I chose this article because I didn’t quite understand the title. “Why the Church is as True as the Gospel”… I have always thought of the Church and the Gospel as one in the same so to hear it separated out like that caught my attention. How could the church be different than the Gospel? Doesn’t the Church revolve around the Gospel of Christ? England presents the idea that the Church is the physical part of the gospel, that part that you go to every Sunday. He says the Gospel is the actual knowledge of Christ that we have been given by the Book of Mormon and the correctly translated information from the Bible. He presents many ideas of his philosophy some of which are, opposition is key in the truth of the Church, the Church is “the school of love”, the Church involves its members actively with other members’ weakness and allows us to see our own weakness.
Opposition being a key to salvation is a big part of this paper. This was very interesting to me because I had just written a paper on opposition for my Book of Mormon class. I had talked about how opposition was a huge part of music and art, England goes further to talk about the opposition in the members. For example, the intelligent listening to the misinformed and biased and the impatient finding they have to be patient. I have thought about this because I can relate to it. I see it and I know that I am not the most informed person either. I worry about my papers, my talks and my lessons because I know that I do not know much. This year is my first year at college and I was terrified that I would be called as a Sunday school teacher, called to teach the returned missionaries that knew much more about what I was teaching than I did. But as England says, that is part of the Church, learning to deal with that, both on the hand of the teacher, and of the listener.
He goes on to say how the Church is true because it is a “school of love”. I thought this was interesting because often, people of my age (including me) think that a family is a bi-product of love for one another. I will love my family, of course… but I have never really thought that I will continue to learn to love. England says that a family, as well as the Church, is the school of love. How love does not come right off, that a school of love will teach you how to love unconditionally, something that we can all use a bit more of.
The rest of his essay is based on weakness and the strength that comes from it. The Church is as true as the gospel because it “involves us directly in proving contraries, working constructively with the oppositions within ourselves and especially between people, struggling at an experiential level with paradoxes and polarities that can help to redeem us.” He also talks about how sometimes we are hurt by our leader’s weakness. I think we all have, at some time, been hurt by our leaders. Most of the time that hurt is unintentional, but that is part of what makes our Church true. As England says, the weakness of others helps make us stronger. He even talks of the “less honorable” gifts (from 1 Corinthians 12) like ignorance, social pride, and prejudice. He talks about how those are just as important to the truth of the Church as the “honorable” gifts because they make other stronger, and help them to grow by coming to accept them. He says that it is very hard for the rich and intelligent to accept the weakness of the Church. It is hard for them because they want to see the Church as a perfect thing because the gospel is perfect. The Church is obviously imperfect, but the imperfections are what make it perfect.
He mentions several of his experiences in how the Church has made people grow. I liked these stories because I think that it is hard to see the changes wrought in people because they come gradually, it must be amazing to be able to see that change. Bishops really are chosen of God, and the power given to them really helps people out and his examples are another testimony of that.
This essay is an excellent one and eye-opening to me. His opinion on the Church and the gospel, being separate things, with the oppositions we see in the Church, the Church being the “school of love”, and his views on the saving experiences we get from the imperfections of others, definitely make this article a good read. I hope we can all take something from this and even learn from this article to be more patient.
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I too found the title of this article very intriguing. It made me stop and think about the differences and connections between the church and the gospel. I finally came to the conclusion that the gospel is the doctrine we are taught all our lives in church and church is the people and love found in our wards and stakes and, in our case, at school. This love comes as a byproduct of the gospel. Because we as latter-day saints have the whole perspective of why we are here because of the gospel, we are eager and ready to love one another. That is one of my very favorite things about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the experiences and stories he shared to be very interesting. They helped make his point, about the Church being as true as the Gospel, clearer. The changes that he saw in people as both a Branch President and a Bishop were truly remarkable. The inspiration that he had as a leader of his ward and branch was amazing. I have had callings where I felt totally inadequate but it turns out that these callings only increased my faith and helped me overcome obstacles. Although my personal changes are only a small fraction of the changes of those in the article, I now know that the Church is as true as the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Bishopric got reorganized, I thought that the 2nd counselor was utterly incompetent. I could go on about how he was. I remember one day I couldn’t believe how dumb he was. (this sounds really harsh I know) but I was talking to my Dad about it and he told me something. He said that “the church is not for perfect people; we go to church so we become perfect”. I thought about it a while and realized he was right. I can’t rag on someone because I’m not perfect either. We are all learning. There is a scripture that says something about pointing out the stick in your neighbor’s eye when you have a log in yours. It seems that this article touches upon that.
ReplyDeleteStudent wards a great example of the "incompetent" members having a chance to grow into their callings. Where else do you have 18-year-old Elders Quorum and Relief Society presidents? As well as the Sunday School teachers, executive secretary, etc...
ReplyDeleteThe expectations are high, but usually the students that are called into these positions are humbly prepared to take the challenge. In fact, the students who receive these callings may in fact be more enthusiastic and eager to serve than those who have more experience in the church.
It's important to apply the idea of the church-vs-gospel to these callings, too. The people serving in the callings will make mistakes, but that doesn't mean the principles of the church (the gospel) are any less true.
As I have progressed in my education, I have found it increasingly harder to refrain from criticizing Church leaders and other members. I think the biggest problem is that the "errors" in lessons, talks, and musical numbers, distract me, and I am so busy in an exchange of, "oh, don't say that!" and "no, Rachel, don't be critical; grammar doesn't matter in church; besides, you don't know everything either" with myself that I completely miss the point. There are times when I wish I only had a fourth grade education. I found England's view, that such experiences are part of the saving nature of the church, quite interesting.
