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John C just wrote a post on BCC that is excellent in addressing why he can stay actively involved in the Church despite its flaws. Don’t let the opening paragraph turn you off, since it really is a great example of the point he makes in the post and actually is a good model for us to follow with regard to people with whom we have various personality or other issues. “
Pride: How the motivation for most sins has (thusfar) kept me from apostasy” ( http://bycommonconsent.com/2013/01/09/pride-how-the-motivation-for-most-sins-has-thusfar-kept-me-from-apostasy/ My favorite line is the following:
Quote:I also know that God works through me and, while I’m not the worst person on earth,
I’m still all kinds of broken and messed up. If he can work through me, if he will talk to me, if he loves me, then why not someone (anyone) else? Don’t have time to read the whole article right now, but I have to say, that line you quoted is beautiful. Why can’t we see that everyone is a loved child of God and He will work with us despite our weaknesses, whether we believe all the “right” things or not? We are all highly inadequate, just as little children are inadequate to take care of themselves in this world. But God loves us anyway and helps us because He loves us, not because we’ve earned His love by doing and thinking the “right” things. We want to place boundaries on God’s love, drawing lines and saying these are the things that will earn you favor in the Lord’s sight and these are the things that will make Him mad at you. Maybe He loves us all no matter what and the only thing that makes a difference in how we experience His blessings is how close we are to Him.
Great article. I much enjoyed this from the first comment.
Quote:Faith is a decision that most of us make to believe in God and move forward with hope and belief that, in the end, he manages his Church and our experiences in a way that will help us become what we are meant to be.
Realizing and really internalizing that the church is run by flawed men (and women) is what I have really been focusing on as a way to “keep the faith.” The hardest thing I find is not being overly critical by doing so..Great post, but I have to say that I really like John Dehlin and his approach. I find JD very inspirational but I’m sure he has he’s flaws also. I don’t have a problem with people in leadership having weaknesses or if they make mistakes but I don’t like it when they try to cover up or lie about their mistakes. That’s the whole thing with church history or blacks and the priesthood, etc, I just want the church or the leaders to man up and then let’s move on. I was thinking about something else last night that kind of goes along the same line. When we give a blessing to our babies, we are suppose to use inspiration but all the blessing are kind of the same. Good health, example to siblings, go on mission, get married in the temple and so forth. I said all the same things and I felt good about them at the time, but not one of my kids are active and 4 out of 5 have some pretty bad health issues. They were raised in the church and we did most of the things we were suppose to do as a family. So is a baby blessing just a wish list? Was I not inspired? Is it Sh%% happens sometimes and that’s just life? May it’s because we are all flawed and that’s just the way it’s going to be. I think it’s a combination of all of the above.
Anyway, I enjoyed the article.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ [Matt 25:34-36, NIV]
I had doubts and needed love, and you put your arms around me and told me I belonged.Good article.
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