General Conference, ‘We Bear Witness of Him,’ April 1998; “We can respect other religions and must do so. We must recognize the great good they accomplish. We must teach our children to be tolerant and friendly toward those not of our faith. We can and do work with those of other religions in the defense of those values which have made our civilization great and our society distinctive…” – Gordon B. Hinckley
Luke 6:27-29a; “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other…”
Jesus was a funny guy. I’ve always had to laugh at the way He’d respond to people and the dry sense of humor He displayed with brutal honesty. The passage in Luke is one of those examples.
Culture in Palestine was/is much different than it is here in America. The nuances in the Bible can easily be missed, and I recently learned this is one of those times for me.
Slapping someone across the cheek meant you were doing so with the back of your hand. Those who received the back of your hand were regarded as being in a lower status than yourself which included women, slaves, children, or dogs.
If someone slapped you across the cheek twice the second slap was done with the front, or an open hand, not the back of your hand which meant it’s not a dismissive gesture. Someone touching you with an open hand also means there’s an existing closeness between the two parties. This ‘forces’ the offender to make eye contact with you before, during, and after they touch you.
Obviously, Jesus was implying you shouldn’t cower to the totalitarian demeanor of others. When you offer the other cheek, you’ve given permission for that person to look you in the eye. Their power is then taken away and in your hands.
Our LDS example today is a great display of how untrustworthy these people are. Gordon B. Hinckley was one of the first LDS leaders who started a public campaign of trying to bed down with the Christian community at large.
Like those who will slap you with the back of their hand, Mormons do the same with their nefarious publications. They have little to no regard for anyone but themselves and will say or do anything to garner respect from non-Mormons.
There’s no need to go rummaging through untold numbers of hateful comments they’ve made about the body of Christ. One only has to look at their beloved canon they use each day to see the animosity held in their hearts.
When/if you’re witnessing to them I always stress the importance of using their own works to show them what their religion teaches. When you do this think about the passage in Luke.
1 Nephi 14:10; “And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.”
This was really well said!
Thanks! 🙂