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Is it right that in a temple recommend interview, we are asked, “do you support or affiliate with any organizations or people who oppose the church?” (I know those aren’t the exact words, but you know what I’m talking about) Seems kinda totalitarian and cultish, just sayin. I wish they would change the word “church” to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. To Them is where my loyalty lies, not the church.
Besides, I’m too young to be surrendering my unconditional loyalty to any organization so early in life.
Quote:Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
In my opinion this is just a very poorly worded question. I believe what they are trying to ask is a “conflict of interest” question. For example if you are actively involved in a group that practices polygamy or in a group that is actively attacking the church then you have a “conflict of interest”.
It is possible that you feel these groups are inline with Heavenly Father, but if you are actively involved or officially affiliated with something that is in direct opposition to the LDS church, then I think it makes sense that you would not be attending the temple.
However, yes, I absolutely agree that the wording should be changed. The way it is worded now it makes it sound like you are supposed to shun someone who is not living the commandments or who has left the church.
Also, if you are concerned with the commitment that this requires, you definitely should understand what the promises are that you make in the temple before attending – because those are arguably as you say “kind totalitarian and cultish”.
@Ray As we were discussing in another thread – so here’s a perfect example of why I find the wording of a couple of the temple questions to be problematic
but if we know the question is about loyalty, then we answer it how we feel about the issue, true? personally, I am loyal to my tribe. I can be critical of my tribe, but to be opposed goes over the line.
An example. Sonja Johnson of the 70s ERA fame actively advocated passage of the ERA, while the Church leaders allied with Phyllis Shaffley against it. She was quite vocal, and I agreed with her — it was a significant issue. At one point, she advocated that non-LDS should turn away the missionaries as a statement against the brethren and their position on the ERA. She was quickly excommunicated.
And I think the church was right in doing so. I think that when Sonja went over the line to advocate against missionary work, she chose to openly oppose one of the primary missions of the church, she crossed over the line toward disloyalty.
She also completely lost her ability to influence church members by crossing that line. And that is sad.
On the other hand, Michael Quinn has always been loyal to the church, albeit critical of church history coverup. I believe the Church crossed the line in excommunicating him, because he was and continues to be quite loyal.
I tried to look at this one fairly….I realize that in my professional life that if I was also working for a competitor, this would cause problems with my current company. So, I don’t object to organizations wanting a certain amount of loyalty to protect themselves. However, I also believe there are lots of ways our church goes a bit too far with furthing its own aims. However, this question isn’t one of them.
Here is the thread where we discussed exactly that issue. I would suggest reading it and the comments: wayfarer wrote:personally, I am loyal to my tribe. I can be critical of my tribe, but to be opposed goes over the line.
+1
I’ve been batting this question of loyalty around in my mind for the past 6 months or so. While there are positions the Church has taken (particularly on social issues such as SS marriage) that I disagree with, I’ve bristled at the external criticism. Perhaps it’s as the Democrats said of LBJ in the sixties: “He may be an SOB, but he’s
OURSOB!.” Finally, I’ve come down to this: To whom do I owe my loyalty, if not my “tribe”? I’m a Mormon, I was raised in a Mormon family, I went to school with Mormons, my forefathers (on my paternal side) came across the plains in 1852, and were converted to the Gospel by Joseph Smith’s brother, Samuel. Who I am, to a great extent, has been shaped my the Mormon culture. I simply cannot cast aside my loyalty on a whim. I know tribalism has been the source of much of the world’s conflict (see Syria right now for a prime example), but my loyalty to my Mormon tribe doesn’t cause me to harm any other soul – in fact, it urges me to love them all, regardless of which tribe they belong to. So, as Wayfarer properly notes, I may criticize aspects of my tribe now and then, but I am loyal to it, and I think the tribe rightly requires such loyalty in order to be admitted to its rites and ceremonies.
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