Mormon Direction

An interesting event happened today at Church. During the sacrament session, there was a fellow walking about nervously in the hallway adjacent to the chapel. Periodically he would stand in the doorway, watch the speaker at the front and then retreat into the hallway again. There was a second male with him, but I did not see him until after the event occurred.

When the congregation began to sing the last hymn, this male went at the front of the congregation and started to preach out loud of how we are following a false prophet as he held his large Bible up above his shoulders for us to see. At that moment the Bishop with his counsellors and without hesitation about 15 priesthood holders approached this man and escorted him out the nearest door.

Apparently, the male walked away toward a Baptist church which was about 2 blocks down the road. At that time I saw the second male hover around the chapel door in the hallway. Within moments, other priesthood members approached that male and escorted him out as well. From what I was told, a similar event recently occurred at the local United church.

In the elders quorum session, we spoke about this event and how much danger this posed to the small children running about in the church which proved disconcerting considering that radical thinking people, as was with that male, endangers the safety of children in the Church. Also mentioned in this discussion that this type of event occurs more often in our Churches located in large cities.

This brought to mind our Articles of Faith and how important those articles are to our faith. The one in particular was,

Articles of Faith
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

This eleventh article of our faith speaks of free will and choice, the right to worship God as we choose. It is no coincidence that Heavenly Father wanted to restore his Church in North America, the land of the free, with the freedom for religion. Think about that for a few minutes. Freedom of religion did not exist in the middle ages because of the Roman Catholic church (Wikipedia-Religious Intolerance). Would God restore his Church as Jesus organized in the New Testament under the heavy handed rule of the bishops found in the Roman Catholic church, or even when Constantine made Christianity his state church under his rule? (Christian State Church ). The importance to have this freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose cannot be overstated, but this freedom does not give any person the right to interfere no matter what right he or she self-proclaims.

When this fellow interrupted the worship hymn, to attack our faith and beliefs as he announced his condemnation against our Church as he held his Bible up, is clearly not a man of God. Tolerance was not part of that man’s faith. Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke on religious tolerance,
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To worship Heavenly Father, is to worship Jesus Christ, and the opposite is true. This is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

We cannot know Heavenly Father without knowing Jesus Christ and we cannot know Jesus Christ without knowing Heavenly Father. Once we truly know one of them we shall know the other. In saying this, the moment people want to claim they know Jesus Christ, ask them if they know Heavenly Father and if they say No, they have lied about knowing Jesus Christ, even if they do not know it is a lie. The reverse is true, if they claim to know God, the Father in Heaven and they deny Jesus Christ, then they have lied, they know nothing of Heavenly Father.

The basis of to know one we must then know the other is why the first vision with Joseph Smith occurred the way it did. Heavenly Father appearing with his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ abides in the gospel because it gives us the very principles which they both live. The appearance of both the Father and Jesus Christ is because one is not without the other. To know or see one, we must be able to see the other. The event of the First Vision with Joseph Smith is a perfect example. It shows Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as separate personages, not one personage emanating as one or the other. Since God cannot lie or mislead, then it is truth as given to Joseph Smith. The same applies when believing in Jesus Christ. In order to believe in Jesus Christ, the belief must also involve Heavenly Father.

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The faith of a Saint, a disciple of God is to live the faith each day. To live this faith means, to be and do what gospel principles teach. A true Saint of God does not compromise these principles because that would be compromising the faith and faith is the single key to open the door to salvation by which all other spiritual works are manifest. Without faith, everything else fails and salvation into the Kingdom of God is lost.

In every aspect of life, a Saint must be a true Saint as best can be, even with all his or her shortcomings. No one is perfect, but the atonement allows us to correct ourselves and take a higher and better direction. That is learning to be godly, which means to live and practice eternal principles of God in our moral and ethical standards of mortal life.

God knows we cannot be perfect in mortal life, at least not perfect in the eternal perfection sense, but in this life, we work toward it. This is the meaning of “working out our salvation”. This is why we must ensure that we think, choose and do the principles of God in our daily lives, be it privately, in a family and in our work place.

Compromising these principles, these values, both ethical and moral is not an option for a Saint. Unfortunately, I have seen too many good hearted Christians do just that, compromise faith sustaining and generating principles. They have succumbed to greed, selfishness, unethical and even immoral behavior. They end up lying, cheating, causing misdirection, undermining, manipulation of others and even compromise their work ethics, all for the benefits of the world. Did not Jesus say if we save ourselves, we loose? (Mark 8:35)

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For sometime, I had trouble understanding a commandment of God, to honour our father and mother. I wondered how to understand this commandment in the face of abusive parents or parents that caused harm in some way. I pondered this for some time and prayed for understanding because to ponder how things would apply in life, in consideration of as many types of circumstances as possible, is important to me. I pondered because I wanted to be able to explain this to a person who had harmful parents. How would a missionary of God be able to address such questions?

I honestly believed that to honour harmful parents was to accept, condone, support or agree with any evil parents are known to do. How could a person, who carries hurt and pain, be able to understand the commandment of honouring their father and mother while addressing the anger in their hearts at the same time?

I know when in emotional or psychological pain, it is hard to comprehend God’s commandment, which in truth, is a very simple principle, because hurt has the tendency to corrupt a person’s ability to perceive this truth. In my own life, I had hard times talking to people who have hurt me without wanting to lash out with my tongue and a hard time understanding God’s commandment to bless our enemies. I understand from my own experiences how hard it will be for a person whose parents caused hurt, especially because a parent is suppose to be loving and supportive, not harmful.

It took time, it took many experiences and personal changes for God to finally enlightened me. When he did provide his inspiration, I knew it was from him and I felt peace, sureness and a confirmation of how to honour the father and mother without ever accepting the evils apparently done.

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