In my Scripture study the other day, Jesus’ statement, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” [Matthew 7:12], brought the bygone incident I describe below to mind with incredible intensity. It is a shame that so many critics of the Church seem to have purged this verse in the Sermon on the Mount from their Bibles–and this is a very sad thing. Dates and other information are obscured here, to protect the guilty and the innocent.
Some time ago, a non-member child was tragically killed. While other area Churches offered their facilities for a fee, a neighbouring LDS bishop offered–for free–the use of a nearby LDS meeting house for the funeral. After the post-graveyard service, local members served a meal for the family and friends of the deceased–again, without charge. This is our way, and I’m glad of it.
Unfortunately, the child’s Pastor appeared to be not as glad about this gift as I am. At first, this man refused to preach the funeral in the meeting house, but later relented. Upon entering the meeting house, this individual behaved much as a boorish guest: Without permission, he and his staff tore down the Ward bulletin board and portraits of LDS leaders and Temples–anything that would show whose building it is. He demanded that the sign identifying the Church be obscured. He cast out the missionaries and other members of the Church who were there to help set up for the funeral and meal–because they were “Mormons.” And, as an added insult, he confined the bishop to the foyer, away from the funeral–even though he was a friend and neighbour to the deceased and his family, and he provided the use of the building–free of charge.
Incidentally, I am NOT a member of this bishop’s Ward. The only reason I know of this is that my bishop [who was the other bishop’s friend], knowing that my work took me only a short distance from this meeting house, called me on my cell phone, and asked me to assist in whatever way I could. I arrived rather late, and, after regathering the scattered members, helped clean the place up as much as possible.
Undoubtedly, non-members do much good in this world; bringing people to Jesus Christ, as this non-LDS Pastor had done, is truly a wonderful thing! I find it very hard, though, to reconcile mistreating others, vandalising their property, and other acts of hate, with the Christian love he and other critics of the Church claim to possess.
Since then, I have had much time to reflect upon what I would have done if I were in that bishop’s position. I think I could truthfully say that, even knowing that this non-LDS Pastor would act so rudely, I, too would have offered the use of the meeting house. I thank God that I was able to join with my siblings in Christ to give some comfort to the family and friends of this young boy, and this is worth all of the abuse our enemies can heap upon us.
As the Saviour commanded, “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” [Matthew 5:44]. While I’m hardly expert at this, both God and Satan give me plenty of opportunity to practise! 😉
I might, however, have tried to do more to protect my siblings in Christ and the Lord’s property.
moral of this post:
non-LDS pastors are rude?
and LDS show love?
(Knowing what he was going to do, the pastor should never have accepted. Highly unethical. He ought to be publicly charged for his error. And I hope that the leadership of that church was approached and that perhaps others in his congregation privately exhorted and corrected him towards the right so that he doesn’t do the offense again. This is a stench to the pastorate.)
Steven
I imagine that this “pastor” was of the Evangelical persuasion and being someone myself who was raised by an Evangelical pastor (he served for over 50 years) that lived the “do unto others” commandment daily and equally with everyone he met, I am saddened by this story.
A few years ago my dad and I went to the Hill Cumorah pageant in Palmyra (we live only 45 minutes from the site) we parked in the field owned by the church across from the hill…making our way across Route 21 to get to the hill and find a seat we were forced to wade through a sea of protestors on both sides waving signs and yelling at passerby – we ignored them although they were quite annoying. We watched the pageant and it lived up to our expectations. It was a wonderful display of a story we both knew very little about. On our way out again we waded the sea….in the car as we were leaving my father softly said to me…”I am embarassed” I asked him why to which he replied…”I am embarassed because those people (the protestors) probably go to churches like mine and they stand their in judgement as if they are God.” then he said…”I fear for them on the day of judgement”…
These were powerful words to me. Since then my dad and I have visited the LDS visitors center at Cumorah (Just recently) for an exhibit about the Dead Sea Scrolls and we have had numerous discussions about our repsect for the LDS faith…the visit to Cumorah is also what began my (now years of) study of the LDS church.
My husband is a convert, and he has equally sad stories of unkindness at the hands of Mormon neighbors when he was young. I agree with your point that we should all be guided by the golden rule in our relationships with each other.
I agree all people, no matter of what faith or no faith at all are capable of doing bad things or not so nice things..
