The Zion Curtain Must Come Down. Part One

[helemon]

From Enigma on RfM
The Zion Curtain Must Come Down:

One person’s look into the future of the LDS church based on historical precedent and current trends-

In formulating this hypothesis I realize that few or none of my projections may be valid but it was a fun exercise and one can always hope…


BACKGROUND

As the twilight of the 21st approaches, Thoughtful people across the United States take time to look back at an often turbulent and groundbreaking century. Many social and economical changes have swept the nation over the last several decades at an unprecedented rate.

Following the closing of a 2nd successful (albeit challenging term) of President George W. Bush, The people of the United States made controversial history when they elected their first female president; Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her electoral victory was nearly as controversial as President Bush’s 2000 debacle with a heated neck and neck race against former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The people held their collective breath as they wondered how this president would tackle such controversial issues that were threatening to devide the nation. Despite early concerns by conservatives that President Clinton was only playing moderate as a ruse to gain the white house and pursue a radical liberal agenda, she surprised pundants on both sides. People now look back on her sucessful two-term presidency and hold her in high esteem as one of the great post-mellenial moderators.

President Clinton was able to finally sucessfully orchestrate the combined collaborative effort needed to adequately train peace keeping forces in Iraq, allowing for the return of all U.S. and coallition troops in early 2010. The ripple effect of a post-war democratic Iraq, together with earlier political upheavals in surrounding nations paved the way for other small fledging democracies to rise. While there are still repeated tensions between Israel and Palastine, some measure of stability has been achived.

The economic upsets brought on by the war in Iraq and the broader war on terror triggered a moderate global ressession that lasted from 2007 to 2015. During this time, President Clinton prudently and temporarily suspended many of the Federal Government’s fringe pork spending projects in order to maintain lower taxes on the middle class and poor. She adopted a policy of prudent spending in lean financial times to maintain stability during the post oil crisis economic turmoil. She held the ship together during the storm. The United States was able in time to secure it’s position as the economic head of the North American Trade Aliance; one of the three emerging post-ressession political-economic alliances (the embattled but surviving European Union and the newly formed East Asia Trade Block) that would govern global fiscal policy for the forseeable future.

On the domestic front the pressure from increasingly large social activist groups eventually became the catalyst that encouraged many states to redefine marriage laws for same sex couples. As the pressure mounted for federal action, President Clinton brought together a coalition consisting of government, civic and religious leaders to open continued dialouge concerning the equal treatment of individuals regardless of sexual preference. The dialouge continued well after her presidency and through small, incremental steps, the United States was able, finally to recognize same sex unions nearly two decades after President Clinton’s efforts began in her second term. Contrary to the rantings of conservative fundamentalists, the allowance of same sex unions did not cause the overthrow of society as we know it. Once the GLBT population was secure in it’s equal treatment under the law, peace was the result. Of course there were still sporadic individual acts of hatred and bigotry against all minority populations; but increasingly strict hate-crime legislation was sucsessful at keeping the outbursts at an all time low.

[helemon]

The Zion Curtain Must Come Down.
Part 3
THE LDS CHURCH IN THE 21st CENTURY

It will long be remembered as the age of reason for the Mormon Church. Not because of progressive direction from the top, but from progressive pressure from without and from lower ranking church officials with more tolerant and liberal views ascending the ladder of leadership. With the Passing of Gordon B. Hinckley in late 2006, Thomas S. Monson assumed the reigns of LDS leadership. During this transition, very little changed for the church. President Monson did scale back the robust building programs instituted by Hinckley citing the economic lag as reason to proceed with prudence for a season. His tenure of president was short-lived, however, due to complications resulting from his diabetic condition and he died two years after assuming the presidency in 2009.

