Tag: commandments

Punished for Voting Opposed

PunishmentThis is a Message to My Kids

If you ever choose to vote in disapproval and are threatened with punishment, I have your backs and so does Jesus!!!

Today, friends of mine voted opposed in their ward conference.  The immediate response from the bishop was, “I guess I’ll be needing your temple recommends.”

That’s an open threat of punishment.  Stripping them of their rights to participate in the highest order of our church ordinances.  Denying them the blessings of temple service.

This makes me very, very angry.

Obedience is the First Law of Heaven?

Jesus never said that.  His first law is gentle, gorgeous and magnificent:  Love thy neighbor as thyself.

However, obedience is constantly drummed into church messaging.  OK.  If obedience is at the top of the list, why threaten and punish this couple for their obedience?  For expressing their honest opinion in the manner that Christ has ordained?  They are obeying the law of consent.  Jesus himself made this a prominent commandment of the restoration.

But…the church is disobeying its own law of governance.  And then…threatening those who chose to obey.  What irony!  What hypocrisy!

Yeah…I’m Angry

So, should sustainings be announced with the following threat?

“Any opposed by the same sign. And if you give that same sign at this time, you will be punished. Your temple recommend will be confiscated, you will be denied access to the temple, banned from its privileges and blessings, and you will be treated as a pariah in our midst.”

This makes me so angry. It’s throwing Christ’s law right back into His face. Why don’t we just open the scriptures to D&C 28:13 and spit on it. Then D&C 26:2, spit on it. Then D&C 124:144, spit on it. Then D&C 121:39, spit on it twice, rip it out, burn it and fling the ashes to the wind.

Something is Very Rotten In Denmark

Sorry, Denmark.  Blame it on Shakespeare.  Something is rotten in the church administration.

To Church Leaders

  1. Resist unrighteous dominion.  The scriptures warn us that this will be an always-present temptation for you.  Common Consent is meant to help control it.  Our obedience to this law is meant to help and support you.
  2. Don’t make threats when we follow Jesus.

 

Champion of Discord

justice

Yep. That’s me. At least, that’s how some are referring to me.

Champion of discord?  Nope.  The discord in my beloved church is already there and growing.  It’s just kept hidden and lonely.  In painful isolation.  Who created the discord?  Not me.  For the source, you have to look much higher up the leadership ladder.

What Kind of Champion do I Really Want to Be

1)  A CHAMPION for discussing discord.   Dismissing, disallowing, & demonizing discord only drives people away.  Our culture forbids discussing discord out in the open.  How weak the position of the church must be if discussing our discord is forbidden.  How weak testimonies must be!  The best way to bring accord out of discord is to discuss.  Demanding and dictating accord does not work and is not God’s way.

2)  A CHAMPION for keeping temple covenants, specifically the covenant to obey God’s Law.

3)  A CHAMPION for Christ’s clear and straightforward Law of common consent. Today in conference, Elder Ballard encouraged, “Never abandon the truths revealed through Joseph Smith.” Yet, we have abandoned the revelation of common consent. I’ll be it’s Champion.

4)  A CHAMPION for my marginalized and vulnerable gay brothers and sisters. In the church of Jesus, “the least of these” have no champions whatsoever. If something is going to be called sad, this is the saddest of them all:  we do not champion “the least of these.”   For heaven’s sake, this is the gorgeous center of Christ’s gospel and ministry.

5)  A CHAMPION for the marginalized truth seekers.  Again today, Elder Ballard counseled, “We must never neglect anyone with questions.  Treat them like investigators.”  Well, guess what?  Not only do we neglect those with questions, we marginalize, shun and shut them up.  I KNOW this from personal experience.  At this point, I’ve seen many leave because they were treated this very way.

Just Wait a Little Longer, Sam

I have been told that I should just sit back and wait. Do nothing. Trust the brethren.

Out of 6 siblings, all have left the church, but me.
How long should I wait?  Until my own children leave?

Many good friends have left.
How long should I wait?  Until another 100 have left?

All but one of my gay friends have left.
Should I wait until he’s gone?  Should I wait until 10 more gay kids come out, get shunned and then watch them & their families leave?
Should I just wait for another child to commit SUICIDE???

70% of members have resigned or are inactive. 80,000 resigned last year.
Should I wait for another 80,000 to resign?

Nope!!!  I’m acting on my temple covenants NOW.  I’m following Jesus’ Laws NOW.

From January 2015 until now, 22 months in all, I have reached out to quorum, Ward, stake, and general authority leadership.  Sharing concerns and ideas of what we could do as a church to stem the tide of exodus.  Response:  Zip…Nada….Nothing.  Twenty-two months of being told: be patient, we’ll look into it, we’ll get back with you, the brethren know what they are doing.

lacrima

Behold Thy Mother

My brother and his entire family left the church in January 2016. They have a gay son. The November gay policy drove them all out.

Then, two months ago, my mom resigned. This is my MOTHER!!!  Oh, behold my MOTHER!!!  Heart broken by policies NEVER approved by the consent of the common. Beaten down and driven out of Christ’s church. My church. The church that I love.

