Preface
As prophets have done in past dispensations, the leaders of the Church continue to call upon us to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in his plans and purposes, faith in his divine timetable, faith in his Church and its prophetic and apostolic leadership. Exercising faith is not easy to do in our day, since we now live and breathe and have our being in the midst of a world largely drenched in secularity, a day when religion and religious devotion are being pushed to the margins of our society. Religious belief is scoffed at and denounced as primitive, simple-minded, unnecessary, even dangerous. Children and adults are taught to give little attention to the spiritual, to believe only in that which they can see and feel and measure. Loyalty to scriptural teachings, adherence to time-honored values and absolute truths—these qualities and virtues seem to be in short supply.
To exercise faith as Latter-day Saints in these early decades of the twenty-first century requires us to hold tenaciously to what we have been taught, what we have learned concerning the divine Sonship of Christ, the restoration of the fulness of the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ, and the Savior’s continued guidance of the “true and living church” (D&C 1:30).
Our Lord has charged us as his disciples to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14–15). It’s tough to be the salt of the earth or the light of the world if in times of stress we persistently retreat from the world into the comfort of our bunkers of faith (Matthew 5:13–14; 3 Nephi 12:13–14). “Faith has always been a fundamental principle of strength for the Latter-day Saints,” President Thomas S. Monson taught. “Without it, we go nowhere. With it, we can accomplish anything in building the kingdom of God.”1
Our own people have not been immune to doubt, uncertainty, and troubles when it comes to matters of faith. The almost infinite spread of information (good and bad, true and false) by means of the Internet seems to have caught a number of Saints off guard. The decision of Church leaders in recent years to adopt a position of total transparency relative to our doctrine and history, perhaps most obviously manifest in the production of the Joseph Smith Papers, has proven for some Church members to be a godsend, filling in gaps of personal understanding and painting a picture of the Restoration that is rich and rewarding. For others in the Church, however, the discovery of historical details of which they had been unaware, combined with current positions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on sensitive and difficult matters pertaining to marriage, family, and sexual orientation, have been disturbing. Some declare that their faith in the Church and its leaders has been shaken. Add to these stressful items the continuing barrage of anti-Mormon propaganda from Christian groups or from former Latter-day Saints who have become bitter enemies of the faith, and the result is what might be called a perfect storm. The day for ignoring such matters is long since past.
I do not intend in this short work to address every doctrinal or historical challenge with which members wrestle, although we will of necessity touch on some. Instead, I’d like to direct our attention toward some guiding principles that, if understood, may allow some of us to see the Church—its doctrine, its history, and its leaders—with new eyes and perhaps feel with a new heart. What is my intended audience for this book? Well, it would certainly include the following:
• Active, involved, and committed members of the Church who have no reservations whatsoever about the faith. To this group I would hope to provide some measure of inoculation should they encounter tough issues in the future.
• Active and involved members of the Church who have encountered questions or issues that now trouble them.
• Members of the Church who have allowed themselves to slide into inactivity because of doctrinal or historical issues, current Church policies on social issues, or disappointment with Church leaders past and present.
• Former Latter-day Saints who have formally cut their ties with the Church and have charted a new course in life but feel no inclination to criticize or oppose the Church.
• Former Latter-day Saints who have formally cut their ties with the Church but are so angry about their feelings of “deception” and “betrayal” that they seem driven to do anything they can to embarrass, humiliate, or block the progress of the Church.
I have a deep and abiding conviction of the truthfulness of the restored gospel, its doctrine and history, and the integrity of the prophets and apostles of the restored Church. I am not unaware of the potentially troubling issues afloat. Yet nothing I have read or encountered has even come close to shaking my faith. Fortunately, many, many people within the Church feel the same, persons who are neither naïve nor unwilling to face reality. Rather, they have chosen the way of faith. As President Monson put it, “Whereas doubt destroys, faith fulfills. It brings one closer to God and to His purposes. Faith implies a certain trust—even a reliance—upon the word of our Creator.”2
In preparing this work, I am indebted to many persons who were willing to engage in lengthy conversations on a myriad of tough issues and others who read portions of the manuscript and made valuable suggestions. Although such assistance was extremely helpful, even crucial, I alone am responsible for the conclusions drawn. This volume is a private endeavor and not a publication of either The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Brigham Young University.
Notes