Friday, March 30, 2018

Salt Lake Tribune Tripe #10 - “The Doctrines of Men and the Devil”


            Peggy Stack just won’t let it alone. She has her teeth in something most people don’t worry about and feel is being done correctly, but she has to chew on it and ruin it as a feminist activist. Her latest piece of fake Tribune news tripe: “While applauding latest changes, Mormons concede they are no cure-all. Some even ask: Why have these ‘worthiness’ interviews?” She admits as much: “Activists heralded the move [of allowing a second adult in interviews]. . . .” she wrote. But for myself, and I imagine most of my fellow regular latter-day saints, we don’t want our doctrine and practice in the church influenced by activists. Why? Because they are actively pushing their own worldly causes. And I don’t want my worship or doctrinal views dictated by someone’s mistaken personal cause; especially when they are adopted from our badly mixed up modern society. The whole concept behind being a so-called Mormon activist is that you think the church isn’t doing something it should be, according to your own set of beliefs or opinions.

We now broach an important question that all who read or agree with Stack’s tripe would do well to consider. Where do activists get their opinions when they differ from scripture?—we are told that there are only two other places: from men/women or from the devil: “that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils” (D&C 46:7). Hypothetically, even if Peggy’s doctrines were of men, and not the devil, would we rather get our doctrine from men/her, or from prophets speaking for God? This is not a hard question!—“I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world” (D&C 50:2). And “if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire” (3 Nephi 27:11). These truths should make the question a little easier to answer.

These activists Peggy quotes in her fake news pieces may have some joy or success in their false and deceptive causes, inspired in them by false spirits, but what does the Lord say will be their end? Again, this is just not that hard to figure out.


From Peggy herself: “However, the revision is hardly a simple solution to all potential problems, including leaders who sometimes shame teens, who pose inappropriate sexual questions, who impose their own views of sin, and, in extreme cases, who are abusive.” Who in the *#$% is Peggy to decide what an inappropriate question for a bishop to ask is? As we have seen, with these babblings, she is speaking for either the false spirits of men or for the devil. More Peggy: “Perhaps the biggest question of all is this: Are ‘worthiness’ interviews worth doing? Couldn’t such conversations be more general about a person’s faith and reserve any disclosures of sin for voluntary confessionals?” Who is she to question or call for alteration of the Lord’s commandments? “By this ye may know if a man [or woman] repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them” (D&C 58:43). Many youth and adults won’t voluntarily confess; often they must be questioned and coaxed into unburdening their souls of their serious transgressions. Peggy is denying D&C 107:72: “And also to be a judge in Israel, to do the business of the church, to sit in judgment upon transgressors upon testimony as it shall be laid before him. . . .”

I ask again, do we want Stack and her activist friends, many of whom are dissidents, to define LDS doctrine and dictate policy? From the referenced scriptures, what spirit is motivating her questions and criticisms? The next part of her fake news story is to bring up an ex-bishop apostate who became an anti-Mormon activist; who let go of the iron rod of scripture and began to follow the spirit of the devil. Do we want him and his fellows, as they follow the false spirits of men and the devil, to tell us or the prophets how to administer the church? What our doctrine should be? How scriptures should be interpreted?

Another activist is quoted, questioning church procedure: “Some Latter-day Saints wonder about the need for such questioning, especially of young Mormons. ‘Why must there be worthiness interviews?’ asks Amy Albers Hillis of Orlando, Fla. ‘Why not just ‘hey, how are you?’ conversations?’” Well Peggy and Amy, because the Lord requires it; don’t you read or believe your scriptures? Evidently not. Such is why we define them as dissidents or dissenters. They disregard the scriptural practices of the church and follow the false ways of the world, seeking to infiltrate the church with the doctrines of men and devils.

Stack then quotes from a therapist, critical of bishop’s worthiness interviews of youth. It goes without saying that this therapist/activist is a dissenter whose opinion is worse than worthless. When a therapist pits their views of what is normal and appropriate in sexual matters against what the scriptures and prophets teach, which ought we follow? That decision says much about where a person is now and will determine much about their future. Those indignant folks who join publicity-stunt protest marches do so under a different spirit than what is found in a bishop’s interview, where the Spirit of the Lord is present and helping a person to confess and repent and heal and progress in their discipleship.

“There is no reason why the Young Women president couldn’t be the one to talk to young women,” she [a misled activist] says, or the president of the all-female Relief Society could be the go-to interviewer for adult women.” This is blatant false doctrine. The scriptures say the bishop is the common judge in Israel and has the keys and the mantle to hear confessions of any kind of serious sin, and assist the person toward forgiveness.

            Stack next quotes some more deeply false doctrine from a blogger: “’Worthiness,’ [Steve] Evans says, ‘is an enormous misnomer. None of us are worthy. That’s the entire point of Jesus Christ.’” One thing that is so pernicious about that false notion is that one must be worthy to enjoy the most precious blessings of the gospel—the spiritual gifts. When a person needs a miracle, or an answer to prayer, or spiritual guidance, they are far more likely to receive such if they are living clean and worthy before their Maker and the Giver of all good gifts. Worthy people are entitled to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, the greatest blessing one can have in mortality. The most worthy, clean people are even entitled to see God Himself: “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1). Worthiness is the result of following these outlined progressive steps. Do not put stock in Peggy’s and her activist friends’ opinions; they are false. “The answer, he [Steve Evans] says, to the final temple recommend question — ‘Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances’ — should ‘always be no. For all of us.’” This poor fellow is confusing worthiness with perfection; he needs to reread the general conference talks on the subject, and inform himself of true doctrine. If it is possible, this is worse than normal Salt Lake Tribune Tripe.

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