May 1st 2005
~ There is but one truth ~
28 And one of the scribes came…and…asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is…namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. –Matthew, Chapter 12
Good morning. Today we are called to “Follow God’s Commandments”. This is a bold directive. But it is one that I think is essential to the life of the Church. As a Church we seldom use such language as follow or obey God’s commandments…but it is appropriate for us to be directed and expected to follow God’s commandments.
Now one might ask “is this call really necessary? In this day and age, do we really need to use such language, do we really need to express our faith in such terms as following the Lord’s commandments? Is that not a little heavy-handed?” That depends of course on what you believe about the purpose of the Church, and what you believe about Christ, and especially what you believe about God.
Let me tell you what I believe. Sometimes, because I’m occasionally teased for being a tad fundamental, I get asked to explain what my beliefs about God, Christ and the Church really are. So let me try to sum it up for you.
•I believe in God: A god that is unique – A Supreme Being, a divine entity, who is all powerful, all knowing, eternal and Holy.
•I believe that Jesus Christ was God incarnate.
•I believe that Christ established His Church in Palestine and directly gave authority and power to His disciples, they serving as His Holy Priesthood, receiving legal charge to govern and guide the flock; with power to pass on their own authority to others who were also called to the ministry.
•I believe that as the Church continued to evolve the Priesthood fell from Holiness, having become neglectful of the true Faith, being caught up in political intrigue and worldly turmoil, and that, eventually, the entire priesthood lost authority and power; and became dormant.
•I believe that the Church, which was one body in Christ, became, without legitimate priesthood, a broken and divided collection of countless fragments, each presuming to be a valid remnant of the original Church, but each being founded on a legacy of apostasy.
•I believe that in the 1800’s God called Joseph Smith II to the task of restoring the true Church to the world, through a restoration of divine authority and the Holy Priesthood.
•I believe that Joseph Smith II designated his son Joseph Smith III, in harmony with God’s will, to be his eventual successor as Prophet and President of the Church.
•I believe that those members of the restored Church who rejected Joseph Smith III, or who introduced new doctrine not in harmony with scripture fell from grace, and entered into apostasy.
•I believe that the Church restored by God through Joseph Smith II and reorganized by his son Joseph Smith III, alone is held by God to be the true restored Church of Jesus Christ throughout all the world.
•I believe that the Community of Christ, although not perfect, remains pleasing to God, but that the conviction to ensure that the Church remains true to it’s purpose and theology must never falter.
•I believe that the Church must remember that it’s ultimate purpose is to acknowledge and worship God, according to His Truth, as revealed by His Only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ; and the various prophets & servants who came before and after Him, as recorded within the scriptures of the Community of Christ.
•I believe that as members of His Church, we are called to further the Great Commission, and that we have been charged with being custodians of God’s truth already revealed, and that we are entrusted to promote and defend the doctrine and history and traditions of the Community of Christ.
•I believe that the Priesthood and all members of the Church, when striving to carry out the work of the Church, or resolving any issues facing the Church, whether at World Conference or at the local level, should do all things in harmony with the scriptures, doctrine, law, purpose and traditions of the Church.
•I believe that the faithful membership of the Church should not be afraid to be proud of the theology of the Church, and that the priesthood additionally should not feel unworthy or in any way inferior to the priesthood of other denominations.
•I believe that the faithful membership of the Church should labor with joy and feel rejuvenated by the unique Sacred Story of the Church knowing that it’s purposes are not yet fulfilled, and that it’s doctrine is not of man, but of God.
•I believe that all members of the Church must remember that their baptisms and ordinations are made valid because of the laying on of hands by individuals who were part of an unbroken chain of authority passed down from priest to priest and generation to generation, ultimately from the hands of Joseph Smith II, who himself was granted such power and authority under the hands of angels sent from Almighty God.
•I believe. Amen.
So there you have it. But what does all this mean? What does it mean for anyone who would profess the same? Well, it means that I believe that Biblical God is real and not just some sort of philosophical concept universal force. It means that I believe that He revealed his truth and His will in the Scriptures. I believe that he sent his Only Begotten Son to the world, and that He established His Church, and that we, through a process of restoration, are that Church.
So what does all of that mean? Well, it means that since I believe in God and this Church it is reasonable to conclude that I would have certain convictions. It means that I don’t go to Church only for the fellowship, or because I have always done so. I don’t go to Church for the potlucks or the reunions. It means that for me, my Church life is more than a comfortable, familiar aspect of my existence. My Church life is about serving Jesus Christ, and striving always, in all that I do with regard to the Church, to do so according to God’s revealed will and in harmony with my covenant with Jesus Christ, so that I hopefully can do what I may in order to help build the Kingdom of Zion. Its about worshipping God and studying His scriptures so that I might better understand His truth, and have a better understanding of His will for me, as His disciple, and simply as His child.
But I don’t believe that this is universal for all Church members. I have met many members of our Church in other communities who openly state that for them Church is simply what they have always known and what they continue to do because they enjoy it, or aspects of it, but don’t let the doctrine or traditions get in the way! Don’t let the Church be an inconvenience! I feel deeply blessed that I am not like that.
***
The entire Christian community, throughout the whole world, has, over the last several weeks, turned its eyes towards Rome. There are a great number of things about the Roman Catholic Church that trouble me. There are many things about the Catholic Church which I find impossible to accept. There are many things about the Catholic Church that I do not like, that I find to be almost disturbing. And yet, I have also found myself realizing over the last few years, & especially during the last few weeks that there are many things to admire about the Roman Catholic Church.
And Pope John Paul II was one of them. I have long felt that this man was a sincere, and devoted servant of Jesus Christ. Humble. Wise. Honest. But as I began to watch all the various documentaries that were shown about him, and developed a greater understanding of who he was before the start of his term as Pope, and what he stood for, experienced, and accomplished in his life, I found my respect for him growing tremendously.
