When the leaders of this wonderful church urge us or recommend something, they are doing their duty of warning, preaching, and seeking to help us in this difficult world. My agreement with their counsel always includes my personal study, prayer, and personal revelation. Individual answers are all around each of us, and the Lord will guide us based on our faith, research, and study to know what is right. Personal revelation is most important as it comes directly from God. We must be careful to not be deceived as Satan wants us to choose wrong. I believe the Lord has given us freedom for an important reason. It really is totally up to us to choose right from wrong. Seldom will the Lord intervene with a type of miracle or with something we can work out on our own. In order to become more like He is, we much go through many of the things that eternal Gods have already gone through. When and if God intervenes in our life, it would be a blessing but it should not be expected.
How we Handle Tragedy and Success
I have read a little on this Christian man named Jeremy Myers’ site, and I definitely don’t agree with all of his doctrine, but I came upon his article entitled, God’s Policy of Non-Intervention and it made a lot of sense to me. I have always believed that our true test on earth is how we handle tragedy and success. I have a wonderful Aunt who always said to me, “when I’m not having a trial is when I most worry.” Meaning, that she learns from trials and only through trials and overcoming them is how we grow in this life. Instead of saying during a trial, “why did this happen”, say, “Help me Lord figure out what I am supposed to learn from this trial, and give me strength to overcome.”
This author Jeremy said, “Lots of people are enslaved by religion and don’t even know it. They think they are following God, but in reality, they are under the influence of religious rules, regulations, and requirements that have less to do with God than with some person’s attempt to gain cash, credit, or control for themselves.” I understand his point, but if he means we don’t need our leaders spiritual direction or guidance according to doctrine, then I disagree with him. As members of the true Church of Jesus Christ, we know our Prophet is inspired and he is a Prophet of the Living Christ, so it is much easier for we in our Church to understand our Prophet and the Apostles guidance.
Support Our Leaders
Of course we don’t believe our leaders are perfect and they tell us that as well. It’ hard however for me to imagine one of the 15 Brethren even making a small mistake, but I know it can and does happen. Elder Oaks said, “In order to perform their personal ministries, Church leaders cannot be suspicious and questioning of each of the hundreds of people they meet each year. Ministers of the gospel function best in an atmosphere of trust and love. In that kind of atmosphere, they fail to detect a few deceivers, but that is the price they pay to increase their effectiveness in counseling, comforting, and blessing the hundreds of honest and sincere people they see. It is better for a Church leader to be occasionally disappointed than to be constantly suspicious.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1987/10/recent-events-involving-church-history-and-forged-documents?lang=eng
J. Reuben Clark Jr., First Counselor in the First Presidency, 7 Oct. 1944 said, “I tell you we are beginning to follow along the course of the early Christian church. So long as that church was persecuted from without, it prospered, but when it began to be polluted from within, the church began to wither. There is creeping into our midst, and I warn you brethren about it, and I urge you to meet it, a great host of sectarian doctrines that have no place amongst us. The gospel in its simplicity, is to be found in the revelations, the teachings of the Prophet and the early leaders of the Church.” (In One Hundred Fifteenth Semi-annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[Conference Report, October 1944]
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God’s Policy of Non-Intervention
“Before we can look at specific Bible passages regarding the violence of God in Scripture, it is important to develop a framework which helps us understand what is going on within and behind these violent texts. I have six points of this framework, which I call “Choas Theory.”
The first point of this Chaos Theory is this:
God’s Policy of Non-Intervention
The first principle to recognize about the violent events that happen in this world, whether they are naturally occurring events such as earthquakes and tsunamis or man-caused events like war and terrorism, is that none of these are caused by God. God does not orchestrate suffering, cause death, send storms, destroy lives, or bring about death. He allows these things, He even uses these things toward His good ends, but He does not cause them.
In the Beginning…
In the beginning, God set up a universe with genuinely free creatures, which can truly impact their surroundings—for good or for evil. The reason God did this is because if God wanted real relationship with His creatures, ones He could love and who could love Him in return, there was no other way to do it. Relational love, if it is to be real love, must be free love. Love that is forced is not love; but something closer to psychological rape. Real love cannot force itself on others; nor can it force others to love in return.
Since God wanted true and genuine love with us, He gave us true and genuine freedom. God knew the risks of such a gift. In fact, based on His divine foreknowledge and His experience with the rebellion of the angels, God knew that His gift of freedom to humanity would likely result in our rebellion as well. And it did. But when Adam and Eve sinned, God did not step in to stop them. To do so would have been to deny their genuine freedom. Freedom isn’t freedom if God stepped in to stop things when freedom is used in wrong ways.
Like it or not, just as this was true of God letting Adam and Eve use their freedom as they did, it is also true of God letting each and every person on planet earth use their freedom as they will. Just as God did not stop Adam and Eve, He does not stop us from saying mean things to our spouses, cheating on our taxes, overeating, or letting a curse word slip every now and then. Nor does He stop murderers, thieves, rapists, and child molesters. We wish He would, but once God intervenes in the freedom He has given, it is no longer freedom. For God, freedom is worth the cost.
God Wants Freedom to Remain Free
This is what I call God’s policy of non-intervention. Because God has given freedom, He chooses to not intervene when we use this freedom in sinful and evil ways. In fact, He cannot interfere and allow freedom to remain free.
