A few years ago, a woman wrote to an apostle and said the following things:
"Everyday I ask the Lord how I can repent and please him. It's the driving force in my life."
"I desire to get out of the church of the devil and become a member of the church of the Lamb of God." [Note: she was not referring to the corporate church in which her membership resides.]
"Right now I'm repenting of my sins so I can get on the straight and narrow path. I ask the Lord daily to reveal my sins to me so I can repent. When I am sufficiently pure, the Lord will come and give me further instructions."
"It has been my understanding that . . . all of you [First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve] have been sanctified, have had the experience of seeing the Savior face to face, and have become apostolic witnesses of His birth, death, atonement, and resurrection. As part of that experience you've also seen the history and future of the world. Is this true?"
"I too was surprised to find out that Apostles don't need to have a unique and special witness of Christ."
[After quoting Elder Haight's vision] - "Have all the apostles received an apostolic witness of Christ unique and different from the faith and belief that most of us have? I like many others believe He lives because we can feel it in our hearts, but we are not yet special witnesses of Him. Have you seen him and witnessed His baptism, His teaching, His healing the sick and lame, the mock trial, His Crucifixion, His Resurrection, and His ascension?"
"I need to know why we call the current First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Prophets, Seers, and Revelators."
He replied and said the following things:
"I have . . . prayerfully pondered how I should answer you. What follows is what I feel prompted to say."
"The questions you have asked suggest that you may be out of harmony with the leaders the Lord has called to lead His Church. You reject the teachings of some of them by name, and you ask me and others (by implication) to answer questions you have set up to judge whether we are qualified to hold the positions to which we have been called . . . ."
"You also speak of 'the special apostolic witness of Christ.' Where do you find that kind of 'witness' defined or even mentioned in the scriptures?"
"From what you have written I feel to ask whether you are receiving and fulfilling the callings and hearing the counsel from your own local leaders, such as your bishop? Are you making and keeping the covenants we make when we partake of the sacrament each week?"
The bottom line as I see it:
Her: "The scriptures tell me I ought to be seeking the Lord's face. I really want to continually repent until I receive the promises God has made in our scriptures.
"I also understand that you
[fifteen men at the top of the hierarchy] have seen Him and have had marvelous experiences. Is this true?
"This apostle chastises people for seeking such things. This other apostle shared his marvelous experiences. Have you and the other living apostles had this experience? Are you qualified to genuinely be prophets, seers, and revelators?"
Him: "I perceive that you are in need of repentance. How dare you question us! How dare you put yourself on equal footing with us by asking if we have seen the Lord? Are you following your local leaders? Are you performing your callings?"
Unspoken: "Of course we have not seen the Lord. I haven't, and I am threatened by your letter. It creates a super-icky feeling to think that you might actually see the Lord, thus surpassing me and my fellows in holiness. Better to squash you now and put the fear of an apostolic reprimand into your soul than that you should actually see and experience what my fellows and I have not and, indeed, do not believe is possible. We have the power of eternal life and eternal death. Do not think to rise up to our level nor to surpass us."
In light of that,
here is an interesting prophecy:
The restoration is about to be completely compromised by the
institutional LDS organization. If we do not establish another way to
avoid the coming catastrophe, the restoration will utterly fail. The
movement begun now will seem very prescient in a few years. In coming
days many people will want a place to land as the LDS Church undergoes
changes to retain their standing, favorable tax status, popularity and
wealth. People need a place to fellowship where they can function and
learn how to preserve the restoration in a place that will be a refuge
for those fleeing an increasingly corrupt organization.
What has begun may seem small, unnecessary and even rebellious at
present. It will not be long before it is viewed very differently.
Accepting and performing *same sex marriages in temples. (The groundwork has already been laid with the "follow the prophet above past prophets, above the scriptures, and above the Lord Himself.")
A split among the Brethren as some go one way and some go another.
Finances finally being disclosed and faithful members being shocked at the naked truths about how their money was spent ("pay your tithing even if it means you don't have money to pay your bills, even if it means your children go hungry").
What is
your breaking point, if you are a faithful believer in all things LDS? A believer in the Book of Mormon, in Joseph Smith as a prophet, in Jesus our Lord? That breaking point is sure to come.
*I want to be very plain about my views on same sex marriage. I believe the gov't has no right to dictate marriage laws. Marriage is between God and a couple, or between the couple, themselves. I also see homosexuality as a weakness of the flesh, but not nearly as heinous as cheating, loving a lie, stealing from the poor, grinding the face of the poor, building fine sanctuaries and setting oneself up as a Light, speaking as though one had authority from the Lord when one does not even know Him, lusting after power and wealth, anger, jarrings, contentions, and jealousies.
In other words, I see a difference between a weakness one cannot help and a sin one actively pursues.
