No Coincidences

Tag: policy

  • Agency and Mistakes: Was Brigham Young Wrong?

    Agency and Mistakes: Was Brigham Young Wrong?

    Let’s start with an assumption.

    What if Brigham Young incorrectly instituted the practice of the priesthood ban for black people?

    We always think in this way that God can do anything, however He wants to. Why didn’t He fix the priesthood ban for blacks issue immediately after Brigham Young if it was in fact a mistake by Brigham Young?

    We sometimes neglect to think that, if God were to fix things however He wants to, that would likely supersede our agency. This whole life is about us making choices. It would be a problem if God started correcting everything on this earth, especially with our many mistakes and shortcomings as mortals. It was never in God’s plan to supersede our agency, that was Lucifer’s plan.

    But let’s take a bigger perspective on this.

    What if God did correct this issue of black men not receiving the priesthood in the 1800s and early 1900s? What if He corrected it an eternity ago, when He created the Plan? God’s plan is perfect. God doesn’t always fix things the way we think He should fix things. In fact, He probably never fixes things the way we think they should be fixed. That’s what makes Him God and us tiny mortals trying with all our might to be like Him, but inevitably falling short.

    God’s Plan was established well before black men were denied the priesthood through Earth’s late 19th and early 20th centuries. His plan allows all those who would have faithfully accepted the priesthood while in this life to lose out on nothing. This is in precisely the same way His plan accounts for His countless children who didn’t have access to the saving ordinances of the Gospel in life, whether that be due to the gospel not being present on earth, never hearing about it, or a child dying before reaching the age of accountability. God’s plan is perfect. He’s already thought it through. I assume those who have an issue with the delay in the Church allowing black men to have the priesthood also have an issue with the tens of millions of infant deaths each year. In that case, your issue is with your faith in God, not in any church policy.

    I understand that these things are hard to understand while here. Some reading this may respond, “Yes, that’s precisely the issue I have: That many noble and worthy men weren’t allowed the priesthood and the millions of innocent children that die unfairly.” I understand this challenge. This is where faith comes in. I have faith in God, His Plan, His love, and that He will make all these things we don’t understand right. If we don’t have faith in those things, then yes, God is a monster that we should not worship. The God I know loves us and one day all these things will be understood.

    Something to us, here, simple and short-minded on earth, that looks like a huge mistake – it’s not a mistake to God. All those who couldn’t get the priesthood due to an incorrect policy will receive it.

    What if Brigham Young did make a mistake and what if the Church really would have collapsed if that mistake was corrected in the 1860s? THEN God’s church wouldn’t be on the earth. That seems like a real mistake. Again, God has thought these things through.

    We have an example of this principle in the policy change instituted by Wilford Woodruff banning plural marriage. In Official Declaration 1 of 1890, now in the Doctrine and Covenants, Wilford Woodruff says,

    “The question is this: Which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty millions of people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the heads of families in the Church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice); or, after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?

    “The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, you would have had no use for … any of the men in this temple at Logan; for all ordinances would be stopped throughout the land of Zion. Confusion would reign throughout Israel, and many men would be made prisoners. This trouble would have come upon the whole Church, and we should have been compelled to stop the practice. Now, the question is, whether it should be stopped in this manner, or in the way the Lord has manifested to us, and leave our Prophets and Apostles and fathers free men, and the temples in the hands of the people, so that the dead may be redeemed.”

    Sometimes we live with this thinking that God can do whatever so why doesn’t He? This, I think, is the basis of so many losing faith in Him. I look forward to the day when we are all reminded that we came to earth willingly, that we knew the Plan, and that we were eternally grateful for the opportunity to have freedom of choice and to learn right from wrong, away from Him (God), where it was completely up to us to make choices.

    Again, we fall into this thinking, I think, that God can do anything He wants however He wants. Maybe. But God still works through us. God still gives us our agency. God still lives by laws. God said He allows plural marriage in the case where he wants to raise a righteous generation unto Himself (Jacob 2). What would we have had God do if He needed to grow the church membership in one generation? Import a couple hundred thousand men and women from space? The answer is – God works with us. He works within the world He has given us.

    God allows us the bounds to make mistakes. Within those mistakes, God’s Plan works. I have faith in the truth of that. God takes our worst, and it becomes part of the Plan. He prefers our best, but He knows us better than we know ourselves.

    On the question of if Brigham Young did make a mistake – again, maybe the answer is yes, but I will refer again to the Official Declaration 1 – this was Wilford Woodruff speaking, “The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God” (emphasis added).

    It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God.  

    I believe in giving God all the power we actually try to take away from His power. God doesn’t watch things unfold her and go, “Oh crap, I need a righteous generation, let’s implement polygamy.”  Or, “Oh man, Brigham isn’t listening, this is bad.” This was worked out long ago. Just because we don’t like the way God did things makes it all the more likely He did it perfectly, because we are dumb, and so limited in our view. We cannot comprehend the workings of God.

