Matthew 5:44-45; “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Leviticus 19:18; “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”
Today’s dilemma is kind of twofold.
After reading Mr. Young’s condemnation upon those who disagree, my first thought was for those whom we help here at the ministry. The tradition of maligning and/or shunning those who’ve left the Church hasn’t changed much since the day Brigham’s vitriol.
Overall, the Church’s stab at change has only extended so far. From the outside looking in, few people are aware of the shunning and animosity the new Christians goes through. Advertising the ill-effects of leaving the ‘one true church’ doesn’t bode well in the ‘I’m a Mormon’ campaign so wouldn’t dream of broadcasting that unfortunate caveat of Mormonism.
My other point to this is to share with and teach Mormons a little about how Christianity operates.
No matter the scenario, behavior exhibited by the body of Christ speaks volumes to believers, and unbelievers alike. What I’ve seen in the past 20+ years is the total opposite of Brigham Young’s assessment here. When/if a Christian chooses to attend a different church, I’ve never seen anyone condemn each other.
Whether a Christian moves to out of town, or if they simply choose to attend a different church in the same area, the Christians I’ve met and known always wish others well, and typically continues to be an active participant in each other’s life.