ReplyDelete"I know this Church is true." Every Fast and Testimony meeting in my home ward, several primary children would bear their simple testimonies. They stood on tiptoes to peer over the pulpit, lips pressed firmly to the microphone. The Church is true, and they knew it.
ReplyDeleteTo these children, the Church was synonymous with the gospel. In many ways it is, as England pointed out. The Church enables us to practice what we preach. It is a true and powerful force for good, as is the gospel.
I enjoyed learning about the complementary aspects of the church and the gospel. They are both divinely inspired. I hope that I can have the same simple faith that children have.
This reading reminded of a talk given once, i don't remember when, where, or by whom. But the person giving the talk was pleading members who have been offended and because of this, gone inactive, to come back. We all need to learn to forgive each other. The church gives us all a chance to grow. We can't expect others to give us a chance to make mistakes and learn if we don't do the same for them. The church is perfect, but its members aren't. It would be pointless to have a church where in order to be a member you had to already be perfect. And its silly that some people expect their leaders to already be perfect. Isn't that why we're all here, to help each other learn Christ like attributes like patience, humility, charity, and love?
ReplyDeleteThis was a really thought-provoking article. I really liked how the author put so many things into a different perspective. I know that many of the things he talked about I can relate to in my own life. One of the things I love about the organization of the church is callings. I love knowing that whatever calling I get, the Lord put me there for a specific purpose. Not only am I there to fulfill a need in the ward, but I am there to become better as a person. I feel sorry for the people outside of the church who don't have the great opportunity for growth that we do. Obviously it takes initiative of our own to become better and to follow through with our callings, but I love that having a calling helps me be able to serve and become better just through striving to do my best in what I have been called to do.
ReplyDeleteOne Sunday morning after a sacrament meeting spent attempting to keep younger children in their seats rather than crawling under benches and breaking up disputes between brothers involving pinching, poking, and other inappropriate behavior found my mother crying by herself in the back of the chapel. A kind sister sat down beside her and listened as she expressed frustration at the seeming pointlessness of bringing her children to church some days. This sister then pointed out that children must be brought to church so they can learn to feel the Spirit. It doesn't always seem like they do amidst all the shenanigans, but it is the best place for them to be in order for it to happen.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of this story as I read this article, which illustrates that the Church acts as a tool God uses to help us gain salvation, despite/because of its imperfections. Some of the earliest times I remember feeling the Spirit were at church, singing Primary songs. From the time we are young, the mechanisms of the Church teach us how to be better people, helping us overcome our inadequacies and making us more humble. Church with my family can be a challenge, but I am grateful to my parents for bringing us week in and week out to the best school for personal growth available.
Well, I must agree, this essay was amazing. To be honest, I didn’t want to chose it because I wanted to read the shorter article, but the title caught my eye, and I figured it had something I could learn. I agree with England on multiple points. I know that marriage is a divine institution where we gain a greater love for those we already love. Next, I definitely agree that there needs to be an opposition in all things. If we could not sin, we could not be righteous. For this I am grateful. Finally, I know that the church is a means through which we may become perfected. I know that I am not perfect, but know that this church has made me a better man. In all, I really loved this essay, and am grateful for a university where an essay like this is common course material. Thank you BYU!!! (P.S. last week, I could not see any of the week's blogs posted, and found it today when looking to respond to this week's blog.)
ReplyDeleteI do agree that we can learn from the weaknesses of others. That is if we are willing to lower our wall of pride and make change. Since I can remember I have learned from others examples, teachings, and weaknesses. I was not always a good kid, but I did wath others carefully. I have always been able to read people. I do not read them perfectly but am a people reader. Back on topic,I believe we can learn better from our OWN weaknesses also. This means we need to open ourselves to crticism. We need to take to thought when people give us advice and whatnot. We also ahould be self-correcting in our daily doings. Noticing the things we do that upset others or are not wise things to do, and we need to go about fixing our own little problems.
ReplyDeleteI like Brother Maxwell's metaphor: the church is an old-folks home where everyone is operating on everyone else. I liked the marriage comparison too: a school for love. It reminds me of the cool bridegroom metaphor from somewhere in our scriptures (several places).
ReplyDeleteThe church helps us serve. My Book of Mormon teacher was just telling me about some of his psychology reading: American boys often struggle because of their lack of real responsibility. In past and faraway cultures, a twelve-year old boy is a man, and is responsible for cattle, or other important chattels. The church has made a substitute for animals; when youth turn twelve, they enter the church's youth program, which provides them with tasks and responsibilities that help them mature spiritually. The End.
I like the idea of this essay a lot. Obviously the people in the church aren't perfect. However, this adds the opportunity for opposition in all things. Some people get caught up in my bishop said this or that. Or he offended me. These expierences actually help us learn to act more like Christ. The structure of the church helps us learn how to act like the gospel teaches us.
ReplyDeleteI also like that this essay motivates. It makes me want to try harder at church. Everytime I go I can learn more than just principles. I can treat others with respect. I can learn from the mistakes and expierences of others.
ReplyDeleteI like how all the principles of the gospel are embodied in Church practices. It is often hard for us to overcome the trials in our life simply by pondering the words of Christ. We must do the words of Christ. That is how we gain a testimony and grow. The church was put into place to help us do these things.
ReplyDeleteI also found this article's title very interesting and compelling. I've grown up hearing sometimes "the church is true, but sometimes the people aren't. Jake also makes a good point about how closely the Gospel principles and Church practices coincide together. The Gospel truly does bring happiness.
ReplyDelete