Dan Brooks's Blog, page 6

The Root Of Charity

The root of the Hebrew word for love, ahavah, is hav which means giving. The thought then occurs to many that we love and grow our love by giving to those we love.
Jesus said this which adds to this ethos: "19 Lay not up for yourselves treasuresupon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break throughand steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21

So what we grow to love is based on what we treasure and what we give to. Give of our time, give of our money and give of our French fries will dictate what or who we grow to love.

If we love a person, a spouse or family member we can continue that in the next life but if we treasure wealth and possessions we love that we cannot take with us, what good does that do us? We love what can be stolen, we love what can be lost and we love what we cannot take with us into the next life.

And in that case we wasted our love that could have built many relationships and friendships on something that's temporary instead of eternal.

There are experiences that one can only have in this life but if we treasure wealth and possessions then we waste our life here. 

Times have changed since scripture was written, the addictive drugs, the clothes, the cleanliness, the technology all have changed. But the human condition has not. People are still people and we still make the same mistakes, we still hurt each other as badly and in the same ways.

People were created to be loved and objects were created to be used but the world has been upside down because people are being used and objects are being loved.

I've lived in 8 states and in serval cities in the Salt Lake valley. I was in the Army. I lived in Hawaii for 4 years. And in all my travels, having lost many possessions and pictures, what I treasure most are the friendships I formed with so many people. 

That is all I have left of my travels. I lost my books, my pictures, my clothes and much of my writings. I don't remember much of what was said but I do remember how they made me feel and how I made them feel. I remember each of their laughs. And all I have left are my memories as skewed as they may be.

And I imagine that that is how it will be when we move from this life into the next. If we've built up our treasures in Heaven, those we can take with us, we will have our love preserved.

The root of the Hebrew word for love, ahavah, is hav which means giving. Giving is a symptom of underlying love. Because the root of charity is love. But one could say the root of love is giving.

We grow our love by giving. Giving is an act of love. When we show others our love it multiplies. And we can choose who to love in a sense by giving. Chose wisely.

The Plan Of Salvation

The plan of salvation to me is an elegant piece of theology that allows for us to make mistakes and still be saved.
I particularly love the point that we were sinless in the pre existence yet could not fully progress without living a life on Earth.
To be blemish free is not necessary, but to be made whole is. Here's a quote from an article I found helpful:
"But a brief study of the original word quickly shows that the Hebrew and Greek words that frequently are translated “perfect” in our English Bibles do not always mean sinlessness. In their monumental work, the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Harris, Archer, and Waltke addressed specifically the word used in Job 1:1. The Hebrew word tōm, translated in Job 1:1 as perfect, has a number of different usages. The word, or one of its derivatives, is used in Genesis 17:1 where God told Abraham to “be perfect.” And all Israel was instructed to “be perfect” in verses such as Deuteronomy 18:13, 2 Samuel 22:33, and Psalm 101:2,6. After listing these uses in their wordbook, the authors quote the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible as saying, “the words which are rendered in English by ‘perfect’ and ‘perfection’ denoted originally something other and less than ideal perfection” (1980, p. 974, emp. added). In another authoritative Hebrew word study, Gesenius observed that the word translated as “perfect” can mean “integrity of mind” or “innocence.” He further commented that the word is used of “simplicity of mind, which is opposed to mischief and ill design” (1979, p. 866). Obviously, then, the Hebrew word in Job 1:1 that is translated “perfect” did not mean “sinlessness,” but was used instead to describe a person who was attempting to follow God’s commandments to the best of his or her ability."

The Bible is correct so long as it is translated correctly, to paraphrase Joseph Smith. 

But none of us has to be perfect in the sense of being sinless for us to reach salvation. That's the beauty of the plan.

But is salvation a literal place, a destination or is the salvation Jesus taught more about the way we live our lives, the way we treat one another and the way we love one another as Christ loved us?

Is salvation a place or a way of life? In the next life we can't take our possessions with us. There it seems to be more about how we think and what we think than anything.

