The Relief Society president told me I’m fat.
The Cub Scout leader made fun of my son when he couldn’t remember the Cub Scout promise.
The elders quorum president forgot to arrange for help when I moved and I ended up doing the whole thing myself.
When I told the bishop about my marital problems, he said I needed to be more humble.
My home teacher thinks I don’t have enough faith.
In every branch of the Church, in every state, country and province in the world, you will find ward members that don’t get along. There will always be that one lady who takes it upon herself to tell you that your children are headed for the penitentiary. There will always be that man who feels himself more righteous than all the others and won’t listen to reason. Regardless of the experiences you have with these people, the Church is still true.
There are cases where the situations are much more dire. I’ve known wards in which a Primary teacher molested a child, hence the recent “two teacher in a class” rule. Someone I know lived in a ward where the Relief Society president and the Primary president decided to have a lesbian affair. This isn’t a reflection on the teachings of the Church – these are actions undertaken by people who wanted to exercise their free agency. The Church is still true.
Whenever we seek to verify the truthfulness of the Church by the actions of the members in it, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. One of the core beliefs of the Church is free agency. An entire war was fought in Heaven over this right – should we or should we not be allowed to choose our own paths? We were granted this right and now we are here on earth, each of us finding our own ways, some choosing the Lord’s way and some choosing to experiment. We cannot base our testimonies on what Sister Jones said in Relief Society. We cannot credit our belief to the beautiful words the bishop said last Sunday. Our relationship with the Lord has to come from deep within us.
When we lay a foundation for our belief in Christ Himself, and we learn for ourselves that He is the Savior and Redeemer of this world, it doesn’t matter what Sister Jones said. We are able to recognize that she’s reacting out of fear or pain, and we don’t let her misguided judgment keep us from worshipping. When we base our testimony on those around us, we’re just asking to have our seedling faith destroyed.
It’s unfortunate that not all members of the Church are diligent in living the gospel. You know what, though? A whole lot of them are. A great many Church members are doing their best every day. We just hear more stories about those who aren’t because of those who have been offended by them.
Put aside the offense and analyze – are you focusing your belief in Jesus Christ, or are you going to stop coming to church because Sister Black thinks you’re too proud? When our testimonies are rooted in Christ, we can ignore the people who would detract us from coming. The Church is true. The gospel is beautiful. Don’t let someone’s unkind comments or blatantly unrighteous actions keep you from it. That’s between them and the Lord.
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And When Thou Art Converted . . .