I think this is an important thing to think through, for me personally. I'm glad you brought it up Bridget.bridget_night wrote: ↑08 Oct 2018, 08:23 Which is it?
What bothered me most was when President Nelson said:" By allowing the nicknames of the Church to be used, adopted or even sponsored they have offended God and given a major victory to Satan!! Isn't this like throwing Hinckley and Monson under the bus? So was "Meet the Mormons" inspired by Satan? Very confusing.
I was thinking that I feel MORE comfortable with change than no change. To see Nelson stand up for what what he feels impressed, even if it seems to go against prior programs or quotes from prior prophets, is better overall for the church and for me in it.
If Pres Nelson was beholden to everything previously said...we would be stuck in our past and unable to address current needs.
So...overall...I personally don't see this topic as the biggest fish to fry, and don't personally care about it, but the overall point that we can make changes, we can do something even if Monson and Hinckley had a different take on it...is good, IMO. And I think good to have the body of the church accept that things can change as needed....temple ceremonies change, scripture changes, policies change, even our understanding of doctrine changes.
It moves us further from black and white thinking, and proof-texting, and being cowards for change because we fall back on something some prophet said decades ago (which is likely under different context).
Something Nibbler said before really struck me, and got me thinking about how much I appreciate Nelson's boldness:
If this is the direction it takes us, that is a "win."We correct people so much, make sure they say church of Christ, or whatever, and in 20 years we talk about following Christ and obeying commandments more than we talk about following and obeying leaders of the church.
Of course, day to day, there still is the problem of knowing what is of Christ and what is of mortal prophets. But...it is an improvement to be talking about Christ, and not the prophets. Always keeping an eye on Christ as the image of our worship.
The rest of it, seems like devil is in the details. It gets messy and it gets frustrating on how to do it christ-like. But I appreciate change, and I hope for what nibbler said is the silver lining in years to come on what we find we are talking about in our church experience, regardless of what others outside our religion call us...what are we talking about in church...that matters.
If that is Pres Nelson's vision...I am grateful for that.