives this world. And most of all, that there is healing and rest for those who have been exploited against their will, that all that has been stolen will be restored to them one day.

"We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are ceternal."

— 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Idk if you'd know this, but has the Word of Wisdom been properly canonized in the Church or are we just... Trusting it? Not that God hasnt asked people to change their diets before, but I'm curious to know how vetted it is.

The short answer is if it is in the scriptures, then it has been canonized. Since the Word of Wisdom is in the Doctrine & Covenants, it is considered part of the LDS canon.

In the LDS Church, usually something is considered canonized if it is included in the scriptures (there's two notable exceptions, each regarding the Bible). The LDS Church currently has 4 books in its scriptural canon:

1. Authorized King James Version as the official scriptural text of the Bible (other versions of the Bible are used in non-English-speaking countries). Although there's two exceptions to this:

a) The manuscripts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible states that "the Songs of Solomon are not inspired scripture," and therefore it is not included in LDS canon and rarely studied by members of the LDS Church. However, it is still printed in every version of the King James Bible published by the church.

b) Although the Apocrypha was part of the 1611 edition of the KJV, the LDS Church does not use the Apocrypha as part of its canon. Joseph Smith taught that while the Apocrypha was not to be relied on for doctrine, it was potentially useful when read with a spirit of discernment.

2. Book of Mormon

3. Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)

4. Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith)

The LDS Church's scriptures are printed together with several non-canonized study aids, including the maps, photographs, a Bible Dictionary, a gazetteer, summaries at the beginning of each chapter, a topical guide, an index, footnotes, cross references, and excerpts from Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible

LDS Church president Harold B. Lee taught "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church." Here is the history of this happening in the LDS Church:

June 9, 1830: First conference of the church, The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ, now known as D&C 20. If the Bible and Book of Mormon were not sustained on April 6th at the first meeting of the Church, then they were by default when the Articles and Covenants were sustained. (see D&C 20:8-11)

August 17, 1835: Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the D&C. (this includes the Word of Wisdom)

October 10, 1880: The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously sustained as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants – which had not been accepted as scripture in 1835 because they were received after that date – were unanimously accepted as scripture.

October 6, 1890: Official Declaration 1 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It later began to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants.

April 3, 1976: Two visions (one received by Joseph Smith and the other by Joseph F. Smith) were sustained as scripture and added to the Pearl of Great Price. (The two visions were later moved to the D&C as sections 137 and 138.)

September 30, 1978: Official Declaration 2 was sustained unanimously as scripture. It immediately was added to the Doctrine and Covenants.

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The revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was received in 1833 and first published by the Church in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, it was viewed as scripture but wasn't seen as binding for many years. The original revelation was given “not by commandment or constraint,” but rather as a “word of wisdom.” It would take decades for it to be accepted as a requirement for Latter-day Saints

In 1834, the Kirtland high council decided that those who were taught the Word of Wisdom but didn't follow it were unworthy to hold an office in the Church. A few years later the Missouri high council made a similar decision. Records indicate there were some members who were reprimanded for not following the Word of Wisdom, and even excommunicated for a pattern of disobedience. Which is interesting since the revelation only describes blessings for keeping it and does not give punishments for not following it.

During the Nauvoo period, the Word of Wisdom was not emphasized and there seems to have been a more relaxed attitude about it.

In 1842, Hyrum Smith said that 'hot drinks' refers to coffee and tea. Ever since this has been the accepted interpretation.

After the Saints moved to Utah, in the 1851 General Conference, Church patriarch John Smith spoke on the Word of Wisdom and Brigham Young proposed all Saints formally covenant to abstain from those things prohibited in the Word of Wisdom. (This seems to be where the attitude of only those parts of the Word of Wisdom, what to avoid, are emphasized but not the parts of what we should eat). Despite this, it seems even Brigham Young didn't completely follow this instruction until 1862.

In the 1860s and 70s, there was a renewed emphasis on the Word of Wisdom, but it was not required as a test of membership.

In 1883, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve commit to more fully live the Word of Wisdom, and others are encouraged to follow their example. By 1900, the majority of general and local leaders were following it.

In 1902, leaders were being instructed to refuse temple recommends to flagrant violators of the Word of Wisdom, though to still be lenient with others.

In 1905, it was taught that following the Word of Wisdom is a requirement to hold leadership positions.

In 1906, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve began using water instead of wine in their sacrament meetings.

By 1915, living the Word of Wisdom was required for young or middle-aged men to be ordained to the priesthood or be given a temple recommend.

In 1921, adherence to the Word of Wisdom was required to be admitted to the temple.

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For me, personally, I'm fine with the Word of Wisdom. Dietary rules are common in religion. Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Hinduism also have dietary codes.

In a way, such codes can feel like a parent who is concerned about what you're eating for lunch, it's a way of showing concern for us. However, I think there are two main purposes to such codes.

One is to implement health rules about what to eat, including sanitary measures, and how to ethically/morally approach eating meat (or forbidding meat) because it requires the death of another living creature.

The other purpose of these codes is they are a way to distinguish us as a group, to separate us from other people amongst whom we live. If we're at a company meeting where food is served, Mormons may notice who else has chosen not to have coffee or tea and wonder if they're also members of the LDS church, while non-members are unaware of this shibboleth.

To go along with these codes as cultural markers, I have observed that when someone is separating themselves from the LDS church, often one of the first things they'll do is have their first beer or cup of coffee. It’s s way of breaking that identity marker.

It is interesting that the Word of Wisdom includes prohibitions against alcohol when the consumption of wine is widely reported in the Bible. It highlights that there isn't consistency among these different religious dietary codes.

I think of Peter's vision in the New Testament where he is commanded to eat animals which were prohibited under Jewish law. God declares that all these animals are clean, meaning they are okay to eat. And the apostle Paul taught that non-Jewish converts were not required to eat kosher, however it would be helpful if they'd abstain from eating unkosher foods around their Jewish fellows so as not to offend them.

