Today I read Genesis 48 where Jacob blesses Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. I wonder who decided that the birthright should go to the firstborn son. I mean to me it seems a very ineffectual system. What if they are not deserving of the birthright? Why is it not the father's right to choose? Sometimes people get so bogged down in tradition it just makes me shake my head. It reminds me of the movie "Coming to America" where Eddie Murphy's character is supposed to marry a princess and instead he comes to America to find a bride. When his father the king finds out he comes to rescue him. As he and his wife are talking about how their son the prince would rather marry a girl who is not a princess, the king mentions that it is tradition and who is he to change it. The queen responds by saying he's the king. I've always liked that conversation because sometimes we get so bogged down in tradition that we fail to objectively look at said tradition. Just because it's always been done that way does not mean it is the best way or even the right way.
The LDS church is no exception to this. There is no commandment or rule that I am aware of that says the sacrament has to be taken using the right hand, or passed using the right hand for that matter. And yet there are people in the LDS community who flip their lid if you don't do it. There is no rule that I know of that says women have to wear skirts or dresses to church and yet women who choose to not wear a dress or a skirt but instead wear pants can find themselves ostracized or outright ridiculed. Yes these things are tradition and yes I personally think women look much better in dresses than pants, but to shun someone because they choose to wear pants instead is totally un-Christlike. Jesus taught that we need to love everyone and that we need to accept one another's faults or idiosyncrasies, not shun them because they are different than us. If we were to shun those who are different, well let's just say that such behavior leads to bigotry and hate.
It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish what is tradition and what is doctrine in any church and the Latter-day Saints are no exception. The Church Handbook of Instruction is online for any to read and if it is not contained in that one you can always ask your bishop since they have access to the other handbook that is not available to the public. A good rule of thumb though is to ask yourself if it is contained in the scriptures or not. Most of the things that have to be done an exact precise way, such as the blessing of the sacrament or baptism, are contained in the scriptures. There are some exceptions, but most of them can be found somewhere in the scriptures. And of course, you can always pray too. Heavenly Father knows what is His doctrine and what is not. He will help you know.
Generally speaking though, there are very few things that have to absolutely be done a certain way with no exceptions. And most of those are ordinances. Just about everything else is tradition and that just the way things are done. We need to do a better job of practicing tolerance and love among those who do things a little differently than us. The best measuring stick I can think of is when confronted by it, ask yourself if Jesus would make a big deal about it. If you cannot resoundingly say that yes He would, it's probably not worth getting all worked up about. As we grow closer to the Spirit, we will find ourselves being more tolerant of the things that are not doctrine. When we focus on the pure doctrines of Christ, all that other stuff doesn't seem nearly so important. Remember to keep an open heart and mind and if you really feel that strongly about it, approach the person in love with the desire to help them get better, not to make them "conform" because that is "the way it's done". Until tomorrow.
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