DAVEH:
Yes Bishop, I'm referring to conformity of beliefs for the most part.
Though I think the unity of faith (harmonious attitudes, as you put it)
play an important role as well.
From our perspective, most
LDS folks truly believe our
Prophet is the spokesman for the Lord in our time. So, we believe if
the Lord wants us to know or do something different, he will speak
through his servant to us as a whole. IF there is any question that
becomes a divisive factor, we look to the Prophet 's counsel to give us
the direction we need to go as a group. It's pretty rare for doctrinal
disputations
to reach beyond private discussion. If somebo dy wants to make a
public spectacle out of an issue, it i
s pretty much grounds for excommunication.
So.....intellectually strong individuals who cannot conform their
beliefs within the framework of official
LDS theology do not fit in very
well. And if their intellectual stubbornness exceeds their level of
faith in their Church Leaders, it is akin to fitting a round peg in a
square hole. Those who do harbor their own pet theological theories
who want to remain faithful avoid publicizing their intellectual
disagreements. Once they attempt to publicly
politicize their
dispute with the Church, they no longer fit in with the rest of the
folks who tend not to want to have disharmony exist in the ranks.
Which brings us back to the harmonious attitudes.
Mormonism
tends to be very cultural in nature. Th
at which disrupts is out of harmony with not only God, but the Family
and the congregation. We believe success comes by working together.
We don't look to one pastor to hold a Ward (congregation) together, but
it is the combined effort of every person in the Ward to assist the
Ward Shepherd (Bishop) in keeping it humming (usually to the tune of
PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL) along. Our strongest Wards are those
where the most folks pitch in to do the most work, which leads to
strong fellowship. Those that are weakest are those where the members
expect others to do the work.
As I perceive TT, there is little sense of
purpose or guidance. Nor does there seem to be much appreciation for
oneness of belief. I imagine everybody in TT believes they
know the truth, but yet I don't think they really appreciate that all
the variations of truth they have here all stems from a single source
(as they perceive it)....the Bible. Numerous times folks have told me
I am wrong and that it is very simple to learn the truth by rejecting
anything LDS
and just read the Bible. Quite often they suggest the truth of the
Bible is so obvious. Yet if it were so easy to discern the truth from
the Bible, why are there so many disagreements as to what the Bible
tells us? And then look at why different churches start up. Seems
like Protestants is a good term to describe many
Christians.....they tend to want to protest that which somebody else
teaches them. If they don't like doctrines of one church, it is
relatively easy to start another.
While the LDS Church has experienced similar factions in
it's wake, I se e it a bit differently. In our case, most who don't
fit into the paradigm are excommunicated for not towing the line, so to
speak. Then they go out and form their own church to emulate the LDS
Church, using the root teachings. Contrast that to the Protestant
churches, that seem to break off by protesting what the mother church
doctrinally dictates. Is that not the process by which Luther left the
RCC.
And on down the line. Baptists believed one way, Methodists another.
Now we see it in the Episcopalian Church, as some want to think gays
are OK in the ministry, while others don't. Instead of
excommunicating the errant believers, I suspect they will simply divide
the Church into two separate entities, each having a distinctly
different doctrine about gay folks.
Yikes....I yak on too much. I hope that makes some sense, John.
Sorry to blather on and on.......
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
DAVEH: I think
you are taking my example out of context, DavidM. I was
trying to point out that right or wrong, I believe most knowledgeable LDS folks tend to be a little more
homogeneous in their beliefs than do TTers.
Hi Dave. I would agree with this observation.
Allowing for the truth of this observation, why do you suppose this
is the case? I assume you are speaking more to "doctrinal sameness"
than to harmonious attitudes.
JD