Jesus often said "He who has ears, let him hear." Which is to say if you believe I speak truth then you will live out that truth. Salvation is to be loved, in this world and the next.

This as opposed to many Baptist preachers who tell us to "Simply believe on His name and you are saved."

Simply believing in a literal sense will not change behavior or speech. So how can one be saved by that? Salvation opens up the kingdom of God in this world and the next. The kingdom of God is within.

Literal belief is not enough, he who has heard must act! We must speak to one another, speak about one another, and show love to one another as Christ did for us.

If we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God(Romans 3:23) we all need redemption, we need to be made whole individually and as a family. But we will not be blemish free. Only Christ can be, or has been.

Because I've never met a strong person without scars I don't see how we can be blemish free in this life. If we were to be blemish free then we never would have left pre existence. But the reason we did was in order to grow in glory, intellect and spirit. Which means we have to make mistakes, be scarred and learn by having been. And therefore grow.

 

Love & Marriage

I went to a wedding earlier this evening. It was one of the most romantic I have ever been to. I was misty eyed more than once. Which takes a lot for me. I wish I could remember what the officiant said because id like you to know rather than just take my word for it.

But I don't remember what was said, I remember what I felt. And that was that these two people were deeply in love and didn't just want a certificate of marriage they want to dedicate their lives to one another.
They don't want to just live together, they want to start a life together. I have rarely known or seen a couple so in love and dedicated to one another. In love is somewhat common but dedicated is less so as far as I have seen.
People are easy to love when times are good, when financial cups rune the over but when the hard times come that is the true test of a couples love and dedication. Loving someone who is difficult, abrasive, angry, or rage full or is in the midst of an addiction is when some feel like giving up, giving in and quitting. And that when some say that love isn't enough but the real question is how much is your love worth? Is it worth fighting for, is it still worth weathering the storm or is it not worth the effort?
It's the hard times that make or break us, not the good times.
But this couple was only able to marry now because they are both men. At no point was their ceremony called a gay wedding for the same reason that when they had lunch today it was lunch not gay lunch. When they parked their car they parked it, they didn't gay park it. For the same reason that we don't say we went to an interracial wedding, we just went to a wedding.
Now many pastors, preachers and Bishops condemn these weddings that I went to this evening. When Jesus spoke of the end of days, He spoke of natural disasters not gay anything. So thankfully gay people will not usher in the apocalypse as some would have you believe.
And now I'd like to quote Christ on homosexuality, I'd like to....but you see I can't because He never said anything about it. Ever.
And if it were really so wrong, if it were really damaging I would think Christ would have spoke to it. But He did not. At any point. 
But many choose to discriminate against gay people because of their "religious liberty" which I will take seriously when believing teens and young adults start killing themselves because society tells them they're lives and love is counterfeit, when kids who find God are disowned and kick out of their homes and onto the street because of their faith, I will take "religious liberty" seriously when parents send their children to reprogramming camps to gay away the pray.
I know the teachings of Christ quite well and He preached inclusion not exclusion. Being gay is not a lifestyle, it's not a choice to be changed. Just as you likely did not choose to be straight gay people did not choose to be gay. And unless you believe God creates His children to be inherently sinful or believe God makes mistakes then I don't see how being gay is wrong at all or in any way.
And now I'd like to share a quote from a friend of mine Peter: "
So here's the thing.
I'm not asking to be 'equal'.
I am equal. You denying that reveals your inhumanity, not mine.
But fairness... Fairness I can insist on.
Fair treatment by secular law - that is not negotiable.
You can preach hate against me... Or worse, that condescending 'compassion' cop out you recently invented... Inside whatever group or click you claim to lead or belong to. All you like.
As much as you like.
I am most sorry if you find yourself in a dilemma.
I am also sorry that your reaction to this dilemma is to double down on your gross error - rather than admitting it now. In doing so you only postpone your moment of truth. If you think you are avoiding it altogether, you are stupid... as well as evil.
The blood is not on the hands of my side here. Centuries of persecution is not weighing on my conscience, the way it should on yours. It is not my positions that are laughably inaccurate. It is not my actions that have to be conducted in secret. I'm not the one conspiring, doctoring photos, plotting to drive wedges between people or denying you any of your rights - not in any way, shape or form.
So get this. You have a choice to make.
You want to remain relevant... So you insist that society's laws enshrine you into a position of moral authority.
But you have no moral authority. You know that. And I know that.
There are two possible positions you can now occupy.
You can be irrelevant.
That is the most decent of the options you have left yourself. At this stage... After so much evil in your name... Some sort of reconciliation would require so much sustained effort on your part that I know I will pass away before I see it. Decades of work. And i know you don't apologize. So choose irrelevance, to anyone but yourself.
Or. You can choose to be malicious. You can choose to continue to behave as the antagonist. This will erode the last shred of respectability you may have left. In time... It will drain your resources. You will be hated by all. And the hatred you face will not be undeserved.
You will call on the Creator we both believe in. But He will know you for what you are. And the blood will cry up from the earth to indict you.
Your publications, broadcasts, team of lawyers, money and social influence will not save you then.
Your hollow repetition of the Almighty's name will carry no power and no truth - and everyone will know this.
Choose."

