Why I am no longer
concerned about false doctrine being taught in Church every week.
Since my mission I have found that there are some common
misunderstandings that still hold strong among those that are not of our faith.
What I am more concerned about are the misunderstandings of those that are in
my faith. Yep, believe it or not all “Mormons” understand correct doctrines and
principles and some don’t even understand that doctrines and principles are not
the same thing. I know this because I was once one of them. You see we are not
perfect like the Savior was, we make mistakes and everyone is on a different
level of understanding. Sometimes we get so caught up in the way we live and
mistakenly think this is the doctrine and principle of our Church when it is
actually, “Mormon Culture.” For example the name of our Church is doctrinally
based. Our name came through revelation to a prophet and you can find in the
scriptures that Christ said his Church would bear his name. We are not suppose
to call ourselves Mormons but the nickname has been so widely accepted and we are
accustomed to being called “Mormons” that we readily accept the mistake. We
have had numerous conference talks to try and get us out of that mode. From now
on you will hear the right name and right abbreviation of our name from me. Our
Church is called, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Our
abbreviated name, “Latter-day Saints” and “LDS”, you have to understand that
our nickname assumes that you know that we follow Christ.
With all that said, the Church readily recognizes that some
don’t know of the misunderstanding and have a site called Mormon.org because
people actually search for us by our nickname. Of course people can readily see
when going to the site our official name, which is a great example to all of us
to follow. I have met a few people who don’t believe we are Christian and quite
frankly with some of our poor examples I can’t blame them for the misunderstanding.
I have also met with some that get quite “huffy and puffy” saying we don’t believe
in the same Jesus Christ you do. To them my answer is simple… there is only one
Jesus Christ and we believe in him, but there are some doctrinal understandings
we have about Jesus Christ that may differ from the rest of Christianity.
As members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints We believe in Christ and seek to
know Him better.
The doctrine of the Savior Jesus Christ is the first truth I
would like to address. I believe it is one of the most misunderstood doctrines
in our own faith. I know this because I use to be one of those who had this
misunderstanding. I believe that because I have had that misunderstanding it
makes it easier to have compassion for that same misunderstanding. I am so
grateful for those who helped me begin to gain a greater understanding of my
faith. They were good at asking questions and making statements that took time
for me to investigate. I began to see how starved I was for doctrinal instruction
on my mission. I couldn’t get enough of the scriptures. I wanted to learn
everything. I so thirsty for the truth and I continued after my mission to
pursue greater spiritual understanding as it connected to scriptures. My work
at the MTC fueled my desire and I found myself wanting to study more. This led
to a career where I was able to study the gospel full time and still I wasn’t
satisfied. I obtained a Master’s in Religious Education and there is where I
began to really understand the deeper question of my soul. For years I have
made a great effort in studying causes for why this may be the case which I am
not going to address. Instead, I will just say a common misunderstanding and
what the truth of it really is. I do not attempt to address every
misunderstanding but while this post is not exhaustive list of misunderstanding
held by the Latter-day Saints it is real.
Often, members of our Church believe that Christ is their
lawgiver, their judge, and their exemplar. What they misunderstand is the
relationship of all of Christ’s roles, namely that He is our Savior and
Redeemer. I was often amazed by the testimonies of those in other faiths
concerning Christ and His saving and redeeming role. I felt their faith and I
experienced the conversion for myself. I needed more time with the scriptures
and a greater willingness to go to God with everything that bothered me
trusting in His infinite care. That time helped me to change and see that I was
not viewing the majesty of Christ and who he really is and what power He can
extend to me. I recognized that an imbalanced understanding of Christ’s
attributes and roles can lead to imagining up for ourselves a pretty awful God
to fear and tremble at. I recognized there is timing to His roles and how those
roles relate to each other. I was one that greatly feared making mistakes. I
wanted to do everything right and found no matter how I tried I just couldn’t
do it.
Trying to live up to the expectations of my leaders and what
I thought was right literally took me to a point of exhaustion. I wondered what
the point to life was anymore. I was so empty on the inside an equally unhappy.
