“I don’t recruit other prospective members because I’m still confused about my religion. There are things I love about it but there are things that bother me. Why would I bring anyone else into this mess?”
Pahoran lives in New Zealand. Maybe he can pay this member a visit and straighten out things.
H.
"Others cannot endure their own littleness unless they can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level." ~ Ernest Becker "Whether you think of it as heavenly or as earthly, if you love life immortality is no consolation for death." ~ Simone de Beauvoir
Some fantastic comments, too. I have some liberal Mormon friends who are heroically trying to change the church culture while remaining believing Mormons. Almost it makes me tempted to go back and give them a hand.
Ron Madson: KiwiMormon, thank you for this post. To reinforce your sentiments that our duty does not end at just giving, church government places upon us as members an ongoing requirement that we give our “voice and common consent” as to any monies expended from the church treasury. First, we are to give our “common consent” as to “all things” (See DC 26:2). More to point, DC 104:71,72 requires that no monies are to be taken out of the treasury of the church without our giving our “voice and common consent” to such expenses. Meaningful consent could not be given without a full financial disclosure which was given historically until 1960 it was suspended. It must be re-instated if our Common Consent is to have any meaning. This is a right and privilege that our church should not have taken away.
I personally see our church finances as significant evidence as to the prophetic nature of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon prophecies that us gentiles will “sin against the gospel” after its restoration (3 Nephi 16) and how so? Mormon 8 tells us that we will “pollute the Holy Church of God’ by spending more on our buildings (vanity, pride, etc) than on the poor and those in real need. It is not that we will not provide it is just it will not be our priority…and so it is.
I spoke with Caroline Winter before the publication of her story and she did provide a couple of quotes from our visit, but as she indicate to me after publishing so much was edited out. The story she wanted to share was that of the Zoramites of Rameumpton fame. How we cannot read that story and think of how we have just spent billions to make sure “urban blight” (code for the less desirable and poorly clothed/bathed homeless) away from our synagogue hits the mark.
I hear you and share your sentiments as to this issue. thanks