Christ’s Church
or Man’s?
Once again the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in the news and those within and
with out the church are all up in arms about a change in policy dealing with
children living in homes with parents in a same gender relationship. My purpose
today is not to debate the policy but to pose a question to everyone that is
saying this policy is one of hate and they are leaving the church. Is the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the restored gospel of Jesus Christ
(as the church declares) or is it simply another church of man’s making? For
those who want more information on the policy itself go here:
or
For
some of the best discussions about the policy check out these:
and
and
For now, back to
my question, is the LDS church really Christ’s Church today or not. If it is his
church, and Christ is the Head of the Church then he directs the affairs and
policies through his chosen leaders – the living prophets. If it is Christ’s Church,
and I testify that it is, then there is a reason for the policy and it is one
of love, not hate and no amount of posturing or protesting will effect His commandments. If the LDS Church is
not Christ’s Church but just another church founded by a man for whatever reason,
then everyone can go on protesting and threatening to leave the church hoping
that the leadership will will come to their senses and realize the error of their ways and change.
So there is no
misunderstanding where I stand on this question; I know that The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s Church on the earth today.
President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s Prophet and speaks for him to all of
God’s children wherever they are – to all nations, kindred, tongues and people.
I stand with the church’s leaders, the policies, practices, teachings and programs.
As for me and my house we will serve the Lord and his prophets.
The simple
reality is if this is Christ’s Church, then everything about it is true; if it
is not Christ’s Church then it is all false and it really does not matter what
the church does or does not want to do. There is no middle ground. Parts of it cannot
be true and other parts not true. God does not work that way. One of the
teachings that the resurrected Lord taught the people here in America was what the
name of his church should be:
Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must
take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For
by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my
name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name…
And how be it my church save it be called in my
name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be
Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then
it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name
then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my
gospel.
And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel
then will the Father show forth his own works in it.
But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon
the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I
say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and
by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and
cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.
(3 Nephi
27:5-11)
The first way to
tell if it is Christ’s Church is it will bear his name, not the name of a man
or something else. The second test is if it is built on his gospel. Christ
himself testifies of the restoration through the Prophet Joseph Smith:
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets—
And also those to whom these commandments were
given, might have power to lay the foundation of this
church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of
darkness, the only true and living church upon the face
of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well
pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not
individually—
What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I
excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth
pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be
fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of
my servants, it is the same. (Doctrine
and Covenants 1:17-18, 30, 38)
Let me share the
story of Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris, to illustrate my point. The
story says that Saint Denis was martyred in A.D. 250. After his head was cut
off, Denis is said to have picked up his head and walked ten kilometers (six
miles), preaching a sermon the entire way (News
That Matters). The number of miles he walked does not matter. If the story
is true, the number of miles has no bearing on the validity of the story; if he
indeed was able to pick up his head and take that first step is all that
matters. If he did that, then he could also walk the ten kilometers.
The same argument
can be made as to the validity of the LDS Church; if God and Christ did indeed
appear to Joseph Smith, if the Angel Moroni did appear to him and give him the
gold plates, if he did translate the gold plates into the Book of Mormon, and
if he did receive the priesthood to restore Christ’s Church again on the earth;
that is all we need to know because the rest is true as well.
Every member of
Christ’s Church needs to know for themselves if these things are true and then commit
to sustain and follow the Prophet, the Twelve Apostles and other general and
local leaders. Any member who has a testimony of the truthfulness of these
things understands that Jesus Christ leads this Church through His Prophet. The
policies, commandments, ordinances, priesthood authority are his and only He
can change them. It is not changed through any protest or pressure from an individual,
group, or government.
It saddens me to
see friends and family covering their Facebook profile pictures with rainbow
colors in support of same gender relations, coming out in opposition to, and
threatening to leave the church. Either they never had a real testimony that
this is Christ’s Church or something has happened in their lives that has
caused them to lose the Holy Ghost that they once had and the light of their
testimony has gone out, or they are simply going along with the crowd in
support of political correctness.
The scriptures
teach that in the days before the Lord’s return even the elect will be deceived.
I invite those who are struggling with this policy or any other aspect of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to go to the source of truth and not the voices of apostates,
or those who have no concept of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their agenda is to spread
lies and animostity about the purpose of Church doctrine and policies. Go to
the Lord and ask him in faith, test the Lord by keeping his commandments and
see if this is Christ’s Church or Man’s. I testify that it is Christ’s Church.
Your comments
and questions are welcome.
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