If you are a Mormon apostle
you have two objectives in life:
put bluntly and secularly,
they are,
one, protect the Church,
and
two, grow the Church.
Both objectives are under
a new kind of attack.
Not from enemies,
but from a nemesis –
Internet.
Because of this nemesis,
religions have lost their ability
to control their “massage –
message.”
The Mormon Church is no different,
Mormonism has had its history
scrutinized and criticized
as no other religion in American
history,
except maybe for the Catholic
Church . . . anyway it’s been
taken to the woodshed a lot.
Church members have been
exposed to scandal about
their history which has
shocked even the
deeply initiated.
Hard to top Joseph Smith’s
bizarre involvement In polygamy.
Within a short time, he married
young ones ( very young ones),
old ones, already married ones,
in between ones, maybe even
dead ones.
The Mormon apostles have worked
hard to catch up with nemesis’
constant supply of painfully true
messages.
but it’s hard, really hard.
Recently, Church members were
shocked anew. A private Church policy
sent out by the apostles to local Church
leaders worldwide was leaked onto
Internet.
The policy instructed these leaders to search
out, confront, charge, discipline, and
determine excommunication for gays
who were involved in a same sex
marriage.
Worse, the leaders were told to cut off
all children of same sex couples from
being blessed and given a name
(christened), baptized, given the
priesthood, and having the opportunity
to go on a church mission unless at
eighteen years of age they disavow
same sex marriage, and move away
from their gay parents.
Embarrassed by the world’s
negative reaction, the apostles quickly
responded to the leak by having one of
their own interviewed publicly to soften
the insensitive and nativist tone of the
policy.
The apostle was “kinda” (tongue in cheek)
soothing: same sex marriage is a grievous
sin. Those involved are apostates. The children
of these apostates are to be cut off to protect
them from the stress of having to navigate their
activity in the Church.
A more complete explanation
regarding the
children might have read:
The policy Is meant primarily to
protect the Church by sacrificing
the children. And by sacrificing
the children, it indirectly
protects the children.
Protection assumes danger.
These apostates and their
children are considered
a danger to the Church.
The Church is not filled with
members who are
able to see themselves
worshipping with same sex
couples and their children.
The apostles have gone as far
as they think and feel they can
go. If they thought and felt they
could have gone further, they
would have gone further.
They would go further in accepting
same sex couples were it not for
the intolerance of the members.
Really?
Maybe it’s not the
members. We’re not always
the cause of all the faults
that befall the world.
Maybe it’s God who told the
apostles not to accept unclean
same sex couples and their
children.
Really?
I can’t see God making children
outcasts no matter what explanations
are given – at least not the God of the
New Testament, maybe the God of the
Old Testament, but not the New Testament.
Ok, that’s a possibility if the Old Testament
God gave the directive.
At least the apostles have protected the
homeland by supporting state legislation
that guarantees and protects the civil rights
of same sex couples.
But you know the apostles have united with
conservative Christian religions nationwide in
saying no same sex married couples
in their congregations.
The apostles are now sure they
have protected the Church – they
have fulfilled their first mandate
to protect the Church.
The challenge now comes with
the second mandate: grow the
Church.
In protecting the Church
they may not be able to
to grow the Church.
The apostles should ready
themselves to do a lot of
protecting, for there may
not be a lot of growing.
So where am I? All are
welcome at my table. I and
mine need not be protected from
them and theirs.
You ask, how’s the family doing?
Fine thank you. They keep growing.