Critical thinking and intellectual Mormons saw their worst fears come to life with the sustaining of President Boyd K. Packard as the prophet seer and revelator of the LDS church in the April conference of 2010. From Packard’s point of view, the dawn of the information age had not been kind to the church. Conversion rates over the previous ten years have continued in slight decline. Missionary in service have dropped to 43,000 as a result of ‘raising the bar’, more ‘real’ history made available to the youth of the church and declining birth rates among the Mormon population. In an effort to ‘thwart the attack of the adversary’, In addition to increased discouragement of birth-control for the membership (counsel that was summarily dismissed by the church population) President Packard pursued a relentless campaign of information control on the home and educational front. In his public addresses he would, with repeated frequency, promote the LDS church produced Internet filtering software for all members who owned a personal computer. The software, while filtering out pornographic and other objectionable material (which was the sole purpose according to Packard), also filtered out any Mormon themed site that was not approved by the brethren. By 2013, question six of the temple recommend interview had been modified to include and inquiry and prohibition against viewing or studying non-approved Mormon topics online.

In education, Packard continued his campaign for faithful history and reached new extremes as he orchestrated the removal of any tenured or non tenured BYU, BYU Idaho and BYU Hawaii professor who had any record of speaking critically of the church or publishing anything other than faith-promoting history. During this time, many Church educators resigned either from pressure from their leaders, or through professional morale objection. Within a few months of what came to be called the ‘Mormon inquisition’, the local, national and (to a limited extent) the international media picked up the story and had a feeding frenzy with it. It seemed that no one in the 21st century besides the die-hard corridor Mormons could understand the intellectual pruning that was going on at the church owned universities. Comparisons were often made to Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and North Korea.

Unfortunately for the church, the effect that this development had on the non-corridor membership was devastating. Activity rates plummeted, donation rates stagnated, conversion rates in developed nations reached even new abysmal lows. It seemed that the more President Packard tried to tighten his grip on the membership, the faster the church membership was slipping through his fingers.

Soon, the lawsuits began, then, the boycotts and ultimately, investigation at the local and state level. Eventually, the entire church educational system was struggling to maintain normal operations as it became harder and harder for the church to recruit professors and instructors for their schools. By 2015, 65 percent of church owned school faculty positions were being filled by CES Adjuncts and the quality of education plummeted. Soon thereafter, BYU and its satellite sister schools lost there national accreditation.

At the time of president Packard’s death in 2017, only a handful of general authorities from the first correlation era of the 1970’s and 80’s were still living. Jeffery R Holland was the president of the quorum of twelve apostles with Richard G Scott (though how he managed to live this long was still a mystery to many), Henry B Eyring, Dieter F Uchtdorf and David A Bednar. The church membership was hovering at just over 15 million with annual conversions at just around 190,000 flat every year. With the increase in resignations and the slowing of conversion rates over the last 5 years, the total church growth rate was at slightly greater than 1.5 percent annually.

Being the senior apostle at the time, Jeffery Holland took hold of the reigns of leadership in April of 2018. While Packard’s administration was looked at as an inquisition, Holland’s would become what many would call the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling church. The effects of Packard’s administration did not go unnoticed by this president. Holland began to make gentle changes that would allow the membership more intellectual breathing room. Over time he lifted virtually all of the stifling academic policies instituted by Packard and began a rigorous recruitment campaign that ran along side with an even more rigorous continuing education program to certify CES employees in a variety of academic disciplines. One of his repeated mantras through this revitalization process was taken from the book of John in the New Testament, the 8th chapter, 32nd verse: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. He encouraged members to seek an education and strive to serve their fellow man with the experience and wisdom that they were endowed with by virtue of obtaining that education.

