"Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandments of God, ye hold to the tradition of men.... Full well ye reject the commandments of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such things do ye" (Mark 7:7-9; 13).
This is a talk, at least a version of it, given in my French ward in Metz, France on October 27, 2024, given in English, but posted here so it can be shared via a link.
I enjoy being part of your family. We are, after all, brothers and sisters and hope to be part of the Lord's eternal family. But I am getting older which is both a blessing and a curse. Just the other day, I went into an antiques store and they would not let me leave! But being older, I have had many years to feast upon the words of God and He has blessed me with the Spirit of Revelation and the Spirit of Prophecy. Following my own Road to Damascus experience many years ago, I turned to His words and have been feasting upon them ever since.
Think of me today as an older family member teaching you some of what the Lord has revealed to me through His words, one who knows the difference between the word of God and the teachings of men mingled with scripture. I want you to taste the exceeding joy of which I have tasted, and know as I know.
The word of God is the focus of the entire Book of Mormon. He has given us His words which He tells us are truth, light, spirit, even the spirit of Jesus Christ. There is a reason we are told to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
But Christ has warned us that by our traditions we make His words of none effect.
When religious tradition replaces the Gospel of Jesus Christ; when we place the emphasis on us; when we attempt to justify ourselves because of our good works; when we merely parrot back or echo a conference talk, we make the word of God of none effect through our religious traditions.
The topic I was assigned comes from a Talk by Elder Soares. It is entitled "Followers of the Prince of Peace." Elder Soares encourages us to be more like our Savior. But the method to do so includes a word that waters down the word of God. And that word is 'strive' as in "strive to develop" the attributes of Christ.
Religious traditon puts the focus on us striving to develop these attributes, when the scriptures clearly teach that it is Christ that changes us. It is a fiction to think that by further, better and more aggressive living, or by striving harder, we can become like Christ.
The word of God teaches us something that, if we believe His words, we will come to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about improvement, but about redemption. It is a Gospel of repentance, not a gospel of performance.
Transfiguring the word of God even a fraction perverts it, and
changes the truth of God into a lie.
Let me give you just a few examples contrasting our religious traditions with the word of God, and how tradition makes the word of God of none effect.
1. Religious tradition teaches us to love more and better by our own efforts.
Christ teaches that "charity is the pure love of Christ...and whoso is possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." And how do we possess it? "pray unto the Father will all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ (Moroni 7:48).
2. Religious tradition teaches us to follow the brethren.
The word of God teaches us to never put our trust in the arm of flesh, in no person, but to "look to God and live" (Alma 37:47), and to live "by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God" (D&C 84:44), not by every word that comes from the pulpit, unless it is the word of God. But only those who speak with the Tongue of Angels will know the difference (2 Nephi 31:14).
3. Religious tradition teaches us to 'live the gospel."
The word of God teaches us that Christ is the Gospel, the Good News, sent by his Father to save us from our sins, first as Jehovah, then as the mortal Jesus and finally as the resurrected Jesus, to deliver His everlasting Gospel: mercy to all those who repent, and justice to all those who do not repent (3 Nephi 27:13-21).
4. Religious tradition teaches that repentance is a change of behavior, feeling sorry, and paying some penance.
The word of God teaches us that repentance means to turn to Christ and put all our trust in Him, relying wholly upon His merits, and that only the penitent are saved.
5. Religious tradition teaches us to be good, make good choices, and be good examples.
The word of God teaches us to choose good, not human goodness, but the goodness of God, and that we do not merit anything of ourselves.
His words also teach us there are only two choices: Good or Evil, but only as His words define Good and Evil.
He teaches us that we should hold up His light, and not our tiny spark.
Ask yourself this question:
Is my faith so little that I cling to the deeds that I do, calling them good, because I am afraid to see the evil in me? And yet it is only through seeing the evil in me that I can exercise the faith to see the good in Him.
6. Religious tradition teaches us that the gospel is about our worthiness and our righteousness.
The word of God teaches us to always retain in remembrance our unworthiness (Alma 38:14), and that only God is righteous.
We cannot be righteous, but we can be, as Elder Soares reminds us, followers of His righteousness, and can be saved only because of His righteousness.
7. Religious tradition teaches us to keep the commandments, and depending on who is teaching, the list is long and detailed like a modern day Law of Moses.
The word of God teaches us to obey the commandments of God, and then defines His commandments as repentance, baptism, enduring in faith in Christ until the end (3 Nephi 27:16), and
to "give diligent heed to the words of eternal life" (D&C 84:43) because His words will tell us all that we must do (2 Nephi 32:3). It is His righteousness that saves us, not our own.
