I posted recently about the First Presidency's message. I got an email sent stake-wide from our stake president suggesting a lot of members of my church are struggling with their testimony. I have heard some things about Facebook as well, though I do not spend any time there anymore.
Here's some of my simple testimony. Hopefully it will encourage you, and maybe be a source of inspiration for others.
In times like these, I hold on to the following fundamental facts:
- The ONLY important thing is your relationship with Christ. Hold on to that. Everything else is secondary.
- The purpose of the church, prophets, even the scriptures, is to bring you closer to Christ. If something is driving you away from Christ, cut it off, pluck it out, get rid of it. The grand test is whether we are faithful to Christ.
- I was taught that we follow the prophet when he speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost. We are under no requirement to obey the prophet when the spirit doesn't confirm it to us. We are free to experiment by faith, but we are not obligated to do things that we don't have a testimony of. It was the same during the period of polygamy -- if you were a member of the church and you didn't believe in polygamy, you didn't have to follow it, teach it, endorse it, or anything like that. We have never ever tested our membership based on their willingness to obey every random little thing.
If you feel like the first presidency or members are driving you away from the church -- just assess whether you believe you are doing what Christ wants or something else. Re-orient yourself, hold true to the things you know, and make it your purpose to follow Christ above all else. I am sure the same advice would've applied in the 1800s as well as it does today. Being a member of this church is not meant to be a pleasure cruise, but a crucible where Christ is trying to refine us until we can be worthy to inherit the mansions he has promised us.
Hold on, things will only get harder, not easier.
I left long ago because I felt the First President's message was straying from what is true. This just confirms it. It wasn't limited to just him, either. I felt it with the Bishop and Stake Leadership, too. Not only that, but I saw it in their auras. They were literally glowing red. I felt the Holy Spirit enter into me and calm me, but also tell me to leave and never return. So, I walked away from the LDS Church. And every other Church, for that matter. I was instructed to stay away from them all, because troubled times were ahead for us all. There's false prophets at the top, everywhere. They're all bad.
I'm still a Child of Christ, in my heart and soul. I still pray and consult His Guidance, Strength, and Wisdom in every thing I do. And I've also come to understand Him in a way that I ever had previous to those visions, premonitions, or whatever you're ant to call them. It was real, Earth shatteringly terrifying, and paradigm shifting, what I experienced. It took a lot of prayer for me to be convinced it wasn't one of Lucifer's tricks.
I'm not saying the LDS itself is bad, but I believe the leadership is. From the President, down to the smallest local Ward Bishop. Either they know they are leading the whole Church astray, which makes them evil, or they follow the "unwritten" rule of not questioning the edicts of the President and Apostles, or they're so entranced that they're ignorant to what's really happening. Only two of those still hold paths to redemption. One leads straight to Hell. I hope the leaders of every religion and faith figure that out quick.
This is my own interpretation based on personal experiences I've had, so I hope you don't hold my view against me. I agree with the rest of what you said. I am still a Christian, I just stand apart from the organized religions and their leadership.
Couldn't have said it better, brother.
I have nothing against you. I may be more stubborn than you though. Godspeed. Something is rotten in the church and there will be a cleansing, if it has not already started.
I am 72 yrs. old and a life long member. Until about 20 yrs ago. I too realized something was wrong. The teaching from my childhood and youth was changing and it made me stop and think WHY? I did not believe God had changed his mind after all this time so the church leaders must be teaching their personal gospel. I talk to God personally now and feel closer to him than I ever did while in the actual church.