The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) -- the church of which I am a devoted member -- has updated its official policies to include written-out stances regarding same-gender marriages, and children whose parents are living in a same-gender relationship, whether it's "married" or "cohabiting."
You've likely already heard about this. Especially if you are an active social media user who is LDS or is a follower of LDS people on social media, you may have noticed that your Facebook newsfeed has recently blown up with a whole bunch of talk about it.
The LDS Church's policy change is centered around a very sensitive subject. It's a sensitive one personally to me, because I know and dearly love plenty of people who are either heartbroken or feel otherwise negatively affected by the policy change. With all the sincerity I've got, my heart goes out to these people I care about.
Lots of people are openly disagreeing with the policy change. "Lots of people" is an understatement. A number of those "lots" are folks whom I admire so much, and count as precious blessings in my life. I want these dear people to know that I, too, have not yet been able to fully wrap my head around the policy change. I do not yet understand it all the way. Might not be able to completely understand it for years to come.
Which leads to what I think the crux of my blog post here is meant to be: Not understanding everything right now. Both on an individual-person level, and on a bigger-group-of-people level.
As an individual person...me...Alison... There have been several occurrences in my life that left me thinking, Wow, I don't know why that had to happen. But nonetheless, it happened, for some reason that's beyond me. I grew up, from infancy onward, learning that there is a God -- a Heavenly Father -- who loves His children, keeps perfect track of each of His children, and has a perfect plan for each of His children. I grew up believing that. I still believe it now. The belief has grown stronger and stronger towards this present day. Rough, tough stuff has been known to knock on my door (and honestly, whose door has it not knocked on?), and lots of that stuff was stuff that I didn't understand, but I always tried to maintain a habit of trusting that God always knows what He's doing.
Now I'm going to shift my thoughts towards the bigger-group-of-people level I mentioned earlier. When I think of the LDS Church's members across the globe, particularly while I am contemplating this new policy change... I am reminded of how change in an individual's life can be difficult for that individual to understand. I think that can translate onto a bigger-group-of-people scale. The LDS Church's new policy update -- it is a change whose purpose and underlying reasoning can be difficult to understand. Clearly. Obviously. Confusion regarding it is everywhere. It's evident. It cannot be denied.
For those who are constituents of this "bigger-group-of-people" that's affected by this change: To you, especially those of you whose hearts are troubled by the change, perhaps I can possibly share some words of comfort. I have no idea if it will provide you with any ounce of comfort. But I will try:
If you're an LDS kid like me, you probably know this line of scripture very, very well: "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good..."
That's the first line of Alma 37:37. It's from a Scripture Mastery chapter (physically only two verses away from the Scripture Mastery verse itself). Alma 37:37 is a very personal-sounding verse that incorporates peaceful and quite-lovely word painting. It provides eloquently-phrased advice on what can be done to help keep a close and happy heart-to-heart relationship with the Lord.
But what I keep thinking is, Couldn't that first line be incredibly applicable to how the Brethren (the Church leadership) counsel together, and especially how they undoubtedly counsel with the Lord? In my mind, I imagine that the Brethren counsel far more thoughtfully and thoroughly with each other, and especially with the Lord, than I can even fathom. Surely, absolutely, totally of-course-ly, they "counsel with the Lord in all [their] doings." I know, with no doubts, that these Brethren -- these wonderful men who love the Lord and His children so, so much -- truly are men of God, and they understand that this church is not under their name (or any one of their own names), but under Jesus Christ's name. It's Christ's church. It's God's Kingdom. They know that. Oh how they know that, and understand that. They "counsel with the Lord" in their councils and in their doings. They do.
And so my bottom line is, Because they really do counsel with the Lord -- ever so thoughtfully, thoroughly, prayerfully, and faithfully -- I trust them, and I trust that they are doing their absolute best to lead Jesus Christ's Church in the proper direction, hand-in-hand and side-by-side with Christ Himself.
Again, I don't know if my words here are helpful or comforting to anyone reading, but they are what they are, and they come from my heart.
As a sort-of side topic: In light of the LDS Church's new policy change, I think something that may pop up every now and then is the assertion that some people have: "You're just letting yourself be blindly led!"
Well, going back to the crux of "not understanding everything right now," I currently find myself in a state of desiring to learn more, for myself, about the Church's policy change and the "why" behind it. Like I said before, I don't fully understand it yet. But also like I said before, I trust the leaders of our church. I am trusting, but I also intend to pray and study things out for myself -- regarding this particular issue, and whatever-else interesting (for lack of a better word) changes that will come my way in life. My opinion is that I don't call that "being blindly led," since I am also doing my own personal seeking for better understanding. I call it "allowing myself to be led, while conjunctively using my own will, mind, and heart to figure things out by way of the Holy Ghost's assistance."