Peter is not attacking a person or a group of people what he's attacking is a thought process, certain ideas, and certain behavior.  Peter has a different perspective given that he is a gay man who does believe in God.  He knows that God does not make mistakes and God does not create evil, or inherently sinful children.

So each of us can be as inclusive, compassionate, understanding and forgiving as Christ was and be a credit to our faith, even redeem it from mistakes that have been made or we can double down on our prejudices.  When it would be more Christlike to free ourselves of our prejudices.

But for my part I like this from last conference From Dale G. Renlund:

"My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.10 As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were.11

Maybe if we were to love one another as Christ loves us and allowed others to progress at their own pace, in their own way and along their own path we would do better as being Christian or Christlike. Because it's easy to love someone when they think like you, act like you, always agree with you.  It is harder to love someone when they disagree with you, when they are contentious, when they believe differently, when they disrespect you or your beliefs and yet when Christ gave us His one and only new commandment. He did not give us any exceptions, no annotations to that scripture, He simply expects us to love others as He loves us.  How can we truly love God if we despise any of His children, if we discriminate against His children, if we are contentious with His children, if we dehumanize His children, how can we truly love God if that is how we treat His children?
And I think for some the issue is pure semantics. For me it is about my gay friends and family whose love is very real and not counterfeit seeking their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as we all are entitled to do. These are real families forged by real love and sacrifice being discriminated against for doing nothing more wrong than being born different. These are real people facing hate and discrimination and it needs to stop.
The spirit of contention is not the spirit of God.

Counterfeit Love

I think that in order to love oneself one must accept oneself with all the baggage, sins, broken promises and failures that come with. So logic follows that in order to love others as Christ loves us one must also accept others with all the sins and baggage that comes with them.
One cannot love what one cannot accept. But the real power of love comes in loving someone in such a way that they feel freed by that love.
To love someone in the hopes of changing them to suit your needs or to suit your tastes, to love them on those conditions or more to the point make your love conditional on reaching goals they can never reach, well that love is counterfeit. It's not love. It's control and manipulation but it is not love.
When I think of true love I think of my wife but more than that I think of Christ. That love makes me feel freed. And obedience to that love helps me grow spiritually in this life and likely the next. I feel like my authentic self rather than the person others want me to be.
And that freeing feeling that I get when I think of Christ's love, that makes me feel more like me than the version others want me to be, is exactly how others should feel from our love.
You can't change who you've been and you can't change who you are but you can change who you become. But that should be a better, healthier and more authentic version of you. Instead of the person you're expected to be or being told to be or being manipulated and "loved" for being.
My wife is the only woman I've ever been with to truly accept me for me. And because her love is true she wants me to be the better, healthier, and authentic version of me. She has loved me and I am healthier and better as a result.
The other women I dated I changed for, I switched jobs, went to college, moved across the country for but it was never enough because I just wasn't right for them and they couldn't "love" me or manipulate me into being who they wanted me to be and things always flamed out.
You can find counterfeit love wherever you look but real love that's life changing and it is priceless. You can find fake people everywhere but to find sincerity is to have found eternal treasure.
When we stop fighting the current and just go with the flow things happen more naturally. 
But there has been a lot of talk of counterfeit and alternative lifestyles. But the only love that is counterfeit is that which manipulates, seeks to change the "loved" to suit tastes or needs.
Real love makes you feel free. Real love encourages one to be healthier, authentic and true to oneself and others. Real love turns us into who we were meant to be, who we were created to be.
And when I experienced real love after a lifetime of counterfeit or fake love it was life changing. I am a better man, a better husband and a better Christian/Mormon because of it. 

