I recently read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune by Jana Riess about Jeff Strong's book Torn, which is about what people get wrong about people leaving the church. You can find the article here.
As I read the article I was immediately struck with the idea that it only addresses the leaving the church part of the equation. It said nothing about leaving the Gospel. They are separate, but for many as described in the article, leaving the church is the all they can focus on, because they do not see nor do they understand that the Gospel is not the church, and the church is not the Gospel. They do not understand the Gospel. I've written extensively about the difference in this blog.
You may ask is it possible to leave the church and not leave the Gospel? Of course before we can answer, we must understand that there is a difference, and understand what Christ means when He says "This is my gospel..."
The article focused on a survey completed by 11,000 people of which about 60% considered themselves active members, and about 40% were those who had left the church.
The survey’s current members skewed active, meaning they were more likely than average members to attend church regularly and consider themselves devout.
The data showed that it’s the most devout members who have the hardest time understanding and relating to family members and friends who have left.
But to me the issue between those who considered themselves devout and those who left, is the same. Neither group understood the difference between the organization and the Gospel.
My questions of someone who has become inactive or has left the church, after teaching them His Gospel as He taught it, are these:
- Have you ever believed in Christ?
- If yes, do you still believe in Christ?
- Have you ever believed what Christ said?
- Do you know what Christ taught about His church?
- Do feast upon the words of Christ?
- Have you ever feasted upon the words of Christ?
- Have you hardened your heart against the words of Christ?
- Have you ever had faith in Christ?
- If yes, do you still have faith in Christ?
- Were you aware that Christ has defined His gospel in the Book of Mormon?
- Were you taught His Gospel at home, at church, by anyone?
- Were you ever taught to understand the doctrine of baptism and repentance?
- And were you taught that only those who are repenting are of His church, and that many members of record of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not of His church because they are not yet repenting?
- Were you taught that there are only two churches, the Church of God and the Church of the Devil?
- Were you taught the difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and His Gospel?
- Were you ever taught that the word of God is truth, and that you do not have to believe anything in the church that is not true?
Hopefully you can see that leaving the church is not the same as leaving His Gospel, but to most who do or who do not leave the organization, they are not even aware that there is a difference! When we leave His Gospel, we leave Christ, and we are not choosing Good but we are choosing Evil.
My purpose in this post is not to expand on the difference, but simply to point out that there is a difference, and that many active and inactive members do not know of or understand the difference. I have linked a few posts at the end which will help you see and understand the difference.
The paradox is that those who are repenting and have turned to Christ can be met with resistance by members and even leaders of the organized church.
"A comment was once made on a post that repentance as defined by Christ, is difficult for those who are part of the system which is the Organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The person commenting said that those who 'genuinely wish to reform and turn unto Christ, are likely to be cut off by the system,' or at least impeded by it. I would add that they find themselves turning away from the system of religious activities. They may even be criticized by members and/or leaders of the system who see them ‘leaving’ the church, or perhaps more accurately, as not being faithful or mainstream members.
But that is exactly what those who are repenting do--they are leaving behind their traditional religion, their old church life, and are turning and coming unto Christ to be “of His church.” They are leaving the system of justification by their works. It does not mean that they do not stay involved and attend church and activities, nor does it mean that they do stay involved, but it does mean that they will never see the organized church as they once did. But for those who decide to leave, as in become inactive, there is a danger.
Christ as our Shepherd, invites us to leave the pen and follow Him to green pastures and clear waters, but those who leave without following the Shepherd are foolish and put themselves in a very precarious and dangerous environment. Neither are they led to green pastures and clear waters, but are left to their own devices in Babylon.
Tim Merrill wrote the following in one of his posts, and it has occupied my thoughts for many months as I contemplate those family members that I am aware of who have left, and I am afraid that they have not followed the Shepherd.
'Where will we go once we’ve left the pen? Who knows the way? Leaving the pen without the Shepherd to guide us is more than foolhardy; it is perilous.'
The name of a sheep home is called a sheep pen, sheepcote or sheepfold. It is an enclosure made up of local earth and the floor of mud, and also has a strong fence. When we repent and turn to our Shepherd to guide us, we are invited to follow the Shepherd and leave the enclosure" (Repentance: Only Those Who Repent are of My Church).
But it does not follow that those who are repenting become inactive. In fact they are more likely to stay involved and teach others the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They desire that all receive the mercy of God, and know that mercy claims only those who are repenting.
But for those who have only focused on the church, its policies, its history, its flaws, its culture, its values, its teachings of men, and have not feasted upon the words of Christ, and who do not know the difference between the words of God and the words of men, are easily deceived. Their reliance on men has caught up with them, and they foolishly leave the pen without the Good Shepherd to guide them. They've thrown the bucket out with the bath water. These are they who leave His words by the wayside, and become ever more captive in Babylon.
See also the following:
Do We Really Understand Christ's Gospel?
Obstacles to Hearing the Word of God
Repentance: Only Those Who Repent are of My Church
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