You've likely already heard about this. Especially if you are an active social media user who is LDS or is a follower of LDS people on social media, you may have noticed that your Facebook newsfeed has recently blown up with a whole bunch of talk about it.
The LDS Church's policy change is centered around a very sensitive subject. It's a sensitive one personally to me, because I know and dearly love plenty of people who are either heartbroken or feel otherwise negatively affected by the policy change. With all the sincerity I've got, my heart goes out to these people I care about.
Lots of people are openly disagreeing with the policy change. "Lots of people" is an understatement. A number of those "lots" are folks whom I admire so much, and count as precious blessings in my life. I want these dear people to know that I, too, have not yet been able to fully wrap my head around the policy change. I do not yet understand it all the way. Might not be able to completely understand it for years to come.
Which leads to what I think the crux of my blog post here is meant to be: Not understanding everything right now. Both on an individual-person level, and on a bigger-group-of-people level.
As an individual person...me...Alison... There have been several occurrences in my life that left me thinking, Wow, I don't know why that had to happen. But nonetheless, it happened, for some reason that's beyond me. I grew up, from infancy onward, learning that there is a God -- a Heavenly Father -- who loves His children, keeps perfect track of each of His children, and has a perfect plan for each of His children. I grew up believing that. I still believe it now. The belief has grown stronger and stronger towards this present day. Rough, tough stuff has been known to knock on my door (and honestly, whose door has it not knocked on?), and lots of that stuff was stuff that I didn't understand, but I always tried to maintain a habit of trusting that God always knows what He's doing.
Now I'm going to shift my thoughts towards the bigger-group-of-people level I mentioned earlier. When I think of the LDS Church's members across the globe, particularly while I am contemplating this new policy change... I am reminded of how change in an individual's life can be difficult for that individual to understand. I think that can translate onto a bigger-group-of-people scale. The LDS Church's new policy update -- it is a change whose purpose and underlying reasoning can be difficult to understand. Clearly. Obviously. Confusion regarding it is everywhere. It's evident. It cannot be denied.
For those who are constituents of this "bigger-group-of-people" that's affected by this change: To you, especially those of you whose hearts are troubled by the change, perhaps I can possibly share some words of comfort. I have no idea if it will provide you with any ounce of comfort. But I will try:
If you're an LDS kid like me, you probably know this line of scripture very, very well: "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good..."
That's the first line of Alma 37:37. It's from a Scripture Mastery chapter (physically only two verses away from the Scripture Mastery verse itself). Alma 37:37 is a very personal-sounding verse that incorporates peaceful and quite-lovely word painting. It provides eloquently-phrased advice on what can be done to help keep a close and happy heart-to-heart relationship with the Lord.
But what I keep thinking is, Couldn't that first line be incredibly applicable to how the Brethren (the Church leadership) counsel together, and especially how they undoubtedly counsel with the Lord? In my mind, I imagine that the Brethren counsel far more thoughtfully and thoroughly with each other, and especially with the Lord, than I can even fathom. Surely, absolutely, totally of-course-ly, they "counsel with the Lord in all [their] doings." I know, with no doubts, that these Brethren -- these wonderful men who love the Lord and His children so, so much -- truly are men of God, and they understand that this church is not under their name (or any one of their own names), but under Jesus Christ's name. It's Christ's church. It's God's Kingdom. They know that. Oh how they know that, and understand that. They "counsel with the Lord" in their councils and in their doings. They do.
And so my bottom line is, Because they really do counsel with the Lord -- ever so thoughtfully, thoroughly, prayerfully, and faithfully -- I trust them, and I trust that they are doing their absolute best to lead Jesus Christ's Church in the proper direction, hand-in-hand and side-by-side with Christ Himself.
Again, I don't know if my words here are helpful or comforting to anyone reading, but they are what they are, and they come from my heart.
As a sort-of side topic: In light of the LDS Church's new policy change, I think something that may pop up every now and then is the assertion that some people have: "You're just letting yourself be blindly led!"
Well, going back to the crux of "not understanding everything right now," I currently find myself in a state of desiring to learn more, for myself, about the Church's policy change and the "why" behind it. Like I said before, I don't fully understand it yet. But also like I said before, I trust the leaders of our church. I am trusting, but I also intend to pray and study things out for myself -- regarding this particular issue, and whatever-else interesting (for lack of a better word) changes that will come my way in life. My opinion is that I don't call that "being blindly led," since I am also doing my own personal seeking for better understanding. I call it "allowing myself to be led, while conjunctively using my own will, mind, and heart to figure things out by way of the Holy Ghost's assistance."