Going The Extra Mile

We've all been told a time or two we should go the extra mile. It comes from Jesus' teaching. Here it is from scripture:

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Matthew 5:40-42

Jesus lived under Roman rule and it was common that Jews would be forced or compelled to carry a soldiers gear a mile or even several.

So Jesus is telling His audience that when they are forced to carry a Roman soldiers gear a mile they should carry it two or go the extra mile.

Jesus also teaches that when someone sues them for their coat they should also give them their cloak. Now in Jesus' time a cloak was used as a blanket for sleep so it was very much of value.

It would be like saying if someone asks for your bike give them your car or if someone asks for a dollar give them your wallet.

Jesus is telling us all the lengths we ought to go to in loving one another as He loves us. And the love Jesus preached and lived is radical. Absolutely game changing. Life changing.

But the most contested and denied or annotated teach of Jesus is His teaching that we should all love our enemies. It is also found in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

If we only love those who love us what reward do we have? Publicans were the tax collectors who were viewed as thieves. Matthew was one of them. So if we only love those who love us, if we are only good to those who are good to us then how are we any better than thieves?

But if we go the extra mile in our love for one another, if we meet hate with love how much more like Christ will we be?

Do we really practice what we preach? Do we turn the other cheek metaphorically or literally when struck?

If we can't be the message, if we don't or won't go the extra mile how is anyone to believe us when we preach the message?

What credibility do we have to others but especially to God? We may fool others but the point is that we never fool God.

He goes the extra mile for us, so shouldn't we go the extra mile for Him and by extension His children? We can change the world one leper, one adulteress and one tax collector at a time. 

But many would say we no longer have those people in our everyday life. Times do change. Addictions change. Clothing changes but the human condition does not. 

We are still human and His children.

And we are taught to go the extra mile. We deserve to be so good to each other. We deserve to change the world one person at a time and by going the extra mile in as many ways, in as many times and places as we can.

We can change the world one poor person, one homeless person, one addict at a time.

My wife saw a homeless kid at City Creek a while back and bought him food from a cart and got him a drink. She told him about a shelter that would help him get back on his feet. I believe it was The Road Home.

Over a year later he recognized her on a Trax train. He praised her profusely. He cried he was so grateful. All she did was buy him a hotdog and a drink and told him about a shelter but that got him on his feet again.

He had been yelled at, he had been demeaned for being homeless and he had been accosted and my wife was the first person in a very long time to treat him as a person rather than disposable trash.

He asked only for change but my wife went the extra mile because it was the right thing to do.

Going the extra mile is loving greatly rather than in a mediocre fashion. We all have it in us to be that Christlike.

Ye Are My Disciples

We are told by many that we are not Christian, that we worship a different Jesus. But how did Jesus define true discipleship?
Jesus said :"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 14:34-35
Jesus did not say His disciples shall be known by their doctrine, by their theology, by the way they pray, by their grooming standards. After all dress and grooming standards are all covered in the Old Testament. And few follow them these days. But those things do not define a true Christian, loving others as Christ loves us does however.
And how do we extend that love best? By telling those who are simply different that they're counterfeit? Or by loving and leading by example? Demeaning others does nothing to fulfill Christlike love.
Telling others, as we are often told, that they aren't Jesus-ing properly does nothing for them or us. Leading by example does. Preaching to love the sinner but hate the sin isn't healthy either. 
We would do better to follow the example of Jesus and the adulteress and love the sinner and pardon the sin. Jesus said "He that is without sin may cast the first stone." Yet Jesus did not cast the first stone when only He could have. 
He also asked "When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more"
Jesus did pardon the sin because to suffer the punishment would have meant her being stoned to death. Jesus loved her and pardoned her sin and gave her her life and another chance.
Jesus had a few things to say about how far we are expected to go to show our love even to our enemies.