At that desperate moment I prayed one of the most distressed prayers I have
ever prayed to seek a way to feel the spirit and be happy again. I prayed to
the Lord and explained I would rather die than continue to live the way I felt
and I asked for deliverance and the power to do whatever I needed to do to
change. Immediately after the prayer I was prompted to get a priesthood
blessing. I went to our ward mission leader who had been a member for 5 years.
He gave me one of the most powerful and directive blessings I had ever had. I
was told that my suffering I had experienced ensured that I would have the
spirit for the rest of life and that I was to fill myself with His spirit. I
learned later that it was not just a spiritual crisis I was experiencing. In
addition to my spiritual well-being my health was a great reason for the depth
of darkness and exploratory surgery discovered that I had not just suffered
from a chronic illness but I had also had acute appendicitis which had fussed
my appendix with scar tissue to my intestinal track. I literally worked myself
almost to death on my mission, but I am not sad that I did. Even though I know
many more truths about caring for my health while doing the work of the Lord at
the time I had done the best. I had followed the counsel of my leaders and more
importantly I came to know God in such a way that I never wanted to leave Him.
I am so glad that I let go of the fact that God and Christ
were judging me for every action. I found comfort in the scripture that taught
me that Christ had not come to judge the world but to redeem it. You see the
proper understanding of Christ includes that He will be our judge, but that is
not his purpose with us yet. The timing of the judgment of Christ is in a
future day, actually judgment day.
Christ’s judgment will take place in final judgment where we are judged
according to our works and receive the reward for such. We look forward and prepare for that judgment,
but if we get too focused on the judgment in this stage of working we can
become paralyzed with fear. We fear making
mistakes and getting “Judged” for them and do not recognize that we are
expected to make mistakes and learn from them at this time in our life. Do you
remember when you were learning how to drive? I Do! I remember my driver’s
education teacher constantly reminding me to look at the horizon and not the
front of the car. By having my eyes fixed in the wrong place I was surely going
to cause an accident. Seeing this error, my teacher kindly provided for me the
proper vision. We need to see Christ more clearly because doing so makes life
significantly happier. When we let go of
unnecessary guilt because we feel that God is judging us we can better use our
energy to just want to do better and seek his help in doing so.
In connection with the thinking that God is our Judge now is
the misunderstanding that immediate and permanent judgment happens the moment
we die. While it is always important to prepare to meet God, always we need not
be overly concerned that we are not perfect when we die. Joseph Smith taught
that it would be a long time after we had crossed thru the veil that we will
have learned everything necessary for exaltation. If we just step back and look
logically at his statement we can see of its’ truthfulness. Why else would we
do work for those who have already died if there was no chance to change in the
next life. Also I don’t know anyone that knows how to create a world when they
die. That will take some careful study.
Who is Jesus Christ
to those of the Latter-day Saint Faith?
So who is He? The Bible Dictionary gives a wonderful
definition which I feel with my whole heart is true, “The anointed (Greek) or
Messiah (Hebrew). Jesus, who is called Christ, is the firstborn of the Father in
the spirit and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is Jehovah and
was foreordained to His great calling in the Grand Councils before the world
was. He was born of Mary at Bethlehem, lived a sinless life, and wrought out a
perfect atonement for all mankind by the shedding of His blood and His death on
the cross. He rose from the grave and brought to pass the bodily resurrection
of every living thing and the salvation and exaltation of the faithful.
He is the greatest being to be born on this earth—the
perfect example—and all religious things should be done in His name. He is Lord
of lords, King of kings, the creator, the Savior, the God of the whole earth,
the Captain of our salvation, the Bright and Morning Star. He is in all things,
above all things, through all things, and round about all things; He is Alpha
and Omega, the first and the last; His name is above every name and is the only
name under heaven by which we can be saved.
He will come again in power and glory to dwell on the earth
and will stand as Judge of all mankind at the last day.”
Another document that I love which describes the Savior is The Living Christ. Which reads,
“he is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His
way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal like in the
world to come.
…He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords,
and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall speak in worship before him.
Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the
desires of our hearts.”