These two stories inform my opinion about the Word of Wisdom. I am LDS and follow our traditions against coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, however I don't view breaking these norms as a sin. The revelation specifically says this is not a commandment, so it seems to me to be more of a cultural marker. One reason I choose to not drink coffee is it would concern or offend my fellow LDS friends, some because they think of it as a sin and others because they see it as me separating myself from this community

Religious fundamentalism: The process of isolating out a religion’s core doctrine and investing it with ultimate authority while rejecting all later developments as superfluous or heretical; e.g. Salafi Islam, Karaite Judaism, fundamentalist Christianity.

Religious conservatism: The preservation of a religion and its customs as they have been passed down over the centuries by the clergy and wider society; e.g. traditional Catholicism, Orthodox Judaism, Hindu traditionalism.

Religious modernism: Altering a religious tradition to adapt it to new social, political, cultural, and scientific developments; e.g. modernist Christianity, Reform Judaism, ‘neo-Hinduism’, Islamic modernism.

Fundamentalism and conservatism do not have anything inherently to do with religious politics and likewise modernism does not necessarily mean the removal of religion from public life. I will get to politics soon.

A better way to visualize these than discrete categories might be something like this, sorry for the image quality:

They are processes and tendencies, things you do to your religion, which can absolutely bleed together and coexist.

Today the official position of many religious institutions (e.g. the mainstream Catholic Church or LDS Church) falls somewhere between conservatism and modernism. Conservative and Modern Orthodox Judaism are also good examples – of being willing to bend significantly in some areas while upholding tradition in others.

The Islam of Muammar Gaddafi, the Hinduism of Dayanand Saraswati, and arguably the State Shintō of the Meiji Restoration (though Shintō isn’t scriptural) exemplify a different trend: that sometimes the most effective way to modernize is to fundamentalize. If your goal is to radically reshape the tradition, then stripping it down to the fundamentals can give you more latitude to innovate, and delegitimizes the conservative clergy who have a stake in keeping the tradition the way it is, all while framing your project as in fact the most orthodox.

More commonly though, fundamentalists will make common cause with conservatives. Christian fundamentalists in the U.S., with a few radical exceptions like Reconstructionism, have more or less always considered themselves a type of conservative, and there is a strong resonance between fundamentalists and conservatives in Islam – Saudi Wahhabism takes a fundamentalizing approach in law and culture while upholding ecclesiastical and monarchical power, and was instrumental in the rise of more categorical fundamentalisms like al-Qaeda (though even bin Laden cited medieval scholarship when it suited him). In a similar sense some on the Jewish Orthodox right, especially Kahanists, have a fundamentalizing emphasis on returning to the Torah given at Sinai but remain bound to the later rabbinic tradition – “aspiring fundamentalists within a framework that poses challenges to achieving such a thing” in @boffin-in-training’s words.

I would also mention the tendency for an old fundamentalism to calcify into a new conservatism, almost cyclically. The Protestant Reformation was in many ways a radical fundamentalization of Christianity, but today Protestantism is its own religious tradition with its own conservatives. Again, see Saudi Wahhabi Islam for what Michael Cook calls an “eighteenth-century fundamentalism” that evolved into a “puritanical conservatism”.

Religious politics: Any use of religion for the purposes of modern politics, e.g. political Catholicism, Islamism, Hindu nationalism.

Religious nationalism or ‘religio-nationalism’: Religious politics with primarily nationalist, ethno-territorial concerns linking religious identity with national identity; e.g. most Balkan nationalisms, Hindu nationalism, Buddhist nationalism, the Muslim League, Zionism. There’s a subtle difference between religious identity as national identity, such as in the examples above, versus a national church playing a strong role in cementing an existing secular nationality, e.g. Anglicanism in England or Catholicism in Spain and Poland.

Fascisms which define the ingroup religiously belong here. They are still technically secular and prioritize national and cultural identity above all: the Sangh Parivar has a Muslim wing and the Ustaše even tried to set up their own Orthodox Church.

Religious dominionism or clericalism: Religious politics trying to expand religious control over the government to impose certain values on society, whether in a fundamentalist or conservative (or even modernist) spirit; e.g. Islamism, the Christian right, integral Catholicism, Israel’s Orthodox right. These could be divided, on the model of Salafism, into ‘activist’ or ‘political’ movements which try to win elections within the existing system, and ‘insurgents’ who want to overthrow godless governments and install ones of their own.

Both names have drawbacks: dominionism suggests fully-fledged theocratic rule whereas I mean it much more broadly, while clericalism implies the role of a clergy even though many fundamentalists and modernists are explicitly anti-clerical. Certainly it would seem odd to describe Hassan al-Turabi or Muammar Gaddafi as ‘clericalists’.

Clerical fascism: Given what I just said it might be most accurate to use ‘clerical fascism’ as Roger Griffin does, to refer specifically to the collaboration of clergy with fascist movements (e.g. the stance of the Catholic Church in Italy, Croatia, Brazil, etc), especially through genuine ideological fusion like in the work of Emanuel Hirsch. Theoretically this is distinct from (quasi)fascist movements which incorporate dominionism on their own, like the Kahanist ‘halachic state’ or the League of the South’s intention to run independent Dixie on Biblical law. None of the original clericofascisti or Deutsche Christen had such extreme goals.

This post brought to you by:

Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective, Michael Cook

“The appeal of Islamic fundamentalism,” Michael Cook

“The New Religious Politics and Women Worldwide: A Comparative Study,” Nikki Keddie

Salafi movement – Wikipedia

“The ‘Holy Storm’: ‘Clerical Fascism’ Through the Lens of Modernism,” Roger Griffin

My attempt at a typology of fascist religious discourse with @anarchotolkienist’s helpful addition, and a later one which sort of anticipated this post although with some different terminology.

And a very interesting conversation about Cook’s work with @ boffin-in-training in the fash study Discord.

Hey there. I had a question for you. I was wondering what kind of resources someone might look into if they were interested in learning more about Mormonism, particularly if the person is LGBTQ+ and also has a witchy spiritual side too? Not sure if the latter is relevant, but I thought I'd mention it anyways just in case.

oh boy oh boy this is quite a question. I do feel like both the LGBTQ and the witchy stuff are relevant because it kinda changes how I would approach it.

