Secret revelation

CHURCH HANDBOOK POLICY: “A natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether the couple is married or cohabiting, may be baptized and confirmed, ordained, or recommended for missionary service only as follows: A mission president or a stake president may request approval from the Office of the First Presidency to baptize and confirm, ordain, or recommend missionary service for a child of a parent who has lived or is living in a same-gender relationship when he is satisfied by personal interviews that both of the following requirements are met: 1. The child accepts and is committed to live the teachings and doctrine of the Church, and specifically disavows the practice of same-gender cohabitation and marriage. 2. The child is of legal age and does not live with a parent who has lived or currently lives in a same-gender cohabitation relationship or marriage.” –LDS Church Handbook 1, section 16.13, added early November 2015. [source]

FIRST PRESIDENCY LETTER: “The provisions of Handbook 1, Section 16.13, that restrict priesthood ordinances for minors, apply only to those children whose primary residence is with a couple living in a same-gender marriage or similar relationship. … When a child living with such a same-gender couple has already been baptized and is actively participating in the Church, provisions of Section 16.13 do not require that his or her membership activities or priesthood privileges be curtailed or that further ordinances be withheld.” -Letter from the First Presidency, 13 November 2015. [source]

QUOTE: “Filled with compassion for all, and especially for the children, we wrestled at length to understand the Lord’s will in this matter. Ever mindful of God’s plan of salvation and of His hope for eternal life for each of His children, we considered countless permutations and combinations of possible scenarios that could arise. We met repeatedly in the temple in fasting and prayer and sought further direction and inspiration. And then, when the Lord inspired His prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to declare the mind of the Lord and the will of the Lord, each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation. It was our privilege as Apostles to sustain what had been revealed to President Monson. Revelation from the Lord to His servants is a sacred process.” -President Russell M. Nelson, 10 January 2016. [source]

COMMENTARY: This is what having a prophet is all about. This is the big deal about the Mormon church. When Jesus wants to communicate his will to the world, his chosen prophets hide his words in a policy indistinguishable from legalese, then dissemble about their intentions and the meaning of the policy, and then later claim the entire process was divine. Contrast this to the bold declarations of Joseph Smith. I guess they just don’t make prophets like they used to. But what do I know? I’m just another apostate.

Leave a Reply