That was about as articulate a way to phrase the very feelings I have on the matter as I can think of. Thanks for being so eloquent, Alison.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your introspective thoughts. You are right on in your approach. My heart is heavy and weary over the attacks on the Church. I don't consider this a policy "change" at all. The Church just issued guidelines to our local leaders to deal with our standing on marriage. The Church has never wavered in it's definition of marriage. What was in the headlines was not an official announcement by the Church but from someone who unofficially gave the media the handbook instructions to Bishops and Stake Presidents on dealing with same sex marriage. How is the Church supposed to deal with those members of the Church who enter into into a same-sex marriage? Our leaders need guidelines to deal with this issue. Anyway I don't see it as a policy change at all -- just the natural outcome of what's happening in the world today. So when a baby is blessed, a certificate is issued by the Church listing the parents as . . . and with a child's baptism as well. As much as we love these people, they are apostates when they enter into a same-sex marriage. That doesn't mean we don't love them; that they can't come to Church meetings if they desire. I'm going to just copy here some of the things I've posted today. Probably repeating myself a lot at this point.
ReplyDelete"A very basic premise of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is that we have a living prophet leading it. The latter-day prophets have never wavered in the definition of marriage being between a man and a woman. When a member openly rejects the counsel of the living prophet, they are in a state of apostasy (as we have seen unfold in the Ordain Women initiative.) If a child in a same-sex marriage would be allowed to be blessed or baptized, whose names would go on the records of the Church as parents? That would be contrary to the Church's definition of marriage. This is not a punishment for these children but a consequence of choices made by their families and a protection for all concerned. God's House is one of order and His laws are put forth for us to follow in Faith -- not to petition according to our personal desires and beliefs. This is a very challenging time for many. I believe that God will help us as we turn to him for understanding."
"The media is presenting this story as if it was an official "announcement" by the Church. It is not. These changes were made in the Leadership Handbook for Bishops and Stake Presidents as a result of the great divide between the world's and the Church's definition of marriage. I picture our dear leaders, praying and fasting and seeking the Lord's will in directing His Church in these tumultuous times. I know in my heart that this decision was not one made hastily. The information that was unauthorized by the Church for release has certainly been well used by the media in creating headlines that instigate contention and dissension."
Sadly, I've been witness to a few contentious discussions today & tried to defend the Church's position. Some people have very firm and fixed opinions and aren't open to understanding. It's more important than ever to be peacemakers and teachers of Christ's doctrine where we can. Yikes, this is hard!
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI am Danny Soulier's father (Danny is the OTS timpanist) and he forwarded your blog to me. I'm impressed with the depth of your thoughts on important things
May I, as a sympatheic reader suggest at least one additional supportive way to ponder this Church policy? Not that I know any more than anyone else, but if I were our Heavenly Father and had His concern for all of His children, especially his most innocent ones, the young ones; I might consider extending the "official" designation of "innocent child" from the age of 8 up to 18 (or whatever the policy states) and thus, not count anything against them until they had the chance to view the choices of the two people who raised them from a more distant and mature viewpoint. This "extension" of the innocent state for them would allow a less conflicted opportunity to assess the truths of the gospel outside of the influence of "parents" who have chosen for whatever reason, and under whatever stresses life has sent their way the lifestyle of same-gender "parenting."
I see the policy as a generous consideration of an all-knowing and infinitely loving Father who kindly adjusts, for the benefit of those who find themselves in circumstances they did not create.
Just a thought that came to me when the policy was announced those number of months ago.
Thank you for your blog.
With deep admiration for the musical gift you give to the world by participating with The Choir.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI am Danny Soulier's father (Danny is the OTS timpanist) and he forwarded your blog to me. I'm impressed with the depth of your thoughts on important things
May I, as a sympatheic reader suggest at least one additional supportive way to ponder this Church policy? Not that I know any more than anyone else, but if I were our Heavenly Father and had His concern for all of His children, especially his most innocent ones, the young ones; I might consider extending the "official" designation of "innocent child" from the age of 8 up to 18 (or whatever the policy states) and thus, not count anything against them until they had the chance to view the choices of the two people who raised them from a more distant and mature viewpoint. This "extension" of the innocent state for them would allow a less conflicted opportunity to assess the truths of the gospel outside of the influence of "parents" who have chosen for whatever reason, and under whatever stresses life has sent their way the lifestyle of same-gender "parenting."
I see the policy as a generous consideration of an all-knowing and infinitely loving Father who kindly adjusts, for the benefit of those who find themselves in circumstances they did not create.
Just a thought that came to me when the policy was announced those number of months ago.
Thank you for your blog.
With deep admiration for the musical gift you give to the world by participating with The Choir.