…Enough to Disapprove
Today, in preparation for general conference, I went to the temple. This is only my second visit in the past couple of years. Seeing the endowment through new eyes is fascinating. With my new understanding of the temple covenants, my attention was riveted as these sacred promises were repeated. Several new understandings burst forth in light.
On the eve of our semi-annual LDS sustainings, the following epiphany seems especially appropriate.
The Law of Sacrifice
We promise to live the law of sacrifice as it is contained in the holy scriptures. Anciently, men were commanded to offer up the first fruits of the field and the firstlings of the flock. The thought struck me that the most valuable fruit yielded from my labor in society is….my good name, my reputation, my honor. Elder McConkie has even said that this is exactly what we must be willing to sacrifice.
The ordinance continues that we covenant to sacrifice all in order to SUSTAIN the Kingdom of God. That wording struck me with the jolt of a thunderbolt. We sacrifice to SUSTAIN the kingdom of God.
Church Narrative is Not True—Can’t Be SUSTAINED
Recently, prominent church historian Richard Bushman said, “I think that for the Church to remain strong, it has to reconstruct its narrative. The dominant narrative is not true, it can’t be SUSTAINED.”
My covenant is to sacrifice in order to sustain the kingdom. Yet, what we are doing is not sustainable. This is another example of my temple promises dictating the necessity of my voting OPPOSED. The present course of the church is unsustainable. So, I’m putting my good name & reputation on the sacrificial alter and voting in disapproval of our unsustainable policies.
Is Our Current Course Really Unsustainable?
Here are the most reliable membership figures I can find. As of April 2016, there were about 10 million inactive members, 2.5 million former members (resigned), and only 5 million active members. That’s a loss of 71% of our membership!!! Look at the trend lines. Inactivity rate headed up. Resigned members heading up. Active members stagnant. Sustainable? No way. Something has got to give.
It’s also estimated that just last year 80,000 members resigned!!! Houston, we have a problem! Denmark, something is rotten! Time to let our leaders know that we are concerned…more than concerned.
If you are Opposed Consider Adding Your Name to the Current 222
A Common Consent Register has been established. A record of those…
…Who disapprove.
…Who care enough about the church to express their true and honest opinions.
…Who care about our children, both gay & straight, who are in harms way of a damaging policy.
To learn more about voting OPPOSED click here, here & here.
Tocubit Is Invisible's Cubit 
Did you mean to write “unstainable” in a few places instead of “unsustainable”?
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Ms. Cottage, you are a doll. Thanks for perusing my post with your perceptive eye. My eyes were pretty blurry as I wrote this in the wee hours of this morning. I pressed to “Post” button after 3:00am.
Please, please, please continue to correct my spelling corruptions.
-Sam
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Well done, Sam! You are shining a bright light in dark places. It’s only a matter of time before your SP lets you know (following orders from HQ, of course) that the only thing The Brethren care about is Pay, Pray and Obey (with Pray optional). After you refuse to repent, you will eventually be awarded Grade F on obedience and invited to a Court of Love. The outcome will be that your Integrity will be solidly intact, and the collateral “damage” will prove to be a poorly disguised Huge Blessing for you, Sam.
Kudos for your Courage and Integrity, Sam! I applaud you!
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My Dear Friend Gary,
I love your comments and take them as totally supportive.
Prayer optional? Hey, I pray now more than I ever have. Including when I was bishop.
Grade F on obedience? I’m shooting for Grade A on temple covenant obedience. If the consequence of covenant competence is communication with an X….well, whatcha gonna do?
BTW, McConkie included the word APPLAUSE in what we should be willing to sacrifice for SUSTAINING the kingdom.
As always, thanks for the kudos.
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Dear Champion Sam,
I’m not being facetious … you ARE a Champion who speaks your own Truth loud and clear!
Thanks for your kind response to my comment. I enjoy hearing from you personally, Sam.