In addition to all of this, which I know for myself to be
true by the power of the Holy Ghost, I also know that Christ has perfect hope,
charity, and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, obedience.
He is everything that goodness comes from. He has no darkness and confusion. He
is bright as the lights of the heaven and creator of them. I am in awe of his
excellence and majesty. And humbly acknowledge in complete humility that he was
sent by God to save us, and He accomplished all the Father required of Him
perfectly. I have felt his sacred power lift me to greater understanding and
hope. Through his grace I have accomplished goals beyond my skill level and I
know he is real!
One of those times that I came to understand Christ power to
lift me in my circumstances happened when I was seeking answers from God to get
relief from a very painful chronic illness. I had conquered my fear of doctors
and went to many to seek relief. I also sought relief through healthy diet, exercise
and that led me to understanding more about nutrition and it’s affects on the
body and how herbs and naturopathic medicine could be useful as well. Still the
naturopathic course I had chosen wasn’t strong enough to stop this rapidly
growing disease. I remember waking up after a surgery, which was meant to
reduce my pain, and thinking, “There has got to be a better way.” I heard a
voice come to my heart in a quiet still whisper, “There is”. I sought for 2
more years before finding an alternative medical therapy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture
greatly relieved the disease and put it into remission. I say this not to draw
attention to the experience of illness in my life but the quiet, gentle and
sometime long process that it is to learn something through the spirit. I wasn’t
the same person because my experience made me more tender and compassionate to
those who suffer. It also taught me of the beauty of agency and how the Lord
gently put me in the right direction and expected me to act for myself and use
all my energy to find a solution. All the while I felt of his love his patience
and felt confirming witnesses to decisions I was making to improve my health as
I read my scriptures, prayed and obtained priesthood blessing for the healing
of the sick. I was also changing. I found diligence virtue and knowledge was growing
in me. I wasn’t as afraid of challenges and I started to see the miracles that
happened in my behalf could not have come any other way.
Don’t fear
imperfections of mankind but seek to learn for yourselves the truth from God.
Your fear in proper gospel instruction may have increased
with this article which is not my intent. You may feel like there should be
clear teaching on the matter and that people should not be so messed up about
their own faith. I agree the teaching of
the gospel should be clear! What becomes the most important factor for
change is members must be willing to pay the price. Paying the price is a
common phrase we Religious Educators used to describe the effort and direction
we must go in order to gain gospel scholarship. It means quite simply that we
need to see that the scriptures and words of living prophets have the correct
answers. Paying the price takes constant effort and study to understand, but
the way we go about these things are simple. Every day we should be searching
the scriptures individually and as a family. We need to have regular family
home evenings and attend Church. It is amazing how much information you can
gain if this simple but regular study is practiced. There is no replacement for
time and constant effort.
One thing that I noticed that came from daily study of the
scriptures was the ability to see the principles and doctrines and how they
related to a normal day. On days that I was so exhausted from my chronic illness
but still had to drag myself out of bed and make a living I had my prayers were
answered. I always had enough energy to do what he needed me to do. I knew that
energy was a blessing from the enabling power of the atonement. I then could
see more perfectly the way that people were helped in similar ways in the
scriptures. Sometimes it was the scriptures that opened my mind to the
possibilities of life and that I could call down the powers of heaven in behalf
of others just as Alma, Abinadi, and Nephi had done. It started to get fun when
I learned to pray by the promptings of the spirit because it gave me a clue of
what would be happening that day. I sometimes would feel prompted to pray for
wisdom in working with my students and I would have sweet experience with
parents which would confirm to me the things I had done that helped, and also
some things I could do to better help their children. I saw the connections to
the scriptures to my regular life. I saw different ways to draw my student’s
attention from the world to listen to the things of the Lord everywhere and
with everyone that I associated with. The study of the gospel was giving me
corrective lenses in which I could see the hand of God working in the behalf of
others and myself.