Most shocking, however, were his changes to church financial policy. He dramatically scaled back the church’s real estate acquisition practices and even began selling off several underutilized church holdings. Temple building was brought to a virtual stand still and meetinghouses were made more available for increased church and public use. He issued a directive for each meetinghouse to employ a full time janitorial and maintenance staff and called for badly needed repairs and upgrades to many of the existing buildings. Holland was the first president to open for the public viewing, all of the church’s financial activities. President Holland’s next directive was to utilize church funds and membership for more humanitarian work on a much broader scale. He instituted the conversion of many inner city and third world proselytizing missions into humanitarian service missions. Missionaries could of course still teach, but only upon request. The first rule of the service mission was that there was to be no solicitation involved. Holland forged a permanent partnership with Catholic Charities and the Red Cross in which he pledged a specific percent of the church’s income from donations and investments for as long as the church existed as a cohesive entity. The binding nature of these agreements would prevent any future church president from nullifying these contracts without radically changing/dismantling the current structure of the LDS church. By the time of his death in 2042 the church, while no longer growing at any substantial rate, was in a much better position of public trust. The membership felt that they were contributing more on a global scale to the good of humanity. They had a renewed sense of accomplishment in their personal and academic pursuits. The morale was back.

President Holland was the first church president to actively carry out his duties as president past the age of 100. By this time, all of the 20th century correlation era apostles have died. The church has become a bit more tolerant of diversity of opinion within the membership. More and more, the church sees critical thinkers and intellectuals (the likes of which have been absent since the days of David O McKay) appointed to the highest offices in the church. While the overall church morale has improved much over the last 24 years, there have still been major (non violent and mostly academic and intellectual) initiatives to move away from the literal historical interpretation, male dominated hierarchal structure and pervasive sexual oriented exclusiveness of the church. The general membership of the church has, over the past 30 years become more tolerant and accepting of diversity as they have watched the domestic issues mentioned in first section of this essay unfold on a national scale. While president Holland never officially explored these items as matters of church policy, the liberal thinking has been inching its way up the ranks by virtue of the appointees to church leadership in the last 2 decades. The stage is set as the senior member of the quorum of the twelve apostles is sustained in April of 2043.

[helemon]

The Zion Curtain Must Come Down.
Part 3
PRESIDENT DANIEL J. HARTMAN JR.; PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

‘The Zion Curtain Must Come Down’
Address Delivered during the Sunday afternoon session of the 214th Semi-Annual Conference: April 5, 2043

“My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, It is with great humility that I stand before you today as your newly called and sustained servant in this great work. I hope that each of you will go to your homes tonight and thoughtfully and prayerfully consider the things that I wish to share with you this afternoon. Some of my remarks will, more than likely, be hard for many to bear.

In the recent months, as I have pondered upon the vast and rich history of this church and it’s place in the world. I have prayerfully wrestled with certain critical issues and doctrines. I have often consulted with the brethren of the twelve, the Relief Society Presidency and the presiding bishopric regarding the future of this church, its doctrines and practices and it’s maturity. We have solicited the opinions of many members from all walks of life and in various positions and locations in this church around the world to come to a better understanding of how God is working with each of us as individuals to enlighten us in regards to the issues that are present in our world today. I have, through these discussions and inquiries, prayerfully come to the conclusion that many of the policies, doctrines and procedures that have served to unify and strengthen us in the past now serve to divide us from the greater community of humanity of which we are a part. I also feel very strongly that whenever an organization [that claims to serve God and value truth and virtue] fails to embrace established, verifiable truth regardless of the source, the result will be despondency, stagnation and decay of that organization.

Our beloved prophet, Jeffery R Holland, whose position I fill today, often quoted John 8:32 during his remarkable education and welfare reforms of this church: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. I wish now to expand that creed to include all aspects of this church. It is with this scripture and declaration in mind that I make the following announcements:

Effective immediately, I have ordered the church historical archives and all church historical vaults open to the general membership and public for inspection, use and critique. This is not simply the unlocking of a door, but a vast concerted effort that will include the support of various professional historians, museum curators, document preservation specialists, etc both in and outside of the church. We anticipate that the end result will be the establishment of an open, tangible and virtual museum of every article and document the church has ever had in its possession. People of all ages,
backgrounds and education will be invited to explore the rich, vital, often troubled and occasionally tragic history of this church and its rise and progress out of obscurity. In connection to the establishment of a physical facility (which will come from a conversion of existing vault and storage facilities) we will also be publishing all written material as well as 3 dimensional graphic representations of non-literary physical artifacts for download from the Global Information Web. We prayerfully hope that the membership and all who seek to know about us will benefit from the establishment of these great tools.

