I've been thinking a lot recently about the heated debates going on all around the country regarding California and the proposed amendment to its state constitution which would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman in that state. This is one of the few political issues in which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gotten very involved, because of how important the outcome of this essentially moral decision will be.
I've been surprised to see just how many people around me, who are members of the Church and who profess to believe in a living prophet who speaks with God, who disagree with and don't want to support the proposed amendment as he asks them to. It's kinda sad that they say they believe in a prophet, but as soon as he says something they disagree with, they claim that it must not be from God, because it doesn't fit in with what they think the truth is.
This has reminded me of the early days of the Church and the trials that many of the members went through that tested their faith. The prophet told them to pick up everything and move west, for example, and some chose not to follow. Some decided that this was too hard and that God wouldn't ask them to do such a difficult thing. I thought of the current Prop 8 issue in light of this. We are given our own trials and tough decisions to make and the Lord expects us to do what He asks, to sacrifice our will and accept His, regardless of the difficulty.
Refusing to follow God's chosen servants because they say something that we think may be wrong shows a lack of faith, in my opinion. We should stand strong in supporting God and the men He has chosen to lead us and not allow "the fear of persecution and the cares of the world [to cause us] to reject the word" (D&C 40:2).
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2 comments:
Thank you for your blog post.
I know that sometimes we are asked to do things that we don't completely understand. I also know, however, that President Monson is a prophet of God and that he receives revelation from God for the church. I know that the things he has told California residents regarding proposition 8 is inspired of God and that it is the right thing to do.
I also have learned from this experience that it is important for me to always keep my testimony strong. I know that if I did not have as much faith in the prophet's words, I might have had a hard time with this. This has taught me that it is important to continually read the prophets words and pray about them, not just when something controversial comes up.
I am totally with you Dan. I do not understand how some people can say they believe in the prophet, but don't believe the prophet. You can't just pick the doctrines you like and follow them. Doing so is like making up your own religion to follow instead of the truth God has given us. If we only follow the commandments we like, then it is not obedience; it is just doing what we would have done anyway.
Pertaining to the proposition 8 issue, I find it very significant that the first presidency came out with a very specific statement on the family in 1995. 13 years ago, they knew the truth and are still trying to convince others of it. It is impressive to me that the proclamation on the family came out when it did. It's like the prophet knew beforehand it was an issue that would need to be addressed in the future. I am also thankful for a guided prophet today.
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