It has been a week or so since General Conference. Dare I say I was a little disappointed? Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of great talks. But something was missing...
We have all been taught the "pride cycle" in the Book of Mormon. Humble people are blessed by the Lord and prosper, they become prideful and forget God, God humbles them, it starts over. Generally God used prophets to try and humble his people. The prophets would come and cry repentance. Usually it was not "politically correct" or "gentle" or any other such verbiage. Usually it was sharp, cut to the quick, and made people mad. The following passage of scripture shows exactly how I felt the days leading up to General Conference:
"And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul. Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds. " (Jacob 2:8-9)
Wow - how bad were these people? How bad are we? I would venture a guess that most people would agree that we are in the part of the pride cycle where we are too prideful and need to be called to repentance. I was gearing up and ready to go come General Conference. Bring on the calls to repentance...then it turned out to be one of the more mellow ones of recent memory. Hmm. How bad does it have to get before the priority switches from not hurting peoples feelings to saying it how it is?
Then I started thinking about it? If President Monson were to decide that the world needed to be called to repentance, how would he do it? The prophets in the Book of Mormon did not reserve their speeches for members of the church only, everybody got it. Today, how would everybody get it? A proclamation sent out with the Ensign? No, that wouldn't do it. A video sent virally on the internet? No, that wouldn't do it either. There are no walls to stand on, no real places to go where people will gather around to listen, what could he do? In discussing this with my brother, he decided the reason the church is so interested in technology is so they can take over all the TV stations and broadcast 24/7. May be, but probably not. The missionaries came over for dinner tonight and I asked them, they decided it would be the job of the missionaries. May be. I don't know, so far nothing has convinced me. What could he do? How could the prophet of the world, in our day, call the world to repentance? And just how bad does it have to get before he does it?
15 October 2008
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11 comments:
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Interesting question.
I guess he could become a wildeyed media personality that everyone from Hannity & Combes to Howard Stern wants because he's fun to laugh at and to shoot arrows at. And that does sound a lot like ancient prophets, doesn't it? But I don't see President Monson in that scenario.
Interestingly, I was thinking of the things about which President Hinckley warned a few years ago. I remember him expressly saying that his warnings were not to be understood as a portent of financial disaster. However, does anyone else remember his words about mortgages and debt?
As for getting the word out to all: President Monson could meet with any high ranking government official he wants. I'd suggest you should/would start with the POTUS and since his message would be so grave, that would begin the media avalanche.
My wife came home yesterday after work and told me that people in her office were suggesting that the Latter-Day Saint Church was the source of the funding for California's Prop 8 (Yeah, I'm in California - for better or worse). The common perception people have of the Church is still wrought with fallacy, a fact that continues to baffle me. It is well established knowledge, though, that the Church has called on its members to make extraordinary efforts to get this proposition ratified.
I don't remember the last time the church took such a openly political stance. When the prophet speaks, people hear the noise at the very least - many actually hear the message. I don't think President Monson would have to go to extreme measures to get the word out.
necrodancer-
I agree, when the prophet speaks, members hear. Usually members listen and do something. Take for instance when President Hinckley asked everyone to read the Book of Mormon by the end of that year, massive mormon movement to get it done, but that was an easy one. This whole prop 8 thing has lots of mormons mobilizing to get that done.
What about when prophets ask us to do hard things, like when President Hinckley asked us to double convert baptisms. That didn't happen. Even now, church membership is not very impressive. Here is a book every Ladder Day Saint should read. (My thanks to the LDS Anarchist for pointing it out to me)
So I think the prophet has a pretty good outlet for most active members. What about the other 99.99814% of the world. I realize they won't all get to hear the message, but there has to be some way to penetrate every continent, visit every clime, sweep every country, and sound in every ear.
Correction-
Should have said - church growth is not very impressive - I really have nothing against the members
GA's are to afraid to call it like it is, the members always over react and give the church a bad name.
I was kinda wondering the same thing--where's the chastisement? I could always depend on President Hinckley to give us at least a little loving condemnation in the Priesthood session of any given conference, but President Monson seems to be more about the loving encouragement.
My greatest fear is that we may have passed the time for words and must now be taught by punishment.
The time for words will not pass until the end. The time for words is now.
Very profound observation.
Thank you for that post.
"…until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah will say, ‘The work is done.'"
I believe it is to this end that we are tasked with a great burden to help the Prophet's voice resound to the rest of the world. The mobilization of the LDS members seems to be great when the cause is easy. I perceive such mobilization is far more limited when the purpose extends to sharing the gospel truths with the rest of the world.
Technology will do wonders to teach the believers and bring them to repentance; however, once they've accepted the chastisement, it behooves the adherent to act on that word and to share the warning with his neighbor.
Is everybody fogetting the "Proclamations to the World?" There are no towers surrounding our cities to scream off of, but these men are screaming from the pulpit each conference and we are not listening. Each individual member has the challenge to "warn his neighbor," I think we need to stop looking for a prophet to come and "stand on the wall" and get out there and do the work we are all challenged to do by the Savior Himself!
Anonymous-
I appreciate your zeal but I am a little confused. I mention Proclamations in the post. I do not think a proclamation is a particularly effective way of warning the entire world. That is why we only have one prophet, right, because technology has made it possible for him to cover the whole world.
As far as every individual being charged to "warn his neighbor", I completely agree, but I was only half talking about that. When are the mormons going to get called to repentance. When are we going to hear a statement similar to the one I quoted from Jacob in General Conference ? That is what I am asking. IMHO we are overdue.
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