You continue to unwittingly make my case. The gospel is about coming to Christ and becoming like him. "Truth" is but one of several means to achieving that end, though only in so far as those "truths" are relevant to that end. Not all "truths" will free us from chains of sin and spiritual death and free us to become like Christ. In fact, some "truths" may distract us from that end, and perhaps enslave us in counterproductive obsessions--as the case may be. This is a "truth" that you seem incapable of getting--which is, in part, why you and others like you haven't been called to the important task of constructing the curriculum for the Church. This is a position which needs to be filled by people who know what they are doing and know what the Church is all about.
I have no intention to exalt Wade to be worthy of my excoriations, but he will have to stand in for the entirety of LDS apostasy for the moment.
Heresy #1: Becoming like Christ IS the gospel.
Heresy #2: Believing certain truths affords salvation, freeing us from chains of sin and spiritual death.
Heresy #3: There are several means to achieve the gospel of salvation.
Myriad are the obnoxious tare borne spores of spiritual immaturity and absurdity and sheer god-hate apostasy these three are typical of.
Who first said. "I will be "like" the Most High" .........SATAN! ( Isaiah 14:14)
LDS unthunk adolescent theology seized upon a notion that they, in their exaltation, would become equal to God. Small wonder that those who finessed them into abject apostasy could steer them into the discipline of ONLY seeking to be LIKE Christ to supplant the gospel and become the purpose of the Church. This turning of things up-side-down was an effective means of avoiding any hindrances in moving forward in faith day in and day out. Becoming like Christ is as open ended as you can get. No expectation of finality or actual accomplishment need challenge them as they seek to keep a vital momentum up. Have we ever heard any LDS person declare that they have arrived and ARE like Christ.........stupid. So this standard is the perfect deception for the purposes of Satan to hid behind and remain undetected. Hence all the "knowing" tares flourish and hold sway in callings and offices they need not qualify for as there is no distinction one from another on such a broad and open ended standard. And further, what is easier to fake than to give off a Christlike demeanor and thereby hold a high seat from which to scold others who all obviously fail the mark? Nothing specific of course just vague generalities that harrow up the conscience of all decent folk.
Can you not feel the hypocrisy rising up and entwining around every vital organ of the intended Bride of the Lamb? Every WORD spoken is couched in the Christlike intonations as if an evident token of righteousness. BAH!
1 Cor. 2: 4
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1 Cor. 4: 20
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
The forms of godliness or the power thereof, which comes off Christ like? I suppose it depends upon which Christ you like. Is it better just to appear like Christ as Mormons want today or to partake of his power and be true Christians? Seems LDS deny the power and only embrace the enticing words of man's wisdom and feigned righteousness. Mormons repudiated the power of godliness from the beginning of the Restoration. Even so the virtues of the Restoration have taken many generations to entirely bleed out even though these treasures were trampled upon by each generation in their day.
If the gospel is of power and not of words only this sets up a line upon which to judge and discern as to who has passed over and gotten the power of godliness or no. This will not do for Satanist who melt in the burning rays of discernment's effulgence. There was never any reformation in LDS history to see to a discernible standard.
Just sustain your leaders, pay your tithes, nothing the average devil cannot do. What tares could never do is come unto Christ and take his name upon them with full purpose of heart, bowing to the scepter of Christ, as being willing to suffer whatever may come at the hand of the Lord in favor of their own ambition and self interests.
We can see then why the discernible standard was never owned and enshrined as any true prophet would insist. For Joseph said in Nauvoo that the church must be cleansed and that he would have a reformation. Finally, he saw the error and manned up too little and, sorrowfully, too late. (Church History Vol 5 ch. 27. P 510)
2. Believing a truth has no virtue of itself. There is no power dispensed by believing anything. There is no shackle removed by truth believed, there is no escape from spiritual death afforded by believing something. Redemption can only be realized by making a solid compact with a Redeemer. That is the gospel. Come unto him with a broken heart and contrite spirit in the meekness of a little child and he will heal you. Believe all the truth you like. Fail to come unto Christ aright and all your truth is for naught. But forge a gospel compact with him in the depths of humility as you repent of having not repented sufficiently as yet. Regardless of what sin or how many, that is not the point at all. The purpose of the gospel is to bring you to Christ and make of you his son or his daughter. Believing Christ or acting like Christ counts for nothing. You must intimately have to do with Christ in an event that changes you from your fallen state to a state of righteousness. Truth cannot do this. Only Christ's shed blood can be applied to empower you for all eternity to stand with the great and see eye to eye. For what is not of Christ and by his power cannot remain and must be thrown down and destroyed.
So lift up yourself in the power of truth and in the likeness of Jesus. Do the best you can and you shall fail miserably at the last day when you stand before God and your name is not written in the Lamb's book of Life.
3.Hardly need we mention this last as there is only one Christ and one door and one rock upon which we can stand. This notion is just so much more comfort and cushy elbow room in which to maneuver the appearance of righteousness. Straight is the gate and narrow the way that leads to eternal life. Broad is the way that leads to the deaths. Certainly there are various aspects of Christ that one could hone in upon in a hapless mimicry.
Wade was right about one thing; hypocrisy, abomination and apostasy is what the Church is all about and so small wonder that is what all the lessons are about.
Of course everyone is to follow Christ. But do the first works and do not presume to follow until you have taken up YOUR cross and been put under HIS yoke, having taken his name upon you with full purpose of heart. That is a discernible event as the power thereof will be manifested unto the just to qualify those whose names should be taken upon the rolls of the church to be nurtured and admonished or to wisely exclude those who have not repented sufficiently who need to be ministered to and carefully kept from defiling themselves and the Holy People of Zion, lest the condemnation of the Father fall upon all.
(See 3 Nephi 18, D&C 84:50-59))
This is but a thinly veiled attempt to bring the posse over the hill.