Today I read the Official Declaration 1 in the Doctrine and Covenants. The Official Declaration 1 was given in regards to the Manifesto which ended the practice of plural marriage in the church. The Official Declaration 1 was actually written and given to address concerns the United States Government had that the Latter-day Saints were still practicing plural marriage despite Congress having passed a law forbidding it.
I've always found it interesting that so many people find the idea of plural marriage so distasteful and revolting and yet at the same time, these same men have no problems having a mistress or having an affair. The same women who yell and scream about how demeaning it is to women see nothing wrong with dating a married man. It really baffles me. Apparently they are not fine with God sanctioning a marriage between multiple spouses, but breaking their marriage contracts, that's perfectly acceptable.
We've already talked about plural marriage so I really don't want to focus too much on this. The interesting thing to me about the Official Declaration and by contrast, the Manifesto, is that so many people when it came out thought that Wilford Woodruff was a fallen prophet. They had a really hard time with the idea that, at least in their minds, the prophet of the Lord was bowing to the will of man, or in this case the United States Government. The major lesson of the Official Declaration 1 is that the Prophet of God is beholden to God and God alone and it was our Heavenly Father who decreed that plural marriage should end. President Woodruff did take the time to explain to the Saints that it such was not done, all the temples would be taken from the Saints, the Prophet and Apostles and many of the fathers in the church would be put in prison and that the end result would be the same.
I have often wondered why some men and women feel the need to question the decisions of the prophet. Don't they realize that they are actually questioning the will of the Lord and not just a man? Now, it does not happen very often that someone calls into question something the prophet says, rather in this day and age it is all too often the decisions the bishop or stake president makes. I have not encountered it too much in my own life where I see someone "having a problem" with a bishop or stake president. Although I find it amusing that when I have come across someone who has stopped going to church because of someone else, either through being offended or having a problem with a church leader, there has ALWAYS been some form of sin involved if you dig deep enough. It usually is Word of Wisdom or Law of Chastity related oddly enough.
Now I can understand that you may learn something about a church leader that causes you to stop liking that person and be shocked by it. But instead of leaving the church or stop going until that person is no longer in that calling, the thing to do if you really cannot come to terms with it through prayer and fasting, is to go above that person and speak to another church leader. If you have a problem with the bishop, go to the stake president. If you have a problem with the stake president, I suggest starting with the bishop and go from there. But don't let someone else's actions determine your salvation. What a silly thing to do.
You should never choose to be offended, because it is a choice. When you choose to become offended, you are giving your salvation over into the hands of another person. The easiest way I know of to not get offended is to have the Spirit about you. It is a lot harder, if not impossible to be offended when you have the Spirit in your life because the barbs of Satan will just roll off you like water off a duck's back. Having a firm grip on your emotions helps too. It's a lot harder to allow yourself to become offended if you have control over your temper.
In closing, I will second what President Woodruff said over 100 years ago. The Lord will not allow any prophet to lead the church astray. If any man tried to do it, he would be removed immediately. This is the Lord's church and will be directed as the Lord sees fit. There is comfort in that. Until tomorrow.
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