Two apostles recently spoke in two very different settings about principles important to the Church, and, by extension, to the rest of the world. The Church News ran this article regarding Elder Andersen's meeting with and comments as part of a gathering of leaders of other world religions. In that report, his remarks and the response of other leaders to the gathering are detailed.
I am grateful to see that the Church is building bridges with other religious leaders. There are so many who claim that participation in an organized religion is not necessary, and that the support of formal religion is not needed in day-to-day lives. The minute Joseph Smith walked out of the Sacred Grove, he was ridiculed by the religious leaders of his day. And the first chapters of the history of this Church were filled with accounts of the Church as an institution and as individual believers were persecuted.
It took time and no small effort for the Church to be accepted and even admired by leaders of other religions. But the latest chapters of Church history have been full of a spirit of cooperation and mutual admiration between leaders of our Church and those who lead other faiths. It is wonderful to consider how far things have advanced that meetings like this can take place where shared views instead of differences can be discussed, and where leaders of all faiths can agree upon core and driving principles of belief. That was great to read about, and I hope any who will be reading that article from its link here will be equally edified and inspired as I was.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Elder Holland addressed those who work with LDS Family Services, praising their work and leaving them with his apostolic blessing. This article details that address. One of the many reasons Elder Holland continues to be a favorite of mine is his ongoing efforts to show compassion for those suffering in any way and to praise those who help ameliorate the suffering of such people. I was very moved by the report of that address.
That does it for this update. Stay tuned for more as more updates come in. Let me know your thoughts, if you are able to do so, and if you cannot, please let me know via e-mail. Thanks so much to you all for your interest and support.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Updates on the Ministry of Our Apostles
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
At the same time, however, I recognize that we live in a time when incivility, discourtesy, unkindness, and even cyber-bullying has regrettably become part of online interactions. With that in mind, while anyone who wishes can comment on anything if they choose to do so, I hereby reserve the right to immediately delete any comments which are critical, unkind, lack civility, or promote prodcuts, services, and values contrary to either the Church, or to the rules of online etiquette.
I'd also like to remind all who comment here that I try to respond personally to each individual comment as I feel is appropriate. Such replies are not meant to end the conversation, but to acknowledge earnest feedback as it is submitted.
And in order to better preserve the spirit and pure intentions for which this blog was established, I also hereby request that anyone not commenting with a regular user name (particularly those whose comments appear under the "Unknown" or "Anonymous" monikers, give the rest of us a name to work with in addressing any replies. If such individuals do not wish to disclose their actual given names, a pseudonym or nickname would suffice.
Any comments made by individuals who opt to not give a name by which they can ber identified may, depending on the substance and tone of such comments, be subject to deletion as well. I would respectfully ask that all of us do all we can to keep the dialogue positive, polite, and without malice or ill-will. May the Lord bless us all in our discussion of these important matters.