In relation to the initiatives just mentioned there are certain aspects of this church’s past that have never been fully resolved in the eyes of the membership and the world at large. I shall attempt to address what we, the brethren and sisters who lead this church, feel are the most urgent and in need of attention.


FIRST:

The church has long maintained the official position that the suspension of the practice of polygamy was due to revelation arising out of the circumstances of the time and that the practice would be restored during the millennial reign of the Messiah. Past church leaders, for whatever reason, have attempted to minimize the issue, emphasize certain facts over others, and essentially avoid addressing the issue altogether. We are now grateful that God inspired various individuals in positions of power to prosecute this practice and seek its abolishment. It is the now the official position of this church that Polygamy will never be reinstituted in this life or the next. We further declare, that the introduction of polygamy during the early days of this church was not inspired of God, but rather, a reflection of the faults and lusts of the prophet Joseph Smith. As a result of this position, all future editions of the Doctrine and Covenants will be have section 132 removed from the body of the text. It is not inspired writing and it promotes the exercising of unrighteous dominion of men over women. Brethren and sisters, it is not of God. To any and all within the sound of my voice that has ever been or continues to suffer from the effects of this catastrophic doctrine, we offer our profound apologies and plead for your forgiveness.


SECOND:

Until 1978, church policy was to deny the blessing of the priesthood to any person of African descent. Again, the church expresses it’s gratitude to the brave men and women of the civil rights movement that began nearly a century ago. They forged a path to progress and freedom for their brothers and sisters that was unprecedented in modern history. While the church extended the blessings of the priesthood to all worthy male members as a result of inspired movements from outside the church, we have still held on to the erroneous belief that the doctrine was right for the time it was practiced. It is now the church position that the withholding of priesthood blessings from all faithful and worthy members was a false doctrine and flawed from its inception. For the untold misery we have recklessly caused to come upon our fellow man, again, we offer our sincere apologies and humbly beg your forgiveness.


THIRD:

When the relief society was first organized from the efforts of some of the early sister saints and with the help of the prophet Joseph Smith, it was an independent organization with the right to call and set apart its own officers, provide blessing of comfort and counsel and healing in times of need and function in tandem with but independent from the first presidency. When Brigham Young assumed leadership of the church in 1844, he dissolved the relief society and later reorganized it in this valley, but in a severely limited state. You brave sisters have suffered in silence as you have been stripped of your own unique and divine voice. You have humbly and patiently endured compartmentalization from your priesthood brethren. Again, now to you dear sisters, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. Effective immediately, the Relief Society will be administratively reorganized. As I delineate the changes to your status and the position of the organization as a whole, you will notice that there are three additional seats that have been installed directly to the right of the seats that are traditionally occupied by the First Presidency: President Oakley, Sister Durfee and Sister Hall; will you please now take your seats along side the First Presidency? Thank you. You will notice bothers and sisters that I addressed President Oakley by her title and calling. It will now be church policy to address all presidents of all quorums, societies and auxiliary organizations by that title in the official proceedings of this church. You are all, of course, free to refer to each other however you wish (be kind please) – laughter – outside of official proceedings. Effective immediately, the Female Relief Society will function as a completely autonomous entity within the church. President and Sisters, you are of course free to solicit the advice and counsel of the First Presidency whenever you see the need to do so. In doing this, however, please remember that by virtue of your calling; you hold the keys to the administration of your organization and office. You must consider our advice only as such. You are under no obligation to abide by any advice solicited from the First Presidency or any other officer of the church in regards to the discharge of your obligations associated with your office. The First Presidency does reserve the authority to direct affairs for the church as a whole, but any directive put forth will now be contingent upon not only the consent of the brethren of the quorum of the twelve apostles, but also the consent of the Relief Society Presidency who will be in attendance and participate in all the administrative proceedings of this church.


