Real kindness is our closest approximation of truth.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
Some people choose a word to inspire them in the New Year. Last year, as I pondered that idea, I instead chose a word to direct my entire life. My foundational life goal is to find truth.
The Truth About the Temple/Priesthood Ban
When I was a young child (about 5 or 6, to the best of my recollection) I found out that the church did not allow black people to enter the temple or hold the priesthood. I was confused and concerned. I could not possibly believe that a real God would ever care deeply about the color of anything. Color. Such an utterly meaningless marker—and one I had dealt with my entire life.
In spite of the fact that the first presidency and all general authorities of that time (and every leader from the top down) defended the policies—(including claims that blacks were less righteous in the pre-existence, that they could only aspire to be ministering angels, etc.), I just knew it could not be true.
As I became older, I became more vocal in more places. What nerve, for a child (and a girl, to boot) to think she knew “better than the prophet, the Lord's chosen mouthpiece”!
I was taken aback, because I certainly didn't think I had special authority or position. And I knew I didn't speak for the church. I knew I had no power to make policy change. But I did (and do) speak for me. And deep in my soul, I knew it could not be so.
My parents never told me I was wrong and did not defend the practices. They said they didn't understand it. They let me think it through and talk to them when I wanted to.
But nearly everyone else with whom I ever discussed it did tell me I was wrong, that I didn't understand, that I was misguided, that I was “on the road to apostasy” for disbelieving the prophet and apostles and disagreeing with their stance.
Still, I searched for truth in every way I could. With limited resources and no internet, I read what I could and thought and prayed.
When I was 14, the church changed policy and, suddenly, aligned with me (the apparent heretic).
I know I could have been wrong. There are myriad ways to justify almost any position and I could imagine those, too. But this time, I wasn't. And thus I learned that leaders—including prophets—are fallible humans.
That should be obvious. We say it, authoritatively! But we typically behave otherwise.
Not only do we (collectively) vehemently disallow anyone from stating disagreement without claiming they are apostate or “steadying the ark,” but we will also work ourselves into contortions to prove that the wrong thing wasn't really wrong. It was right for the time it was done. It was right for a particular purpose. It was right to teach a particular lesson.
It was right! It was right! It was right! Even if it was wrong…it was right.
The Truth About Women's Relationship to God
When I received my endowment in 1985, women did not covenant with God. They covenanted unconditionally with their husband , who then covenanted directly with God.
Immediately, I did not believe that was correct. I could not believe women needed an intermediary between themselves and their creators. But who was I to make that claim?
Later the covenant was changed. It was still to the husband, but conditioned on his righteousness.
That was better. But as much as I adore my husband of 36 years (and as fortunate as I am to have married a truly Godly man), I knew he wasn’t my conduit to God, conditioned or not. He was another human, another child of God, a peer. Not my superior.
As many of you know, it was only a couple of years ago, the verbiage (of that part) finally reflected that fact that women are equal before God! We finally covenant directly with our God, not through someone else.
Again, I could have been wrong. There could have been an explanation for why this is so. (One thought, perhaps women covenant to Heavenly Father through their husbands and—with a completed scenario—men covenant with Heavenly Mother through their wives.) But it now appears that I wasn't wrong. Women don't need an intermediary between themselves and their God. (And you might recall, I define God as being Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father, together, acting as one.
The Truth About Covid
Multiple times a day for the past 1.5 years, I have seen the result of perpetuated falsehoods:
- Fear to the point of true mass psychosis.
- Sheer hatred of others, up to and including wishing them painful deaths.
- Literal, direct blaming of individuals (including those who have never been sick) for infections.
- Massive loss of freedoms across the world—in the expected places, but also formerly free countries run under full medical tyranny.
- And on and on.
Robert Y. Valentine, a member of the church in the Canyon View Ward in Highland, Utah, posted this publicly on Facebook this past week.
Seems pretty charitable, right?
This man is so convinced (in spite of months of evidence to the contrary) that the vaccine will keep others from becoming infected and transmitting it to him (false) and that someone else's mask will protect him (false), that he gladly (AND IN ALL CAPS!) demands that those who don't meet him on the field of delusion, should not darken the door of his precious ward building.
The damage being done is real.
When I see someone struggling with something based on a falsehood—like this man—it seems the best source of relief is truth. At least in the long-term.
Decades of non-politicized studies, for example, have shown that masking is not efficacious. They also show physiological and psychological harms of masking. Knowing the truth about masking could not only relieve fear of being around unmasked people, but it could also help prevent the harms they cause. A doubly good outcome!
When I see people who are determined to do whatever they can, whether scientific or not (like the full lockdowns in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, etc.), to eradicate the disease, they should know that it's highly unlikely it can be done. The virus has animal reservoirs. Taking extreme and harmful measures to reach an end that cannot be reached is nonsensical.