The scriptures were now becoming part of my very being and
identity which made Church service more meaningful. I sought for ways to serve
in the Church instead of seeking for spiritual experience, and oddly enough by
serving others I found great spiritual experiences. I was often impressed by my
humble brothers and sisters and how they dealt with the passing of loved ones
and their faithful obedience to the gospel after a conversion to the gospel in
their later years. With all the good experiences I had my share of
frustrations. I remember one teacher was trying to teach that God had all
power, all wisdom, and basically was perfect to which the classroom erupted with
comments that God was a student that had just been around a long time and that
he was still progressing. I tried to back up the teacher, but it felt like we
were the only ones in the room that believed the truth. The teacher was an
excellent student of the gospel and I could feel the spirit of his words, but
the class was blocked by their own ignorance and not even those who were in
charge of correcting the doctrine were saying anything. I remember finding some
good sources to their answer, one being a talk by Bruce R. McConkie that was
entitled The Seven Deadly Heresies.
He sure did let the audience know that believing God had not gained all
knowledge was incorrect. He told them if they believed that well they had the
intelligence of a nat. I really liked the bluntness he used. It sure did
relieve my irritation, and left no room for argument to the contrary. I took a
copy of that talk to my father, who at that time was serving as a Bishop in the
ward where the incident occurred. He used the quote in meetings to correct the
situation that had arisen among the ward members before his call as Bishop. I
was grateful for the truth to be out and for the good people in that area to be
reclaimed, but I was frustrated with how long it took to correct.
Now I am not so frustrated even though my husband and I come
home from Church every week with stories from our classes that show there is
misunderstanding of simple doctrines taught every week. I know what to do when that
happens now. I am grateful that this is no big deal in our home. We just get
the scriptures and have the discussions that correct all of the doctrine that
was misunderstood. It makes for a great gospel discussion in the home and we
leave stronger and better each time. I can completely understand why the Church
does not hold the primary responsibility for teaching the gospel. It is just
simply impossible to get perfection from an imperfect group. But it is possible
to get perfection from looking to Christ in all things. We can pray about
anything that may have confused us, search the scriptures and words of living
prophets for help and come back from the experience stronger every time.
I am not worried
about wrong doctrine being taught at Church because I recognize it as just a
reality of the doctrine of the Fall. The fallen condition in which we live just
means we are in constant error and only God can raise our sights and understanding
to His truth. If we follow the counsel of our leaders to search and find
answers for us then everything will work for our good. I think it is also
important to understand what people misunderstand so we can be an instrument in
bringing clarity. I don’t mean we can set up a rogue effort to correct every
misunderstanding that come up, for there is an organized system to go about
doing this. For those of you who do not understand this let me tell you I have
learned through leadership position and becoming more familiar with the Church
Handbook of Instructions is for the responsibility of teaching correct doctrine
in the Ward. The responsibility is placed upon the leaders of each organization
and the Bishop. If there is a problem talk to the leader of the organization
and talk to the Bishop. They will be able to gently correct the issue if
needed. Pray for your instructors and those who have heard the wrong doctrine. Your
responsibility is complete when you get a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that
the Lord is pleased with your efforts and you don’t need to worry about it.
An object lesson that I found quite effective and
entertaining to help illustrate where we go to find our gospel answers and any
answer, really is this: I would have a young man in my class collect water from
the boys restroom, strait from the toilet. I would get another clear glass and
fill it at the drinking fountain. Because many times the water looked the same,
it was difficult for the class to tell the difference between the two. If you
told them that they were free to drink the water, they were not so thrilled
with the thought that they could be drinking out of the toilet. No normal
person would really want to drink toilet water, but if we now draw the
connections between this and gospel teaching we will begin to see that we are
drinking toilet water every day we listen to someone and assume that they are
telling us the truth. Or that just because the position that they hold, with
the prophet of the Church being the only exception for this, means that
everything they say is in line with correct doctrines and principles of the
Church. If we seek the source of knowledge, which is God, then we will be
drinking from the pure sources. Prayer, Fasting, Scriptures, and General
Conferences of the Church are great examples of what we can do to go to the
pure source of information. Ultimately the pure answer will be a confirmation
of the Spirit of the Lord, or the Holy Ghost will teach us the truth of all
things.
