Quote:
Originally Posted by BYU71
This is something I have never understood about any of these issues.
If the Prophet is the prophet and he says gays can't marry, they can't. If you think he is wrong and is not the prophet, what do you want to be a member for anyway. I disagree with the Prophet on things over my last 41 years of life. None so profound though that I seek to have the "church" change it's view.
If I had a disagreement that profound with the church, I wouldn't go around trying to change their minds, I would just leave and join a church I believed in.
No one is forced to be a member.
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you say that you've disagreed with the Prophet on small things -- just not any so profound that . . . . Probably, people who stay members, but disagree with their leaders on certain issues HAVE THE EXACT SAME MINDSET YOU DO: namely, even if the leaders are wrong, being wrong about a small number of things doesn't outweigh being right about more important ones.
My mission president said he put off joining the Church for years (his wife had been a member and he joined at 40+) because:
1. it was pre-1978 and he couldn't accept Blacks and the Priesthood policies
2. he couldn't accept Church leaders position on the Viet Nam War.
Sooner or later, he said, he decided that these issues were not important enough to deny himself and his family the blessings of being in the Church. So, over his objections, he still joined. The policy in 1 was changed (years later) and 2 became a non-issue with time.
As a dumbed-down illustration, consider bullshit ratio:
If the Church teaches 99% bullshit and 1% truth, i would probably start looking for a different church.
If it teaches 99% truth and 1% bullshit, I'd certainly stay.
But, where is the breaking point in-between?
(of course, most of what we hear in church is not necessarily BS and not necessarily truth, it's more like fluff -- but you get my point)
The BS ratio is drastically different in, say, General Conference (very little BS) than my home ward (mostly BS). Plus, we uniquely have an open canon, broad leeway for personal revelation and no official catechism or dogma. So, all things considered, I think it's very easy to remain in the Church and disregard a few bits of BS or fluff here and there. Plus, I'm humble enough to admit that I don't know everything -- I could be wrong or biased about certain issues I'm forced to "put on the shelf."