The War on Bishops

There's a lot of misunderstanding, and even outright fallacies, concerning the criticism of the LDS Church regarding worthiness interviews with Priesthood Leaders. Let me clarify a few things.

Bishops do not go out of their way to ask sexually explicit questions. If a Bishop asks a member behind closed doors a question concerning said member's sexuality or sexual activity, it is because there is a valid concern that needs to be addressed.

Bishops do not shame or put members down for breaking the law of chastity. That's not their responsibility. A Bishop's responsibility is to give counsel, and to help members under his watch overcome their sins. How can a Bishop help a member overcome his/her sins if he doesn't blatantly discuss said sins with him/her?

Bishops are not perfect. No one is, save Jesus alone. That's why we have guidelines concerning the affairs of Christ's Church on Earth. Not all follow those guidelines, thus necessitating the implementation of further guidelines and rules to further protect those who could be in a position of vulnerability. The necessity of these rules and guidelines is not indicative of the condition of the Church as a whole, but of the influence Satan has over the hearts of men, and the necessity of being increasingly vigilant in an increasingly wicked world.

Lobbying against the Church, whether done by members or non-members, is not going to change the Lord's mind concerning the law of chastity. Breaking this law will prevent a member from being in good standing with not only the Church, but with God. The Scriptures are ripe with the teaching that God cannot give the least degree of allowance, and no unclean thing can enter His presence. Among all other duties of a Bishop is the duty to guide those whom he has stewardship over in the correct path that leads back to our Father in Heaven. Bishops in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue to reference the law of chastity in worthiness interviews and other closed door meetings with members of the Ward they preside over as long as there is sin in the world. Guidelines and rules concerning these interviews may continue to adjust, but only because the world in its lost and fallen state necessitates it.

Finally, Bishops and other Priesthood Leaders who have abused the sacred trust that comes with the responsibility of having closed door interviews, while their actions are done while holding a Church appointed office, are not a reflection of the standards of the Church, but a reflection of the hold Satan has on that Priesthood Leader. The Church condemns such abuse, whether by one holding a Priesthood office or not, whether by a member or non-member, it is condemned on all sides.

Being a Bishop, or holding any office in the Priesthood, is a sacred responsibility, and a difficult one, made even more difficult by those who choose to condemn said Priesthood holder for doing his best to fulfill the responsibility the Lord gave him rather than sustain him in his office, or to condemn all who are called by the Lord in that capacity based on the actions of a few who obviously chose to break the sacred covenants they've made in favor of selfishness. They're doing the best they can with what they've been given, just like you and I. Let them do their job, and quit trying to steady the ark just because you don't fully agree with or understand the Lord's purposes.

Bird in flight

Faith in action is a bird in flight.

A bird, with its wings designed for flight, does not fly right out of the egg.  The bird has to be nurtured, strengthened, and taught how to fly by trial and error.  The bird has to believe that it can fly.  But belief alone is not enough.  Unless the bird takes that step off the limb of the tree and spreads its wings, it will never take flight as it is meant to.  The bird will fall a few times.  But as it keeps trying, the bird eventually achieves flight.  The bird believed it could fly, but it had to also DO in order for it to happen.  Once the bird learns to fly, it cannot simply rely on that knowledge to stay in flight.  It has to continually apply that knowledge and act on it, otherwise the bird will fall.

To exercise faith, we must do as the bird does.  We must believe, then we must do, then we must continue doing.

Lazy, or incapable?

There's a difference between being lazy, and simply being incapable.

You wouldn't tell a deaf person that they're just not trying hard enough to hear, otherwise they could. You wouldn't tell a wheelchair bound vet who lost both his legs in the war that he's just not trying hard enough to stand up and walk. You wouldn't call an infant lazy for not picking up William Shakespeare and reciting it from memory.

I suffer from mild depression. I've spent many days and countless nights doing absolutely nothing. I've had a list of things I needed to do, had plenty of motivation to do it, but instead sat around doing nothing. Not because I didn't want to, but because I literally felt physically and mentally incapable of getting up and doing it. I have close friends and family members who suffer from moderate to severe depression that do this more often than not. They are literally incapable of doing something that any outsider would think they should have no problem doing.

There is a difference. A lazy person simply chooses not to fulfill responsibilities. A depressed person simply can't do it. Not everyone is open about their depression. There may be someone you or I have called lazy, or mumbled to ourselves about how lazy they are, when there actually is a psychological problem they're suffering through that makes them incapable of living up to our expectations. Don't be so quick to judge. Just as we are only doing our best with what we have, remember to give others the benefit of the doubt that they're doing their best as well, even if their best seems less than what we think it should be.

