A Better Way
November 30, 2010 by Terri Pontius
3 Votes
My last Un-blog (Living and Dynamic) generated a few comments and questions that I would like to address briefly. The questions were, when is it appropriate to disobey a church leader whom you suspect is uninspired in what they are telling you.
The greater principle here is that church leaders are not in a position to command and order obedience. For this reason, obedience is not the right word when speaking of the lay member’s responsibility to church leaders. The right word is to sustain.
We are all familiar with D&C 121 in this regard.
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.
The wonderful message of this passage of scripture is that the church cannot be run like a military organization. No influence or power can righteously originate with priesthood leaders. Their task is to persuade with gentleness and meekness, to teach and counsel, not command. Our job is to sustain them in every way possible, which means, as long as their counsel is inspired of God.
There is no top-down chain of command where nobody questions the “orders” coming from above.
There is a top-down line of authority, however, where each level of authority depends upon personal inspiration to interpret and apply the instructions they receive. When this “every level” inspiration is functioning, then mistakes are rarely made. People’s lives are not damaged by edict, and every person depends upon inspiration from God to perform their duties.
When this breaks down, as it occasionally has in localized situations, then the church ceases to function with inspiration. I believe the Mountain Meadows Massacre was just such an event. An uninspired leader made a wrong decision, and many followed him, even when they discerned what they were doing was wrong.
The reason this church is true, and the reason it thrives and grows is because every single individual has the gift of the Holy Ghost, and can discern truth and error for themselves. We “sustain” our leaders because we are similarly inspired by God, and we receive blessings and guidance for our obedience.
We are not being governed or ruled, we are being led by inspired leaders speaking to inspired followers.
There is blind obedience, and there is faith-filled obedience. Blind obedience is rendered without a witness from the Holy Ghost (and hence is blind) to the correctness or error of that which we choose to obey. Blind obedience is what fuels wars and propels waves of young soldiers to kill each other when given any other option, they might sit down and play chess and tell stories of home. Blind obedience is essential to any form of military command, be it boot camp or Armageddon itself.
Faith-filled obedience occurs when the follower receives a witness from the Holy Ghost that the leader is inspired and the counsel is correct. He still does not know the outcome, only that this is the will of God, and therefore will be blessed and guided by inspiration and gifted with eternal blessings.
When the follower does not receive such a witness, then the follower should suspect himself of error first, and make diligent preparations to return to divine favor before choosing to follow or walk away. When the follower has prepared, is prepared, and is receiving revelation on every other walk of their life, and can discern that a leader has erred, then their responsibility is to decline to follow. There is no option to oppose, to rebel, to militate against or counsel others, only to step aside – to personally and quietly decline.
Our chain of loyalty should always be thus:
- First and foremost to Jesus Christ
- The Church as an inspired institution
- General Authorities
- Local leaders
- Local members
What this means is, as an example, if a General Authority gives us an inspired instruction which our local leaders choose not to follow, our responsibility would be to follow the General Authority. This is important because every single dispensation but a very few have fallen into apostasy because they got their loyalties out of alignment. Apostasy has many checks and balances when we keep our loyalties in correct alignment. It has an open road otherwise.
Our ultimate loyalty should always be to our Savior, to His voice and inspiration when and only when we are absolutely sure it originated with Him. To be absolutely sure we must be like Nephi, a righteous man whose life was fully illuminated by revelation, who then sought and obtained multiple confirmations before killing Laban. Nephi chose to kill Laban based solely upon a prompting, which killing certainly was “wrong” by every law and gospel principle Nephi understood. Still, after he was absolutely sure, then he chose to obey and was eternally blessed for his courage. (See 1 Nephi 4:7-18)
Regarding my son and his dilemma on his mission, I am not in a position to judge the rightness of the mission rules. My son was compliant and obedient even when he felt to disagree. My discussion with the mission president led to an inspired course of action – which was to call down a miracle to bless my son for his obedience. Everyone involved kept their loyalties in correct alignment, and a miracle happened.