What really struck me was his deep, vast faith in Jesus Christ, his love for his Church, and his relentless efforts to serve God. And I found myself thinking that I looked up to and respected this man, and that I could learn from his example.
Our Church and the Catholic Church differ in several ways with regard to priesthood. Their entire priesthood is a full time paid priesthood. Ours is not. And while I would never see us change that (because I do feel our custom is superior), there can be no doubt that our custom has disadvantages. Except for the headquarters staff and the appointees, our priesthood are volunteers. We don’t get paid by the Church. I’m not getting paid to stand here this morning. I’m just a volunteer. We all are. We have to work in the secular world. We are not immersed in the Church at all times. We are not insulated from the world. We are distracted by so many things. We are fatigued. We are drained by our daily issues of our spiritual and emotional reserves, and for me at least, it is often difficult to find the time, and often even when I do, the willingness to make room for God in my daily life.
And then I look at Pope John Paul II. This was a man who made time for God. This was a man who found the will to make room for God every day of his life. This was a man who was not only deeply religious, but was also deeply spiritual. This was a man who followed God’s commandments. Why? Why was he so pious? Why did he follow God’s commandments? Why did he defend God’s commandments? Why was he so protective over Church doctrine? Why was it all so deeply important to him? He never relented. Why?
Simple. This was a man who knew God is real. This was a man who knew Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. This was a man who knew that Christ is the path to eternal life. This was a man who knew that God has revealed His will to the world. This was a man who followed God’s commandments because he knew it was the right thing to do. How does someone who has faith in God, Christ, the Church and Holy Scripture do otherwise? How can we, as members of the Community of Christ deny such things? How can we ignore our teachings, or seek to find loopholes in our theology or claim that particular aspects of our faith are no longer authoritative?
Pope John Paul II left a wonderful legacy, which I am confident will be carried on by his successor. Pope Benedict XVI is already being widely criticized because he is known for being very fundamental, and rigid. That is not who I am. I do not consider myself to be the same as he is. My beliefs are shaped by scripture. For example, I don’t oppose the ordination of women because there is no scriptural basis to do so. Nevertheless, I think I might like this new Pope. Shortly before he became Pope, he made the following remarks in his homily given during the funeral for the last Pope:
“Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism…Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind of teaching,’ looks like the only attitude acceptable to today’s standards…We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.”
Wise words. Wise because he is striking back. He is sending a message. The doctrine of the Church cannot change or be altered. The will of God is the Will of God. The Church, and those who profess to be in harmony with the Church, must respect that. Now, granted, I think that there are many things that this new Pope should change, there is room for some flexibility, because some of the changes being called for do not violate scripture or run contrary to Church doctrine. But I respect the new Pope for defending any aspect of the Church which is founded on the doctrine and scripture of the Church. He will not succumb to public pressure, or the rallying cry of “times have changed” or any other pressure if doing so would violate God’s will.
He will follow God’s commandments. And so will I. But I don’t do so only because I feel that I have to. I don’t do so because I’m a lawyer and feel bound by Church law. I want to. I know in my heart that God is real, and that he spoke to his people Israel, and that he spoke with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I know that he spoke with Nephi, Abinadi, Alma and Moroni. I know that he continues, even now, to speak with his children, for I know that he spoke with a young boy named Joseph Smith II. I know he spoke with Joseph Smith III and I know that he spoke with Wallace B. Smith, and W. Grant McMurray.
I want to make my Father in Heaven happy. Because he is really up there, and he really did all those things that we read about in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. And I know that he really thinks, and feels, and hopes. And I know that he has granted us commandments so that we might be reminded of our covenant with Christ, and our duty as Christians, and of all the blessings that the Lord continually bestows upon us.
The Lord has granted us many commandments. There are in fact, according to Jewish tradition, 613 commandments in the Old Testament. These form the Torah, or Law of Moses, as given to him by God. This law was, through Christ, suspended, although Christ tells us in the Third Book of Nephi that we are to continue to live by the Ten Commandments. In addition, Christ gave us some new commandments.
He says in the Gospel of St. John:
13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Later on He tells us:
14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And of course Christ tells us, as we have already heard, that the two greatest commandments are to love God, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
All of these commandments that Christ gave to us, or spoke of, are designed to help bring us closer to God. This is the purpose of all the commandments.
Christ tells us again in the Gospel of St. John:
14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
If we keep the commandments that the Lord has given us, we become closer to Christ and our Heavenly Father. This, more than anything else, is why we should follow God’s commandments. They are for us! They are for our benefit!
Today, in this service, we shall as a congregation keep another one of God’s commandments, given to us by Christ, for he told us to eat and drink in remembrance of Him.
The commandment to observe what we call Communion is perhaps the third greatest commandment of all. For you see, this commandment reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice. It reminds us that Jesus is Lord. It reminds us that God is reconciled to the world. It reminds us that the Messiah is both our savior and redeemer.
It also calls us to remember our baptism. Our confirmation. Our covenant with the Lord. By participating in this Holy sacrament we acknowledge that Jesus Christ died for our sins, as the final sacrifice to God the Father. We acknowledge that Christ is the Son of God. By partaking of this meal we acknowledge that the Church is valid and the Restoration a reality. We acknowledge that God is alive, and present in all ages of mankind, and a companion to each life journey, if we make room for Him in our lives.
As we participate in the sacrament of Communion we are each taking a stance: “Yes Lord I believe. Yes Lord, I am with you. Yes lord, I know that you have revealed your truth to the world. Yes Lord, I know that this is your Church. Yes Lord, I will follow your commandments.
Prepare yourselves to dine with Christ. Amen.
~Sermon Vault~ 