Spiritual Intersection

             
One day I was walking home from the bus stop, and I was at an intersection. The light was red in the direction I needed to go. I was on Facebook on my cell phone, but I was aware of my surroundings. When the light turned green and I got the walk signal, I started walking across the street, but I was still paying attention to my phone. After I had just barely left the curb onto the crosswalk, I saw out of the corner of my eye a car that was headed directly for me. The driver didn't notice me until they were almost right on top of me, but thankfully they hit the brakes fast enough as I jumped expecting a collision. I was heading in the right direction, and I had the right of way, but I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me. Instead I was focused on my phone. The driver of the car that almost hit me didn't stop at the green light before making the right turn, as they weren't required to stop, but they apparently didn't see me until after they started turning. I didn't do anything wrong, and they didn't do anything wrong, it was just a matter of paying attention to your surroundings before moving.
This can sometimes happen to us on the crosswalks of life. We may be heading in the right direction, and not be doing anything wrong, but we may not be paying attention to what's going on around us. We may be going to church, saying our prayers, reading our scriptures, but we aren't looking to notice the opposition that sometimes subtly crosses into our path. If we're doing all the right things, but we have our focus on something other than what's going on around us and just mindlessly going through the motions in the Church, Satan can slyly stick his foot in the door. He will tell a thousand truths to get you to believe one lie. Along with being a good person, we also need to know what situations we need to avoid, harmless as they may seem, to avoid being "hit by a turning car," or being led into temptation without realizing it. We are taught to avoid the appearance of evil. We need to think about who we hang out with, what groups we're affiliated with, and our overall appearance to other people. If we're aware of our surroundings, we can stay on the right path and we won't be led away by the subtle temptations of the devil. If we keep our attention off of our "cell phones" when we cross the intersections of life, and we pay attention to our surroundings, we can avoid those temptations and stay on the straight and narrow path without getting bumped off.

Spiritual Word Search

             
A word search is made up of many different characters, or letters, that at first glance may seem like they're just in a random order. But when you start looking closely at the letters, you will find a lot of them arranged to form words. These words are arranged in several different ways. Some words you can see just by glancing at the letters, and other words you have to focus on what you're looking for to find. Sometimes you need someone else to point out words to you that you're having trouble finding yourself. The end of some words might be the beginning of other words, and the beginning of some might be the end of others. There are some words that, within the letters that form those words, you'll find the beginning, end, or even the middle of other words. And there are yet other words that seem to be isolated on the sidelines and not connected with any of the other words at all. But no matter how the words in a word search are arranged, if every letter isn't in the exact place they are in, the letters wouldn't come together the way they do, and the word search wouldn't be complete as it is.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is made up of many different characters, or people, as well. At first glance, the Church may look like just a bunch of people doing a bunch of different things that don't seem to have anything to do with each other. But when you look at the duties and responsibilities of each member, and the role they play for the better of the Church as a whole, you will find that they come together to fulfill different goals, or purposes, that come as a result of the individual responsibilities. These responsibilities are designed in several different ways. The purpose of some responsibilities seem clearly obvious. To see the purpose of other responsibilities you have to look closer to understand. And yet other purposes, you're not going to see unless someone else explains it to you.

The letters in the word search represent the individual members of the Church. The words that the arranged letters create represent the duties and responsibilities that are performed by the individual members. The word search itself represents the Church as a whole. Some responsibilities in the Church lead to the beginning or end of others, and some intersect with each other. Others seem to be on the sidelines not playing as big a role as the rest. But just as the letters in the word search, if the members of the Church don't fulfill their individual responsibilities in the callings and positions they hold, the Church as a whole wouldn't come together the way it does, and it couldn't truly contain the fulness of the Gospel.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints contains the fulness of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We each have responsibilities to fulfill, and each responsibility is just as important as another. No matter what position you hold, or what role you play, whether it be a Nursery teacher, Primary teacher, Relief Society or Priesthood leader, Bishop, or even a Deacon's Quorum second counselor, we all play an important role. But we all need to work together in fulfilling our individual responsibilities, as well as helping each other to achieve the end goal of assisting Heavenly Father in fulfilling His work and His glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Spiritual plea in abeyance

God forbears judgment on account of Christ's propitiation through His Atonement. His forbearance isn't forgiveness of our sins, but simply covering them in order to allow us to repent and be forgiven. This forbearance will be lifted at Judgment, and those sins we haven't repented of will be uncovered and judged. I see it as similar to a plea in abeyance. When you commit a crime, and you go before the judge, you are given instructions on what you need to do, and if you fulfill the requirements, the charge is dropped from your record as if it never happened. The judge forebears judgment to give you a chance to make it right, and have the wrong blotted out. Our "plea in abeyance" as God's children requires us to repent of our sins and follow His Son's perfect example.

Spiritual Bank Account

Think of your righteousness as the money in a bank account. You have a bank account, and Christ has a bank account. The more righteous your are, the more money you have in your account. Anything in the positive is considered perfect, as it is without blemish. Because we are human, imperfect and subject to sin, our account will always be in the negative, because our righteousness will never make up for our sinfulness. As it says in the Scriptures, to Christ (or compared to Christ, since He was and is perfect), our works are as filthy rags. Nothing we do can or will ever make restitution for the wrongs we've done in the eyes of God.

Now think about Christ's bank account. He never sinned. He was perfect in every way. His righteousness is as the righteousness of the Father Himself. He has an infinite amount of money, or righteousness, in His account.

By ourselves, we will always be in the negative. But when we come to Christ, when we believe and do His teachings, it's as if He is joining His account with ours. We then have a joint account with Christ, so long as we continue to follow Him and do His teachings. His account, which is infinite, is then added to our account, which was negative, bringing it positive, not infinite as His, because we had the negative to make up for, but it is far in the positive, making our account without blemish, or perfect.

This is what it means to be perfect in Christ. His righteousness is accounted to us, according to our faith and willingness to follow Him, and we are perfected, not of ourselves, but through Him.

BRAD