LDS Church is Refuge in Opposition

General Conference, ‘A Defense and a Refuge,’ October 2006; “Sometimes clergy, even ministerial organizations, oppose us. They do what we would never do. We do not attack or criticize or oppose others as they do us…

We speak of the Church as our refuge, our defense. There is safety and protection in the Church. It centers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Latter-day Saints learn to look within themselves to see the redeeming power of the Savior of all mankind. The principles of the gospel taught in the Church and learned from the scriptures become a guide for each of us individually and for our families.” – Boyd K. Packer

Psalm 9:9-10; “The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”

Psalm 18:6; “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.”

There are a couple of things to look at in today’s LDS reference so let’s get started! 

1.LDS apostle Boyd Packer’s speech in 2006 tells us the Church was still talking trash about the body of Christ well into the 21^st century. By this time Packer had been in the Church all his life (82+ years) and was well aware of the Church’s past and present state of affairs. He led by example and reinforced  the lie that the Church never maligned the body of Christ. 

2.The title of his speech would denote someone was going to exemplify how to find refuge in God by focusing on God, alas, this isn’t where Packer’s focus was rooted. His message came through loud and clear by reminding the Saints that refuge comes by looking within instead of to God. 

3.The only refuge a building (church) can provide is of a temporal kind. It can shelter us from rain, wind, snow, heat, etc, and membership in an organization provides even less shelter than that of a building. 

Even belonging to the body of Christ and being a Christian doesn’t afford shelter to our souls. It provides comfort in the mere fact other believers can pray for us or intervene in daily needs. 

The type of refuge we truly need can only be provided by God and His supernatural powers that only He is in possession of. We don’t look within and we certainly don’t look to a group of people that can do what only God can. 

People can’t save.

People can’t be with you 24/7.

People can’t offer assurance of salvation.