How to Stay — 2 new paragraphs

[Anonymous]

I have two new paragraphs for an update to the “How to Stay…” article. These are in response to some requests to include something about these topics. Let me know what you guys think. Are they appropriate? Anything else I could add or work in that might be important to people?

[this will go into the temple recommend section]

Word of Wisdom

Word of Wisdom compliance is one of the strongest contemporary, cultural identifiers related to belonging within Mormonism. Because so much is attached to this dietary law, we highly recommend you move slowly and consider changes carefully. For better or worse, you will find few things with less tolerance than this topic in our religion. It is a very outward, tangible practice related to adherence; which makes it much different than most other areas of faith transition we discus in this article. It is not a matter of simply thinking different. This comes down to potentially acting different.

The Word of Wisdom has an interesting history. Readers may have come across historical stories of early Mormon members and leaders who did not practice the Word of Wisdom as we understand it today, even after it was accepted by the saints as canonized revelation. This may have caused you to question the LDS Church’s current interpretations and minimum standards. Perhaps you simply read D&C 89 and noticed other inconsistencies. Regardless of any controversy, there are many positive aspects to the Word of Wisdom. As a broad concept, it embodies the idea of being healthy, strong and spiritual. It is certainly a good idea to avoid addictions that might sap your strength and even lead you to make other poor decisions. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself physically is its own reward.

The church provides an active and vibrant social environment supportive of “clean living.” This is an uplifting characteristic of our culture. It is an aspect to be valued and applauded. A person can certainly live a whole and productive life without coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. So what is really the harm in that? Even if there is too often a myopic focus on avoiding these “forbidden four” as the totality of Word of Wisdom practice, it does promote a good environment.

The bottom line is this: you are responsible for making good decisions about your health and spirituality. Decide what you want to do. Weigh the pros and cons of your personal practice of the Word of Wisdom. Move slowly making changes, if you decide to make them. If you decide to maintain an orthodox practice of the Word of Wisdom, it will make it socially easier to stay in the church.

[not sure yet where this will go, probably in the are where we discuss how to adapt to fit in]

Priesthood Blessings

For men in the church who experience a crisis of faith, or lose a literal belief in priesthood authority and power, giving priesthood blessings and performing ordinances can be a challenge. We commonly hear concerns from those whose faith has changed, or have doubts, that they feel like they are being dishonest if they serve others without an absolute belief they hold exclusive divine authority or supernatural magic power.

The decision to continue acting in a religious priesthood capacity or not is a deeply personal choice that you will have to make, in a way that you are comfortable living. There really isn’t a single correct answer for everyone making their way through a crisis of faith. Many decide they are not comfortable acting in the role of priesthood holder. That is fine. Perhaps that is the best choice while you sort out your faith and relationship with the church. You can change your mind later. If people in your life are expecting this role from you, find a way to confidently and peacefully tell them you aren’t in the right frame of mind and spirit to do those things right now.

So long as you are a member in good standing, and were ordained by the church, you have religious authority to perform rites as a service to members of the church. You may not see this as an absolute and exclusive authority from God, but it is certainly authority to do so from the organization itself. And the ordinances are not for your benefit, they are a service to the people who want to experience them. It is about their faith, not yours. It is between them and God, not you. This is an alternative way of viewing priesthood ordinances and blessings as a loving service given to your friends and family. The power comes from their faith and desire to make their experience meaningful.

[Anonymous]

Very good.

I might add, “Therefore,” to the beginning of the last paragraph about blessings – and I would add something about how peace and comfort and encouragement can be a powerful part of any blessing, regardless of whether or not healing is promised. I also might include the idea that some people talk about giving many “mundane” blessings where they have no idea if the words were inspired or divine, but they then mention occasional experiences where the words don’t seem to come from them. Experiencing those few moments of obvious divinity is worth participating in many where it just isn’t clear.

[Anonymous]

Looks good. I think it is interesting the recent CHI states one has to be temple worthy to perform priesthood functions like baptisms, doesn’t it? That creates the problem that one who does not live the Word of Wisdom cannot baptize his son/daughter…which makes it something to consider when choosing to live the WoW or not.

Is there a way to include a sentence or something that this should be considered, and that whether I agree with the way the Church teaches D&C89 or not, it is something I just have to accept and deal with if I want to get the ecclesiastic authority (bishop) to allow me to participate in some priesthood things (callings, blessings, ordinations, etc). I may not believe in my new faith that tea has anything to do with spirituality, but I cannot escape the church’s practice and standards around it. I just have to choose to live the Word of Wisdom, or accept I may not be able to do some things in the church. That seems to be the choice, and people should consider that when thinking about any changes to their practice of it. It is a real thing to deal with, even if it may seem like it is low on the totem pole of things one should have to worry about. Sometimes being part of a group is just accepting “it is what it is”.

Now, regarding Priesthood blessings…I think we should address the friction that is caused sometimes in families. Pres Packer taught the importance of retaining these experiences in the family to strengthen those bonds, and that is sometimes overlooked as an important part of the experience. I like the way the paragraph is worded that “it is about them and their faith, not yours.” But we could also add something about a suggestion we look at it as a way to bless our own children and also strengthen our relationships because we love them, and love is what God is all about. If my daughter finds comfort in a blessing and comes to me for that, I may not believe my words will change the universe around her, but I can use the blessing to provide her positive and sincere feelings of hope and also express my love and support to her, and that does invite the spirit of the lord and helps the family relationships. Again, she may have a different faith than me on how she views this experience, but it doesn’t make it wrong or deceitful…just allows an experience between dad and daughter…then we can each take from the experience whatever we choose to take from it that can be positive. I don’t know…I just know sometimes it causes friction because a parent doesn’t know how to handle it based on the kids’ level of faith compared to the new view of faith brought on by a crisis, and sometimes it pushes people to having other members of the ward do the blessings, and then that is sometimes a problem.

Those are my thoughts around the topics…clearly Brian can make it much better and more concise, down to a sentence or two about those thoughts. 😳 (Brian…I don’t know if that helps you or not.)

[Anonymous]

All great suggestions. I’ll probably get another chance over the holidays to focus on this. I’ll do the update soon. Thanks everyone! This is really important and valuable service we give here.

[Author]

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