Truth and Light

This week we talked about some topics that can be very “touchy” and extremely controversial. And I wanted to start out with a couple of scriptures.

The first one is in Doctrine and Covenants section 10 verse 68, “Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.”

The second scripture is Also in the Doctrine and Covenants section 84:45, “For the word of the Lord is truth and whatsoever is truth is light and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

            This first scripture can sound really intense and kind of scary. I think that the fact that the Lord instructs us to not declare "more or less" than He has declared is one, just important, just in general. Because when we add or take away from what the Lord teaches, we get corrupt doctrine. We start to teach the ways of man rather than the ways of God. 

However, I feel like there is a lot to learn from it. Especially on the topic about gender and family life. Because then you look at this doctrine of ‘not declaring more or less’ as we approach the topic of Gender and Eternal Identity which I think is also so crucial. Because that stood out to me quite a bit in class is this idea that, the world we live in today tells us that the only thing bad is to tell someone what they are doing is bad. But something that I also know is like that second scripture teaches the word of the Lord is truth. That there are just somethings that are plain wrong. This idea can cause a lot of tension. But I know that it is more than just an idea, because I know that God lives, and I know He loves His children, and so therefore I also know there are certain laws and commandments we have to live by.

But something that is just hard for me is finding a way to express my beliefs and what I know to be true without “stepping on toes” and just “walking on eggshells.”

Something I heard once was “you can tell anyone anything as long it comes from a place of love.” Which at first I thought was a bunch of garbage. You can’t just tell someone they are wrong, or something so plain that you know will offend them just because you love them. Right?

Well I’ve been thinking a lot about that idea and I think the key to sharing light and truth is one, the person has to be willing to receive in order to make change. But when sharing your thoughts and beliefs or corrections you need to becoming from a place from love. You need to be sincerely coming from a position where you want to help an individual. But not only that, you need to have the Spirit with you. The Holy Ghost is the greatest teacher, and one of His roles is to testify of truth. But he cannot be present when you are speaking out of anger or malice.

 So when we teach about the doctrine on gender and eternal identity I can’t say that we should just pretend or "go light" on the doctrine, because there is a true answer. I'm not saying we should go around and telling people the sins they are committing or throwing doctrine in their face. However, I do think we need to defend the doctrine more than we might solely because of fear of offending. And the key is love. You have to inform or correct all out of sincere, genuine love. While teaching true pure doctrine, with all the sincerity of your heart I think is so how we can answer this topic with respect.

 Because it is taught that “All human beings, male and female… has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose…” Also, that “The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” ( Family Proclamation )