What is considered disobedience??

[Anonymous]

It’s really too bad that the WoW was declared a commandment despite that not doctrinally being the case. It really didn’t need to be; following the Prohibition would have fallen under the umbrella of “obeying and honoring the law” for those few short years. (That’s a TR question, right?)

I don’t say that because I want to drink coffee and alcohol (though I am curious about what kind of drunk I’d be), but because it acts as such a barrier to new and returning members who are genuinely good people with addictions or “incompatible” habits. Perhaps it weeds out the less serious investigators, but I think requiring 3-6 months of church attendance would do a better job with that. Missionaries just get so hyperfocused on baptism that we dunk people without them really meaning it, then they vanish into thin air because they think they’re saved.

It’s also kinda dumb that alcohol/tobacco/coffee was the only aspect that was commandment-ized. You can eat meat at every meal, rarely eat fruits or vegetables, eat watermelon in December, and still be temple worthy. I find that to be inconsistent. The Cannon center has a meat-based entree at every station besides the dessert station most of the time. I don’t remember the MTC cafeteria, but I think it was about the same.

Personally, instead of making the WoW a commandment, I would rather see a Ward Health Leader be called in wards (especially in areas with obesity issues) to help encourage ward members to eat healthier and exercise and to lead an opt-in diet and exercise group. Let’s practice the real content of the WoW instead of elevating a small part of it to commandment status.

As for the topic at hand… Obedience is a concept I have always struggled with. We’re human, so we suck at it pretty hard. It’s also this annoyingly nebulous concept that encompasses everything from canonical commandments (i.e. things found in the scriptures and temple ceremonies) to rules and policies. What matters are the canonical commandments. Not so say the rules and policies don’t matter, but I think they mostly only apply to temporal matters and are often good ideas, or well-meaning but bad ideas at worst.

I believe as long as you’re not making excuses to break canonical commandments and you act according to your own conscience to the best of your ability, Jesus has your back for anything you missed. The Gospel isn’t about checklists or legalistic rule systems. It never was. It never will be. LDS teaching focuses far too much on works/obedience and far too little on grace. It’s one of those things that mainstream Christianity does better.

[Anonymous]

Why do you think it matters to your spirit or for eternity if you are disobedient? We sometimes worry so much about this rule or that one…maybe we could discuss why it matters?

[Anonymous]

Heber13 wrote:

Why do you think it matters to your spirit or for eternity if you are disobedient? We sometimes worry so much about this rule or that one…maybe we could discuss why it matters?

Some employers don’t care what a person majors in, they may look at a college degree as evidence that a person has developed some level of teamwork and problem solving skills.

Obedience. Obedience to what? Each religion/philosophy could be like a different college major where earning a degree requires learning discipline. In the end learning to problem solve was more important than learning to solve a specific problem.

I can imagine a scenario in heaven, “Congrats, you sure did do a good job of obeying that guy’s list of rules. If you can obey some random schmo’s long list of rules you can probably obey my two rules. Welcome to heaven.”

nibbler: Well, I’m back. I spent my whole life struggling to abstain from tea, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was worth it.

god: Tea? I don’t care about… oh yeah, you’re with the Mormons. Okay… good job. :thumbup:

[Anonymous]

nibbler wrote:

god: Tea? I don’t care about… oh yeah, you’re with the Mormons. Okay… good job. :thumbup:

Awesome!

[Anonymous]

Random person next in line: I drank tea everyday.

God: (what’s with tea today… people keep bringing it up)…I don’t care about tea…oh wait…you were following your tribal customs and traditions to join with your community…good job! :thumbup:

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