8. Religious tradition counts as a good member of the church, one who pays tithing, attends meetings and the temple, reads the scriptures, fasts once a month, fulfills his or her duties, and who does not commit any of the serious sins.
The word of God says that only those who are repenting are of His Church (D&C 10:68-68).
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is a parable about the futility of religion (Luke 18:9-14). None of the Pharisee's good works justified him.
The word of God teaches us that it is only His church if it is built upon His gospel, and not upon the works of men or of the devil (3 Nephi 27:10-11).
9. Religious tradition puts the cart before the horse, measures our repentance and our righteousness by our works and our human goodness.
The word of God teaches that our works follow our repentance and are the fruits of our repentance.
Some of the fruits of our repentance are being born again, saved by the grace of God, and saying nothing but repentance unto this generation.
Those who are repenting are those who have experienced their own lost and fallen state, are harrowed up in their sins, and want to experience the Atonement and His mercy in their own lives. And want others to experience the same. Why? So that others may receive the mercy of God and avoid being judged by their works.
We are also taught by the word of God that only Christ is good, and that no one doeth good except by the gifts and power of God. For if there be one among (us) that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God (Moroni 10:25).
10. Religious tradition teaches that when we partake of the sacrament we are renewing covenants we made at baptism.
The word of God does not teach that we renew baptismal covenants when we partake of the sacrament. At baptism, we enter into His everlasting covenant, and are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men.
But if we lose that savor we become as salt that has lost its savor and is good for nothing only to be cast out. He tells us that He covenanteth with none except they that do repent (D&C 101:39-40).
When we partake of the bread and water we partake of His flesh and blood and witness unto God that we are repenting, that we are 'willing to' or 'want to' take upon ourselves His name, keep His commandments (repent and endure to the end), and always remember Him.
We do not witness that we will, but that we are willing to. When we repent and turn to Him, he cures our tendency to turn away from Him. Again just two choices: turn to Him or turn away from Him.
I often wonder when I observe someone refusing the sacrament if they understand that only those who are not turned to Him or who are not repenting, are unworthy to partake.
The problem with religious tradition is that it makes the word of God of none effect because it transfigures His words, mingles them with the teaching of men, and is anti-Christ because it puts the focus on us, and denies the gifts and power of God.
It can take on a life of its own and cause us to believe we are on the path that leads to eternal life because we are religious.
But only the word of God, or the Rod of Iron, gets us in the right way and keeps us there, but only if we hold fast, and only if we feast upon the words of Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation, not the power of us unto salvation.
And what a glorious Gospel it is!
Christ chose to take upon Himself the demands of Justice and save us from our lost and fallen state, from our sins, so that if we repent mercy will claim us and when we stand before Him at the judgment, He will find us guiltless (3 Nephi 27:13-21)!
The news cannot be any better news than that! So rather than 'live the gospel' we should proclaim the Gospel!
Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received?
A voice of gladness!
A voice of mercy from heaven; and
A voice of truth out of the earth;
glad tidings for the dead;
a voice of gladness for the living and the dead;
glad tidings of great joy.
(D&C 128:19)
Clark, you hit a homerun with this talk. How did your ward members receive it? It spoke to me as a lawyer, because of the way you treat the language with such care (like the word "strive").
ReplyDeleteThe idea of "nullification" of God's word is so fascinating, because making the word of God "of none effect" is a bit different than the outright "breaking" of it. The way you show how our traditions torpedo the Word was powerful -- and powerfully sobering as I apply it to myself.
Reading your Top Ten list (an instant classic), I was impressed with how you get to the essence of some complicated things, making them digestible morsels. So delicious.
The one that jumped out at me, for some reason, was #7. I wouldn't say I suffer from scrupulosity, but I am definitely the stressed-sort, when it comes to spiritual things. So the idea of "commandments" is so ambiguous when we don't define the ones that matter.
As you pointed out, "commandments" can mean just about anything depending on who you ask ("a list as long and detailed as a modern day Law of Moses"). But what I love about your writing is that you don't just state the problem, you provide solutions. In the case of commandments, I like how you direct us to the few commandments given by God in the Doctrine of Christ (a child could count them on one hand) -- repentance, baptism, and enduring in faith until the end. Thank you.
My favorite line was when you mentioned the Parable of the Pharisee and Publican, and said, "None of the Pharisee's good works justified him." That made me wonder what DID justify the publican?
I'll be sticking this post in with my personal stash of "small plates," because it contains the things of God, which are "most precious" (Jacob 1:2).