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We know of good intelligence and bad. We usually equate intelligence with science or some scholarly knowledge about some subject. Intelligence, people believe, is the ability to figure out problems or devise things that no one else cannot. Intelligence is even equated to those who are crafty, smarter than another to overcome obstacles or make intricate plans. Intelligence is even attributed to the ability to figure out the Rubrics Cube on the first try.

There is one intelligence that no one really pays any attention to and in fact would consider this one as foolish or useless. This is because, this particular intelligence does not seek to “gain” something as the other ones will. With the others, there is notoriety, fame, appeal, importance, even financial advantage. The intelligence that speak of here in this article gains none of those things, because the moment you do, it is no longer that intelligence.

I speak about Intelligence of Good. The ability to know true good and exercise it no matter the circumstance.

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Within the Bible, Apostle Peter had said in 2 Peter 1:20, that private interpretation does not qualify as scriptural knowledge nor does it provide the mind of the Lord. Peter continued to say that scriptural knowledge and knowing the mind of the Lord is when a man of God is “moved” by the Holy Ghost.

To be moved by the Holy Ghost clearly sets out the state of mind and heart of a person who receives revelation from God. Since the Holy Ghost does not have a physical body as ours and does not exist in this temporal realm, he then “moves” us from the spiritual realm. The Holy Ghost does this by his power more so than he enters into us, because the Holy Ghost has many people to inspire, even at the same time so he cannot be in one person to inspire and also inspire another a far distance away. Hence he “moves” us by his power which he affect many at the same time. This example was proven in the Bible at the Pentecost, where many were moved by the Holy Ghost at the same time.

Having said that, what then is the value of personal opinion? - There can be only one truth, not many truths and personal opinion has unfortunately been falsely believed as truth.

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Have you had trouble sustaining local church leaders or even anyone of the leaders in the General Authorities of the Church? Some things you dislike or disagree with that held you back from raising your right arm to signify that you sustain them? This kind of issue in our membership is more common than you may think. It was such an issue that concerned the leadership of the Church, they spoke on the matter by making it part of our study books, “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith – Sustaining Those Who Are Called to Preside“. The issue of sustaining those who we disagree with can be quite a challenge, because our personal feelings about the person can be so strong that it disallows us to raise our right hands during the sustaining call and to some, this becomes a problem in their interactions with that person during Church services and classes.

In that study book I listed just above a statement was made that I agree with, it said,

It is a serious wrong in the presence of the Almighty for one to vote to sustain the authorities of the Church and then to go away and oppose them and trample under foot the counsels that they give; and we will be judged of the Lord for it.

In short, this would be called hypocrisy, to claim we sustain them and then oppose them at every turn. I understand that we have the freedom to disagree and have our own viewpoints on matters, maybe even view doctrine a bit differently, but to be hypocritical is a sorry state to be in as it negatively affects personal state of righteousness and worthiness. If there is something about the person that is seriously wrong that the other leaders have overlooked or did not know about, then speak to your Bishop. If the matter is serious enough (means beyond differences of opinion and beyond personal affronts) and the Bishop does nothing or little, go to the Stake President, but this article is not about serious errors, this article addresses those who, at a personal level, feel adverse toward leadership and have trouble sustaining them.

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I have read quite a few statements by ex-members who claim they have seen the light that this Church is false and they spent years believing in the wrong church. Reading their personal accounts I have found an alarming trait with all of them. None have claimed that God told them to leave, not one. 

The beliefs that each of them held, to account for leaving the Church, have centered on some claim that the Church lied, or mistreated them, or that they claimed the Church is false after reading some book or article about some historic account that tainted the Church, etc etc. With that, they professed the Church was false. 

Not one of their claims have originated from the Spirit of God, not one of their beliefs is spiritually based, not one is spiritually justified. Wouldn’t a spiritual basis be the foremost important reason for staying or leaving, knowing that it is only the spiritual that God works in and determines if a church is his?

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 There are some on the Internet that have called Mormons a cult, claiming that the definition of the word “cult” proves it. I read one claim from one person who said that he “pursued the most scholarly, objective approach” and proceeded to show a definition of the word cult according to the Webster Dictionary of 1913. The definition he showed was as follows:

Cult (k?lt) n .[F. culte, L. cultus care, culture, fr. colere to cultivate. Cf. Cultus.]

1. Attentive care; homage; worship.
Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of. thecult or homage which is due to it. Shaftesbury.

2. A system of religious belief and worship.
That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ. Coleridge.

(link:  http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster’s&word=cult&use1913=on&use1828=on target= )

 This particular person specifically used one definition of the word cult to justify his aberrant claims. Was he correct? No he was not and I will show why. 

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Spiritual integrity is a very important principle that Jesus Christ taught. The freedom given by truth is proof that lies are a sin and create bondage. Truth is what allows us to be truly free, allowing us to progress in life and be at peace with ourselves and with others. Peace and love cannot exist in lies and lies cannot make or sustain peace.

This is exactly what Satan wants to do with each of us, promote and propagate lies so we can be blindly or knowingly locked into the bondage of sin. This is one reason that the Father wanted us to become as gods, to know the difference between good and evil. Progression, personal and spiritual development, can only occur with truth, it can never occur with lies.

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Not long ago, I was in conversation with a fellow who quit the Seventh Day Adventist church because he was against it’s membership in the World Counsel of churches (WCC). He claimed that he believes in Jesus Christ, yet he quit his chosen church which preached salvation by the Bible. This saying that he quit what he believed was his chosen church and his means of salvation because of his personal disagreement with his church. 

Our conversation began about the false traditions of other Christians where he spoke of his short findings about the WCC, but when he asked me if I belonged to a church and I told him, his tune quickly changed, hypocrisy and ignorance began to rear it’s ugly head. 

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When I was approached by the LDS missionaries, I felt the Holy Ghost confirm that meeting was important. The Holy Ghost later confirmed that my membership with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was good and true. At no time did I have any concern about any “alledged” immoral actions of other Mormons.  My attendance to this Church was led by the Spirit, not by personal judgements of other people. 

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Ponder the account of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, where he spoke the doctrine of the Father and showed by example the principles of the Father to many in the jewish synagogues. Remember how much resistance he received from the Pharisees who disbelieved those doctrines. For example how the Phariee’s delared Jesus a violator of the Sabbath when he healed a person on that day. Jesus spoke to them “words” telling them “wisdom”, that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. How the Pharisee’s refused to listen, how wicked they were.

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Have you experienced at sometime a person does something or says something, that you feel his or her sincerity? From that sincerity is assurance, a sense of stability and from this, a sense of peace, that all is now fine or resolved?

Have you experienced sometime when someone says something whose outward words appear as sincere or his/her actions by appearance are OK or good, but you do not feel the sincerity? Instead you feel instability, a sense of warning or caution and from this, no sense of peace?

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