5 Things that will
make you a much better Gospel Doctrine/Sunday Gospel Teacher
I have been a teacher of the gospel for more than twenty
years, both in a lay ministry capacity and also professionally. I have taken
classed from the brightest minds in the Church. Yet nothing has been a more
powerful teacher to me of how to instruct than those who taught by example the
proper way to be in tune to the gospel and to teach the way the Savior taught.
I remember a young man I served with in a college ward (comprising of students
and leaders chosen from the surrounding community) before I served a mission.
We were both teaching the missionary preparation course. While I had not served
a mission I was the only young woman in the ward that had received my own
endowment in the temple. Since that is a step that all missionaries needed to
take in their preparation to serve a mission they figure I was the closest
thing they had. I may have been through the temple but I didn’t know much when
it came to anything else.
Luckily I was not on my own. My partner teacher was a wise
returned missionary who taught with love and the spirit. In attempting to
correct a problem that had happened in the ward through teaching correct
principles I decided I would put in my two cents as well. I definitely thought
that what I had to say would solve the problem a lot faster. I don’t remember
what I said but I did remember being condemning in my tone. He thanked me for
my comment, but said I prefer to follow the spirit. It was one of the first
times where I had recognized that my thoughts were not in alignment with the
spirit of the Lord. I was teaching the truth without love or understanding and
I was that tinkling symbol the scriptures talked about. My teaching didn’t lead
to edification, it led to hurt and guilt.
I wondered why I could have even justified that I was
speaking by the spirit at all. In quiet reflection I realized that in looking
back at my education in the spirit at that time I saw examples of both good and
bad teaching, but I accepted it all as good. Some people had said they were “going
by the spirit,” when in actuality they were just, “shooting from the hip.” They
hadn’t even bothered to study the lesson at all. I did also have great teachers
that took great pains to help us feel the spirit and they followed it in class.
One teacher was Shirley Squires. I felt the warmth of her faith. I could tell
she cared about us and she really wanted us to understand. One time I remember
her asking me what the answer was to a question she had posed to the class, but
there was only silence after and no one dared to raise their hands. I knew the
answer. What I couldn’t understand why she knew that I did. This both scared me
and left me confused.
I know now that I didn’t have within myself a spiritual
compass to guide me. I am forever grateful for her wonderful instruction. It
taught me a valuable lesson that when a person is led by the spirit there will
be a power carried to the hearts of those who are seeking to understand. I also
learned that the spirit would help me as a teacher know who to call on.
Thankfully I learned later through my missionary training that God would speak
through us, but it was our responsibility to fill our souls with his truth so
that when he picked us up to write his message we would be pens filled with
ink. I was finding at last my internal spiritual compass.
I am so grateful for the shift the Church has made in
teaching the youth. The approach they are taking is much like the way I learned
to teach the gospel in the MTC and the way we were expected to teach in the
professional Religious Education world. I have served teaching the youth with
this new curriculum and have absolutely loved it. I have also had conversations
with those who are overwhelmed and frustrated with trying to adapt to this new
method. I know that it will take some time and some adjusting, but I can tell
those that are teaching that this will be the greatest blessing to their lives
when they learn to teach by involving the students in the process. Lessons sink
home when they have the chance to learn the doctrine for themselves and teach
it to the class. I have also learned is anyone can be a powerful teacher in the
gospel if they know where the power comes from and how to access it for their
classroom.
I have tried to compile lessons I learned while being
trained as a religious educator that really helped. Our training happened
yearly with Apostles, weekly with our principles, and all the summer months
from a variety of the best teachers that the program could offer. I share this
because we were constantly encouraged to change and challenged to learn more
and there is nothing that can give us greater power in our teaching than to
repent, or change, and exercise greater faith in Christ. I know this list has
the potential to be helpful. I did not mince words here because I feel very
strongly about each of these helps. I could tell you many good and bad experiences
that helped to make this a firm part of how I approached gospel teaching. There
is not one of these that do not have scriptural foundation, as well as counsel
from Prophets, Apostles, and promptings by the spirit. While I treasure the
messages I have learned they have become so part of me that I feel them right
from my heart. I do invite you to find out the truth of what I say for
yourself. Study it out for yourself, practice it and I can assure you with all
of my heart that you will teach with greater conviction and power and you will
touch the hearts of those the Lord needs you to reach out too.
