Q: How do Mormons justify the “changes” in their religion?
A: First off Smith wasn’t perfect, and made no ascertains that he was. Things change in religions, even major practices are abandoned and doctrine modified. Look at the history of Catholicism. Look at the once socially progressive Baptist Churches, now bastions of conservatism. Look at the Episcopal ordination of Gay clergy. Look at Churches breaking apart, and others coming together. The open salvation of many Quakers, becoming more like the limited salvation of many evangelicals. The mainline Churches inching, in some cases towards Universalism (the anti-polygamy Community of Christ Church included).
The fact is changes happen. In an LDS context that is built into the system, the point of modern revelatory guidance, is that new circumstances can require new instruction. This not different from changes found in the Bible. Christ brought forth massive changes in ritual practice for the Jews that chose to follow him, yet he did not denounce these rituals within the context in which they were originally introduced and intended to be practiced. In the old Testament you have organizational changes like when Moses introduces the Judges, and even doctrinal changes when he introduces the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses (what law where the Israelites living before this?). In the New Testament take the opening up of the Gospel to the gentiles, and the revocation of previous restrictions against the consumption of ‘unclean’ meat. Changes, ironically, are not inconsistent in a religious context. The real question is whether one believes them to be divinely sanctioned or not, and that boils down to faith.
2 comments:
One might draw a rough parallel to U.S. gov't.
The sacred writings you may liken to the constitution. The governing body you may liken to the Supreme Court.
The constitution can never be changed, (never mind amendments for now) but it can be....must be....adapted to changing times. Otherwise it becomes an anachronism. The Supreme Court is charged to do that, but must stay always rooted in the constitution, which is flexible enough to allow for that adaptation.
It's an analogy that works well enough within our own spiritual framework. I'm not familiar enough with LDS structure to know how you might see it.
I'd say that could hold true.
Post a Comment