If any one knew the mind of an apostate (other than Jesus), it would definitely be Joseph:
“When the Prophet had ended telling how he had been treated, Brother Behunin remarked: ‘If I should leave this Church I would not do as those men have done: I would go to some remote place where Mormonism had never been heard of, settle down, and no one would ever learn that I knew anything about it.’
“The great Seer immediately replied: ‘Brother Behunin, you don’t know what you would do. No doubt these men once thought as you do. Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. You could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant.’” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2011), 315–26
Think of the endowment ceremony and what happens when people don't live up to their covenants. Whose power will they be in?
That's such a brilliant quote. A standard apostate ex-mo comment I've seen online is "I was just like you once. I believed everything I was taught, went to church every Sunday, paid my tithing, etc. etc. etc. but then I learned [fill in the blank]." Then they (specifically the online posters) eventually end up mocking and fighting against the church, while denying they are serving any other master but their own "liberated" conscience and intellect. But a slave who denies he's a slave is still a slave.
ReplyDeleteIt's about enduring the trial, I suppose.