💭 What Do We Mean When We Say the Church Is True?¶
Estimated time to read: 10 minutes
An article from June 2024 edition of the Liahona by Elder J. Devn Cornish, Emeritus General Authority Seventy.
The first section seems pretty standard, using New Testament passages amid warming up to "testifying of truth is important! you should do it." But, oh boy, the first heading after that reads, at the time of writing, "What If Church Leaders Aren’t Perfect?"
... Who said anything about church leaders not being perfect? Moreover, how is their perfection related to the church being true?
We shifted from Christ having established a church (maybe) and the next heading, "Why are you accusing me of not being perfect? It's fine, I never said that I was! Why are you being so hostile to church leaders?" ... what? Is that related to the thesis statement? Perfect leadership wasn't part of the conversation on doctrine or truthfulness until Elder Cornish brought it up in a remarkably defensive way. We're like four paragraphs in, and we've escalated to defending imperfections.
Perhaps some are hesitant to testify of the truth of the Church because they sense that the Church and its leaders may not be perfect. Indeed, neither the Church nor its leaders are perfect, nor have they claimed to be! It is noteworthy that nowhere in the scriptures or the teachings of Church leaders is it stated that the purpose of the Lord was to perfect the Church.
That's a nice strawman you've got there.
So the purpose of the Lord is the perfecting of the Saints, not the perfecting of the Church. We can take real comfort from that principle because it implies that there is room in the Lord’s Church for all of us imperfect people!
... You were just talking about leadership. "all of us imperfect people" sounds like you're trying now to include the layman congregants who attend church weekly. I suppose both groups qualify as "imperfect," but this doesn't have anything to do with your previous statement, nor your thesis statement of the church's truthfulness claims mean. See me after class.
Sometimes we defend a concept about the way the Lord deals with the leaders and members of His Church that does not serve us well. We might expect that the Lord should control everything that leaders and administrators in the Church do so that no mistakes of any kind can be made. It may be better to recognize that the Lord gives guidance to those servants as they prayerfully do their best in their respective charges to direct His work. That is how loving parents teach their children.
You mean like the time when God "guided" Joseph Smith, prophet of the restoration, by sending an angel with a flaming sword to destroy him if he doesn't cheat on his wife? Are you led by God or not? Because if you have a convenient explanation for why something you did was not inspired of God each time it's found to be disagreeable, I might question how divinely inspired your organization is.
Quick side note: Dallin H Oaks is on record conflating policy and doctrine as being indistinguishable. Make of that what you will.
The Lord gives us guidance but does not generally exercise control, except in matters that bear directly on our salvation. Once again, it is not His purpose to perfect the Church but rather to perfect His children, including Church leaders and administrators. This pattern of inspired operations at Church headquarters is not substantially different from that used in stakes and wards and homes.
God isn't specific unless there's a doctrine you absolutely must follow to get into the celestial kingdom... unless it's about polygamy; you're on your own to figure out how to obey the commandment to marry multiple women. By the way, it's non-negotiable that you need polygamy to be exalted. He also does want you to come live with Him in heaven. Good luck!
"Stop claiming leaders have to be perfect. We're only a ~$200 billion organization, we're holding ourselves to the same standard of organizational operations as your branch president in West Virginia."
After the tangent of imperfect leaders, we get back to the initial topic.
So what do we mean when we say the Church is true if we don’t mean that it’s perfect?
- First and foremost, we mean that it is led by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself through living prophets and apostles. - We mean that it has all the scriptures God has revealed and every doctrine and truth of importance for our salvation. - We mean that it holds the priesthood authority to direct the Church and to administer the essential ordinances, and we mean that those ordinances will be valid both in this life and in the eternities. - We mean that those who follow its precepts will have enduring joy both in this life and forever. - We mean that those who receive the saving ordinances and keep the associated covenants, repenting sincerely as required, positively will be exalted in the celestial kingdom of God. - And especially we mean that the Holy Ghost will bear witness of these things to sincere seekers of the truth.
Ah, there we go, these are some definitive statements. First, let's not forget that we have established that "true" does not equal "perfect."
- We're led by Jesus, unless we do something that might affect our tax-exempt status as a non-profit
- We have all the info we need today, unless God reveals other great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God
- We can make promises for what will happen after your mortal life ends, because you can't repudiate us if you're dead
- Our precepts will not be enumerated, but if you follow them you'll be happy even after you die. No follow-up questions, please
- By obediently giving us 10% of your gross income, we can promise you more happiness after you die
- Sincere seekers also agree that it's true. If you don't feel it's true, you must not be a sincere seeker of truth 😤
“The Church is [the] prophesied latter-day kingdom, not created by man but set up by the God of heaven,” taught Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. How important it is for sincere believers in the truths restored by Jesus Christ to stand up and testify boldly that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30).
Call me a grouch, but whenever I hear that the modern LDS church was prophesied in a biblical passage, I cannot resist the urge to check their cited sources.
Christofferson's citation is Daniel 2:45 (and then verse 35, in that order). Conveniently, the prophesies that are symbolic and vague are always specifically about us, here, today. This is the passage describing a stone cut out of mountains, rolling to full the earth. The connection to the Brighamite sect of the Latter-day Saint movement in 2024 is clear, don't you see it? These prophecies have been kept in God's back pocket until 1830, there is no possibility of it being fulfilled in the 2,400 years between Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the LDS church being founded. Give it time, the church hasn't been around for 200 years just yet, but it's totally going to fill the earth. Any minute now. Don't look at our membership statistics, please.
We offer our full love and respect to all who believe in and follow truth wherever it may be found. We respect and value the radiant goodness we observe in so many other churches, and we do not criticize the beliefs of any group or individual. But it is folly to imagine that we can believe in Jesus Christ and the precepts He taught and receive the full benefit of the blessings and ordinances available only in His restored Church without believing in, championing, and defending that Church.
We can all get along and share in common beliefs! ... But don't forget that only we can save you from eternal condemnation. Want to be friends? We're not a cult, by the way. In case you were wondering.
... but there is also great importance in testifying of the truth of the Church as an institution. In the temple we learn that that is where our consecration is focused.
LMAO YEAH THAT'S ONE WAY TO PUT IT
The truths of the gospel do not require the defense and loyalty of the Saints to maintain them. They are true in and of themselves.
my brother in christ, your opening statements were literally defending accusations of you not being perfect.
But belief in general can become so vague as to have neither motivating nor saving power, and near-infidels can claim adherence (see James 2:19–20).
Yes, I recall hearing this criticism of other varieties of Christianity when I was growing up. They're too superficial, they got no substance, no authority.
By contrast, a conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and guided by the Lord leads one to attend meetings, pay tithes and offerings, serve in callings, receive ordinances, and keep the associated covenants. With clear belief and conviction come clear and compelling commitments. In other words, once we know it is true, we become morally obligated to act like it’s true.
"As opposed to those silly guys playing church, we actually have clearly delineated steps. Don't ask what they are, please."
We're better than Catholics with their definitive canon, catechism, Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and its catechumenate stage of progression, ritualistic rosary prayers that all purports to say what they believe. We promise you will receive ordinances. And tell you to keep the associated covenants. Makes you feel morally obligated to do volunteer work for the LDS church and pay for the privilege of doing so, doesn't it?
Elder Cornish's closing remarks are a traditional testimony that the church is true. I suppose that, cutting out the fluff, he tells us that saying the church is true is synonymous with laying claim to authority. It'd be a shame if there was some discrepancy in how priesthood authority was restored and bestowed on Joseph. ... Don't click on that link, please.