Selective Blessings

General Conference, ‘Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence’, October 2014; “Embrace voluntary, wholehearted obedience as part of your life. Acknowledge that you cannot love God without also loving His commandments. The Savior’s standard is clear and simple: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Selective obedience brings selective blessings, and choosing something bad over something worse is still choosing wrong. You can’t watch a bad movie and expect to feel virtuous because you did not watch a very bad one. Faithful observance of some commandments doesn’t justify neglecting others. Abraham Lincoln rightly said, “When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad” (in William H. Herndon and Jesse William Weik, Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, 3 vols. [1889], 3:439).” – Jörg Klebingat

John 14:15; “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

This is the first of three dilemmas we’ll be posting using the speech from Mr. Klebingat. We’re taking a little longer with his speech than we usually do because of the things he said. Sometimes we need to stop and really evaluate the content of these speeches and ask the Mormons in our lives for their opinions. 

Selective obedience is never a good idea. Selective choosing of scripture to further your agenda isn’t prudent either. 

If Mr. Klebingat had chosen to read the next three verses in John he would’ve seen that Jesus promised the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, alas, he has chosen not to accept God’s Promise and proof of that is his membership in this church of his. 

As for this man’s counsel we must ask – 

Did the Mormons behave when they kept blacks out of the Church?

Did the Mormons behave by practicing polygamy?

Are Mormons behaving when they choose to persecute outsiders? 

How can a Mormon today be faithful and obey the counsel of his/her prophet when their prophets have a track record of breaking the law and teaching false doctrines? 

The Church now denounces Brigham Young’s Adam-God theory and have told members not to embrace this. At this very conference they’ve also taught they must follow the prophet. 

If the Mormon chooses to obey their leaders counsel today they’re placed in a no-win situation. Accept the prophet without reservation is pretty self explanatory, yet if they do what they’re told they’ve damned themselves.

What’s a Mormon to do?