Thursday, December 17, 2015

Doctrine and Covenants 128

(December 17, 2015)
                We recently have heard a great deal of complaining by some Members of the Church about the policy that has been promulgated.  They focus their criticism (honestly, some focus but some likely mask) on the policy rather than the underlying principles.  They complain that the changes that were made should not have been made via policy but instead should have been made via revelation (presuming the two to be different in all – or at least this – cases).  They like to say that this wasn’t the way Joseph Smith led the Church.

                This Section, though, is clearly Joseph Smith setting policy.  In no place does he indicate that what he is speaking is direct revelation.  Instead he is applying the revelations (and the scriptures) to the facts and determining a policy that works and is consistent with those revelations and scriptures.  This is exactly the kind of behavior those critics condemn.

                The other thought that I had as I read this Section was on Joseph’s statement that “[f]or him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men.”  I am tempted to deal with this in relation to my personal situation, because I am in a situation were the facts that I know with certainty (because I was there and experienced them, along with contemporaneous journals and extensive efforts to ensure I wasn’t engaging in self-deception) were, at the very least, difficult for a Priesthood leader to obtain (and, to be honest, he got them flat out wrong).

                But rather than make it personal, I can instead draw from other circumstances.  There are explicit examples where Priesthood leaders have gotten things wrong (we are not in the business of believing in infallible leaders, after all).  It does no good for us to look at our leaders as if they are always wrong, or even occasionally wrong (much less wrong on a given piece of counsel).  But we must also acknowledge that Priesthood leaders get things wrong from time to time (and the honest and fair ones admit this – even the Brethren admit to mistakes).

                So how is that consistent with this statement by Joseph Smith?  Priesthood leaders can get facts wrong in a couple of ways as I read this.  First, notice the clarifying clause – “in relation to the salvation of the children of men.”  There are some facts that would not satisfy this clause, and thus were outside of this promise.  Second, the knowledge is promised to be not difficult to obtain, but it still doesn’t magically distill upon the Priesthood leader.  Bias, inattention, or unwillingness to listen all could play a role in these sorts of mistakes.


                Having been in the unfortunate position of having one of these mistakes bring about such turmoil in my life, though, I can testify that even the worst mistakes can still be a blessing in our lives if we allow the Lord to carry us, we trust Him, and we hold close to our Priesthood leaders even when those Priesthood leaders make mistakes.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Jonathan. . Ever since I read your response to a blogger the other day. . I have been trying to track you down. . Do u have a personal email by chance? Anyway. . I can't tell you have impressed I have been by your writings so I wanted to personally thank u for your courage, your ability to answer difficult doctrinal questions with such clarity, calm, and truth.. and, I'd really like to know you better. .possibly connect with you in social media? Thank you

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  2. Hi Jonathan. . Ever since I read your response to a blogger the other day. . I have been trying to track you down. . Do u have a personal email by chance? Anyway. . I can't tell you have impressed I have been by your writings so I wanted to personally thank u for your courage, your ability to answer difficult doctrinal questions with such clarity, calm, and truth.. and, I'd really like to know you better. .possibly connect with you in social media? Thank you

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  3. Thank you for your kind words. I am not sure the best way to go about contacting me (I haven't posted on this blog for a while, but expect to get back to it now). I have a personal email that I check infrequently, but it is sheldrine@rocketmail.com.

    Best post here and let me know if you send me an email so I can know to check for it.

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  4. oh great. just checked back and saw your response. how do you feel like you've been able to understand things as well as you have, and to be able to respond like that? Do you have any books you might recommend dealing with how to answer difficult gospel questions? I have a daughter in the music industry.. though her testimony is strong, she is often surrounded by worldly thinking. do you have a suggestion on what I can have her read to help her best communicate with those from different views? of course the book of Mormon is a great foundation

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    1. I don't really know what to recommend to you. There are a number of books that I love (Falling to Heaven, Continuous Atonement, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, to name three), but they really are all secondary. There really is no substitute for having the personal channels of communication open with the Lord. He is the only one who really has the capacity to teach us the way we need to be taught.

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