This is long so I put it under the cut

So, the official way to get to know more about the LDS church is to contact the missionaries. These are young adults who are dedicating 18-24 months of their lives to teaching people about the core aspects of Mormon doctrine, with the goal of baptism (usually within a month). They give out free copies of the Book of Mormon, as well as pamphlets that explain basic tenets of our religion.

That's not necessarily the path forward I would recommend to an LGBTQ person, or someone interested in the potential witchy/folk magic side of Mormonism. Most missionaries are young, and although some of them are queer themselves (I was a missionary and out as bi) most of them will be deeply steeped in the homophobia that is unfortunately all too common and perpetrated by our leaders. If a queer person wanted to get baptized into the LDS church, they would have to repent of any past queer activity and promise to live a 'chaste' life moving forward (no sex outside of a heterosexual marriage.) A lot of missionaries also will never have learned of the folk magic that Joseph Smith and other early saints practiced, because those things have all but been erased/denounced from church culture. Most missionaries aren't even comfortable acknowledging that Heavenly Mother exists.

That's not to say you shouldn't try if you feel called to the LDS church. We can use all the queer members we can get if we're gonna fight for change. But I just want to acknowledge that it is an uphill battle.

I would recommend reading the Book of Mormon, which you can access free online, plus there's an app you could download.

Saints Unscripted is a youtube channel run by members of the LDS church, where they talk about doctrine, culture, and all things mormon. Some of the videos get into some of the more controversial aspects of our history/doctrine, while other are just fun conversations about Mormon culture. I think it's a great place to go if you just wanna get to know some mormons.

Beyond the Block is a podcast run by a gay convert to the LDS church (like I said, it does happen!) and an African-american member of the church. They're on a hiatus right now but they have over 100 episodes so you'd have plenty to listen to. The LDS church has a curriculum called "Come Follow Me" where each week we are assigned certain chapters to read out of our scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants). Brother Jones and Brother Knox talk about the reading from each week specifically from a perspective of marginalized identities. Although they are speaking for an audience who is already familiar with Mormonism, I think it's a good example of what we believe, and the Mormonism that I personally strive for.

Queer Mormon Theology is another personal favorite of mine. Although also intended for a familiar audience, I think it provides enough background information (and sources you can look at to learn more) about what Mormons believe, AND it explains how these core beliefs include queer identities, and why the current queerphobic policies should be abandoned.

Witchy stuff is more difficult to find resources for. I started with Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn, but that's a hefty book and I don't know if I would necessarily recommend it if you are new to Mormonsim.

Most resources I have found online that explore Mormon folk magic are made by nonmembers, or exmembers, in an attempt to discredit or make fun of our founders. I've also discovered a few off-shoot groups that attempt to blend Mormon beliefs with Kabbalah (which seems like cultural appropriation to me) or psychedelics (drugs scare me idk man).

That being said, two resources I could point you to is this wikipedia article that is just like, an overview of some of the folk magic the early saints practiced. And this website which collects information about some of the less often talked about aspects of our history/culture/practices.

Most members of the LDS church don't know much about this stuff, or they just don't care. It doesn't really impact the typical LDS life, but as someone who is trying to expand my spiritual practice to include more magic/witchy stuff, it's interesting to me.

OH I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT. There's this music artist named Marcie Dawn who is a Mormon Witch. She has an instagram and here she is on spotify . She doesn't talk a whole lot about her personal beliefs, it's mostly ~vibes~ but I love her and I love her music so I had to give her a plug.

And that's what I've got for you! I hope this is helpful, sorry it's so long. Please feel free to send more asks/messages about this!

PROPHET SHARE

Opening this weekend:

The Oath--The warrior Moroni lives in a cave in a primordial forest. The strapping fellow is the last surviving member of his clan, exterminated by Aaron, the King of a rival tribe. One day he comes across Bathsheba, a beautiful concubine who has escaped Aaron's clutches. He gives her shelter from the storm, and they gradually bond. But of course, the cruel Aaron isn't done with either of them.

From his name alone, you may recognize that this film's hero is based on a figure from The Book of Mormon. The last of that tome's prophets, Moroni is supposed to have stashed the gold plates on which it was written, and after his death is supposed to have revealed them, as an angel, to Joseph Smith near Palmyra, New York in 1823.

In this movie, he's played by director-co-writer Darin Scott, buffed and bearded and armored in a reasonable approximation of the Viggo Mortensen-Alexander Skarsgård mold, but with little sense of barbaric danger (despite some broadsword combat, the movie is only rated PG-13). He's a studly but saintly paragon; at one point Bathsheba playfully tells him "You are boring." She's not entirely wrong, alas--he murmurs his lines, and spends a lot of his footage meditating or gazing into the spiritual distance--but he has a dash of guileless, unassuming Mormon sweetness that makes him endearing anyway.

Besides, the heavies liven up the picture. Most amusing is Billy Zane as the rotten Aaron, belting out his lines from behind a Muppet-like ball of frizzy beard in what at times sounds for all the world like an Irish accent. Karina Lombard is formidable as a lethal archer, as is Eugene Brave Rock as Aaron's henchman. "Why fight for a soulless coward?" Moroni wails at them at one point; it struck me as a good question for the contemporary Republican party.

Whether any of this is scripturally accurate or doctrinally sound in LDS terms, I'm clearly in no position to say. But taken simply as a sword-and-sandal romance-adventure, the movie is pleasant, using breathtaking New York State locations to (mostly) belie its budget limitations. The first half is sort of slow going, and the New-Agey music gets a little oppressive at times, but when we finally get to the confrontation between hero and villains, it's pretty satisfying. It's certainly no sillier in any way that I could see than, say, Conan the Barbarian or the Lord of the Rings flicks. And it's at least as heartfelt.

Ficlet: Dear Elder Anderson

by @redheadgleek for @wowbright

Words: ~1400

Rating: General

Summary: Coming home isn't always easy.