When I was on my mission and we were taught and even commanded to teach only the lesson plan, and not to interpose our own words or thinking, I found this counsel to be very unfruitful. Over the course of many months of struggling I often felt the presence of the Holy Ghost putting words in my heart, and I resisted them – which was sinful on my part. My loyalties were misaligned. I should not have feared man more than God. (See D&C 3:7-8). When I found the courage to do what was right – another miracle happened, I began to experience success, and my mission president was inspired to encourage me to continue in what I later understood to be the only way to teach the Gospel with power.
When we render faith-filled obedience miracles begin, angels descend and our lives are blessed with joy. When we render blind obedience, we stumble, struggle and are taught by the things which we endure, that there is a better way.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Chain of Loyalty, Obedience, Priesthood, Readers,Revelation, Sustain | 4 Comments
4 Responses
- on December 1, 2010 at 4:31 AM | Kathy MalloryThank you for the clarification. This is very important for everyone to understand. Thank you for taking the time to explain it.
- on December 2, 2010 at 3:01 PM | Amber GurrThis was wonderful and I agree with Kathy that it is very important for people to understand. It reminds me of when I came back to the church and I REALLY wanted to serve a mission–I wanted it with my whole being. A bishop told me in a discouraging tone, because of my past, we would have to petition the first presidency. He didn’t say, if you really feel this is what you want to do, we can petition the first presidency–he just discouraged it. Instead the Lord worked it out and in a couple wards I was called as a ward missionary and I was able to participate in many discussions, a baptism and with my friend/companion give the discussions on our own to a member who was reactivating. To this day I wish I had spoken up and told that bishop that I wanted to go ahead and write that petition. I just hope that when I share that story with the youth it will help save someone else from the same mistake.
- on April 22, 2012 at 11:19 PM | Darren FooteMy son is currently serving in South Africa and a friend shared with me your story of the Book of Mormon translation. I very much enjoyed your memory of this event and the fascinating story. I know the Book of Mormon is true because the Holy Ghost revealed it to me when I was reading it as a young man. I don’t need further evidence and “facts” supporting or against the Book of Mormon cannot alter what I know. A Google search of this brought me to your site. I am enjoying exploring. I appreciated this insight in sustaining. I wanted to share a thought. You noted: ” Nephi chose to kill Laban based solely upon a prompting, which killing certainly was “wrong” by every law and gospel principle Nephi understood. Still, after he was absolutely sure, then he chose to obey and was eternally blessed for his courage. (See 1 Nephi 4:7-18)” In these verses Nephi notes 3 times that Laban was “delivered into his hands.” Exodus 21:13 states: “And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.” Nephi was probably familiar with this scripture from FHE and Sunday School (Saturday School back then?), or from the Brass Plates themselves. It almost seems by the words he used to wanted to let us know that not only was he commanded and responded to take an action he did not want to take, but that it was acceptable within God’s law.
- on April 23, 2012 at 2:53 PM | John M. PontiusI think it is also true that if Nephi felt at all unjustified or unworthy about this event, that he simply would not have recorded it. And if there was some outstanding felony on his ledger he wouldn’t have seen and spoken to God shortly after slaying Laban. It’s all very interesting.And, welcome to the UnBlog,JMP
Trailing Clouds of Glory
December 1, 2010 by Terri Pontius
8 Votes
In the course of my life I was deeply and harshly treated by a stake president. It took over 10 years to overcome the effect of his actions. Some of the fallout dangerously affected my family, one of whom quit coming to church and never returned. But, this isn’t what my story is about.
When this happened I struggled to find my course. The first time I sought the Lord in deep and hurting prayer, I heard a single instruction. It was to “Be Faithful Be Fearless and Be Patient”. At the time I could not fathom how this miniature guidance could be my answer. I wanted a battle plan, a counter attack and an army to back me up. Instead, I was admonished to personal obedience, to jettison fear, and to be patient.
