Category: Marriage

Where are the Oracles

When the Holy Ghost leaves, it simply leaves without fanfare or flurry. There is no pronouncement. No drama. The still small voice just goes silent.
 
However, for those with ears to hear and the humility to receive, The Holy Ghost rushes in.
 
God pouring down knowledge upon the heads of the saints has been compared to the mighty rushing waters of the Missouri. But, times have changed since then. Man can attempt to dam the waters for a time, but the relentless waters will find a way to break through somewhere else. And, when men attempt to dam up the living waters, they only damn themselves.
 
In 1960, a group of saints who dared to refuse to follow the leadership of Brigham Young, reorganized themselves, sustained a prophet, and in the intervening time has received nearly a hundred oracles in their D&C, including instructions regarding the proper duty of evangelists, women being called to positions which require priesthood authority, and gay men and women being accepted as equals within the body of Christ.
 
In 1985, a group of gay men and women in Los Angeles dared risk excommunication from the church and ostracism from the the gay Mormon group Affirmation, and dared to ask God for further light and knowledge concerning teaching the Gospel to Gays and Lesbians. What followed was a complete dispensation of Priesthood and dozens of revelations concerning how the Gospel functions in a same-sex environment.
 
Revelation isn’t dead. Not as long as there is at least one Priesthood holder left on earth.

Marriage and the Church

We stand of the verge of achieving full marriage equality for all people in all 50 states. The LDS church has no business excommunicating people who are simply engaging in legal activity. The only possible objection that the church could and should have is fornication or adultery.

In response to this post”

“Here is an essay that rationally speaks to the dilemma of what to do with the future of inclusion of LGBT people in the LDS church. It suggests a middle road of non-prosecution and acceptance, which I wholeheartedly agree with.”

The Church and Same Sex Marriage: The Pastoral Question

This is my response:

I agree, “we should not throw anybody away”, but to characterize gays as “sick” and afford them second-class membership is insidious and wrong.

The choices the author poses are only “hard” because they are rationalizations, and rationalizations are always hard. Doing the right thing is easy, and it has never been easier and more clear cut than over this issue.

When all is said and done, the true test of our righteousness is whether we quality ourselves to move ahead to the next kingdom. The temple teaches us this. The temple also teaches us that if you are not true and faithful to the covenants we take upon ourselves, of our own free will and choice, we will remain in Satan’s power.

There you have it. The choice couldn’t be more clear. Progress, or remain condemned. What you hear over the pulpit doesn’t matter. It’s in the temple, where the real covenants are taught and made, that the rubber hits the road.

So, what exactly is this particular covenant that we take upon ourselves. It is called the Law of Chastity, and in the 1990 Endowment Ceremony, it reads as follows:

“… the Law of Chastity, and to put them under covenant to obey this law, which is, that the daughters of Eve, and the sons of Adam shall have no sexual relations except with their husbands or wives to whom they are legally and lawfully wedded, …”

It doesn’t say the sons of Adam must be married to the daughters of Eve. It specifies only the role of “husband” or “wife”, which are or can-be gender-neutral roles.

What? You never heard this before? How many times have you been to the temple and watched the drama? Seen the actors playing roles? Did it ever occur to you that everybody in the endowment is playing a role. At one point you are to vicariously play the role of Adam or Eve, and at another point you are to take upon yourself the Name of mission of Christ.

The actors are playing roles; they are acting in various offices. Art imitates life.

There’s your doctrinal exposition. Straight out of the temple endowment you have been sleeping through all these years.

Sometimes revelation does not involves something new and unheard of coming down out of heaven. Sometimes revelation means pointing out something that has always been there — right in front of you.

The truth you need to know is often in plain sight.

The Rational (and Revealed) Basis for Same-sex Marriage in the Church

In response to this post:

“Here is an essay that rationally speaks to the dilemma of what to do with the future of inclusion of LGBT people in the LDS church. It suggests a middle road of non-prosecution and acceptance, which I wholeheartedly agree with.”

The Church and Same Sex Marriage: The Pastoral Question

This is my response:

I agree, “we should not throw anybody away”, but to characterize gays as “sick” and afford them second-class membership is insidious and wrong.

The choices the author poses are only “hard” because they are rationalizations, and rationalizations are always hard. Doing the right thing is easy, and it has never been easier and more clear cut than over this issue.

When all is said and done, the true test of our righteousness is whether we quality ourselves to move ahead to the next kingdom. The temple teaches us this. The temple also teaches us that if you are not true and faithful to the covenants we take upon ourselves, of our own free will and choice, we will remain in Satan’s power.

There you have it. The choice couldn’t be more clear. Progress, or remain condemned. What you hear over the pulpit doesn’t matter. It’s in the temple, where the real covenants are taught and made, that the rubber hits the road.