A/N: written for and inspired by my dear friend @wowbright and their Mormon!Klaine universe. Several months ago, we were talking about what happened after Kurt's return from his mission and it inspired this idea. As Wow hasn't read this, think of it as an AU of an AU.

Other notes: this includes blatant descriptions of the LDS temple with direct wording from the endowment and sealing ceremonies. Along with a multitude of other sins not condoned by the church. If this offends, I encourage you to find something else to read.

*

5 August 2014

Dear Elder Anderson,

I know, it’s a little weird calling you this after so many weeks of using your first name. But now, after coming home where I can’t call you Elder Anderson to our investigators on a daily basis or hear Elder Flannigan slaughter the pronunciation, I miss it. 

I miss you.

I miss you every day. I think I miss you most in the mornings, when I think about those mornings sitting across from you as you ate your pretzel and scrambled eggs and we did companion scripture study together. But I also miss you at night when I could hear you breathe in the dark and listen to the little snort you’d make when you were just drifting off. 

It’s weird being home, weird being away from you after so many months with you constantly at my side. You’ve been my compass for so long, that now I feel adrift. I swore I wouldn’t be one of those missionaries who couldn’t have a normal conversation for months. But every time I start to share a story about my time in Germany, it always seems to feature you, and talking about you both thrills and hurts me, so I stop and I sound so awkward. 

Dad suspects something. How much I don’t know, but he asks me a lot of questions about you. He can sense something has changed. That I’m different than I was before. 

He and Carole sat down with me two nights ago. They want to be sealed in the temple next month. And they want me to do Finn’s temple work. 

I am so conflicted and I think my silence surprised them. Doing my brother’s temple work so that we could be together as a family for eternity was my primary goal for so many years. This is what I wanted. 

I feel no guilt or shame over my feelings for you or anything we did. What we have is precious and God-given. I know this with as much of a burning bosom surety as I got when I’ve prayed about the church. So I felt no guilt when I sidestepped the questions at my exit interview with the bishop and I told him I obeyed the law of chastity and was worthy to enter the temple with no hesitation. He would have disagreed with me, would have excommunicated me if I had confessed, but he is wrong. It was harder to answer the questions about sustaining the president as a seer and revelator, when I’m not sure that he really is, but I got my recommend and I’ve been determined to use it. 

And yet, when Dad brought up us spending the day at the temple, I was at a loss. Do I want to do Finn’s work any more? Will he really be lost to me for eternity if I don’t? If the church is wrong about being gay, is it wrong about the afterlife too? 

I wish you were here so I could talk to you about this. Your straightforward explanations always calmed my worries and got me out of my head. You never were afraid of any of the questions I asked. I know if I brought them up with Dad, he’d worry about it. 

On the plus side, I was able to shove all of my mission suits to the back of my closet. I went on a shopping spree and treated myself to a new waistcoat and shirts with color and jeans - jeans, Blaine, I’ve missed them so much. They look great with the bowtie you gave me - I’ll send you the pics. 

Love, Kurt

*

7 September 2014

Mein Liebling Elder Anderson,

Yesterday, Carole took out her endowment and she and Dad were sealed together for time and all eternity. And with me acting as proxy, Finn was sealed to them too. They were so happy. Carole looked radiant in her white dress and Dad kept hugging us both. 

It was a draining day, spiritually nourishing and numbing at the same time. 

Dad baptized me, confirmed me and gave me the priesthood for Finn. I wept hearing his name over and over. “Kurt E Hummel, I baptize you for and on behalf of Finn Christopher Hudson, who is dead.”

Kurt E Hummel, I confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ for and on behalf of Finn Christopher Hudson, who is dead."

Who is dead. I was reminded over and over that he was dead.

I’ve always loved the symbolism of the temple. Perhaps because Dad was a convert and Mom did things her own way, but I’ve never minded the anointing or the endowment or found it weird. There’s something meaningful in the rituals, the way that we would all perform the same signs at the same time that felt powerful. I felt closer to God the few times I went to the temple before my mission and that’s why I’ve been so determined to keep my recommend. 

Elder St. James told me once that he almost walked out when he took out his endowments, certain that he was part of a cult. I don’t think I ever asked you of your experiences with the temple. Carole didn't seem too shocked, but I'm pretty sure that Dad filled her in on what to expect.

The endowment bothered me more yesterday. Finn was washed clean from his sins by someone who everybody else in the church would see as sinning. I couldn’t help that wave of worry that by lying to the lord’s anointed to get the recommend and doing Finn’s work, I would be invalidating it all and he would be in the terrestrial kingdom forever. I tried to ignore it as I pledged to refrain from loud laughter for my brother whose loud, free laugh could be heard across the school and made everybody around him happy. I took vows to obey the law of chastity with promises for his posterity when he never got to get married or have kids or any of that. 

There were beautiful moments too and those were almost harder. When the officiant reminded us about the meaning of the marks, I remembered stroking the mark of the square on your breast as I listened to your heartbeat. I love seeing you in your garments, seeing you as a son of God. 

And everything felt peaceful and familiar and right when I stood in the prayer circle next to my dad and stepmom. Carole was crying, tears that seeped out from under her veil and my dad was glowing in pride for what I was doing. His wish of having all of his family together. 

Dad took Carole through the veil. Does my mom mind sharing my dad for eternity? So many questions that I have no answer for. He also served as the officiant when I got to the veil too. I didn’t know that this was going to happen and I started crying when I heard his voice through the veil. Having my dad’s hand on my shoulder, holding my hand and giving the tokens, and hearing him say “Let him enter” - Blaine, this is all I’ve ever wanted. We sat in the celestial room afterwards, talking about Finn and cried together. For once, one of the temple workers didn’t try to shush us for talking too loudly. 

When it was time for the sealing, we all walked to the room together. It was just the three of us and the sealant. Dad and Carole were sealed first, and then I knelt next to them as Finn, who is dead. I looked into the mirror, and watched our reflections echoing, trying to picture my mom beside us and Finn and you. Because you belong there too in our circle of love. I wish I could kneel across from you and take your right hand and pledge before God, angels and witnesses to uphold the holy order of matrimony.