1.
Don’t
stray from approved curriculum! Help your class to understand the doctrines
you are assigned to teach that day by using the scriptures. They are the
foundation of any class on Sunday. You should be in the scriptures throughout
your entire class and take no more than a few minutes in a readiness activity
(object lessons or stories etc. that introduce your topic). Never teach from
unapproved sources. Religious Educators call that the kiss of death! The spirit
will back you up when you obediently use the approved materials for your
classes.
2.
Avoid
speculative comments about doctrine and people! Don’t allow your class to
take you down this road! Stick to the scriptures and words of living prophets!
If they are not addressing it you shouldn’t either! Learn to politely lead the
class back to the Savior every time they stray into topics of little spiritual
value and importance. It is easier to pick up when you can recognize the spirit
with your class. The spirit will not attend such comments and you will feel the
difference as you seek to understand this yourself, then you can help others
understand it as well.
3. Live the Gospel! You must be a stellar
example of the principles and doctrines of the gospel you teach. Living the
gospel will help you to teach with a pure heart. There is no replacement that
will be more powerful. Don’t worry about being perfect or not knowing a lot. You
are only expected to do your best and the spirit will attend you and testify of
the truthfulness of what you are saying. If you lack confidence in your
obedience repent and ask for help. There is someone in your ward that is a
stellar example of whatever principle you are trying to teach that would be
happy to help you whenever you need them. When they stand with you the spirit
that will enter your classroom will amaze you. When they are approved by your
bishop, they will make a wonderful example for the class. If you are living the
gospel it will be much easier to recognize the spirit in your lessons and pause
to help others recognize when they are feeling the spirit as well.
4.
Keep it
simple! The Savior himself said that if it does not teach faith and
repentance it is not His doctrine. Everything we teach must help us and others
want to repent and exercise greater faith in the Savior. If we are not leading
others to partake of the gift of the Atonement we are wasting all of our time.
Testifying of doctrines and principles frequently throughout the lesson rather
than just at the end will increase the feeling of the spirit in your classroom.
When in doubt stick to the basics 1. Godhead, 2. Plan of Salvation, 3.
Atonement of Jesus Christ, 4. Dispensation, Apostasy, and Restoration, 5.
Prophets and Revelation, 6. Priesthood and Priesthood Keys, 7. Ordinances and
Covenants, 8. Marriage and Family, 9. Commandments. These basic doctrines can be taught weekly and they always bring an
edifying feeling when you know they are true and you testify of them and invite
others to testify of the same. We should always seek to build others faith in
these principles and doctrines including building the faith in the Lord’s
organization for his Church. We should never demean any program or
leader in the Church.
5. Remember it is about those you teach and
not about you! We must magnify Christ in the methods we use to help others.
Anything to call attention to ourselves is priest craft, which is setting us up
for a light and example instead of the Savior. I believe that most people are
innocent of this and if they do it at all they don’t understand what they are
doing. But, whether they understand it or not this weakens the power of our
teaching. Even when we don’t understand that we are sinning we are still
breaking eternal law which will result in a decrease or eliminate to the power of
the Spirit of our lessons. Everything the Savior taught when he was living
among us in mortality was to lead us to the Father. He didn’t seek praise,
recognition, or anything contrary to the Father’s will. He was and is the
perfect teacher to emulate. When you don’t know what to do, He does …and He
will still lead us. LDS.org has GREAT REFERENCES for TEACHERS! Use them because
Christ has inspired them to help His children come home. The message is about
bringing us all to our eternal home. He loves us and when we love those we
teach, they can and will feel his love through us. If we love the Lord we will
feed His sheep.
Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog. I feel so grateful
for the kindness of those who have responded to me and supported my efforts. I
really try to follow the Spirit in those things that I share and my only hope
is to be helpful and do what my Father in Heaven needs me to do. May the Lord
bless you.
Andrea
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