    Did Brigham Young make a mistake? I don’t know.

    I know who didn’t make a mistake. That’s where I put my faith.

  • Policy

    Policy

    I want to write about what I learned when I struggled with something at church.  I apologize for not going into specifics because I don’t want that to be the point.  I want to write about what I learned from my struggle.  To be clear, it was not a faith crisis.  It was a policy/decision that I struggled with.  I think almost all of us can relate to this for some topic, to some extent. 

    The first thing I learned is that God will speak peace to us, if we need it and if we can accept it.  In my case I was questioning something and asking myself, “was that right?”  I was pretty worked up about it.  I was upset and confused.  At some point, I stopped thinking about it.  At the time I didn’t realize what was happening.  I somehow moved on.  I came to a feeling of peace about it. Initially, I attributed it to my general lack of caring about things I can’t control.  But then it worked itself out, or God worked it out, and I look back and realize He spoke peace to me.  I can almost hear Him, “Peace, my son.  Don’t you know my hand is in these things?  Don’t you know I will care for my children?  Have faith.”

    I believe God blessed and helped me.  I believe the Holy Ghost spoke peace to my soul.  I didn’t ask for it.  I didn’t even question it.  Maybe I showed a fraction of faith and God rewarded me with peace.  I more think He loves me and gave me that peace because I needed it.  Either way it became a non-issue for me.  Things would work out. 

    But, no matter our faults or potential mistakes, God will make things happen the way they need to happen.

    I learned an important lesson.  Despite how I think things should go or how I think things should be done, God has an order to His church.  Decisions are made by those in authority.  End of story.  Satan ended up where he was because he fought God’s authority.

    This gets me into the second thing I learned.

    Throughout history, there have been things that are hard for people to understand.  This has happened since before the restoration of the gospel.  For the entirety of human history, and especially Christ’s Church, there have been aspects of it that man couldn’t understand, comprehend, or sometimes accept.  We fall into this recency bias where we think we’re the only ones who struggle with church policy.  In Adam’s day, his children had issues with “church policy.”  In Moses’s day the Israelites disagreed with him often.  In Joseph Smith’s day and up to right now with Russell M. Nelson, there are policies that we don’t understand.  This isn’t unique to me.  This is constant throughout the history of man.

    In my opinion, it is okay to question.  The restoration started with a question.  We must be careful with doubt.  Doubt can be a part of faith; in fact, it is a part of faith.  If there weren’t some small part of doubt, it wouldn’t be faith.  It would be something known.  What we must be sure of is that our faith is stronger than our doubt.

    The third thing I’ve always known but have learned to truly appreciate is that our testimony must be based on something sure.  If our testimony is based on Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon, it will all work out. 

    My testimony is built on something much bigger than any policy. 

    My testimony is built on Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, and the Book of Mormon being an inspired and true translation of an ancient book, given to us by God’s hand.  I know these things because I’ve prayed about them.  I know these things because I’ve felt them.  Some recent archaeological discovery is not going to dissuade me from the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  I won’t let some recent finding by society make me doubt things of God.

    I refuse to let my testimony of the important things be shaken by a policy. We must do our best not to get hung up on a moment.   I can’t fully comprehend eternity but I still try to put things into an eternal perspective. The bigger picture is that God guides this church.  It doesn’t mean our issues, doubts, and questions will be resolved today, next week, next month, or even in this life.  But it will get resolved.  I know that.  And if you’re experiencing a faith crisis I would suggest praying.  Don’t always ask for your question to get answered or for it to be “resolved” by your definition.  Ask for peace.  And then be willing to accept that peace and move on.  That’s important.  You will receive peace.  But if you dwell and dwell and dwell on the doubt the peace will leave, Satan will win back his portion.  Have faith that your question will be answered at some point and move forward.  I know that’s easier said than done in many instances. 

    There are so many things I don’t understand.  Faith comes with the hope that I’ll one day understand. 

    I think that’s the lesson to take from this.  God is watching.  He loves us.  Things will work the way they need to.  When we get ourselves worked up, worried, concerned, frustrated, even angry, He can speak peace to our souls if we seek it.  He can speak peace to our souls even if we don’t know how desperately we need it. 

    I’ll end with a quote I heard from a recent meditation:

    “If we can accept that life has changed even though it’s hard, if we can surrender to the fact that all we can do is move on then we won’t experience the same level of stress we would have had we resisted our circumstances.  And if we can remind ourselves that this pain we’re feeling will change, that it will soften… we’ll heal and feel joy again much sooner.  So, in times when there’s nothing that we can do to change our circumstances, in times we feel stressed and uncertain and overwhelmed, the most kind and compassionate thing we can do for ourselves is to surrender to what is.”

    I would add, surrender to God.  If we surrender to Him, He will take care of us.