I have always enjoyed Truman Madsen’s insight on the Prophet Joseph Smith, as a result of his passion and years of study into Church history and more especially Joseph’s life. We need to make sure that your example is not comparing oranges to apples, using a broad paint brush. Those who truly understand, through study, concerning the Kirkland time period and more importantly the issues surrounding The Kirkland Safety Society’s reason for failure, would have known that many saints during this time period were caught up in making money…at the expense of their fellow members, especially the new converts coming to town. The Prophet warned certain brethren about their practices and even for told of the pending doom, due to risky economic practices. We know that seeking the Kingdom of God first is the true goal, but the Lord allows us the agency to make mistakes. This is how we come to learn and grow, but in Kirkland, it was also a opportunity to sift the wheat from the tares through a humbling/learning process. The Lord was able to prove their loyalty to His servant, the Prophet Joseph, which happened several more times since. Pride goes before the fall and there is much pride in this church today, and even more vigilance on our part to seek the Lord’s guidance. The principles upon which Joseph set up the Kirkland Safety Society were rooted in gospel truths, which espouse Zion like qualities. Contrast today’s issue and the current trend for tolerance and even acceptance for a practice that is wholly and diametrically opposed to plainly taught laws of God. The root of which is all for the sake of (bottom-line money) saving our U.S. approved corporate tax free status, that puts this Church on a slippery slope to destruction. A handful understands that our gross annual tithing receipts would not cover the property taxes on all the church holdings today, which put our leadership in very difficult decisions. Please search this true out for yourself. In the time of King Zedehiah (488 – 477 B.C) the Lord called several prophets to warn His people of the impending doom, namely; Lehi, Jeramiah, Daniel, Joel, Obadiah, Ezekiel to name those we know about. The people’s wickedness and pride, thinking that they could not be destroyed, like the (ten tribes) kingdom to the North, in which they trusted in their leaders, became a serious stumbling block. We learn in 1 Nephi 4:21-27, that Laban, who we learn was a very wicked man and a leader, who could command fifty yea even tens of thousands (1 Nephi 4:1) was out among the elder brethren of the church. Laban was in a key leadership role and held sacred records of the Church. The peoples full out rejection of these warnings and call to repentance left the Lord no other option. Now we know that the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever and He called a successful merchant named Lehi, to do His bidding. I love this Church and pray for our leaders, but will seek the consistencies in the messages as they aligned with scripture. President Packer’s Saturday morning talk rings true as he warns us not to compromise our standards. Policies must be grounded in our Lord’s gospel and we must be ever vigilant against erosion of truth.
I have always enjoyed Truman Madsen’s insight on the Prophet Joseph Smith, as a result of his passion and years of study into Church history and more especially Joseph’s life. We need to make sure that your example is not comparing oranges to apples, using a broad paint brush.
ReplyDeleteThose who truly understand, through study, concerning the Kirkland time period and more importantly the issues surrounding The Kirkland Safety Society’s reason for failure, would have known that many saints during this time period were caught up in making money…at the expense of their fellow members, especially the new converts coming to town. The Prophet warned certain brethren about their practices and even for told of the pending doom, due to risky economic practices. We know that seeking the Kingdom of God first is the true goal, but the Lord allows us the agency to make mistakes. This is how we come to learn and grow, but in Kirkland, it was also a opportunity to sift the wheat from the tares through a humbling/learning process. The Lord was able to prove their loyalty to His servant, the Prophet Joseph, which happened several more times since. Pride goes before the fall and there is much pride in this church today, and even more vigilance on our part to seek the Lord’s guidance.
The principles upon which Joseph set up the Kirkland Safety Society were rooted in gospel truths, which espouse Zion like qualities. Contrast today’s issue and the current trend for tolerance and even acceptance for a practice that is wholly and diametrically opposed to plainly taught laws of God. The root of which is all for the sake of (bottom-line money) saving our U.S. approved corporate tax free status, that puts this Church on a slippery slope to destruction. A handful understands that our gross annual tithing receipts would not cover the property taxes on all the church holdings today, which put our leadership in very difficult decisions. Please search this true out for yourself.
In the time of King Zedehiah (488 – 477 B.C) the Lord called several prophets to warn His people of the impending doom, namely; Lehi, Jeramiah, Daniel, Joel, Obadiah, Ezekiel to name those we know about. The people’s wickedness and pride, thinking that they could not be destroyed, like the (ten tribes) kingdom to the North, in which they trusted in their leaders, became a serious stumbling block. We learn in 1 Nephi 4:21-27, that Laban, who we learn was a very wicked man and a leader, who could command fifty yea even tens of thousands (1 Nephi 4:1) was out among the elder brethren of the church. Laban was in a key leadership role and held sacred records of the Church.
The peoples full out rejection of these warnings and call to repentance left the Lord no other option. Now we know that the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever and He called a successful merchant named Lehi, to do His bidding.
I love this Church and pray for our leaders, but will seek the consistencies in the messages as they aligned with scripture. President Packer’s Saturday morning talk rings true as he warns us not to compromise our standards. Policies must be grounded in our Lord’s gospel and we must be ever vigilant against erosion of truth.