.Man, the guy knows how to speak. He is eloquent, intelligent, and spiritual in a down to earth, realistic kind of way.
I have been sharing some of the things he said for years but most of the time I either received a lot of support or was completely bashed and labeled as an apostate or heretic over some of those same views he shared but”¦ of course, he is an Apostle and I am just a Cheeky Mormon.
His whole talk was excellent but the greatest part was :
“Some struggle with unanswered questions about things that have been done or said in the past. We openly acknowledge that in nearly 200 years of Church history-along with an uninterrupted line of inspired, honorable, and divine events-there have been some things said and done that could cause people to question”¦
And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine.”
I know, he didn’t reveal any new doctrine or thought….Church is made of imperfect people including Church leaders (And by that, I mean from your Bishop all the way up to the Prophet) and because they are imperfect, they commit mistakes and many times those mistakes were done in the name of doctrine, even though perhaps it wasn’t.
It’s funny though because for one side we seem to understand the concept of a Prophet or a Church leader being a human being just like the rest of us mortals, imperfect and subject to sin and yet we seem to want to give them the mantle of infallibility.
The psychologist inside me says it is a way to rationalize obedience. It will always makes sense and make us more comfortable to follow and obey someone we deem as perfect or at least pretty close to that than someone who doesn’t claim to possess a special relationship with Christ so when we hear someone commenting about the fallibility of Church leaders it makes us frantic, scared because it puts in danger our comfort zone”¦it makes us wonder whether or not we are indeed following what the Lord really wants from us or we are just simply victims of a nut case who happens to think he talks with God.
The rest of Elder Uchtdorf talk gets pretty amazing when he talks about the kind of things people say when they are asked why they are not coming to Church or decide to remain inactive and just like one of my blog entries states There is room for everyone and this seems to be the main message of his talk.
Even though quite a few unfortunately missed the point of “doubt your doubts”, I am just glad he shared such wonderful things that needed to be said for a long time.
Thank you President Uchtdorf and I apologize for having to check the spelling of your last name every single time I type your name. And while you talk wonder if you use spray-on tanning lotion or owe a tanning booth, but no worries, not even your amazing hair distracts me. Well, perhaps just a little.
Pres. Uchtdorf said what needed to be said and some members, investigators and people of other faiths needed to hear it. This church is populated by imperfect people who fill the shoes of the imperfect people who went before them.
A bad choice, an insensitive comment or speculation by a church leader that turned out to be false does not in any way cast a shadow of doubt on the divine succession of the presidents of the church. That man might have said things that weren’t true, but He is still called of God and we thank Thee O God for a prophet.
They might be imperfect but they are prophets. I’d rather have imperfect prophets than no prophets at all. Our history may have difficult spots, but our faith is Jesus Christ and He truly did appear to Joseph Smith and this same Jesus truly does lead this church today.
His talk was inspirational. My husband has been inactive for the past 10 years and I admit I have been upset over the comments I heard over the years about him, being spiritually “Lazy”, not a good/faithful Priesthood holder, etc. They hurt. Sometimes I wonder if people realize the power of words.
Greetings from Australia. I am not a Mormon but I have close family members who belong to this Church. I have been there a couple of times when I was invited : A Christmas dinner and a talent show. Reading this blog entry made me smile because it is quite rare to find any religious leader these days admitting mistakes and yet claiming truthfulness of their Church they belong. Good read.