Unfortunately, the departure of all my siblings was not enough to kick my butt into action. But, there is no way that I am going to ignore the broken heart of my own dear MOTHER.

So, I am going to CHAMPION obedience of the Law of God, the Law that I promised in the temple to obey.  The vital Law of God which He called: The Law of Common Consent.  My mother has been bruised, battered, and severely scarred by policies that never would have been accepted if the church was not in disobedience of this indispensable commandment. No longer will I mock God by NOT striving to live up to the promises I have made in his holy house.

Resister of Common Consent–A Record of Those Who Disapprove (click here for link)

If you disapprove of what the church is doing, you have a voice.  It was granted by Jesus himself.   May we all CHAMPION what we know in our hearts to be right.  May we reclaim our God given privilege to approve or disapprove.

Whizzing in the Wind

***Warning—Do not read if you are queasy about bodily fluid descriptions***

catamaran

Last week, I took my son-in-law and two young grandkids sailing.  The weather was picture perfect.  The sky was overcast, making for an uncommonly pleasant temperature.  Low humidity.  No rain.  Manageable wind speed…that wouldn’t frighten the little ones…or the big ones.

My son-in-law, Marshall, is determined to master the fine art of sailing.  Most of the day he was at the helm.  Did a great job.  As the captain, he managed everything.  The jib, the tiller, the mainsail, the commands….and even the capsizing.  That’s right, he tipped us over.  Of course, we blamed it on….Benson, our intrepid three year old passenger.  As we joked that it was all his fault, he quickly and proudly claimed the credit.  Tipping a catamaran over can be traumatic to kids with no sailing experience.  But, Benson was totally unfazed.  Bright-eyed and smiling wide, he played in the swells as Dad and Granddad worked to upright the boat.

At one point, we were about an hour away from the beach.  My little three year old grandson said to his dad, “I need to go potty.”  Dad calmly replied in almost a whisper, “Let’s use the stealth method.”  My six kids were all girls.  So, I wasn’t sure what the stealth method was.  I assumed it meant to go into the bushes.  Well, in the middle of Galveston Bay, there are no bushes.  Holding onto the windward shroud, little Benson stood up and started fumbling awkwardly with his clothes.

OK!  Now it was time for the experienced sailor to jump to the rescue.  From sad and comical experience, I know what happens when any fluid is flung into the wind.  Moving air is merciless.  It flings the fluid right back onto you and anyone else behind you.  Marshall and I were both downwind.

Before any unfortunate accident could occur, I moved the little one to the back of the trampoline on the leeward side.  Now, Benson could water the seawater without the captain and his coach being splattered.

Pissing Into the Wind

Yesterday, I met a good friend for lunch.  He’s a member of my ward (Congregation).  I really like this guy.  Have a great deal of respect for him.  He was my very first bishop  when I moved to Houston 40 years ago.

We got talking about the state of my faith and my current activities.  He was very complimentary about the Talkeria.  He feels it is a great example of following Christ’s commandments to reach out in a spirit of love and charity.  Coming from him, it meant the world to me.

But, he also had a caution.  He said this, “Sam, what you are doing, by voting opposed, is just PISSING INTO THE WIND.”  I’m not sure exactly what he meant.  But, I’m a sailor.  To me, “pissing into the wind,” brings a certain image to mind.  Not a pleasant image.  An image of bad stuff coming back at you.

Excommunication?

It turns out that this vision of “pissing into the wind” was pretty apt yesterday.  Two people, whom I love and know well, predicted that I’m going to be excommunicated.  I’d heard comments like this before, but not from anyone close.  It hit a little hard.

Now, I don’t think that I’m doing anything to warrant expulsion.  I love Jesus.  I love my church.  I have great respect for its leaders.  It saddens me that so many of my friends and family are leaving or have already left.

So, I may be “pissing into the wind.”  Unfortunate things might come back and bite me.  Never-the-less, my determination and commitment is to follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.  If I were be excommunicated for seeking to obey the Savior’s commandments and to keep my temple covenants…so be it.  After all, Jesus, Himself, was executed for his determination to follow the commandments of His father.

Pissing Into the Wind—The Next Steps

Saturday, October 1st, all members of the Church of Jesus Christ will have a sacred opportunity to serve the Lord and His church.  Once again, He will publicly exhibit His trust in the general church membership.  He has commanded the apostles to ask for our opinion….to ask for our approval or disapproval.  In preparation for that pivotal event, here are four steps I plan to take in the next few days.

  1. Post on my blog a call to seriously consider what each of us is going to do when this holy vote is called for.
  2. Compose an e-mail which will explain to my Stake President and Bishop why I voted the way I did.
  3. Post that e-mail here, so others can access, modify, and use, if they so desire.
  4. Compose a petition of sorts. Not actually a petition, but, more like a register.  If a person chooses to vote in disapproval, they could record it here.  It’s likely that only one name will be recorded on the register…mine.  And…that’s just peachy with me.