FOURTH:

As part of this reorganization, we are restoring to you that which has always rightfully been yours; the power and authority to officiate in the setting apart your counselors and presidents, to give blessings of healing, comfort and counsel as you see the needs amongst your sister saints or any other member in need as the situation demands. For the young Women of the church, the ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood will also be instituted. While the offices of Deacon, Teacher, Priest, Elder, High Priest, Bishop, Seventy, Apostle and Prophet will still be held by the male members of the church in the patter set forth by the Lord for this dispensation, we are introducing the offices of Matron and Matriarch in the Matriarchal order of the priesthood with precedent already established in the organization of temple work. The office of Matron in the Aaronic priesthood will be conferred upon all worthy young women ages 12 to 18. The Melchizedek priesthood will be conferred on all worthy women ages 19 and older and they shall also be ordained to the office of Matron in that priesthood. When a woman is married, either civilly or sealed for time and all eternity in the House of the Lord, she will be ordained to the office of Matriarch. This restoration of authority will proceed as follows at the local level: For every Latter-Day Saint Woman who already has a priesthood holder in her home, her husband or other worthy male who also resides in the home will lay his hands on your head and after invoking the name of Jesus Christ and stating his authority, will make the following pronouncement: I confer upon you the Aaronic [or Melchizedek] priesthood and ordain you to the office of Matron [or matriarch]. The priesthood holder may then pronounce certain blessings pertaining to the ordination as he sees fit. For those sisters who do not currently have a priesthood holder in the home, they may be ordained by their Bishop, Branch President or Relief Society President [if she has already been ordained]. The ordained father or mother or combination of the two may confer and ordain to any priesthood office children that come of priesthood bearing age from the time of this pronouncement. More details regarding the development of the offices and the responsibilities inherent therein will be forthcoming. Please be patient as we, the First Presidency and the Relief Society presidency prayerfully consider how the Lord wishes this work to move forward in light of the steps we are taking now to repent of the wrongs we have committed in the past.


FIFTH:

In concert with the introduction of polygamy, the prophet Joseph Smith began the practice of concealed polygamous marriages. After the church suspended the temporal practice of polygamy, marriages performed in the House of the Lord were still closed. Also, originally, the ordinance did not require ceremonial clothing. We feel that the celebration of the union of a couple for time and for all eternity should not be darkened by separation from those family and friends that are not of our faith. After much contemplation and prayer, we have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no need to continue the practice of closed temple sealing ceremonies. All are invited to share in the joy of seeing a couple united for time and all eternity.

In conjunction with this change to temple marriages we wish also to address what has been in times past, a deeply troubling and controversial topic for this church and the world at large. When we look to the great civilizations of this world that have come and gone in ages past we are often left to wonder why any great society seems ultimately doomed to failure. We are only beginning to understand that the cause for any disruption in a society, catastrophic or miniscule, stems from the inability of the collective majority to tolerate change or divergence from the norm. Growth, diversity and adaptation are a part of our journey through life. As we resist change and refuse the introduction of alternatives, in any situation, we doom all those within our sphere of influence to stagnation, decay and darkness. During the last century, there has been a proliferation of awareness of and a call for understanding and tolerance for diversity in our culture. In no other realm has this been so prevalently demonstrated than in the long and hard fought battle of our brothers and sisters in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities to secure for themselves the liberties and promise of equal treatment that most of us take for granted. Like their forerunners in the civil rights movement, they have fought on many fronts, some inspiring and some degrading, to raise awareness and acceptance of difference within our culture. The church remains firm in it’s position that government education programs should only teach the mechanics of reproduction and then direct the students to go to their parents or guardians to be taught the appropriate bounds in which to govern this ability. Furthermore, it is the position of the church that no civil or religious body should dictate how or to whom love is expressed. It is, and always will be, a special personal expression between the consenting individuals. Second only to our lifelong quest for truth is our quest for love. Whenever a person finds love in this life, it is to be celebrated and protected, not denigrated and invalidated. Each individual should have the right to love without fear or recrimination from others. In the early days of the church there was a little known practice among the leadership of sealing men to men. The central theme behind this concept was to link a chain of priesthood brethren and leaders back to Adam. The ceremonies served to bind certain men to the prophets as sons and brothers for all eternity. It is with this precedent of the creation of families of brethren and sisters in the bonds of charity and love that we announce that the blessing of marriage for time and for all eternity is available to all of God’s children, regardless of race, creed or sexual orientation, who meet the standards of worthiness that I will review with you shortly.