So, what exactly is this particular covenant that we take upon ourselves. It is called the Law of Chastity, and in the 1990 Endowment Ceremony, it reads as follows:

“… the Law of Chastity, and to put them under covenant to obey this law, which is, that the daughters of Eve, and the sons of Adam shall have no sexual relations except with their husbands or wives to whom they are legally and lawfully wedded, …”

It doesn’t say the sons of Adam must be married to the daughters of Eve. It specifies only the role of “husband” or “wife”, which are or can-be gender-neutral roles.

What? You never heard this before? How many times have you been to the temple and watched the drama? Seen the actors playing roles? Did it ever occur to you that everybody in the endowment is playing a role. At one point you are to vicariously play the role of Adam or Eve, and at another point you are to take upon yourself the Name of mission of Christ.

The actors are playing roles; they are acting in various offices. Art imitates life.

There’s your doctrinal exposition. Straight out of the temple endowment you have been sleeping through all these years.

Sometimes revelation does not involves something new and unheard of coming down out of heaven. Sometimes revelation means pointing out something that has always been there — right in front of you.

The truth you need to know is often in plain sight.

A Missed Opportunity

Gay people on the Internet have often expressed the wish and hope that someday the LDS church will not only recognize same-sex marriage, but seal eternal unions in the temple.

Such union are not possible, nor are they expected to be in the near future. But, if God deaf to these cries? No!

The operative principle here is when a people want to be obedient to the commandments of God, and thereby receive his blessings, but are prevented from doing so by church authorities, God will open another way.

Guess what? God has extended his authority and his permission for people of all orientations to be sealed for time and all eternity. The problem is that people rejected these prophets because they were once part of the LDS church, but were members no longer.

So, until God decides to stretch forth His arm once again, and there are seeking people who once again will reach for it, that opportunity will have to wait for a future time.

In response to somebody who finds faith confusing and contradictory

I thank the church for teaching my about Christ and His Gospel. I thank the church for teaching me the principle of personal revelation. Thanks, church, but I am no longer a child. I can take it from here.
 
I know that anybody who takes this issue directly to God will discover that there is NO conflict. Fallible men who seek authority over others try to interpose themselves between you and God. They teach arbitrary doctrines that have nothing to do with the Gospel, and drive you further from God instead of bringing you closer. There goal is not to enlighten you or empower you. Their goal is to CONTROL you.
 
Well did Christ describe their counterparts in his day. They will not enter the Kingdom of God, but instead block the way so that nobody can enter. Fortunately, they only guard the front entrance, through which only the proud and haughty can enter. The back entrance is the servants’ entrance. It is only available to those who truly humble themselves and seek to be servants and co-workers of God.
 
I find FAITH to be totally rational and not contradictory in the least, but is a straightforward, cohesive path forward from belief to KNOWLEDGE.
 
“Faith” when used to designate a belief in a church is not the true definition of faith as used in the Bible. Faith is something you exercise, not a set of teachings that you just believe. Everywhere in the NT where it says “believe”, a passive verb, the actual Greek word has no English equivalent, but it means to exercise faith. That is the closest equivalent.

The Law of Chastity as of 1990

Many people object to discussing any and all aspects of the LDS Temple Endowment in or out of the temple. While there are specific items which we are under covenant not to divulge, I believe it is important to know and understand the various covenants which participants will take upon themselves in the ceremony.

As I have mentioned in other articles in this blog, it is of utmost importance to our personal salvation and to the salvation of society, that we voluntarily make and keep various covenants. And, in order to make and keep these covenants, we must first understand them. And, in order to understand them, we must first be able to read them.

If it was important for the children of Lehi to have the brass plates in order to have the laws and covenants of God, then it is equally as important for modern-day saints to have access to the written versions of the covenants which they will take upon themselves. To this end, you can search for these on the Internet.

But, this blog will concentrate on one specific covenant — the Law of Chastity.

The Law of Chastity, having to do with marriage, is one of the foundational covenants, as it grounds the marriage and family, which in turn, are the building blocks of society.

Unlike previous versions of this covenant, this covenant does not explicitly state that the daughters of Eve are restricted to sexual relations with their husbands, nor are the sons of Adam restricted to sexual relations with their wives, leaving open the future possibility of the daughters of Eve taking wives, and the sons of Adam taking husbands.

… the Law of Chastity, and to put them under covenant to obey this law, which is, that the daughters of Eve, and the sons of Adam shall have no sexual relations except with their husbands or wives to whom they are legally and lawfully wedded, …

I am assuming that Church authorities read this blog from time to time with interest. They should. And, if they do, they are free to take anything they find here, publish it unaltered, and call it a revelation, with the proviso that they give proper credit for it.

No, not me.

But, taking a negative view of things, once this change in the covenant is pointed out to them, they will hasten to amend the wording yet another time so as to preclude any possibility that two men or two women in a committed, monogamous, and legal relationship actually could be keeping the Law of Chastity.