Since last August (when the First Presidency released its (in)famous message to the world about available "vaccines" having been "proven to be both safe and effective" and that we should "follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders"), [1] I've been wondering why the church has never once referenced the Savior, his power, his mercy and more in their public pronouncements regarding Covid.
Despite ample scriptural justifications and examples, the church has never tied the ongoing pandemic to mankind's lack of repentance. Nor has it ever referenced in its messages the gifts of the Spirit nor the Word of Wisdom and its wonderful promises.
So, I concluded in my last post that church leaders have instead chosen to deny God.
This has, in turn, led me to ask God for answers. Why no Jesus? Why no Savior? Why no Master Healer? Why no Gift of Healing? Why no divine hope?
Why is the church ignoring you? Why do they deny you? Why is it - when we need you the most - you're mentioned the least?
And then, the other day, in a social media post stray comment, someone led me to the answer:
The church doesn't need Jesus anymore.
In fact, if you want to be saved in the kingdom of God, you need look no further than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's because…
"Salvation is in the Church, and of the Church, and is obtained only through the Church."
Did you catch that last part - "only through the Church"? As one person who read that phrase said, "I have never heard or was taught this message. It would seem that what is being taught here is not correct. If salvation only comes through a church, then why have a savior? Why not only have a church??"
My thoughts exactly. Now here's the kicker:
This doctrine was pronounced over the pulpit by an apostle in General Conference, published in the Ensign magazine and is currently "Suggested Lesson Material" in a current Institute class ("The Restored Gospel and World Religions").
If you think I'm making this up, here's Elder Mark E. Petersen's April 1973 General Conference talk, "Salvation Comes through the Church":
To me, the main portion of the talk is right at the front:
"When the Savior established his church during his mortal ministry, and as it was further developed by the twelve apostles of that day, one important fact became conspicuously clear, which is: that salvation comes through the Church. It does not come through any separate organization or splinter group nor to any private party as an individual. It comes only through the Church itself as the Lord established it. It was the Church that was organized for the perfecting of the Saints. It was the Church that was given for the work of the ministry. It was the Church that was provided to edify the body of Christ, as Paul explained to the Ephesians. Therefore, it was made clearly manifest that salvation is in the Church, and of the Church, and is obtained only through the Church." (italics added).
In the intervening 49 years since Petersen gave his talk, only one General Authority has dared expound upon the distinction between the church and the Kingdom of God.
The Poelman Modifications Reinforce the Primacy of the Church
In the October 1984 general conference of the LDS Church, Elder Ronald E. Poelman [2] delivered a sermon entitled "The Gospel and the Church". Controversy ensued when the version of his sermon that was published in the November 1984 Ensign magazine differed from the sermon Poelman had delivered orally.
According to Poelman's brother, after Poelman had delivered his sermon, it had been pointed out to him by apostles that the text of his talk might support claims that people do not need the LDS Church. In response, Poelman revised the text of the sermon for publication in the Ensign [3] and re-delivered the edited sermon on film. A "cough track" was included in the re-taping to make it appear that the revised sermon was delivered in front of an audience. [4]
Here are a few of the revisions Poelman "voluntarily" made to his talk:
As you can see, the revisions Poelman "voluntarily" made are so far removed from his original, that I cannot believe for a second that they were "voluntary" "clarifications". All of the revisions turned the "distinctions" between the gospel and church into "harmonies" - a 180-degree turn intended to create greater reliance upon, and fealty to, the church.
Here are more resources re: Poelman's talk:
Side-by-Side textual comparisons:
- https://rationalfaiths.com/changing-the-word-of-god
- http://web.archive.org/web/20071007024635/http://mormonmessenger.org/2002/the-gospel-and-the-churchelder-ronald-e-poelman-of-the-seventy
Analysis
- https://sunstone.org/elder-poelmans-most-famous-speech
- https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/079-50-53.pdf
- http://puremormonism.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-conference-talk-you-never-read_13.html
- http://infantsonthrones.com/a-tale-of-two-poelmans
Oaks: Even your personal spiritual growth Is dependent upon the church
Most recently, Dallin H. Oaks not only reinforced the necessity of the church, but also its role in your personal, individual spiritual development. In his March 2020 Ensign article "The Lord Leads His Church through Prophets and Apostles", he stated:
"Only through an organization can the individual members of what the Apostle Paul called "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27) receive the opportunities they need to achieve the spiritual growth that is the purpose of their creation. And only an organization with different talents and a variety of efforts can achieve what is necessary to accomplish the Lord's work." (italics added)
Did you catch that? Only organizations can accomplish the Lord's work. It's as if Oaks is saying, "[1] Your individual efforts are insufficient to the Lord. And [2] the Lord is incapable of unilaterally gathering people with different talents to accomplish his work. 'ONLY' an organization can do that."