And I can’t. I won’t ever be able to do that. 

We took pictures outside on the temple grounds. I’ve always loved the simplicity of the Columbus temple. It was built when I was a toddler, and I have pictures of my parents and me at the open house, my dad carrying me because it had been a long day. 

Again, I imagined you holding my hand as we exited out of the front door to the cheers of all of our loved ones. 

I thought I could still make the church work after coming home. I’d be like John Gustav-Wrathall, faithfully attending church every week with you by my side, even if they disfellowshipped or excommunicated me. I don’t know if I can do that, because I ache so much for what I can’t have. 

But I know this. You are worth more than the eternity that the church offers. 

Love, Your Kurt

//Heyyyy folks, not to be that guy but if you could tag your anti Mormon posts, I would appreciate it.

//I know a lot of people really hate religion and base a lot of their talking points on negative experiences by members and non members. But EVERY religion has that, from Christianity to Judaism to Islam to every other religion out there.

//I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we’re trying to be better, kinder and more Christ-like every day. From our leaders to our families, we’re trying to to be like Jesus and love others as he did. We don’t get it right all the time, heck some of us don’t get it right at all thanks to man-made cultural tradition that isn’t really based in scripture or doctrine.

//But we’re trying.

//so if you would, please stop comparing world religions you don’t like (specifically Christian ones —very specifically my religion— since those are the ones I’m seeing recently) to dangerous cults, I would appreciate it.

//because Everyone has the right to choose the religion that works for them and brings them closer to God (whoever that is to you) and it’s not anyone’s responsibility to take that away from them and force them into what you think is right. God doesn’t work like that, faith doesn’t work like that. We can share our religions with each other but never force them.

//so please stop banging on other religions you disagree with and leave us be, ok?

//If you all would like to see for yourself what LDS folks are like (especially outside of Utah) I definitely encourage you to watch these guys and make the decision for yourself on if we are as bad as everyone says.

— Pastor Jeff, a non-denominational Christian pastor fighting criticism with curiosity as he explores the doctrine, culture, and history of the LDS church on HelloSaints — https://youtube.com/@HelloSaints

— LDS YouTubers talking about faith, doctrine, and culture in the LDS Church on SaintsUnscripted — https://youtube.com/@SaintsUnscripted

— and two teachers making in depth YouTube videos for folks studying the scriptures—Bible (old & New Testament), Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, & Pearl of Great Price.

—And finally our church website where you can look at all of our stuff — scriptures, doctrine, standards, conferences (where our leaders talk to us as a church)—

//none of you have to look at these, but before you go off and write us LDS folks off as a cult, take a look at who we are and decide if we’re really abusive cultish monsters or if we’re just people making our way in the world according to the values we already hold, and making mistakes along the way.

Will The Chosen get into what Jesus could have thought of pro-choice Christians and lgbt- affirming Christians?

Ooh. Interesting question. I feel like if the show does address either of those issues in any way, it's going to make or break a LOT of their support.

This is how I address this issue as a Catholic when I speak to LGBTQ people; I believe 2 things.

One, and the most important one; you are a child of God, made in His image. He died on the Cross for you and offers you the open gates of Heaven. How can I, as your fellow human, treat you with less love then He does? I will always try to treat you with the same human respect and love that everyone should be treated with.

Two; homosexuality in any form is a sin against God and against nature. This is stated many times in the Bible. I will treat you with kindness and respect, because in the eyes of our Savior, we are family, but I will not betray my love for Him by agreeing with something that I know hurts Him, something that I know contributed to His Passion and death on the Cross.

I see you as human. I respect you and deeply care for you, but I don't have to agree with you.

Please remember, above all, that my love and efforts are imperfect, because I am human too, but that God is perfect, and He sees, understands, and loves every part of you far more completely than I am capable of. I know that these things are the truth, so that's what I will act on.

As for abortion, I believe and will act on the Christian teachings, which actually date back through history to the beliefs of the ancient Jews, and are still taught by the Catholic Church to this day. I believe that a child is a gift from God, concieved of a man and a woman. I believe that at the moment of conception, God creates a new immortal soul and infuses it with the body. I believe that this new life, and all human life at all stages is sacred, and should be protected as something sacred. Either it is alive, or it is not. Either it is murder, or it is not.

These beliefs are rooted in the words of Scripture and the ancient traditions of Christians and Jews alike.

If I were to say "I am a Christian", and also say "I am pro-choice", or "I support LGBTQ+", then I would be compromising myself and betraying my Faith by picking and choosing from it's teachings. The technical term for this act is "heresy".

My desire to remain faithful to Christ's teachings about homosexuality and abortion is no different from my desire to remain faithful to His teachings on kindness and human respect. "Love as I have loved you." What is love if it is not true? Would you value my care for you as a person if it came from a place in my heart that was untrue to my core beliefs? Even if we disagree, is not honesty combined with respect more honorable? These things are not dead. We are only more easily distracted from them nowadays.

I hope that brings some clarity. Pax Christi.

~LD~

Holy Week: The Sacrament

Where is the exact moment Jesus Christ stopped being a Jew and became the founder of a new and separate religion?

Was it when the Sanhedrin rejected him? When enough other Jews decided he was a heretic, rather than a teacher? Was it the first time he claimed to be the Son of God? When he called his Twelve Apostles, and called Peter the rock upon which he would build his church?

Personally, I think it was the last time he celebrated Passover with his disciples. I'm switching over to Luke 22 for this one.

The celebration of Passover included the eating of unleavened bread and drinking wine. But what Jesus does with them here is where I think the break between Judaism and Christianity begins:

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

To have a new testament signifies the formation of a new covenant. This is the moment where Jesus uses the authority he has from God to form a new community with a religious identity separate and distinct from Judaism. While Jesus was a Jew, followed Jewish law, observed Jewish customs and holidays, and worshiped the same God as the Jews, he intended to create a church and a community that would break from Jewish traditions. The institution of the Sacrament (our terminology for Holy Communion or the Eucharist in other traditions) was the initiation of this break.

