(Forgive the bland title, unfortunately that’s what attention getting at the moment.)
Alright, I’m about to throw syntax into the wind here and just be raw, because this is too urgent and too important to worry about being anything other than just completely real. If you haven’t been caught up in the adversarial crap storm of the Church’s recent handbook change, lucky you, enjoy the fresh crisp air wherever you are and carry on. For the rest of us, I’ve got to tell you what I’m seeing and it is this-
1. The pain caused to real people because of this change in policy is not to be disregarded. Some of the choicest spirits out there are being tried like mad right now because of this. They are loved. Please pray for all who are pained because of this change. Every life matters. Our Father and Mother in heaven love EVERY single one of us as though WE WERE THEIR ONLY CHILD. I wish everyone to have complete and perfect knowledge and feeling of this. There are no exceptions.
2. There is NOTHING God does that is not out of pure and perfect love for his children.
3. God does nothing save it be out of His perfect wisdom. He sees around corners we cannot. We are children. We do not have full knowledge and understanding. He does.
4. What I have seen to today is the epitome of the prophecy that in the last days men will call evil good and good evil. What I am seeing today is people directing blame to the wrong person. If I make any point or impression let it be this: YOU GOT THE WRONG GUY. God does not hurt. God does not exclude. God does not corrupt. God does not change. God does not tempt. God does not repress. God does not stifle agency. God does not move people to anger. God does not contend. God does not disappoint. God does not shame. God does not deny blessings. If you heard about this change and perceived it as negative, you can be sure where that came from, and it wasn’t from God.
5. The church doesn’t come up with stuff just to bring on more persecution and drive more people away. They’re not a bunch of evil men trying to make us the weirdest possible culture on the planet so everyone else will hate us and harm us. Are Mormons weird? Heck yes! Hate to break it to you but GOD IS WEIRD, the WAYS of God are weird… or rather God is weird to the WORLD. The world is Satan’s domain. Of course things of God are going to seem nutzo here. Common sense.
6. Ever hear Jim Gaffigan’s bit on McDonalds? If not, you’ve missed out on some seriously priceless magic. We all have our “thing.” We can put any name on it, its all the same. Every one of us comes into this world with a weak spot, a specific inclination toward a type of sin. I think the amount of attention homosexuality gets over the others is ridiculous but it happens because its the sin people are openly proud of. My McDonald’s, or we might say my “homosexuality”, is food addiction. Its a serious sin against my body, it could easily kill me. It kills many people every day. All us gluttons aren’t throwing pride parades and wearing tshirts and packing around insignia proclaiming our awesomeness in how much we can put down in one sitting, demanding special rights in restaurants that every restaurant has to serve us all we can eat because, dang it, we were born to eat big! Maybe your “homosexuality” isn’t food, maybe its a sex addiction (pornography, masturbation, affairs, etc) -I work with sex addicts, this is a huge one. Maybe your “homosexuality” is gaming, connecting to video games as an out to life. Maybe its robbery. Maybe its habitual lying. Maybe its making an idol of your body by obsessively dieting and working out and showing it off. Maybe you’re a hoarder. Maybe you just love stirring up contention between people and watching it play out. Maybe you’re obsessed with appearing to be perfect to gain approval. Its all “homosexuality.” We’re all sick, we’re all broken. This is how its supposed to be. It is not okay, in fact its downright a sin in and of itself, to hate someone because their broken in a different way than you are. That’s all this is. It goes like this: We are weak (human). We are in Satan’s domain. He messes with us in attempt to control us, to get us to sin so we will submit our agency. We sin. We have a choice to make, indulge in that sin and stay in bondage or repent and be free. If any one of us turns from our sin, gets the help we need, and repents, it will not mean that we are free from that WEAKNESS, we are still human. It just means we’ve learned to draw strength from Christ via the atonement to keep ourselves safe from natural consequences of indulging in that sin. An alcoholic who stops drinking will always be an alcoholic. A sex addict who stops taking lust hits will always be a sex addict. A homosexual who stops sexual interaction with people of the same sex will always be homosexual. Not one of these people is more or less than the other. Not one of these people ought to be judged or shamed. But also, not one of these sins ought to be embraced and accepted and encouraged because they ALL harm the individual and the collective. We stand up AGAINST SIN ***BECAUSE*** we love the individual, NOT the other way around.
Though my upbringing was to accept homosexuality as a normal, natural, healthy thing, I understand much more deeply now. My heart has not changed. I still love people. I’m supposed to love people. Loving people does not mean loving them doing things that can harm them or take away blessings from them. I give my kids rules because I love them, our Heavenly Father gives us rules because he loves us. This entire thing is about His love for us. He is protecting children from the anguish of being torn between their love for their parents and their love for the gospel until they are old enough, mentally developed enough, to handle it. I see no fault in that, I think good can come of it. The problem is in all the hurt people who are justifying to themselves and the world that this church is so cruel and unChrist-like. That is a flat out LIE Satan is telling people.
To you who do not yet see or feel energies let me tell you this- Satan and his minions are have an all out HEYDAY today. They are about as pleased as they can be and are totally stoked to watch this cascade in to absolute tragedy. They’ve got people committing suicide over this. They’ve got people leaving the safety of the church over this. They’ve got people breaking spiritual contracts over this, who will now not fulfill the missions they came to earth to fulfill, they’ve got the world in an uproar of persecution toward the church.
If you think this won’t bring about the same, even worse, persecution than was endured in the first days of the restoration- WATCH. Watch and see what happens.
As for me, my testimony will not waver. I know my Father. I know my Mother. I know my Savior. I know that there are things I don’t know, but they know. I trust them completely. There is nothing that could convince me that this church is not led by a true prophet of God. When God tells me something, I believe it. I know what he’s told me, and he’s told me over and over and over, countless times. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints IS Christ’s church. I know we’re in the very last days, even the tribulation as described in the scriptures. What is going on right now is part of that, and it is wisdom in God to be strict on this thing. He has a wise purpose, I guarantee it. What we can all do until that purpose is made known is to take up our shield of faith to withstand those fiery darts. This war is REAL, friends. I work as a healer in it every day. I encourage you to stand strong. Harsher storms are coming than this earth has ever seen. The only safety is in Christ, and the greatest safety is in His church, following the Prophet. Its up to you if you will be left standing to greet Christ when those storms have raged the world to absolute destruction and he comes for you. And he IS coming.
One Uprising 