Knowing that Covid cannot be eradicated can help us avoid the great harms done by those measures that, again, don’t solve the problem. Causing lasting harm just so you feel like you're helping—when you are not—is not a good approach. That's good to know!
The same thing happens when I see vaccinated people blaming the unvaccinated for their breakthrough Covid infection. In spite of the obvious irrationality just on the surface, the truth is these are non-sterilizing vaccines. “Leaky vaccines” give evolutionary pressure for resistant variants—and that happens more when the vaccines are given during active viral spread. (It's not a new phenomenon.) These people would be closer accuracy if they blamed the vaccinated for causing the variant problem.
Perhaps we should go back to the pre-2020 practice of understanding that infection is part of life and stop pointing fingers directly at others. But if we must place blame, perhaps it could be directed in a more scientifically sound fashion, rather than screeching at the healthy, air breathing 6-year-old down the block.
Just a thought. Truth wins.
Responding to your comments about Blacks and priesthood /Temple: Back in the early 1970s, when I was still single, I met a young black fellow in my local grocery store, where he was stacking fresh produce. We started chatting, and before I left the store, we had a date set up. My mother was away on vacation with my aunt, so my older sister and I were at home; she was excited that I “finally” had a date! The doorbell rang, my sister answered while I was finishing getting ready… a young black fellow was on the porch… Yes, can I help you? “I’m here to pick up Rochelle for our date”… Awkward moment for my sister, because I didn’t tell her he was black… We had a couple of dates before a priesthood holder from my Ward sat me down for a serious talk… my sister had told my mother (neither were church members), who called my Home Teacher… It was explained to me that since a black man could not hold the priesthood, I really should only be dating guys that were capable of being priesthood holders (translation: not black) because, even though we were “just dating”, we never know who we will eventually fall in love with… So rather than being told outright (about 1972ish and me being in community college) that my family was freaked out about me dating a black fellow, the Church became the rationale… I stopped dating him and apologized. I ended up marrying a good, righteous (but agnostic) white fellow in 1977, who had all the positive characteristics of a Mormon, because his mother was an amazing Christian woman. He died in 2013 and I had his Temple work done; now we just need to be sealed after Covid is under control enough and I can get my Recommend-holding friends to participate as proxies to be sealed to other family members at the same time. I have not been interested in dating since being widowed at age 61, but if I did, I wouldn’t hesitate to consider non-caucasian, as there would be no man who isn’t a “potential” priesthood holder anymore, I think.
Thank you for sharing your story. What a sad situation. Since I was only 14 when things changed, I never had to deal with those kinds of issues.
It’s such a strange thing to me. No one can even tell you when someone changes from not black to black. Human skin tone is a continuum. The distinction and discrimination was always irrational as well as harmful.
Alison Moore Smith recently posted…Only Truth
I attempted to submit a comment, but I got a message saying it was a duplicate message, and it looked like I had already said that. How can that be, when I just wrote it in response to your blog???
Disregard my second comment… evidently my comment did go through, even though it told me it couldn’t.
This is seriously hurting the church.
Most of us pay close attention to the actual science (not the scare tactics, and not the highly-spun official party line). We keep ourselves healthy, follow the word of wisdom as well as we can, and look forward to the time that we can go back to our normal, healthy, precaution-taking lives.
When the masking rule was lifted, our ward members returned slowly. Some people still masked, which is great for them.
But our stake suddenly reversed and required full masking again. Sacrament meeting attendance has largely evaporated again.
How long will this edict continue, and at what cost to our beloved church? What is the goal here?
And at what point will our leaders finally say “enough.”
We need that desperately.
Our church is having serious problems keeping younger members active, estimates show that fewer than 30% stay active. The church has stopped growing here in the US.
Can we please not make this drive a further wedge between members?
This pandemic, or rather our response to it, has been the biggest drain of effort and church momentum ever. Do we really believe this was not orchestrated by the Adversary? And shouldn’t we be recognizing and treating this threat as such?
I agree 100% on all counts, Marc.
The church has been utterly complicit in all the government overreach. In Utah, at least, that is incredibly impactful. And they have taught the youth, by their actions, that they do not need the church! The youth either had to isolate (and suffer incredible harm, particularly given that they aren’t at risk themselves) or they had to find ways completely outside the church to have real lives and thrive.
How does that help the already abysmal retention?
Elderly people are at risk, so the youth have to sacrifice their lives to protect them? What happened to us protecting our children?
One of the most horrifying examples is that the overtly-pushed and propagandized inoculations don’t stay in the arm. They go into the blood, cross the blood-brain barrier, collect in the organs. What organ is showing the highest rate of nano lipids? The ovaries!
Please tell me, who is going to be negatively impacted by toxins in the ovaries? 90+ year old men? Or young women?
We do not sacrifice our children to make us feel safer!
Alison Moore Smith recently posted…Only Truth