[helemon]

The Zion Curtain Must Come Down. Part 4
SIXTH:

The Lord has asked us to be a temple building people. Throughout the history of this church, its leadership has repeatedly supplicated the Lord to gain further understanding of the nature and purpose of the House of the Lord. In 1832 at Kirtland, Ohio, the prophet Joseph Smith gave us some insight as to what the temple would provide for the saints, given that they properly prepare themselves. In Doctrine and Covenants, section 88 we read that the temple is to be “a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God”. Later in the same discourse he gave instructions regarding the establishment of the School of the Prophets, which included instructions to appoint teachers that would facilitate the discussion of important spiritual and social matters. He encouraged the people to refrain from indulging in base and lustful desires, to be more humble and teachable and to impart one to another, as the gospel requires.

During the Nauvoo period, the temple served a dramatically different purpose. After being admitted into the Masonic fraternity, Joseph discovered the advantages that the Masons had in their ceremonies for binding the members of the lodge together in a loyal brotherhood and for protection from antagonistic opponents. He also saw in the ceremony, an opportunity to induct his most trusted followers into the clandestine practice of polygamy. It is with these observations and intent that the prophet introduced the first endowment ceremony with names, signs and penalties. The early endowment served to bind a peculiar people together. Its changes through time have maintained that function of knitting a closely associated group together through the repetition of symbol and ceremony. Unfortunately, the original intent of the temple, as explained in section 88 has been discarded and neglected for far too long. We, as the First Presidency and Relief Society Presidency have determined that the Masonic elements of the endowment, including the ceremonial clothing, tokens, names and signs [together with the previously discarded penalties etc] serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever to bring us closer to our Father in Heaven and hence, should be done away with effective immediately.

Like so many religions of the past, we have let ceremony and orthodoxy come between our relationship between our God and us. This must stop brothers and sisters. There is no benefit to be had from the repeated rote performance of Masonic influenced ceremonies. There is no need to close off the temple, its peaceful spirit and influence and its spiritual benefits to the rest of God’s children. Effective immediately, all operating temples will be subject to slight interior modifications as we seek to align the purpose and function of the temple with what the Prophet originally intended. What were previously held as ordinance rooms for the presentation of the endowment will now also serve as schoolrooms for the saints and our friends to meet and discuss the important religious and social topics that are relevant to our time. A teacher will be appointed for each schoolroom and he or she will lead the discussion. Strict parliamentary discussion procedure will be the rule so as to maintain a spirit of peace and trust. The upper room of applicable temples will be used for important religious and civic matters that are determined to have an impact on the greater whole of society. Sealing rooms will also double as meditation rooms for individuals or small a group wishing to find a sanctuary from tumult and noise of the world around them.