I cannot think of a time however where I saw crowds of Mormons protesting outside my church during an Easter play or something similar – there is a sense of disgust among certain kinds of Christians when it comes to members of other faiths, be they Mormons or Muslims or JW’s what have you.
“I cannot think of a time however where I saw crowds of Mormons protesting outside my church during an Easter play or something similar”
Chad- yes, that kind of behavior along with seeing precious time that could be spent teaching about Christ used instead for classes that teach misinformation about the LDS church is the most difficult of all to understand.
I’m glad that you have had great experiences with Mormons. There’s a story in our local paper today written by a man whose wife is a local pastor. They were both raised in Utah and had some hurt feelings, but this man wrote a really nice story about President Hinckley and his outreach towards others, and how it has had a great effect on his family. In fact his wife was asked to be the grand marshall for the Pioneer Day parade here recently because of some interfaith experiences and service.
I think we can all agree that those who protest LDS meetings and temples represent a small fraction of Christians, the vast majority of whom respect our right to worship unmolested, even if they have disagreements with our beliefs.
I think it’s sad that any individual would behave that way. I think it’s also sad that by behaving that way such individuals may reflect badly on others of like belief who generally wouldn’t act so immature and unchristian.
Agreed. The one thing I could wish for is a little more overt condemnation of such behavior from Christian groups. There’s many Christian groups who don’t picket Temple Square or the Hill Cumorah pagent, but who don’t say anything against those who do either.
Yet, I bet if their fellow Christians were out picketing a synagogue, those other churches wouldn’t hesitate to decry the actions.
I’ve always appreciated “Standing Together” Mininstry’s willingness to call bigotry for what it was, despite major theological differences with us.
Hi Todd!
No, the moral of the post is, “Do unto others,” even if those others are “enemies.”
I know for a fact that most Evangelicals are (or at least try to be) true Christians–in every sense of the word. My inlaws are two of them. They have been very helpful to me and my wife, even though they are less-than-totally sympathetic to our theology. Moreover, I have defended Evangelical Christianity in general and Evangelicals in particular when fellow Latter-day Saints were out of line.
I disagree, though, that the minister should have been publicly charged–especially not at this late date. The boy’s family and friends have suffered enough with the death of their son, plus the pastor’s deeds. I would hope, though, that the minister’s staff would have “intreat[ed] him as a father” [I Timothy 5:1]. I would certainly have done so, if it were my bishop who did something like that.
The ethical thing to do would be to graciously accept the gift, expressing gratitude that God would move those of other faiths to ask themselves “what would Jesus do?”
The Saviour certainly had no objection to the Jew accepting the Samaritan’s help [Luke 10:33-37]! 😉
Steve
You hit the nail on the head. As I said before I was raised by an Evangelical pastor who served faithfully for many years (He’s probably considered a moderate theologically although he would be found to agree with the so-called “fundamentals” of the faith) and I cannot imagine him ever acting in a way that ran contrary to the “do unto others” command of Jesus.
I too believe that Evangelicals are trying to be good Christians and follow Jesus faithfully – I have nothing against Evangelicalism per se but I do find extreme fundamentalism (of any brand) to be beneath the true values of a faithful life. The pastor in the story would fit my understanding of extremism…
In any case I would hope that people would first judge me (or anyone or any institution) on my character and not on what church, religion or political group in which I hold membership…and of course I will do the same
Great post, Steve! I believe the criteria that Jesus gave for judging people was not their theology but their fruits and works. I look forward to a day when people of different faiths and doctrines will cease to attack each other on the basis of their theology but will stand united to fight for the common good of man.
On the other hand, I think we should continue to discuss and debate doctrine. That’s fine! But to negatively judge another individual or to be disparaging because you disagree with his/her doctrine is not in line with Christian ideals, in my opinion. Jesus judges individuals on the basis of who they are first and foremost, I believe. Certainly our doctrine can contribute to who we are, but a person who believes things that aren’t true doesn’t make them any less good (Santa Claus comes to mind).
Thanks very much for the good wishes!
There are, sadly, too many boors among all groups–including my own, and–also among all groups–those who make like the “good Samaritan”.
I just hope we can decry the unchristian attitudes and be grateful that the Lord can motivate the Samaritans.