Because Latter-day Saints haven’t celebrated Holy Week historically, and this is something our currently leadership is inviting us to change, it’s been really special to see what other Christians do to make this time special. It has been a great reminder that Easter is the opportunity for all Christians, including us, to celebrate the relationships we've personally developed with Jesus Christ. We have more in common with other Christians than we might think we do, and it’s because we all have this common belief in how much Jesus Christ and his ministry changed the world.

I’m still contemplating what it means for me to celebrate Holy Week. I’ve thought about the choice I made at Easter time many years ago to be baptized. I went to the temple yesterday. I’ve been studying scriptures for these daily meditations, which I’ve enjoyed very much. And tomorrow, my husband and I are going to an orchestral performance of Rob Gardner's Lamb of God. There isn’t really an established program for any of this for our people now, and we’re each contemplating how to do this and make it personally meaningful.

My favorite part of sharing these has been the ways you all have shared how my thoughts are helping you to develop your own Holy Week messages and traditions with your own families. I’ve deeply enjoyed  those messages, and I think this was the wisdom in having us begin participating in these traditions: the way we would help each other and celebrate our faith in Christ together. It truly doesn’t get better than that. And I hope that becomes a key feature of what Latter-day Saints celebrating Holy Week looks like going forward.

I think people should attend church regularly and belong to a church family if possible. However, it really rubs me the wrong way when someone has a legitimate issue which prevents this and other Christians make them feel worse than they probably already feel over circumstances they have little to no control over.

I've known people who live in areas where there are no theologically sound churches (I used to be one. At one time there were no churches I could attend with a clear conscience, as my choices were limited to charismatic Pentecostal assemblies, a Seventh Day Adventist church, a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall, several Roman Catholic churches and an LDS church). My nephew Jake is presently without a church as he is a Quaker and while there were once a couple of quaker churches in Fresno, one conservative and the other very liberal and steeped in heresy, the liberal church is all that remains. Pressured to "just go to church for the sake of assembly" by people online, he returned only to leave it again after less than a year. He just couldn't take the falsehoods and embracing of LGBT culture, or the church villifying Israel and supporting Hamas and Hezbollah in their cowardly attacks on Israeli civilians.

That's why I began providing a little content on Sundays. There are people with legitimate reasons for staying home on Sunday and that doesn't make them lesser Christians. The church is not a building. We are the church. Even here on Tumblr we are part of the same family. We pray for one another. We share Scripture. We discuss God's law and God's Word. We are assembled.

I could also go on about how introverts with social phobias are also ridiculed for not "getting out there and evangelizing" as if each of us must go out and preach on a street corner or a college campus. Trust me, you don't want me to. I could write an entire book about my opinions about that. Suffice it to say, if you're sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ online where millions can potentially read your content, you ARE evangelizing to the best of your ability. If only a single person finds their way to Christ because they glanced at something you posted, you will have done more than many have by standing on a street corner or near some college student union building shouting at crowds of passing people. No, I won't argue about these opinions. It's just the way I feel. If you feel differently, God bless you.

Brother Fred (YDI)

I get that the church needs to be more inclusive, but how can it move forward with the proclamation hanging out there?

Why would the Proclamation on the Restoration stop the Church from being more inclusive?

I know you meant the Family Proclamation, but I decided to reference the most recent proclamation to show that proclamations don't define or restrict the Church.

Proclamations are not binding, they are not scriptures, they are not revelations. They are simply statements made to the world as opposed to statements or declarations which are aimed at members of the LDS Church.

Plus, there's a big difference between how the Family Proclamation has been used and what it actually says. It doesn't reference queer people even once! There's even an opt out for queer people: "circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation."

I wouldn't be surprised if one day we look back at the 25 years when the Church focused on the Family Proclamation as a big distraction when we should have been focusing on the Savior and the commandment to love. Above everything we are to love other people.

—————————————————————  

There's been 6 official proclamations, do you know any of them other than the Proclamation on the Family?

1841 - Proclamation to the Saints Scattered Abroad - Announces the creation of the city of Nauvoo and encourages all church members to move to the city

1845 - Nine months after the murder of Joseph Smith, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued this proclamation to fulfill a January 1841 revelation directing Joseph Smith to "make a solemn proclamation of my gospel" to "all the nations of the earth." This proclamation announced to the world that God's kingdom had been restored to earth and called upon all to repent and embrace the restored gospel

1865 - This proclamation corrected doctrinal errors about the nature of God and officially announced the First Presidency as the sole source of any new doctrine. It was a rebuke of Orson Pratt, who then encouraged everyone to destroy things he had written which were alluded to in the proclamation

1980 - A Sequicentenial Proclamation - Issued on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Church, and is a testimony of the restoration

1995 - The Family: A Proclamation to the World - This is a statement on family, marriage, gender roles, and human sexuality. It is by far the most well-known of all the church's proclamations, it has been referenced many times during General Conferences and filed in amicus briefs, and members were encouraged to hang it in their homes. It was created in response to the possibility of gay marriage becoming legal in Hawaii

2020 - A Bicentennial Proclamation - Issued for the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, and it's a declaration that the restoration is ongoing with continuing revelations. This proclamation was made with much fanfare, including a video from the Sacred Grove and asking all members to join in the Hosanna Shout, and then it quickly faded into obscurity. I don't think I've ever heard it referenced in Sacrament Mtg or Sunday School

I’m Trustless and I’m a Mormon

Hello. I’m DivineFR1, and I’m a Mormon. The bottom line is this: I no longer trust the Mormon Church. I either leave activity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or I get excommunicated. If I were more public with my career duties, spiritual belief systems, and activism, I would eventually face the same fate in the Church as Margaret Toscano, D. Michael Quinn, Natasha Helfer Parker, John Dehlin, Sam Young, and Peter Bleakley, just to name a few. This is the story of my trust crisis and current faith transition from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I still like to believe I have a firm faith and foundation in the doctrines of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is kind of weird to say when I have made a major decision to not participate in the LDS Church and to not return to activity. Ultimately, I will always have “Mormon” in my identity due to my rich family heritage and personal experiences. I had every intention of remaining active for my entire life. My testimony and faith in the Restored Gospel were so strong, that they really gave me stability when none was available from other sources. I served a mission faithfully and diligently. I married in the Temple. I respected and honored my covenants. My covenants were the pillar of my faith to maintain activity. As I write this letter, I am heartbroken, tenderhearted, frustrated, and devastated. Yet, I also feel a great sense of gratitude and joy. I just hope I can convey a sense of understanding while sharing my story.

