Bishop Reel – John Dehlin Thread

[Anonymous]

cwald wrote:

So… What do you see in the near future Ray? Validation or extermination? Surety the church cannot continue to pretend like john dehlin doesn’t exist indefinitely?

Personally I think the public image of the church would be damaged if they took action on JD or any other public “Mormon” personality these days. It would make the church look intolerant and throw a wrench into the “Mormon moment.”

[Anonymous]

DBMormon wrote:

There is no right or wrong answer.

This needs to be said more often in church. Many topics fall into this area.

DBMormon wrote:

Me personally, I am all for Middlewayers being encompassed in the tent of faithful LDS and received in a way that they are not looked down upon, as long as they individually can support the Doctrine of Christ, and other truths as the church stands behind and proclaims and not look to teach gospel hobbies, speculation, or other fringe ideas that sway people their way. Once one does that it is apostacy and should be handled on a case by case basis

I like the idea. We’d have to more clearly identify what is the Doctrine of Christ to know what other things can be tolerated. My experience has been that people in the church seek to take everything said by church leaders as the Doctrine of Christ, because prophets are His representative…and through priesthood keys, that extrapolates out to my bishop wanting no energy drinks to be part of the WoW. Do TBMs have gospel hobbies and speculation they are including in the Doctrine of Christ teachings at Church? Is that OK to do? If so, does that make “middlewayers” second class in some way because they can attend and listen, but they can’t hold positions or teach like the TBMs can?

Pres Uchtdorf warned:

Quote:

there are so many “shoulds” and “should nots” that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.”-Pres Uchtdorf

Which group of people do we think he is talking to with this idea?

[Anonymous]

DBMormon wrote:

Me personally, I am all for Middlewayers being encompassed in the tent of faithful LDS and received in a way that they are not looked down upon, as long as they individually can support the Doctrine of Christ, and other truths as the church stands behind and proclaims and not look to teach gospel hobbies, speculation, or other fringe ideas that sway people their way.

Reading this comment I realized the only way to not let ANY member teach their personal speculations, hobbies or fringe ideas is to whittle down the Doctrine of Christ to the barest of bare bones principles. Is it any wonder that the church seems to be doing just that?

On the other hand I fully support the idea for all members to have a place and opportunity, I don’t know where but I think it would be productive to give all members equal opportunity somewhere to share more of their personal ideas and interpretations. I see good fruits coming from the whole church recognizing a diversity of thought and different ways to approach the central gospel tennents. This would be seen as NOT church doctrine in this space, but personal interpretation and to be taken FWIW.

[Author]

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