I immediately thought of you when I read this a quote from the SLTrib article about today’s conference sessions:
http://www.sltrib.com/home/4419890-155/mormon-general-conference-underway-with-leader?page=1
=== start quote===
Fellow apostle Quentin L. Cook outlined several “stumbling blocks” that undermine Mormon faith.
[…]
Another modern vice, he said, is extremism, which has infected some Latter-day Saints as well.
“Gospel extremism is when one elevates any gospel principle above other equally important principles,” he said, “and takes a position that is beyond or contrary to the teachings of church leaders.”
===end quote===
I recall decades ago when Bruce R. McConkie talked about the same thing. He called it “gospel hobbies”. Do you remember that, Sam? Check bullet #6 in this link.
https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-seminary-preservice-readings-religion-370-471-and-475/finding-answers-to-gospel-questions?lang=eng
And under bullet #9, Bruce wrote:
“Anyone who follows a dead prophet rather than a living prophet will follow him to death rather than to life. ”
Not a very positive review of Joseph Smith, don’tcha think? Or supportive of Common Consent.
The Brethren want to be obeyed … period. They have no interest in discussion after the prophet speaks and the thinking has been done. There is only one option for faithful members in good standing, and that is OBEDIENCE.
When I wrote that Prayer is optional, I meant that The Brethren do not care if YOU pray or not, as long as you Pay and Obey. Prayer has been shown to be effective for humans everywhere, Mormon or not. Prayer is actually dangerous for Mormons when they feel promptings in opposition to what The Brethren tell them to think and believe.
You are a prime example of that, Sam. You clearly value your own values and principles above your Church membership. How do you spell I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y !
The outcome is written on the wall. Nobody can excommunicate your integrity from you, Sam.
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Why are you wasting your time with this?
The Mormon church is a cult, run by douchebags. They are motivated by money. They do not care what you say. They will never care what you say.
When one wakes up to that reality, the proper response is to wash one’s hands of it and walk away. Period. You will never change the cult, and you will not help TBMs to see that it is a cult by “voting opposed”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilting_at_windmills
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You don’t need to be hateful.
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Hi Nabotna,
Why am I wasting time with this? At least 1,022 reasons.
22 Reasons) BLOOD. My wife and 21 of my progeny are in the church. I stay to support and protect my blood.
1,000’s of Reasons) MORE BLOOD. Policies have resulted in suicide. I stay to support and protect our gay and straight children so no more blood will be spilled.
Tilting at windmills? Yes. But, these windmills are slashing at the hearts of mothers and children, fathers and families.
My efforts may not ultimately effect change in the church. It has already effected change in the hearts of many that I know. Policy changes would be icing on the cake.
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Which temple is that in the picture?
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Houston.
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Interesting insight. I would agree that talking with young kids it seems to me that in the US we are destined to start a decline in membership. Those that are exiting colleges today will not be able to look past our policies that to them look like homophobic – no matter how much we beat the drum of “religious freedom”. It is sad.
Many probably know that Patrick Mason followed Richard Bushman as the Howard W. Hunter Chair in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California
He does not use exactly the same words as Richard Bushman, but it seems clear he is saying somewhat the same thing – a rather significant change is needed in how the church deals with history. This is from the 2016 FAIR conference:
One of the problems we have in Mormonism is that we have loaded too much into the Truth Cart. And then when anything in the cart starts to rot a bit, or look unseemly upon further inspection, some have a tendency to overturn the entire cart or seek a refund for the whole lot. We have loaded so much into the Truth Cart largely because we have wanted to have the same kind of certainty about our religious claims—down to rather obscure doctrinal issues—as we do about scientific claims. . . .
Over the years the church leadership and laity have also done our religion no favors by putting more in the cart than the cart could possibly bear. . . . Many of the things which trouble people are things that we probably should never have been all that dogmatic about in the first place. I find that a little humility about our doctrine, especially given the contingencies of its historical development, goes a long way in remaining satisfied with the whole. . . .
http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2016-fairmormon-conference/courage-convictions
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Hi Hap,
Thanks for sharing this. Great insight from some one inside.
Love all the great resources you always have at your disposal.
-Sam
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