The Living Church

This is an expressive piece describing the gospel and of people as a fluid body that encounters not only growth but also pitfalls and plateaus. Also noteworthy is the observation that the culture of the church can sometimes be fixated on certainty. That is interesting to me and made me think about how often I will pick sides prematurely (without having truly thought about the issue) because perhaps I feel more comfortable when I can state a decided belief about something. HOWEVER, what I'm learning is that in some cases, I believe, it is ok to not be completely settled with troubling events, and when this happens, to just keep moving forward with faith and commitment to the church, to God, and to our covenants. 

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The Living Church

Metaphors are an inexact science. But sometimes they can capture feelings and anxieties in a way that scientific language rarely can.

In the revelation designated as the “preface” to the Doctrine and Covenants, it is declared that the Church is not only “true”—a description over which many religions have battled—but also that it is “living.”

The gospel, the revelation insisted, is a living organism; it is meant to develop and expand, to stumble and recover. A doctrine of continuing revelation is meant to inhibit staid complacency and instill ability for adaptation.

According to Thoreau, to be “alive” means, first and foremost, to be “awake.” It entails making conscious decisions about one’s surroundings, one’s talents, and one’s shortcomings, and then being willing to act accordingly. “I went to the woods,” Thoreau declared in the opening pages of Walden Pond, “because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (This makes me think of Elder Bednar's frequent reference to acting rather than being acted upon, or most recently his analogy from an experience with Elder Maxwell, that it is better to not shrink than it is to survive.)

--But in an age of corporate personhood, what does it mean for a church to “live”? In common LDS discourse, the metaphor mostly underlines the importance of modern-day prophets and the power of continuing revelation. So be it. But it also introduces vulnerability. To anticipate change implies that change may be necessary. Yet when humans are involved, there is rarely a consensus on the nature, timing, and extent of change. (This is interesting, I have never really thought of this before...)

--Despite the numerous pitfalls, of which Pratt experienced many in his lifetime, the “organization is to go on, step after step, from one degree to another, just as the people increase and grow in the knowledge of the principles and laws of the Kingdom of God, and as their borders shall extend.” The Church, just like the average saint, grows through trial and error, through joy and pain. To halt progression is to be damned. (I completely agree.)

--It seems ironic that a gospel culture never meant to crystalize in form has become so fixated on certainty. Admitting fallibility in the past threatens to underscore fallibility in the present; acknowledging fallibility in the present threatens to undercut hope in the future. (This is interesting. I think I do this. I know that a lot of us do this. I can see how it's not exactly right. Maybe the fear is that we think that if we are uncertain or too open or tolerant, then we will be swept up by the philosophies of men. But I have found that I can be open and still anchored to my core beliefs. I also think it is good to seek for understanding. Elder Bednar also talks about how in the BOM, understanding is often linked with the heart, and personally, understanding has really increased the strength and depth of my testimony.)

--God’s work and glory is transmitted through and dependent upon His workers. Mormonism is understood best when it is acknowledged to be an eternal work in progress.

--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is living not only because it lives within each one of us, but also because it lives through us. We feel the gospel inhale and exhale, grow and stumble. We feel the joy, and we feel the sorrow, not because we are the appendages to the body, but because we are the body itself. That fact not only makes the expulsion of crucial members from that body so painful, but it also makes commitment to the body’s healing so necessary.

--Fortunately, Christ came to redeem all those who live. To be alive implies the necessity to be redeemed. The redemption of Christ sanctifies the Body of Christ, and all living bodies therein. Awakening to our own vulnerability—our personal, communal, and institutional vulnerabilities—is not only the essence of being alive, but also the essence of being Christian.