Also, your ability to be sufficiently charitable and be an emissary of the gospel are also dependent upon the church:
"Things that can be accomplished only through organized groups of believers include major efforts to help the poor, to proclaim the gospel in all the world, and to build and maintain temples." (italics added)
Do you also need to be "reproved or chastened for sin and error"? That's right - "Only" a religious organization can pull that off (sorry, God - looks like you're not good enough at this job):
"Individual believers also need to experience religion through a religious organization because only in this way can we be authoritatively reproved or chastened for sin and error. That chastisement is essential for our spiritual growth (see Doctrine and Covenants 136:31; 101:4-5; see also Mosiah 23:21-22)." (italics added)
He went on to quote Neal A. Maxwell, who apparently
"gave another reason for religious or spiritual persons to be organized: 'because random, individual goodness is not enough in the fight against evil.'"
(Hmmm, I thought that was one of the two purposes of mortality - to (individually) gain a body and to (individually) overcome sin).
To summarize: We have almost 50 years of unrelenting teachings, by general authorities, that say your salvation is dependent "only" upon the church.
Now it all makes sense: God isn't mentioned because God isn't needed.
God wasn't mentioned in the August, 2021 Covid message because he wasn't needed.
Repentance hasn't been mentioned in conjunction with Covid because God's forgiveness isn't needed either.
God's Word of Wisdom hasn't been mentioned regarding Covid because we have "the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders" instead.
The Gift of Healing isn't needed because we have "vaccines" which have been "proven to be both safe and effective.".
The Gift of Discernment isn't needed because we have "vax passports."
God's direct intervention isn't needed because we have real priesthood leaders with real keys (who are not known to have healed even one person during the Covid crisis).
This is all fascinating because (as we read in Oaks' talk),
"President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has said: "In today's world, where 24 hours a day television and radio commentators spew forth conflicting opinions, where marketers compete for everything from your money to your vote, there is one clear, unpolluted, unbiased voice that you can always count on. And that is the voice of the living prophet and the apostles. Their only motive is 'the everlasting welfare of your souls' (2 Nephi 2:30)."
And Moroni also said,
"by their works ye shall know them, for if their works be good, then they are good also." [5]
When you combine these two concepts, we see that "the living prophet and the apostles" (the leaders of the aforementioned church upon which your salvation is dependent) ought to be displaying good "works" - especially the work of "the everlasting welfare of your souls."
How's that going?
As I mentioned in my last post, the church is facing some awfully big challenges these days. One of the biggest: a 0.6% growth rate - the worst in both the 20th AND 21st centuries: [6]
If these men can't even reverse a nose-diving growth rate, what makes you think that they have the wherewithal to help manage something as important as your eternal salvation?
If you're shaking your head like I am, then strap in your seatbelt and "eat your vitamin pills".
Coming up: An inside scoop (that is, something that's not been mentioned on the internet yet) into the church's plans to reverse equally declining membership attrition rates.
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Covid Updates "Available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective." "We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders" "We know that protection from the diseases they cause can only be achieved by immunizing a very high percentage of the population." (First Presidency message of Thursday, August 12, 2021) "by their works ye shall know them, for if their works be good, then they are good also." (Moroni 7:5) "That which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually." (Moroni 7:13) "Whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil." (Moroni 7:17) |
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Guess these guys never read Jesus's own words saying that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation because it can't be seen because the kingdom of God is within. (Luke 17: 20-21)
ReplyDeleteThe Church as MEP defines it, is useless for salvation.
The truth is so sad honestly. Christ offers us all of eternity however we instead build up these small insignificant fiefdoms just to have a little power.
ReplyDeleteThis seems relevant:
ReplyDelete"And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;" (2 Nephi 28:5)
I have been noticing much of this same thing. The "doctrine" of follow the prophet or church is not scriptural. In fact they consistently warn and teach us to be agents ourselves and judge and most of all not trust in the arm of flesh.