Voting on God’s Revelations
D&C 43:5-6; “And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; 6 And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me.”
Mormon Doctrine, pg 150; “Members of the Church may vote to publish a particular revelation along with the other scriptures, or the people may bind themselves by covenant to follow the instructions found in the revealed word. But there is no provision in the Lord’s plan for the members of the Church to pass upon the validity of revelations themselves by a vote of the Church; there is nothing permitting the Church to choose which of the revelations will be binding upon it, either by a vote of people or by other means.
Revelation is revelation. When the Lord speaks, he has spoken. His word is to be accepted and obeyed if men expect to receive salvation. To reject the word of the Lord is to reject the Lord himself to that extent.”
Ensign, March 2012, “We Sustain Our Leaders”; “Raising our hands to sustain someone is not like voting that person into office. The person has already been called by the Lord to serve in that calling by one who has the priesthood authority to extend such a calling. Our sustaining is a vote of confidence in the person, because we recognize that he or she has been called of God through priesthood leaders we sustain.”
1 Corinthians 14:33; “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
The meaning of sustain means to hold up, endorse, encourage, abet, etc. Voting or to vote means to confer, hold up, determine, recommend…
These are basically one and the same so we’re asking –
If God only speaks through the prophet and his word is final, why do they vote or sustain revelations or someone who’s been called by God to fill a position?
The sustaining or voting for something or someone in the Church basically amounts to nothing really. No one is going to oppose what the Church puts forth for fear of being stared at and then questioned by the bishop at a later date. And no one is going to say anything negative because then you’re considered to be harboring anti-Mormon philosophies.
This isn’t how the Lord operates! He’s clear and isn’t out to confuse His children. If He says you have a vote you really do or if He commands something He doesn’t put it up to a meeting where people raise their right arm to the square. He’s commanded it and you personally have the choice to obey or not obey, but the body of Christ doesn’t vote or sustain anything God says!
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