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thycloak also.

41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Matthew 5:39-44

The Jews during Christ's life time were under Roman occupation. Jews were regularly commandeered to carry the Romans equipment. This teaching is where the phrase "Go the extra mile" comes from. And rather than preaching that Jews should revel or hate their enemies, He taught that loving your enemies and going the extra mile is how best to handle enemies.

The love that Jesus preaches is radical and life changing. Because as Dr. King said "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

When Jesus taught the ideal of service He did more than teach, He served.

"He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

5 After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I washthee not, thou hast no part with me.

9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." John 13:4-17

When Jesus girded Himself He was dressing as a servant. He said if He, our Lord and master, washed His disciples feet or served them, then we should also serve one another. This is why Pope Francis has made a point of doing the same. He is teaching Catholics to serve even to the point of debasing oneself.

Only when one is happy to serve is one fit to lead.

We cannot merely say we love one another, we need to show it in order for it to be meaningful. We cannot love one another when it is easy but when it is hard and difficult and trying even exhausting. How we walk with the wounded says more about us than how we sit with the great.

And how we love one another says more, proves more, about how Christian we are than what church we go to.

Saying that the church you go to is what makes you Christian is like saying that standing in a garage is what makes you a car. It wildly misses the point. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Because how we pray, our theology, our doctrine means nothing if not lived out through our love.

Find The Gold Not The Dirt

Here is my lesson from Proverbs: He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Proverbs 11:27
The point, I think, is that anyone can find the dirt on someone but we should be the one who finds the gold in them.
There has yet again been much hurt derived from conference. And I cannot down play that or cover it up. At the same time there was much Christ centric focus by some General Authorities.
If we focus on Christ He can heal our hurting hearts. He can inspire forgiveness of sins, carry our weary troubled selves when we couldn't make it on our own.
We forgive our debtors as we want forgiveness for our debts. And forgiveness means most when it is hard not simply when it's easy and might not mean much.
We have no control over those who hurt us. We can only control ourselves and how we respond to hurt, negativity and being degraded in a toxic fashion. Especially when it happens again and again.
But for as flawed as we all are, God sees the good in us and the potential that we have to live up to who we were created to be.
And even when we are in the right, even when we are light years better than those who sin against us, compared to Christ we are not so different. 
Christ said "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured." Matthew 7:1-3
So in our justifiable pain if we judge in return we will be judged as harshly as we have judged one another.
Anyone can find the dirt on others but we ought to be interested in finding the gold in others rather than the dirt. Because finding the gold is why each of us keep getting chance after chance from The Lord.
We can't change others, we can inspire change but we can only change ourselves. If we try to control others our effort will be in vain. We do better leading by example. Rather than praying for miracles to change others be the miracle you want to see in this world. And perhaps we can inspire others to change.
But my take away from hurtful people is that we shouldn't stay where we are tolerated or unwanted, we should go where we are celebrated.
God celebrates when anyone comes back to Him. He will tend to our wounds and nourish us. He will love us and enlighten us. 
In the embrace of Christ everything else, all our pain, all our distractions, all of our work melts away and fades into nothing. And all we are left with is the love of Christ. Which is what matters most.
Our pain is real. It is deep. It is justified but it will pass. 
God's love endures, it is eternal. But love is not just an emotion-it is a promise.
It is a promise to tend to those we love. It is a promise to care for, to live for, to work for, to serve, to sacrifice, to give your last, to give your all, and to be your loved ones keeper.
That's what I think The Lord means when He gives us His love. It's what I know I promise my family when I tell them I love them. And I know it's what they have promised me. And we have lived up to those promises.
We have been through so much, each of us, we will do more than survive, we will prevail. We will prevail in the promise of our love one to another.

