This week, Rock Waterman was cast out from the LDS church. You can hear interviews with Rock regarding the disciplinary council before it happened and after it happened on podcasts from Mormon Stories. Rock Waterman is known for his blog, Pure Mormonism, which focuses on doctrinal and historical issues. Many of the posts focus on trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in doctrinal issues. The posts often help the reader separate which of the LDS traditions are doctrinal with a scriptural backing and which of these traditions are no more than then traditions of men. He also focuses on helping the reader understand the difference between revelation coming through the Lord and opinion which in some cases may appear as being from God, although it has never been declared as such.
So Rock joins many others who in recent months have been cast out. Rock's leaders told him that he was causing spiritual damage and leading people away from the church because of his blog. So Rock came prepared with dozens of letters from people testifying that they had been helped in and many cases decided to remain with the LDS church due to Rock's efforts. There are a lot of people, who although they see problems within the LDS church, were persuaded by Rock that despite problems it is worth staying in the LDS church and fellowshipping with fellow believers there. So if Rock has been helping so many people stay in the church, why would the church want to cast him out?
To find an answer to this question, I think it is worth considering some of the blog posts that the Stake President singled out during the disciplinary council. In considering these posts, it is useful to consider whether or not the question that the council sought was whether or not they were accurate or in error? Rock has always stated that he is completely willing to make any changes on any of the posts that are shown to be in error. It doesn't appear that Rock has ever been asked to make changes to these posts to correct them. So if they are not in error, what is it about these posts that has the church upset?
The Stake President said that Rock was keeping people from the temple. The three posts he used to show this were "Go Ahead And Skip That Temple Wedding", "Are We Paying Too Much Tithing?", and "Too Bad I Don't Like Beer". At first glance, when looking at the titles of these blogs posts, one may immediately jump to the conclusion that the Stake President is right, and in a way, he is - but there is more to the story.
In the first article, Rock is not saying to not get Sealed in the temple. Rather, he points out that the wedding and the sealing are two different things and that in the early days of the church the difference was understood. There used to be a section in the D&C that indicated that weddings should be done in public. There are good reasons for this which Rock covers in the article. Bottom line though is that the goal of this article is not to discourage people from being sealed in the temple.
In the second article, Rock points out the changes that have happened to the original commandment given in scripture and why these changes can and do cause real world harm. This article is not discouraging people from paying tithing, rather, it is encouraging people to do so as commanded by the Lord.
In the third article, Rock discusses the history of the word of wisdom in relation to beer and how beer was never part of it and can be shown to actually be prescribed in verse 17. There is no call here to abandon the word of wisdom, rather, it is to understand it better and our own history in relation to it.
Here is the main point I wish to make regarding these articles. Any LDS member could read these articles, come to a better understanding of the principles involved, make decisions in their lives based on their changed understanding - and still be worthy to attend the temple - at least from a scriptural / doctrinal point of view. So these articles in and of themselves don't keep people from the temple - at least in theory.
Theory vs. Reality
In theory, any person following these principles should be able to declare themselves worthy of a temple recommend. They are in harmony with what has been given by the Lord on these points. However, the reality is that church policy may prevent someone who is in harmony with these principles from receiving a temple recommend. A church leader may decide that the person is out of harmony with the current policy of the church - even if they are in harmony with the revelations that have been given. The reality of the situation is that many will likely be judged by their church leader based on church policies as defined in the handbook rather than doctrinal principles as defined in the scriptures.
Scriptures vs. Handbook
The LDS church makes no claim that the handbook of instructions is on equal ground with the scriptures. They may claim that the content is inspired but there is no claim that the handbook has been added to the cannon of scriptures and that it should be regarded as the word of God. Despite this, today in the LDS church it is often the case that the handbook of instructions trumps the scriptures. More often than not, leaders today defer to the handbook when making decisions regarding the members worthiness - even if those decisions are not scripturally sound. This pattern of the handbook trumping the scriptures is only getting worse. The leadership training meetings this year are focusing on using the handbook when making decisions. This is so that the integrity of policies and procedures can be maintained. What about seeking the will of the Lord when questions arise? Do we not trust the Lord to guide? In my opinion, a better way of operating would be to use the scriptures and the guidance of the Spirit.
So, back to the question, why would the church want to cast out someone who is teaching truth and who has had a positive impact on so many people so that they have decided to stay with the church?
There was another person who was cast out a couple years ago under similar circumstances. His name is Denver Snuffer. The church was upset with Denver because he had written a book called Passing the Heavenly Gift which discussed some of the difficult issues in church history. Similar to the effect that happened with Rock's blog, there were hundreds of people who decided to stay with the church despite problems because of what Denver had written. Denver has received many letters from people thanking him and testifying of this. When Denver pointed this out to his Stake President, the Stake President asked him what made him think the church would want those kind of people.
Purging the Church of Those Kind of People
The church has become active in casting out a certain type of person that it considers to be apostate. Many of these people have a strong belief in the restoration. They believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. They believe the Book of Mormon to be true. They long for the church to return to its spiritual roots. They seek for purity of doctrine. Many are temple worthy and have lived lives of devoted service within the church for decades.
Who gets to stay? Those who follow the rules of the handbook and accept the teachings of the church in their current state. Members who don't question why the ordinances have changed. Members who don't question authority and members who don't question incorrect doctrine or traditions. They get to stay.
Of course, there are many who are taking a third route - they are just leaving. Rather than face expulsion due to non-compliance, they simply resign.
The scriptures are full of patterns that teach us how God works with his children. One of those patterns is the pattern of being cast out and separation of groups. Many of the old testament prophets were cast out or killed. Lehi was commanded to flee for his life. Nephi was warned to separate himself from his brothers who sought to kill him. Those who believed the words of Alma via Abinadi fled to escape the King Noah. Alma and Amulek taught the people of Ammonihah - the believers were killed and cast out. A missionary effort was undertaken among the Lamanites, the believers were also killed and had to flee for their lives (See Alma 24-25). The Zoramites cast out those who believed the words of Alma.
The pattern repeats over and over thoughout the scriptures and especially in the Book of Mormon. Why is that? What message is this meant to convey to us? I highly recommend reviewing the scripture links above. These make the patterns clear and can help one see the parallels in our day more easily.
Each of us has a choice to make: scriptures vs. handbook, personal revelation vs. following policy, true messengers vs. false prophets, following Christ vs. putting trust in the arm of flesh. Christ is the only source of salvation. Will you be part of the Inn crowd or one of the Stable few who finds Christ? What you choose may cause you to be cast out but may also lead you to the testimony of Christ. (Matthew 10:32, D&C 76:51)
1 Nephi 14
7. For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken
Thank you for this post! It is very sad what is happening. I pray that hearts will be softened and that people will be brave enough to seek the truth, and not be afraid of what the arm of flesh can do to them.
ReplyDeleteSara Schutz