Present day churches fail to produce the qualities they claim Jesus has in their adherents. The true gospel contains the power to produce people who reconcile to how they believe Jesus to be.5 By the Lord’s standard, any church that fails to produce people more like him cannot be his.6 Where do today's churches go wrong?
Believing that the words of eternal life can be found in an institution is a grave mistake. The words of eternal life are never in a church, except through individuals who actually:
- Live as they believe Jesus would in their place.
- Seek to learn more about Jesus.
- Accept and live better ideas whenever and wherever they find them.
Becoming more like God requires the removal of anything less than he is.7 Those who fail to become more like God do so because they are unwilling to improve their idea of who he is and what he wants. In order to grow towards God, it is necessary to cut away anything that can’t co-exist with a greater understanding of how he is.
We are naturally inclined to refuse voices from God whose words do not meet our preconceived notions or fulfill our carnal desires. We interpret invitations for improvement as arrogant criticism,8 dismissing as hateful what is actually the greatest channel of love that can be expressed.9 The greater the invitation to improvement, the greater the love that is demonstrated, the harder it is to find, and the more likely it will be responded to with extreme harm to the giver.10 People much prefer those who tell them what they want to hear, namely that they are wonderful as they are, and that they will receive wonderful things without the need to change.
26 Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.
27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth -- and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.
28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.
29 O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light? (Helaman 13)
In place of God’s voice, we are naturally inclined to attribute to God voices that are not his: churchy actions (outward, designated actions that are often disconnected from the heart, as betrayed by their absence from daily life), churchy thoughts (rehearsing the same canned ideas given to you in your sect's traditions rather than actively searching for and reasoning about God for yourself), and churchy desires (seeking salvation as an escape from the vicissitudes of life instead of consecrating the challenges of life for the benefit of others).
Footnotes
- 1. But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life. (D&C 63:23) ↩
- 2. And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? (Luke 6:39) ↩
- 3. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3) ↩
- 4. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (John 6:68) ↩
- 5. And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness. (Alma 32:31) ↩
- 6. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; (3 Nephi 27:21) For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive. (Mosiah 26:22) And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. (3 Nephi 27:8) ↩
- 7. Therefore, having removed everything which has greater cost than benefit, or which gets worse, be willing to receive the implantation of the word which alone has the power to save your souls. (James 1:21, Author’s Reflection) ↩
- 8. Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide. (Helaman 12:6) ↩
- 9. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Hebrews 12:6) ↩
- 10. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. (Psalm 109:5) ↩