Maybe this is too strongly stated. It is not that God doesn’t intervene; He does intervene, probably more than we know. He just doesn’t intervene at the times we wish He would or in the ways we think He should. “If God’s role in the world was that of a perpetual Mr. Fixit, it has not, to say the least, been particularly self-evident” (Capon, Romance of the Word, 189). And when God does finally show up to “fix things,” it is not like Zeus—with thunder in His footsteps and lightning in His fists (as one Christian worship song so gleefully claims)—but with nails through His feet and hands and a spear through His side. “When the invisible hand that holds the stars finally does its triumphant restoring thing, it does nothing at all but hang there and bleed” (Capon, Romance of the Word, 221).
God is Involved, But Not In Ways We Expect
All of this reveals that when it comes to managing the world, either God does not seem to be doing much at all, or (more likely) God’s way of guiding and managing the universe does not look at all the way we expect or want. He gives freedom to His creatures, and then lets them live within the limits of their freedom, and only rarely intervenes or interferes. When He does interfere, it is only in ways we usually cannot see, or in response to our requests.
This first principle of the chaos theory helps us see that when evil things happen, it is not because God is causing them, nor is it because God was powerless to stop them. Quite to the contrary, God used His immense power to give genuine and real freedom to humans, and often, the evil things that happen are a result of our misuse and abuse of that freedom. God does not stop these actions because God cannot do so and still allow freedom to be free…” Jeremy Myers
I will always strive to follow the Prophet’s doctrine and revelations and church talks etc. But If I want personal answers I shouldn’t just depend on them, or even on my Bishop. The Lord needs leaders not followers. I will make up my own mind on things that are not doctrine or things that the Brethren really don’t have time to study, or they just give their opinion on. They don’t know everything, and they shouldn’t, why should we hold them to a standard that is impossible for a human?
Recognizing and Receiving Personal Revelation
Since The Church has had “virtual” General Conference and limited travel by General Authorities, due to the Pandemic, members of the Quorum of The Twelve have been teaching a common theme; how to recognize and receive personal revelation, this being the current by Elder D. Todd Christofferson: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/inspiration/i-hear-him-through-prayer-pondering-and-trusting-in-him?lang=eng
This is due, possibly from Pres. Nelson stating, before the Pandemic, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/heed-warnings-from-president-nelson-a-modern-day-watchman-on-the-tower?lang=eng
“Belief in prophets and apostles at the head of the Church does not mean that members blindly follow their leaders. While the prophet of God receives revelation and inspiration to guide the Church as a whole, revelation flows at every level, including to the leaders of congregations and to individual families and members. In fact, individual members are expected to seek that kind of divine guidance to help them in their own lives, in their responsibilities in the Church and even in temporal pursuits, including their occupations. Members are also expected to prayerfully seek their own “testimony” or conviction of the principles their leaders teach them. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/modern-prophets-and-continuing-revelation?fbclid=IwAR3PcuLglKsRNLIqfWeHiD3e3WZ9_cQxyJMZ5nRoVRISLpcBIyR6uADDw
I agree with the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., along with our current Prophet, Russell M. Nelson. I love them both and I know this Church is true and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I realize that when the Prophet gives a revelation, it becomes doctrine, and I will always follow it as led by the Spirit. When the Leaders of the Church urge us or recommend something, they are doing their duty of warning, preaching, and trying to help us in this difficult world. Individual answers are all around each of us, and the Lord will guide us based on our faith, research, and study to know what is right. Personal revelation is most important as it comes from God. However, we must be hesitant to share personal revelation as if we are speaking for the Church or any other individual or Church leader. We are all accountable to Christ individually, not collectively.” Rian Nelson
Beautiful Comments by Kimberly Smith
“Many people and churches accuse us of being a cult for believing in a living prophet. Of course, they don’t fully understand that prophets are a blessing from God and have always been his mouthpiece to guide his children, especially in times when the people were extremely wicked and did not have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
But the difference between a prophet and cult leader (aside from the obvious calling from God) is that a prophet will tell you his message and encourage you to seek the guidance from the Lord. Whereas a cult leader expects and often demands absolute loyalty to his words.
Obviously, we all know that our beloved prophet has offered his guidance and support in regard to the ‘thingy’. But he very carefully stated that it should be a decision between you, your medical advisor, and the Lord.
However, it has become abundantly clear that many members of our church have fallen victim to a cult mindset. After this past year, and some very disturbing comments under Elder Holland’s recent message I realized how bad it truly is. That many in our church would willingly “poke” or poison themselves without thought purely on the basis that the Prophet “said to”. As upsetting as this realization was, it quickly opened my mind to the immense opportunity we have before us, to encourage and develop spiritual growth within ourselves and our church. We have so much to do you guys!
I think our prophet and the Lord’s apostles know this; they’ve been trying to teach this principle for a long time. That personal relationship with the Savior takes work! A cult mindset really does not. It is a lazy path. We have a duty to help our families and friends recognize the true role of the prophet and our relationship with our Savior.” Kimberly Smith
Come and listen to Kimberly Smith and Hannah Stoddard of the Joseph Smith Foundation at our April 7-9, 2022 BofM Conference: Over 75 Inspirational Speakers and 125 Presentations!
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