The Real Problem

Facebook, bloggers, and the rest of the internet have been abuzz lately with talk of the recent changes to the LDS church's policy on same sex marriage and the children of such parents.  In a nutshell, the church's Handbook of Instructions has been updated to define same sex marriage as apostasy, and also disallows children under 18 who live in same sex households from receiving any church ordinances.

Here is a link to a discussion about the changes --http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865640934/Elder-Christofferson-explains-updated-LDS-Church-policies-on-same-sex-marriage-and-children.html

This whole debate illustrates several problems that need to be addressed.

First, the church has long since lost sight of the fact that baptism and church membership are not co-equal.  Baptism is not done to join a church.  Baptism is done to fulfill the commandment of God that we repent and then witness before heaven and earth that we have repented.  The method of the witness is baptism by water.  Joining a church is completely separate. John the Baptist wasn't out baptizing people into the New Testament version of the Mormon church.  He was baptizing for the remission of sins.  If the LDS church were to separate baptism from church membership, many of the problems they claim to be solving could be avoided altogether.

Second, policies are a tool of compulsion used by corporations to force employees to behave in a certain way.  The Lord does not deal in policies.  He deals in commandments and agency, and men are always free to obey or not, and to receive or not.  Policies inherently restrict agency and the Holy Spirit and are not of God.  They are just another form of idolatry because they supplant God as a source of truth and direction.  No policy is needed.  Just empower people to act according to what they believe the Holy Spirit is telling them.

Third, in his "interview" (I use quotes because it is staged, this is not a disinterested third party interviewing Elder Christofferson), Elder Christofferson gives a number of reasons for the new policy.  These reasons include:
     -- Same sex marriage is sinful and participants need to be disciplined.
     -- The new policy comes because of changes to the laws of the US and other countries.
     -- The policy leaves no room for questions or doubt.
     -- The new policy is family friendly because it frees children from learning one thing at home and another at church.
     -- The new policy for same sex marriage is consistent with the church's approach to polygamy.

Conspicuously absent from the list of reasons given by Elder Christofferson is REVELATION.  There is no claim that church leaders saw a problem and asked God what they should do.  Instead, a list of practical reasons is given.  Personally, if I saw a difficulty in my life that was caused by an outside factor, I would ask God what He would have me do to resolve it.  This is yet another example of how the LDS church is led by corporate leaders and not by revelation.

Finally, the church is acting in a schizophrenic manner.  They state that the primary reason for the policy is to free children from having to learn one thing at home and another at church, and yet if this logic were applied consistently, any situation other than a two-parent, fully active family should result in denial of ordinances.  This is intellectual dishonesty.  If the church is going to make an intellectual case for their position, then they should be consistent in its application

This policy change only serves to distract people from Jesus Christ and His atonement.  The Lord came to this earth to redeem all those who would be redeemed.  He came to offer salvation to those who would receive it.  Policies, procedures, and unsanctioned requirements for baptism interfere with the ability of people to connect with God to receive His salvation.

The bottom line is that I believe the church's new policy to be a step away from Christ and toward chaos, confusion, and darkness.  Baptism should be offered to all who desire it, not just those wanting membership in an institution.  This policy is an affront to the Holy Spirit.  We should compare the behavior of the church and its leaders to the standard of the scriptures.  Where we find a divergence, we should ask ourselves who is out of the way, the scriptures or the church?  You may be surprised at the answer.

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For those who desire baptism according to the doctrine of Christ (2nd Nephi 31), without man-made restrictions and without judgment, I encourage you to find someone with authority from God to perform the baptism.  You can find someone here:

http://www.bornofwater.org/