Over the last 5 years, so many of my experiences in and about the Church have led to this remarkable decision and outcome. In fact, it seems that it is an “inevitable” decision (as so many others who have made their own faith transition have put it). Contrary to what many believe, it was my personal study, commitment, and pondering of the doctrine and scripture of the Restored Gospel that led me out. It was official Church sources that led me out of activity. It is to the point that I cannot stay if I have any faith or intention of keeping any semblance of spiritual progress or health.

If someone were to tell me that I would leave the Church even two years ago, I would not have believed it was even possible. I was strong and active. Yet, I had my concerns but trusted in my faith, in my covenants, and in my Gospel Study practices enough to remain “faithful.” I was a person that so many other members leaned on for strength in their own struggles of activity. There seems to always be a “but.” I had experiences within my activity in the Church that were directly against what I know and trusted to be doctrine and essential principles of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. These were contrary actions and experiences that the leadership of the Church themselves engaged in.

When my spouse and I entered our marriage and our first family ward after being in a Young Single Adult Ward, we experienced some difficulties that could not be swept away as a leader’s “imperfections”. My mantra had always been, “The people in the Church aren’t perfect, but the Church is perfect.” Jesus Christ is the head of the Church after all, right? We seemed to be targets of ecclesiastical abuse, along with other Millennial couples and marginalized families. My Spouse and I continued to experience or witness ecclesiastical abuse from our Bishop in this Ward, even through the COVID-19 pandemic. The actions we directly experienced, heard about, and even witnessed led to us considering whether the Leadership of the Church was even practicing doctrinal counsel as laid out in the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and especially the Doctrine and Covenants.

I, along with several other members of our Ward, individually shared our troubling experiences and concerns with the Stake President. The takeaway from these meetings was that the Stake President expressed compassion and concern for our experiences. He listened and told me that he would follow up in his capacity. Yet the actions from that Bishop continued, and even escalated in serious and illegal ways over time.

My Spouse and I raised our hands to oppose the sustaining of this Bishopric in the last Ward Conference we attended (February 2022). In that meeting, I implored the Stake President to keep the targeted members in that Ward safe. I told him in this meeting and one previously that there was a family who seemed to be taking much of the brunt of this Bishop’s abuse. They especially needed to be kept safe. The Stake President stated that he would continue to do what he was doing: minister to this family, and to this Bishop. Not even two months after this meeting, I found out from this dear friend that she and her son were endangered by this Bishop- to the point of this Bishop engaging in illegal actions as a practice of his ecclesiastical authority over this family. The Bishop engaged in actions contrary to the counsel laid out in the Church doctrine, and he could not be stopped until it was too late. I don’t blame the Stake President for this. He likely had his counsel from the General Authority Area Presidency. I now no longer trust that the General Leadership system of the Church can and will protect its members against ecclesiastical abuse that Priesthood leaders can and do engage in. Where is the application of leading Gospel principles when dealing with very apparent unrighteous dominion from local Church leaders (that was repeatedly reported from several members over years)? [i]

When I began to open myself up to asking questions of the systemic leadership practices of the Church, I allowed myself to delve deeper into other questions. More questions and concerns arose in late 2020 due to the disconnect of the Church’s revenue/wealth and how much members were paying into the Church. These concerns generally came to a head when we were “voluntold” to clean the church building- in the middle of a major worldwide pandemic. I had an infant. I work with a population that is particularly vulnerable to death from COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. I did not, and would not, help clean these Church buildings anymore. It is not worth the health of my family, or the people I serve in a professional capacity. I know the Church can afford to employ insured custodial agencies to clean all of their church buildings in the USA (and in the world). Hey, it’s a 100-billion-dollar corporation! Why in the world, if the Church claims to take care of their members and be concerned about their health, require and ask for them to clean the buildings?? To risk their own health and family to clean a community building??? When the Ensign Peak funds were initially leaked, I trusted the response and claims the Church put forth. Elder Causé stated in the Church’s official video response to the Ensign Peak leak a few years ago that this was essentially a savings fund for when a “rainy day” hit.[ii] Wouldn’t a pandemic be considered enough of a “rainy day” for them to use their so-called “savings” from Ensign Peak? If a global pandemic is not enough, then what is?

My “aha moment” of the Church refusing to employ insured custodial agencies, especially during a pandemic, led me to further investigate their use of wealth that I could no longer dismiss or ignore. LDS scriptures clearly state that the sole dependence on wealth is sinful and against the teachings of Christ and His Gospel.[iii] [iv] [v] Yet, the Church is engaging in actions and practices to protect their wealth with no consideration of the poor, underprivileged, needy, or marginalized. The Quorum of the Apostles earn a 6-figure allowance for their “service.” [vi] This is on top of their already accumulated wealth from their jobs before their apostolic callings, retirement funds from said affluent careers, and other investments. At least one of the Quorum of the Twelve is already valued at almost one billion US dollars of personal wealth before being called as an Apostle (I.e., Gary Stevenson). [vii] The church recently increased their monthly price for young missionaries to serve a mission (from $400 to $500/month). [viii] This is at a time when every community in the world is experiencing added financial stress and turmoil. A time when there should not be added burden from the “true church of God” to participate in missionary service. A former prophet stated that there would be a time that the Church could afford to operate without any tithing donations, and that the Church would stop asking members to donate tithes. [ix] Yet, we have a current apostle who stated that the Church doesn’t need tithing donations anymore, but members are still expected to pay (even members who earn less than $5/day for their full-time work). [x] [xi] So, a prophet’s powerful prophecy seems to be fulfilled, but ignored by his successors in Church leadership. I cannot trust an organization that repeatedly contradicts former prominent leaders. I cannot continue to trust an organization that accumulates wealth in a way the LDS church does, and does not use it to do good in the world. The church could be earning more than an estimated $13 billion annually from membership donations across the world. [xii] In 2020, the Church used less than even $30,000,000 of reported monetary spending to aid communities and people and need during the start of the pandemic worldwide. [xiii] A fraction of one single percent of their income and wealth is going towards the actual welfare of who they call the Children of God- people of the world.