Counterfeit Families

The eleventh article of faith reads: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
If we are to allow others to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience and standards then shouldn't we allow them to have their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness according to the dictates of their own conscience and standards rather than holding them to our standards rather than our own?
"The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticise others. Rather, we must criticise ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life."I agree with this quote from the Dalai Lama. The purpose of our faith is to control ourselves it is not to control or criticize others.
Criticizing other families that are different from your own, families that are foreign to you does not make them counterfeit. It only makes them different or even foreign.
It is repugnant to me to degrade others in such a way. Because to call what we all hold so dear, our families, counterfeit is saying that these families do not count. It is saying they are not good enough for you or our church. It is the reason LGBT members of our church are committing suicide at such an astonishing rate.
Because these members most of all are being told they don't count unless they fit the mold, unless they meet our status quo. And they can't fit in, maybe because they were born to stand out. 
But these talks and points make all of us with gay family members and friends feel that we don't matter. That our families don't count. That our families aren't good enough.
I have another quote I would like to share because it echoes my own experiences from childhood on.
“I'm a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being... by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant.” -Paul Newman
I guess what bothers me most is the fear, the shaming and the vitriol against those who are different, those whose beliefs, faith, lifestyles and families are so different that they are foreign to so many others being told they and their families are counterfeit.
But anything counterfeit has a different maker than what is genuine. So who made all these LGBT people and families that are supposedly counterfeit?
Because as I see it God made us all and none of us are truly counterfeit. All of us matter, all of us are beautiful in Gods eyes. All of us count.
God created us all so who can call His creation counterfeit? Who can belittle and dismiss any of His children? A family being different or foreign is not sufficient to prove they are fake.
What makes a family a family? From all the families I have been a part of I have to say that love, sacrifice and commitment are what truly make the bond of families hold true. And name calling does not diminish those families, it dismisses the accusers and shows them to be foolish and hateful.
I wish we could include all rather than exclude so many. I wish we could love one another as He loves us. I wish we could pay due respect to children of God whom He loves that some demean and call counterfeit. I wish we could all see that we were are created in His image.
That's the thing; those who are attacking have made God in their image so that their God hates who they hate. And they feel that their God hates those who are different and considers them counterfeit.
Controlling oneself refines and purifies us. Controlling others or seeking to by coercion leads to tyranny.
Counterfeit love is not about being gay, it's about making your "love" conditional. Because love based on conditions is not the love Christ has for us.

Any Opposed?

I'm wondering why the shaming, degrading and hostile attitudes and remarks are warranted to those who stood up in front of church leaders and 20,000 people who disagreed with them to voice their opposition to sustaining our leaders.
It's as if sustaining our leaders is an act of faith. Or an oath like commitment as it has been described over the General Conference pulpit.
Here's what Jesus said about oaths: 33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus spoke about faith and what it is and is not and never did He say that sustaining leadership on any level is a test of faith in any way.

If one cannot bear the thought of an opposing vote then whatever you do do not ask the question "Any Opposed?"

What pains me the most is that these anonymous opposers are being shamed and judged for simply disagreeing with the rest of us. They had the stones to voice their dissent in front of cameras, in front of 20,000 people who disagreed and in front of those they refused to sustain. They are brave to me, and that is all I know about any of them.

So I refuse to judge them when I don't even know their names, much less their stories or why they arrived at the problems they have with our leadership.

If I don't know how they arrived at their views then unless one knows them personally I don't know how one can judge their motivations or condemn them by comparing them to the people in the great and spacious building.

That seems like righteous judgment in the minds of most rather than in the Hebrew sense of the term which means to give the benefit of the doubt or judge favorably. Rather than judge to condemn.