For those that still wish to participate in the endowment, you will also be accommodated. The video presentation of the endowment will still be run on a select schedule in every temple. In conjunction with the modifications to the function of temples mentioned above, the endowment will also be modified as follows: There will no longer be any mention of tokens, names or signs. The nature of the first covenant of obedience to God will be modified to place man and women in equal standing before God. There will be no ceremonial garment or clothing required and there will be no mention of it in the presentation. The lecture preceding the presentation of the endowment will be altered to help all participants understand that the presentation is metaphorical in nature and can only understood in the light of personally interpreting the metaphor to glean from what is presented how one can come closer to God by making covenants of Christ-like service, chastity and loyalty to all that is good, just and true. For those portions of the endowment where the specific covenants are entered into, the patron will simply raise his or her arm to the square in a signatory act that he or she is willing to enter into the covenant. The covenant and law of sacrifice will be altered to the effect that the patron will covenant to sacrifice all that they poses, even their very life if necessary, in sustaining and defending truth from whatever source it may come. The reason for this alteration is this: we now understand that the greatest progress made for humanity is when individuals or groups of individuals will sacrifice anything and everything to the pursuit of pure truth through scientific discovery coupled with God’s spirit enlightening and furthering our understanding of truth, regardless of loyalty to any religious creed. The covenant and law of consecration will be altered to similarly reflect the pursuit of truth as the highest and noblest activity for God’s children to be engaged in. It is through the continued discovery of pure truth that we come to know God.

Since we are desirous that all of God’s children who are desirous to participate in the endowment, school of the prophets, eternal marriage and other reflective and spiritually wholesome opportunities for prayer and meditation have the opportunity to do so, any person, member or not, who comes to the doors of a temple can receive a worthiness interview prior to entrance into the Lord’s House. The current temple recommend interview will be modified to be more inclusive of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. The interview will focus more on the individual’s commitment to live the principles of a Christ-centered life. The modifications will include a removal of any question that requires an answer of loyalty to any specific religious ideology. Since we understand that most of the world’s religions hold similar core values, we feel that loyalty to one specific creed is both divisive and destructive to the collective brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind. Thus far, the brethren and sisters of the leadership of the church are still carefully and prayerfully considering the standardization of the content of the interview. We know for now that it will no longer contain requirements that a person accept the First Presidency as the sole religious authority. It will no longer include the requirement that a person accept the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a restored gospel since this church is not the sole author of human decency or righteous living. The interview will no longer include the requirement that an individual refrain from investigating or associating with groups or individuals whose teachings are not in harmony with our church. To do so would stifle the individual spirit and severely handicap the God-given right to pursue truth at all costs. The interview will also no longer require the person to pay a tithe to the church, obey certain tenants of the word of wisdom outside of the temple or the wearing of any garment. The interview will still include questions regarding the law of chastity, honesty and obedience to the basic tenants of Christian living. We would hope from this point forward that the temple would symbolize to the church and to the world our commitment to the pursuit of pure truth.


SEVENTH:

We hold all scripture and other inspired writing to be important tools in coming to understand the dealings of God with his children and the efforts of men to interpret those dealings. No one should ever discount the importance of ancient, modern, sacred or secular writings that serve to clarify our understanding of God, society or the human condition. However, for far too long, we have held doggedly to the orthodox and literal interpretations of what the church feels are authorized canonized scripture. Looking over the past several centuries, we see the fruits of literalism; inquisitions, persecutions, terrorist acts, destruction of families, devaluation of human and animal life, the list goes on brothers and sisters. It is now the position of this church that all scripture should be interpreted personally and metaphorically for the benefit of the individual. For those examples in the scriptures where drastic and often cruel action is displayed when dealing with conflicting societies or individuals, we strongly urge you to interpret these examples of ways to deal with personal internal questions and conflicts. No one in this church or out of it has the right to force, in any way, his or her perception of God’s will on any other individual. Doing this has and will continue to cause misery, destruction and most importantly, de-emphasizes the divine right for each person to have a personal relationship with his or her creator.