It was the hardest thing I ever did. To be faithful when I wanted to spew venom in every direction was more than I could do. I prayed and begged, and fasted for the ability to obey, and when the peace finally came, I clung to it like a drowning man. By the grace of God I did as instructed and received vast blessings. Ten thousand times I swallowed my pride with a great deal of effort, and walked in the light I was given. In time, it proved to be the only guidance I needed. His actions were only a part of my gethsemane, and the flames billowed around me treatening to destroy everything I loved. In time miracles occurred, the heavens opened and I received 100 fold more than I lost. Considering the vastness of the blessings that flowed from this fiery trial, it was well worth the price – and way too harsh to want to repeat. But, still I digress.
About 20 years after this event, long after I had recovered all that had been lost, he passed away. Because I had chosen to be faithful, to not resist, to not fight or counter attack (like I wanted to!), I retained love in my heart for this man, and he for me. When he died he asked in his will that I play the music for his funeral. He always loved my organ and piano playing, and often asked the brethren, or the conference to sing a song again because he loved it, and because he felt we could sing with greater enthusiasm, or just greater volume. He once instructed me from the pulpit to “this time, push the organ pedal all the way down.” I nodded, and did for a second or two. The glorious sound the brethren made that night was actually beyond the threshold of pain. I have never heard anything to compare since.
I readily accepted the request and played for his funeral. I played 30 minutes before and after the service, as well as all of the hymns. When it was time for the actual service I walked off of the stand and sat in the congregation. There was a lot of well-earned praise for his life, and lots of music that he loved. I was enjoying the experience when something very unexpected happened.
I looked up and saw this brother walking toward me. It was apparent to me that I was seeing him with spiritual eyes, but he looked exactly as I remembered him. He sat beside me on the bench and turned to face me.
“I asked for and received permission to come back and ask for your forgiveness,” he said.
I was too amazed to be gracious I guess, and replied in my mind, “Isn’t it a little too late for that?”
He shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I just did not realize until after I had died that I had injured you so severely, and so unjustly. I am ashamed of what I did. I can’t progress further without your forgiveness,” he said with deep seriousness.
I felt tears coming to my eyes as my heart filled with the only feeling I have ever had for him. I loved him through all of the nonsense that occurred. “I was never angry at you,” I said.
“I know, but I was wrong. Please forgive me,” he asked again.
“You have my forgiveness with all of my heart,” I replied in my heart and mind.
He smiled and nodded as he vanished from my spiritual eyes. A feeling of love and peace swept through me which remained for a long while afterward.
This event was startling and unexpected. It was unexpected because I did not feel that he owed me an apology, or that I had yet to forgive him. The reason for his coming was more startling to me than actually seeing him. I felt then, and I feel now that what happened all those years ago was a fruitful event in my life – and I received blessings I probably could not have obtained any other way.
I have wondered many times at the mercy that allowed him to come to me. I can only think that his great and good life justified his receiving this extraordinary and rare opportunity. It also marvels me that it was necessary, that somehow he could not progress without asking for my forgiveness – because he already had it, long ago. I have pondered this now for many years. I confess that I still don’t understand it.
More than anything else, this happening tells me that there is a very real life beyond this one, that we go back to God trailing clouds of glory and tracking the mud of mortality upon the carpets of heaven. If we are faithful and true, it appears that sometimes we are handed a broom and given the opportunity clean up.
Brother John
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3 Responses
- Thank you so much for the spirit that you always write with. I hear of so many people who leave the church because of people and it’s wonderful that you were able to use your experience for learning and become stronger from it. Always a joy to read your posts and I hope I get lots of people turned on to it.
- You are an angel.
- on June 29, 2012 at 12:16 PM | ReplyKevinWhat a great post. I am reading the book “Trailing Clouds of Glory” and it is full of stories just like this. I highly recommend it.
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