Speaking of the welfare of the children of God, the events of August 2022 sealed my fate to my exit and transition from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [xiv] It was the Church’s official responses that led me out, not any other sources (besides my own actions concerning the matter). Any leaders in an organization that would sincerely try to act in good conscience and be active in protecting the vulnerable would do the opposite of what the Church has reported. [xv] A “Perfect” church led by imperfect people would be very appalled at the violent abuse reported that occurred in a span of almost a decade. They would be doing all they could to ensure the safety and protection of that (and other) family’s children. Instead, the leaders admitted they knew about the report to the Church’s Help Line. But, all they said they did to help protect those kids was they encouraged the parents -- THE ABUSERS -- to get the kids into therapy so the psychologists would report the abuse. Talk about shirking responsibility in protecting children and the vulnerable. The admission lies in the face of how the abuse cycle works. Repeated studies and evidence show that abusers will isolate their victims. They rarely, if ever, place their victims in a situation where the victims would be helped to escape the abuse, such as mental health therapies. [xvi] How disingenuous the official response is against how to effectively protect people against violent (or any) abuse. The Church had so much power and resources to stop the abuse in its tracks. Yet, they allowed it to continue for over SEVEN YEARS because of some sort of “repentance process” for the abusers??? Sure, they didn’t “break any laws.” However, how does this response show that the Church leadership follows the counsel in the scriptures of acting on a good cause? Of not being compelled to do good in all things? [xvii] [xviii]

I am employed on professional work teams to ensure that abuse from others against a vulnerable population is prevented and reported when it does occur. How can I continue to participate in an organization that says that abuse is abhorrent and unacceptable, but engages in actions that fosters and allows long-term abuse? How can I continue to participate in a religious organization that says one thing about honesty and goodness, but does the opposite? I am angry, heartbroken, and devastated. I spent my entire memory of life in this church, thinking, searching, and believing that this Church (my Church) was one of the greatest sources for good. That it is active in helping bring the marginalized out of marginalization. That this church aims to help protect against and prevent abuse of all kinds. That the Church uses the money donated by its members to be a force of great relief for those in dire need across the world. That it uses the great talents and input from others to make a better world. It is clear to me now it truly does none of those things effectively.

I do not sustain or support the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Quorums of the 70s. I do not trust them to have interest in my or others’ full well-being. I am by nature an intellectual with a spiritual side, thanks in large part to my upbringing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is because of that spiritual intellectualism that I started to consider and delve deeper into “Church-approved” sources than ever before in the last year. The deeper I got, the farther I ran away from my trust in the General Leaders of the Church. The farther I went, the farther I knew I could not and do not trust the Church or its leadership systems. I cannot walk the line of my God-given talents to support the needy while maintaining active membership in the Church. I will not. I cannot walk the line of advocacy for the vulnerable and marginalized while maintaining active membership in the Church. I will not. I cannot remain active in this Church. I will not continue my life as an active Mormon, because I am ultimately trustless and Mormon.

Endnotes:

[i] Doctrine and Covenants 121:36-37, 41-42. “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. … No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.”

[ii] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-of-jesus-christ-finances

[iii] Matthew 19:16-24 (KJV). And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wild enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

[iv] 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV). For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

[v] Jacob 2:18-19. 18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to ado good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

[vi] https://faq.churchofjesuschrist.org/do-general-authorities-get-paid

[vii] https://www.hjnews.com/news/local/debut-stock-offering-by-logan-based-ifit-could-make-latter-day-saint-apostle-almost-a/article_98990e5c-9afa-5dff-bbfb-3460db886744.html

[viii] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/first-presidency-announces-increase-in-monthly-missionary-contribution?lang=eng

[ix] Joseph F. Smith, April 5th, 1907, General Conference Address, Page 7. “Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God. I want to live to see that day, if the Lord will spare my life. It does not make any difference, though, so far as that is concerned, whether I live or not. That is the true policy, the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His Church.”

[x] David A Bednar. National Press Club conference, May 26, 2022. Live feed 51:22. “The Church doesn’t need their money, but those people need the blessings that come from obeying God’s commandments.” (Emphasis added)

[xi] https://www.paylab.com/top-salaries/rankings/top-20-countries-lowest-salary?lang=en

[xii] Since the LDS Church is not public about their finances worldwide, I had to make some rough estimations as follows:

Roughly 6.8 Mil LDS members in US.

Average wage index in US: $60,575. (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/AWI.html)

Estimate average tithe donors: 30% of church members

30% x 6.8mil = 2.04mil tithe donors

10% x $60,575 = $6,575 tithing donation for each average US wage.

2.04mil x $6,575 = $13,413,000,000

Estimated Tithing income from US based on average wage index: $13,413,000,000

United Kingdom tithing income from 2021: $34,408,000. (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

Australia donation income from 2021: Estimated $35mil (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

Canada donation income from 2020: Estimated $179mil (Based on government-mandated financial reports)

[xiii] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saint-charities-boosts-global-efforts-2020

[xiv] https://apnews.com/article/Mormon-church-sexual-abuse-investigation-e0e39cf9aa4fbe0d8c1442033b894660

https://apnews.com/article/Mormon-church-sexual-abuse-takeaways-f01fba7521ddddffa89622668b54ac10

[xv] https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-offers-statement-help-line-abuse

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-provides-further-details-about-arizona-abuse-case

[xvi] https://www.kgfamilylaw.com/the-role-of-isolation-in-domestic-violence

[xvii] Alma 32:16. “Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble…”

[xviii] LDS Doctrine and Covenants 58:26. “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.”