[helemon]

The Zion Curtain Must Come Down. Part 5
In conjunction with this position, we encourage all people to study all aspects, both critical and harmonious, of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Through the efforts of great historians, archeologists, geneticists, etc, we have been given the understanding of these important texts as vehicles of their time to convey certain important spiritual and cultural interpretations of the past and the present together with warnings and prediction of the future should certain actions be repeated. The Bible, both Old and New Testaments contains the collected writings of a vast variety of cultural myths and ideologies from ancient Africa, Asia and Europe presented in a way to help the reader understand that there is a creator that is concerned for the welfare of his children and how they conduct themselves in this life. The Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price contain some beautiful and basic answers to some of the great theological and societal questions of the nineteenth century presented in a rich mythological narrative. The fact that none of these is a literal history should not detract from the value of the messages contained within. We encourage all members of this church to continually study the scriptures. But please brothers and sisters do not study them in a contextual and historical vacuum. Study the religious and social circumstances philosophies and events in 19th century upstate New York that brought about some the narrative concepts and doctrinal propositions contained in the Book of Mormon. Study the circumstances of the church during the Kirtland period to gain a better understanding of the questions Joseph Smith was trying to answer when he penned his translation of the Bible and when his utilization of the Egyptian artifacts acquired during that time served symbolically as a catalyst for his personal thoughts regarding the patriarch Abraham. Study the movements of ancient old-world cultures and their religious practices to enhance your understanding of the great collaborative effort of the Jewish Deuteronomist writers in compiling much of what is in our current Old Testament and the apostolic and scholastic interpretations of the life and role of Jesus after his time on earth in the New Testament. Do not discount the evidence of real history but rather, brothers and sisters, embrace it and let it serve as a tool to enhance your understanding of what the various writers of scriptures were trying to accomplish, for good or bad, during their creation and compilation. If you find something in the scriptures and the chronologically consistent history of the time of it’s writing that runs contrary to your personal, revealed understanding of God, you are under no obligation to abide by it. God will and does work with each of us as individuals to help us come to know, understand and love him as our personal creator. If you see what you perceive as mistakes and atrocities in the study of any ancient or sacred text, accept them as such and learn from these errors of the past, never to repeat them again.


Now in conclusion, let me leave you with a few of my thoughts and then we shall call for a vote from this assembly. Brethren, sisters and friends I have submitted to you what we, your brothers and sisters who have been called to lead this church, feel is the direction that the Lord would have us move. This church is a living, vital and changing organization. We must be willing to respond to circumstances around us and make sure that our personal lives are in harmony with the basic gospel principals of charity, love, service and selflessness. Although change is sometimes difficult, it can be invigorating and rewarding when we press forward with a renewed sense of community and fellowship with our fellow human beings in building a world that is better for us, our children and our children’s children. The Zion curtain must come down brothers and sisters. We can no longer afford to remain separate from the rest of the human family in our quest for knowledge, peace and divine guidance. I propose that the seven measures that I have just enumerated, together with their attendant appendages be adopted as church policy and procedure.

All in favor may make it know by raising your right hand.

All those opposed if there be any.

It appears that the voting has been in the majority of the affirmative.

Thank you brothers and sisters for your continued faith and support.

For those of you that dissented, this is your God given right and we love you for expressing your honest feelings on these matters. We will not hold any person in contempt for maintaining his or her view of what is right or wrong according to the dictates of his or her conscience. Please be comforted in knowing that you have nothing to fear from any level of leadership in this church for holding your own authentic beliefs on these points. Each of us must come to our own conclusions as to how our relationship with our maker is to be outwardly manifest by participation in and affiliation with an organized religion. May God bless each of you in your personal spiritual journey. Whether in or out of this church, we are all brothers and sisters. Let us never forget the great and fundamental truth that we are all God’s children and as such should be afforded the blessing of living our lives in harmony with our personal relationship with a loving creator, free from the strangle hold of any orthodoxy. I pray that the blessings of heaven will attend each of us as we strive to exert our influence for good throughout the world. May God bless you all my brothers, sisters and friends in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen”