The Strengthening Church Members Committee: I Cannot Read a Sealed Book

This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This site reports on articles and blog posts about the LDS Church that purport to come from active members but which may be critical of the Church in some way, or which might reasonably seem hurtful to the Church or the faith of its members. It does not use people's names, nor does it take any action beyond the postings seen here.

The purpose of this site is to inform readers of posts that might be defamatory, speculative, or rebellious. Nothing on this site should be construed as judgmental of any post's author. The decision as to whether any of the material summarized here is actually problematic is left up to the individual reader.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

I Cannot Read a Sealed Book

Blog Post: "I Cannot Read a Sealed Book--Part I: The Basic Case for Making Public the Handbook"

Source: Times and Seasons

Quote: "For these reasons, I would suggest that the handbook should be made available to church members, ideally by placing it on lds.org."

Potential Problem: Publicly opposes an established Church policy and, therefore, advocates criticism of Church leaders.

"There are those who say, 'The Church won't dictate to me how to think about this, that, of the other, or how to live my life.' No, I reply, the Church will not dictate to any man how he should think or what he should do. The Church will point out the way and invite every member to live the gospel and enjoy the blessings that come of such living. The Church will not dictate to any man, but it will counsel, it will persuade, it will urge, and it will expect loyalty from those who profess membership therein."

--President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Loyalty," General Conference, April 2003

"Do the people of the Church want a safe guide to what is well for them to do? It is this: Keep in harmony with the Presidency of this Church. Accept and follow the teachings and advcie of the President....When in his official capacity he teaches and advises the members of the Church relative to their duties, let no man who wants to please the Lord say aught against the counsels of the President."

--Joseph F. Merrill, General Conference, April 1941

When a man begins to find fault, inquiring in regard to this, that, and the other, saying, 'Does this or that look as though the Lord dictated it?' you may know that the person has more or less of the spirit of apostasy. Every man in this Kingdom, or upon the face of the earth, who is seeking with all his heart to save himself, has as much to do as he can conveniently attend to, without calling in question that which does not belong to him.

--Brigham Young, "Preventing Personal Apostasy," Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, chapter 12