From Torah.org there is this translation of the mishna 1:6 "Yehoshua ben Prachiah and Nitai HaArbeili received from them (Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan). Yehoshua said: Make for yourself a Rav (a teacher); acquire for yourself a friend; and judge every person on the positive side.

This means when making a judgement call we ought to weigh the scales of judgement in favor of those we judge.
This is also known as judging favorably.

This has been the understanding of Leviticus 19:15 "15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour."
That is the opposite of the reaction I am seeing in response to simply opposing sustainment.
Jesus said this when speaking about the religious elite of His day. I am not comparing our leadership to the Pharisees so just work with me on this;25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:25-27

Jesus is saying that outward signs of righteousness are in vain. Checking off the boxes of your religious obligations does not prove your heart is in the right place. You can be beautiful on the outside and rotten to the core inside.

So rushing to judge those who oppose as being rotten inside and the same as those in the great and spacious building may be accurate but we have no way of knowing that.

Because we do not know anything about these people other than that they oppose. And that does not prove anything other than they oppose. We don't know why because we don't know their names, we don't know their stories and we certainly do not know their hearts.

God knows. And if they are worthy of condemnation then they will be condemned but if their hearts are in the right place then they will be smiled upon by God.

We do not know either way, even if we knew them we do not know them as God does. And judgment is Christ's alone. Our job is to love one another as He loves us. To give the benefit of the doubt and judge in righteous judgment. 

To walk a mile in each other's shoes, and then go the extra mile, to step inside each other's minds and to feel one another's pain, to bear one another's burdens and lighten them, to see as they do and to see ourselves and each other as Christ does because then we will understand, these are the things we ought to be concerned with. 

Only then will we know each other and see how much God loves each of us. Even those who hate us or belief different than we do.

We are all beautiful in God's eyes. We were all created in His image. We are all His children even when we don't get along.

Forgive Much, Love Much

I loved Uctdorf's talk. Here is my take away from it.
Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him. He was disgusted by a woman whose sins were great who washed the feet of Jesus with her ters and her hair. Brcause she was a sinner who had no place with such great men as Simon and his guest. But she felt hopelessly lost in sin but hopeful that Jesus was the only chance she had at redemption.
Here is the story straight from scripture:

36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.

37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Luke 7:36-50

Simon considered himself a righteous man because he had checked off every box on his to do list of religious obligations. He fasted, he prayed, he paid his tithing and he went to the synagougue. And yet he lacked much.

When Jesus said to him, a creditor had to debtors; one who owed 50 pence and one who owed 500 pence. The creditor forgave them both, who had the most gratitude? Simon said the one who had been forgiven most.

Jesus said "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

How much we are willing to forgive is indicative of how much we love.

Jesus tells another parable. This time about a sinner and a pharisee.

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:10-14

This Pharisee also thought he was saved because he checked off all the boxes on his religious obligation list. But it is by our fruits that we shall be known and it is by our love that we will be saved in this life and the next. With God's grace as well.

But he was not saved because he thought he was better than others but compared to Jesus there was but one difference; the sinner repented of his sins and knew how far he had fallen from the glory of God. He could not bear to face God or even lift his head. But he was justified before God in the end.

We are not so different from one another so there is a need to remain humble. We must not replay our greatest hits of righteousness and talk about how righteous we are when we pray as this Pharisee did. We must not be comfortable in our good works. We must repent of our daily sins. 

We must approach The Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We must be sincere. Otherwise we waste our time and God's.

If we love much we forgive much. We will be merciful and obtain mercy. We will judge not and therefore not be judged.

Our mercy, our forgiveness, our lack of judgmental attitudes and most notably our love are what help us live the kingdom of God and share it with others.

We are not so different from one another. We should be more patient with others who are not checking off their boxes of religious obligations as much as we may be. Because God remains patient with us as we faulted and sin and fall short of the glory of God as Paul says.

God doesn't just love you, He loves those who hate you just as much. This is why Hesus taught us to love our enemies. They are children of God and we cannot say we love God and hate those whom He loves.

We are all in this together. So be excellent to each other!